I Got My 'A' License!

I completed the exam and check dive at Carolina Sky Sports in North Carolina. The staff there is awesome. They spent literally ALL DAY tutoring and quizzing me, and answering a ton of my questions.
Their student program is top notch, with several instructors who really put a lot of effort into making sure their students know all the procedures and safety information. I was really amazed at how available and helpful they are. They drilled me on the information all day and were very encouraging through the whole process.
I also got a jump in at Sebastian on my way home and have 45 jumps.

Good News/Bad News

The rental rig I have complained about several times just got a new main canopy! This means the lines and risers will be replaced. That's very good. The bad news is that they replaced it with a 190sqft canopy.

The only 170sqft rental rig remaining is number 8. There are a few of us that rent the 170's, so we'll probably not be able to get gear some days now.

At least no one is going to die on the thing!
:-)

Brad Jumped

Sorry, no pictures as promised. Brad did jump and had a great time. He said it was awesome. I was on the same load and jumped twice that day

Brad Is Jumping Friday

My brother Brad is scheduled to do a tandem jump this Friday at 9:30. Should be cool! I'll post some details and pics afterwards.

I'll probably get to go on the same load also :-)

Kiddos got the DZ tour!

On the way back from Blue Springs Sara fell asleep. Yes! I made a slight detour from our intended route and drove us to the drop zone before she could stop me! Lily and Marshall had never seen the place, so I thought I could give them the tour and if time allowed maybe make a jump.

They loved it! We saw the Otter (jump plane) coming in for a steep landing right after we got out of the car. They were really excited to see the jumpers coming in too. We walked around and Lily got in a few practice exits out of the mockup aircraft door which is located near the loading area.
They met a couple of the other instructors and got to talk with Dee too.

I did manage to get on the last load and make a jump. It was a little crazy and gets a post of it's own.

Lily helped me check my rig and learned a few things about how it works. It was her first time seeing one. Marshall called it my backpack. Lily is ready to jump. Anyone know of a drop zone that would believe she's 18??

Thanksgiving Jump!?

I'm hoping to get a jump in on Thanksgiving morning. We'll be camping at Blue Springs, which is about two hours away. I'll leave the campsite early (hopefully), get a couple of jumps in and return by early afternoon.

Sara did a tandem!

Today was pretty cool. Sara did her first jump ever, a tandem with Uwe. She was a little scared but had a really good time. She said it was great and she's really happy she did it. Not something she'll be doing often though :-0

I'll post pictures tomorrow.

Way to go SARA!

Try Skydiving?!?!

Here's a short list of the crap people come up with when asked if they would like to join me/us for a skydive. To make it easy for you I've rated them on a scale of 1-10 so you'll know which ones work the best.

1. Money- Can't argue with that, but geez how many times do you eat out a month?
score: 8

2. Danger- Total crap. It's unfamiliar, not dangerous. Look up the statistics you wus.
score: 3

3. Physical limitations- If you're over 230lbs, have health problems, or are pregnant you're probably right and you can't do it.
score: 10

3. I am a Mother/Father- See #2.
score: 3

4. My Husband/Wife won't let me- Divorce or suicide, either would be an improvement for you.
score: who cares, find a gun

5. Time- You are full of shit.
score: 1

6. I'm busy on Sundays when you go- Pick a day. I would love an excuse to go.
score: 6

7. I'm scared- I can't blame you for that. I was pretty scared my first time too. See you Sunday.
score: 2

8. I have no one to watch the kid(s)- I was hoping you wouldn't read this far. I have no response for this one. You can't go.
score: 10

Thought of another one? Let me know.

Wind Tunnel Time Reserved!!

I called Jason today and reserved 25 minutes of wind tunnel time in Orlando on the 11th! I'm taking the wife (Sara), kids (Lily and Marshall), and anybody else I can talk into making the drive.

Lily is excited to go and has practiced her form with me a few times. She's really good at it. Marshall is excited too, but I'm afraid the real thing might scare him a little.

I can't wait to do it! I plan on jumping level 5 this Sunday, 9/2 also.

Intro 2- Why?

Well, a few days before my 30th birthday I decided I needed to do something a little crazy to commemorate the special day. I'm sure my family and friends already had something planned that was absolutely INSANE and wonderful.............. hmmm, but I thought I would steal their thunder and sign up to jump out of a perfectly good aircraft.

The fear of heights was a little bit of a worry, but what better way to welcome my 30's!

I actually managed to keep my intentions secret also. I did tell my good friend Korby just in case something went wrong. He's the guy I knew wouldn't spill the beans.

Intro 1- Here we go

This blog is an effort to save my friends and family hours of boredom.

Anyone with a Skydiveaholic in their life can certainly appreciate this. I hope it will ease the pain of those who have felt trapped into listening to my ramblings about skydiving. It may (unlikely) also serve to help and inform someone who may be considering an addiction of their own.

I'll post descriptions of my jumps here and also scanned images of the verbal beatings and/or constructive comments posted to my log book by the instructors.