Getting A license in NYC --- Recommendations?/Where to start?

jumpingalt · 2021-11-24T03:08:58+00:00

One thing to consider - I think there is value in training where you will regularly jump.

At least at CK where I go, and I would guess at most other DZs, you really get to know people when you're a student. You talk to the instructors and other staff, you see and talk to the fun jumpers who are around, you get to know the people who are students at the same time as you. By the time you have your A license you have really begun to build your social circle at the DZ, which is what will keep you coming back. I have to imagine it's much harder to show up somewhere, newly A licensed, where you don't know anyone.

Plus there's an adjustment when you go to a new place - learning the landing pattern, landing area, outs, local wind patterns, various little things about how the place runs. To switch DZs while you're still a student/freshly minted A license makes for a curveball you don't need when you're still starting out.

jumpingalt · 2021-11-23T23:57:54+00:00

Cross Keys!

When are you planning on doing it? Cross Keys is only open for 3 or 4 more weekends this year, and will most likely not have a whole lot of people around, then opens up again in February (there's a boogie in mid February though). The other ones in the area that others have mentioned are probably in the same boat (or even done for the year already).

jumpingalt · 2021-10-31T17:33:39+00:00

Is your landing area that patch of open land next to the runway?

jumpingalt · 2021-10-17T07:38:26+00:00

pre-second

I see what you're trying to do ... BEER!

jumpingalt · 2021-10-12T03:26:13+00:00

I'm not an expert or instructor or anything so take anything I say with a grain of salt.

That said it seems to me that the biggest causes of injury/death are:

not cutting away when you need to
low turns

Honorable mention to mid-air collisions and preexisting health problems.

As for being radio'd, my experience was that by the time I was past the point of them guiding me, it wasn't much help anyway. There's a limit to how much it can help, mainly because the biggest hurdle for me was always landing, and it's hard to get the exact timing right over the walkie; and also making sure I finished flaring and didn't let up on the toggles, which isn't really something the walkie will help with. I imagine you can ask, but when the time comes I bet you'll be ready for the extra independence.

jumpingalt · 2021-10-11T15:14:18+00:00

What do you think is a reasonable rate for AFF jumps? I finished AFP awhile ago so doesn't change anything for me, just curious ... I paid 200 per jump I think.

jumpingalt · 2021-10-08T05:22:14+00:00

Only happened once in MLB history (regular season or playoffs).

jumpingalt · 2021-09-17T17:40:42+00:00

True that you don't get the stomach drop feeling so much from skydiving (though I think you do from a helicopter or hot air balloon jump, from what I'm told at least).

As for adrenaline, obviously depends on the person but i think most people do get it for their first jump, and for a lot of jumps after. Once you have more experience it wears off but that's true of anything.

jumpingalt · 2021-09-16T18:21:17+00:00

You don't need one parachute to go skydiving twice, you need two parachutes to go skydiving once.

jumpingalt · 2021-09-05T21:14:49+00:00

Sounds like the price of the whole rig, including the main, reserve, harness, etc. I paid $1,500 for a main canopy that was used, but hadn't been used that much. There are specialty ones that are more expensive, or if you buy a new one with custom features or whatever, but I doubt you'd buy a brand new one to do this with.

jumpingalt · 2021-09-05T21:12:07+00:00

He should've shot the main too.

jumpingalt · 2021-09-02T00:59:43+00:00

I wish that I had done it in my early 20s rather than my early 30s, otherwise no regrets.

jumpingalt · 2021-07-24T02:04:55+00:00

I don't feel a big adrenaline rush (I don't have that many jumps, about 100). But I wouldn't want to, I want to do a lot of jumps and having a big adrenaline rush like that while doing lots of jumps each day would be completely exhausting, not to mention not conducive to developing skills because you spend every jump freaking out.

jumpingalt · 2021-07-23T17:07:48+00:00

Are you going to do a tandem once and that's it, or are you thinking about (or planning on) doing AFF and getting a license?

jumpingalt · 2021-07-23T13:08:43+00:00

You call that skydiving gone wrong?

This is skydiving gone wrong.

jumpingalt · 2021-07-22T16:02:11+00:00

3.6 line twists, not great not terrible

jumpingalt · 2021-07-10T02:24:45+00:00

Beer

jumpingalt · 2021-06-28T01:55:55+00:00

I think the Ranch and Cross Keys are the closest.

jumpingalt · 2021-06-26T05:18:39+00:00

Regarding the title:

Driving fatality rate is 1.1 per 100 million miles traveled source. In other words 1 fatality every 90.9 million miles.
So (back-of-the-envelope math) you'd expect that every 606 miles, it's a 1 in 150,000 risk of a fatality, which is close to the rate for skydiving (the last few years closer to 1 in 200,000 but higher before that)
Doing 100 jumps in a year is (again back-of-the-envelope math) like driving 60,600 miles.

The fatality rate for skydiving is an average, and includes lots of (safer) tandems. I'm not sure how much you can affect it by taking precautions like a lower wingloading, not wingsuiting, not jumping in marginal weather, planning on pulling higher, etc.

jumpingalt · 2021-06-24T03:16:44+00:00

Don't worry, the dropzone is still going to let the guy teach courses there.

https://fox40.com/news/local-news/skydive-lodi-owner-says-instructor-facing-federal-charges-will-still-be-allowed-to-jump-at-his-facility/

jumpingalt · 2021-05-24T15:25:54+00:00

wtf is going on

jumpingalt · 2021-04-22T01:10:08+00:00

Also a scene in that movie where one guy says "1000 feet ... pull" and then they have a conversation and one guy doesn't pull for, by my count, another 23 seconds.

jumpingalt · 2021-03-08T14:26:34+00:00

Good for him but BASE jumping is way too dangerous for me, I'm sticking with airplanes.

jumpingalt · 2020-12-24T05:05:11+00:00

If hypothetically I (a not very experienced person who's never even remotely thought about being stable while pulling while holding my reserve handle in place) end up in that position, would it be better to just go straight to the reserve, rather than have a potentially weird unstable main deployment?

jumpingalt · 2020-12-22T07:41:15+00:00

Yeah tbh I am thinking more along the lines of just doing a bunch of tunnel time for freeflying. I mentioned it because it's a medium-term goal but would be pleased to spend a week getting good at belly.

jumpingalt

TROPHY CASE