Archive for the 'Skydiver blogs' Category

I’ve finished my AFF course!

Published on January 27, 2008 in AFF and Skydiver blogs. 1 Comment

Since I’m unemployed at the moment, I’ve been able to finish my AFF course relatively quickly. I’ve yet to write about my Level 6 or level 7 (or first solo jump!). That will come later when I have the time to sort out the videos to attach to the posts.  I also need to post another interview online which was completed by Autumn Cruz.

Basia is on level 6 now. I have yet to convince her to write anything down on here. She is doing great, and her canopy landings are excellent compared to mine. My Level 7 jump I managed to land in the massive temporary lake that has appeared since the Dubai downpours last week.

I have two solo jumps tomorrow on some AFF loads which means I can exit 12,000 feet. I’m looking forward to the day I can jump from 15,000 feetin the UK. Admittedly it will be -20 in the air :(

BTW, The AFF instructor Basia and I had is Stephan Lipp, with over 14,000 jumps. How can you not trust someone whose been jumping so long. He’s a great teacher and we feel privileged to have been taught by him.

[Slashdot] [Digg] [Reddit] [del.icio.us] [Facebook] [Technorati] [Google] [StumbleUpon]

The ritual

Published on January 23, 2008 in Skydiver blogs. 0 Comments

Below is an excerpt from Autumncruz’s blog. In particular I like her post (from which the below excerpt is taken) which contemplates a 60 second freefall time versus the cost of a $22 jump ticket. How on earth am I going to rationalise a £30 pound jump ticket when I move to the UK next month. I think I’ll just read this post once more…

…enjoy the view.
close your eyes and relax.
kiss your boyfriend on the head.
make bad jokes with Dan.
geek a camera.
give a thumbs up to a tandem student.
be excited.
be quiet.

But always be alive and in the present.

Then one last mandatory ritual.

Look each person on the plane in the eye.

To each one - give a high five or peace sign. “Have a good jump.”

www.autumncruz.blogspot.com

[Slashdot] [Digg] [Reddit] [del.icio.us] [Facebook] [Technorati] [Google] [StumbleUpon]

Living the risky life

Published on January 22, 2008 in General info and Skydiver blogs. 0 Comments

I recently found a blog with some interesting skydiving articles. One particular post on this blogger’s website that I liked, discussed our everyday perception of risk. It’s also worth checking out some of the other articles on that website under the skydiving category.

Below is an excerpt from the original feature discussing risk perception.

…Few of us think of ourselves as risk takers. Skydiving, bungee jumping or street luge are not in the vocabularies most of us use to describe our daily activities. Yet we live with risk all day, every day, without jumping out of airplanes or off bridges, or zipping down the street on our backs. Most risks we take are unseen among the minutiae of getting through the day. They’re there, but few of us spend a lot of effort thinking about them. Most of us live our lives as if we could escape from risk by being careful…

[Slashdot] [Digg] [Reddit] [del.icio.us] [Facebook] [Technorati] [Google] [StumbleUpon]