seadream91

Try wearing a motion/sea sickness band on your wrist. They work great for any type of motion sickness, are very inexpensive, and preferable to taking meds. You can buy them at most dive shops or online at biobands.com.

I'm so sorry to hear about Tucker. I just lost my 'best friend' of 16 yrs on Feb 19th. She was losing her battle with cancer & I just couldn't let her suffer anymore. Peanut will forever be in my heart until we meet again at Rainbow Bridge. Rest assured, Tucker will be there waiting for you as well!

THAT is beautiful; thank you for posting it!

My thoughts & prayers go out to family, friends, and the entire Skydive Carolina community.

The Cards! ... if my team doesn't make it to the big game, I always pull for the underdog. (Plus, I like Kurt Warner and would like to see the Cardinals win it since they've never won it before).

I'm very much an introvert and always have been. I guess it can be a blessing or a curse depending on how you look at it. But when spring and AFF starts, I'm looking forward to hanging out at the DZ and learning alot about beer rules!

If it wasn't for tandems, I'm sure I would never have taken that first 'leap of faith'. The time investment, lack of confidence, and reason for my jump (bucket list item), made a tandem my only real logical choice. Being a person who has always been a 'nervous flyer' in planes and afraid of heights, I STILL don't understand my initial obsession with making a jump ... much less my total obsession with continuing. But long before we made it to the ground, I knew jump #1 was just the beginning. I had tried on 3 occasions to get a group of friends to go to the DZ for our first tandem. On all 3 occasions, everyone backed out. So it was either go alone or don't go, so ... I went alone. I felt like an idiot at the DZ that day because I didn't know anyone or basically anything about what I was doing. But I met some really nice jumpers who were willing to share knowledge, info, and stories with a whuffo who was both clueless and in a totally foreign environment. What started out as one of the most scary and 'lonely' days of my life, turned into one of the most enjoyable and educational experiences I've ever had. While money is definitely an issue with me, I'm trying to save, budget, and sell some unneeded items in order to pay for my training. If I have to work a 2nd part-time job in order to pay for my 'obsession', I'm willing to do that as well. Ever since my 1st and 2nd jumps and my decision to pursue AFF and my 'A' license this spring, I'm now referred to by many as the 'nut that jumps out of perfectly good airplanes'. I've gotten a lot of flak and ribbing from friends about continuing on in this sport, but it has far from deterred me. When they start talking about how crazy I am to do this, I just smile and think about what they're missing.

Sorry to hear about your illness and hospitalization but glad to hear you are 'on the mend' and looking to complete your AFF. I too, am counting the days until spring, warmer weather, and getting back in the sky. Until then, take care and I hope each day finds you feeling better and getting stronger.

Thoughts, prayers, and best wishes go out to you, your dad, and entire family!

What a heartfelt and beautiful tribute to your brother! Thank you for sharing. 'Nothing that is loved is ever lost ... No one who has touched a life, who has brought beauty to the world, is ever truly gone." My deepest sympathies to all who knew & loved him.

Congrats Pat! and what a way to bring in the New Year! You are a real inspiration to me and I hope I have the opportunity to jump with you one day!

Thanks for posting the link to the newspaper article and pics. They were quite moving and even though I never had the pleasure of meeting or knowing Debbie, I found myself tearing up quickly. My thoughts and prayers are with all of you in this time of loss.

Thanks to all of you for the helpful info. I'm looking forward to flying alot of different canopies and finding one that's just right for me!

How exactly DO you decide on reserve make/sizing? Should it be about the same size as your main or larger? I really have no idea and I'm glad you mentioned this. ************************ Thanks to all who replied. I know I'm asking this question WAY too early. I intend to jump student/rental equipment for a good while so I'll try to jump as many different canopies as possible. Thanks again!

I know this question is premature since I've yet to start AFF ( 2 months and counting) and I'm nowhere near ready to buy gear, but I'm curious nonetheless. I definitely plan on getting input from numerous instructors at my DZ before buying gear, but would also like to hear your opinions. I'm just getting into this sport and at 50, I don't plan on competing, swooping, or being anything other than a 'fun jumper'. When the time gets here, I want to invest my money in one rig I'll love to jump and that will last me for however many years I have in the sport. I want a docile, easy to fly canopy with soft openings, and as less prone to mals as possible (although I realize packing has alot to do with this). I weigh 145 (so with gear), I guess 175 out the door. I'm thinking maybe a Pilot 188. What would you recommend?

AWESOME myspace page and what a great cause! I've added her and wish her many successful rescues with happy, tail-wagging endings!

same here ... and this is going to be the longest winter of my life!

N/A

Yeah, I tend to be somewhat of a 'nervous flyer' in planes which still puzzles me as to why I want to get into this sport. Still, I wasn't as nervous in the plane as I expected to be. The instructors and other jumpers were great at keeping the mood light and I was surprised that I wasn't more nervous than I was. On the good side, that nervousness gives me no hesitation in jumping out because I can't wait to get out of the plane! And yeah, I think I said 'awesome' and 'amazing' about 3-4 times after I landed! I just couldn't come up with words adequate enough to describe what I'd just experienced. I'll check out the threads in Photog&Vid about the copyright issues. ALL the YouTube videos I've watched of people's jumps contain copyrighted music, so I'm not sure why mine was targeted. Mine has been the only skydiving vid I've found that had to have the audio muted for copyright infringement. I was going to try to switch out the audio but all the alternatives they offered were horrid ... so in this case, silence was golden (I guess).

Thanks Brian!

My video is now up on YouTube, albeit with muted audio due to the music copyright issue. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyy5jw_DRp8 (sorry, I don't know how to make the click-y links)

Well, I just uploaded my video to YouTube but it was 'rejected' due to copyrighted music content. Anyone else ever had this happen?

I'm 50 and just made my 1st tandem jump 2 weeks ago. It was supposed to be a 'bucket list' item for me but I am SO HOOKED, I still can't believe it. I plan on going through AFF in the spring (if I can wait that long). As for waiting until 50, I wish I'd made the 'leap' years earlier, but ... I didn't. I guess it just takes some of us longer to really learn what it means to 'live'. I know it did me. Welcome and hope to read more about your experiences here in the forums.

QuoteI went through the AFF course at Raeford including the tunnel time at ParacleteXP. I'll second what's been said: You'll probably be all over the place in the tunnel and if you're anything like me you'll be frustrated beyond belief at your lack of control -- I'm one of those type-A perfectionists that wants to be able to do everything perfectly. Heh. That being said, once I was actually jumping I was very comfortable getting stable once I was out of the plane. I think the tunnel really forces you to be much more precise with your body position. Plus, the tunnel is a lot of damn fun. Quote I'm not sure if I want to do another tandem or not before I start my AFF. I'd thought about it strictly from the standpoint of having another jump another my belt (since I won't be starting AFF until spring) and to get a little more canopy flight instruction. But I DEFINITELY think I'm going to do some tunnel time at Raeford this winter. I think that will give me alot of extra confidence as far as body stability at the beginning of AFF class. Thanks for all the input!

N/A