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Dan, I love jumping at Orange!! But it's over 2 hours from me and West Point is 20 minutes. I'll definitely be going back and forth, especially when it gets warm again and I can camp out. As for Raeford, I did my first AFF there and will always feel loyal to them, ya know? But since it's 4 hours, I will probably only get down there a few times a year. Tom

Hi, I just started jumping in October and have completed cat b in AFF. In your opinion, do you think it would be better for me to do one jump a month over the winter to not lose currency, OR, wait until March/April when I can start jumping every week. I'm kind of torn. I worry about it being harder to "get back up there" if I take a few months off. But at the same time, I've heard people say that as a student you learn skydiving much better if you can do it more frequently as opposed to just jumping once a month over the winter. What do you think? Has anyone been in this situation? Thanks, Tom

Yoshi--- If you miss the air and the people, what keeps you away still? Just curious... Tom

I can't say enough good things about the Raeford tunnel and their staff. I've been there three times, and it's always a great experience.

How did your cat b go? I'm doing my cat c1 at West Point on Friday...can't wait!

I was supposed to do my Cat C jump this weekend, but wasn't able to make it out there to the dz. If I jump next weekend, it will be 35 days since my cat b. BUT, I just did a 30 minute tunnel camp in Raeford on Friday. I know it's not the same as jumping for real, but do you think I will absolutely have to repeat cat b? And yes, I know people will say "ask your AFFI." I emailed him today, but I'm just curious what everyone's opinion is on this. Thanks, Tom

He is, but he's an AFF instructor so he jumps for free. Maybe just a case of his favorite beer? I know cash is *impersonal* but a lot of people might rather have cash, especially in this economy.

He is charging a coaching fee, and it's all included in the $450 fee. I'd like to give him a tip on top of the coaching fee, so I'm wondering what is customary.

The coach isn't someone from Paraclete, it's an AFF instructor from my home dz in Virginia.

Bowen, I don't think there's a coaching fee----at least not to my knowledge. It's $450 for 30 minutes. He is an AFF instructor at my dropzone, and he organizes these tunnel camps every few months. About 5 of us (including him) are meeting up and driving down together. I think I'm the only newbie in the group. He instructs us based on skill level, and mentioned I'd be working on heading control, forward and backward movement, turns, slow and fast fall rates, side-sliding, knee turns, some docking. I'm not sure how many session there are, but I'm guessing it will be 2-3 minute flights. I *think* there is a video de-briefing also. Thanks, Tom

I'm heading to a 30 minute tunnel camp at Raeford tomorrow. The instructor is one of the guys from my AFF course, not just one of the guys who works at the tunnel. What is the customary tip for something like this? I definitely want to hook him up, because he's really a great instructor. Thanks, Tom