celticrider67

TECHNICALLY this isn't an answer to this question. I'm comisserating and thanking those who contributed/offered suggestions. I'm an older newbie. I didn't make my first jump till I was 50. I'll turn 53 this June. Just got back from a trip to Florida. Managed 4 jumps while there including AFF2. If this works right, there should be a screen grab from the video they managed. LOOK AT MY HANDS!!! talk about not relaxed & and that creating problems with the rest of the freefall! I thought all the suggestions here were great. My home DZ is in NY so it'll be a month or 2 before I can try any of them. Wouldn't mind a reply or 2 from a jumper with more in common with me. For tiger93rsl, There was something about my 1st jump. It had me on the ground afterwards for 2 or more hrs. Just looking up. Sometimes there weren't any jumpers coming down. There's something UP THERE... and regardless of how I do it, UP THERE is somewhere I HAVE TO GET TO... no matter how long it takes. Blue skies & God bless.

Madigan... I'm over 50... and one of the things that makes me most nervous is listening to someone tell me how they have it all figured out. Do you know what you can teach someone who's got it all figured out...? Not a damn thing. Where as someone who is teachable, never has to stop learning. If I thought there was a trick to all this, I'd say the trick was to learn to love learning. I had to put booze down about the time I was 24. It was a problem for me. At 24, I wasn't a grownup and I wasn't a man. Not by any definition of those terms that I was able to articulate. I'm past that now and that particular story is perhaps long and boring to anyone not in a similar situation. The point of THAT... is I believe I was exactly where I was supposed to be. I believe that today. I also believe that I'm gonna be fine. As long as I remember a few things. What those things are might vary a little from person to person. What they are for you, I don't wanna speculate, since we don't know each other. But I don't think you can't go too far wrong if you start with these 3 things; 1-try to remain teachable. If you have an interest in skydiving, I'd say that's a good start. Not because skydiving is great... tho I think it's pretty great myself and I'm pretty new to it. But because I THINK there's a LOT to learn about it. 2- find the willingness to ask questions. There is nothing wrong with the answer "I don't know", and it's not a bad way to find out what you don't know. 3- happiness is an inside job. If I can't find a way to be happy on my own, no person and no thing is gonna do the job either. Last thing I'd like to say. I'm not sure about other families, but in my family I'd guess that what they find irreplaceable about me isn't any THING I'm outstanding at... except for maybe being me. No one else could do it nearly as well. Blue skies sir. Hope to meet you up there sometime.

DZDIVA... I owe you an apology Mam...as you might gather from my comment, I've sorta gotten sideswiped with that a few times. I should know better at my age, (52). I should exercise the restraint of tongue and pen. Which I bloody well know. Or in this case, the restraint of keyboard. Thankyou For the welcome to the sport. Your far more kind than I've a right to, especially after a knee jerk rant on my part. As soon as I figure out how, I'll see about deleting it. Again, my apologies. BS & GB.

I was on FB and the group "old school skydivers" a short while back. I'm 52, but VERY new to the sport... and as we say in another group I'm a member of... newbies dont know that they dont know. I'd asked one of those foolish questions..foolish only in so far as someone who learned enough ( and I won't say WHAT constitutes enough...) would never have asked such a question. But having gotten SOME of my college education in the field of teaching... I place a sort of value on the willingness to ask...and learn... so... when one of the old timers commented that I should bloody well know.... etc, etc, etc... I politely pointed out that I had already identified myself as someone very new to the sport and that while YES my question might be ignorant or foolish... might this not also be an opportunity for him to educate me... thus MAYBE helping this "oldschool" knowledge? Lifestyle? Attitude? Go on. I'm also a biker... so I know a very little bit about how "closed" some of these groups or communities are... or can be... I suppose what I'm getting at in a bit of a long winded way is that it doesn't get passed on unless your passing it along... otherwise... eventually what your left with has almost GOT to be... "wow... this place has changed". Its ok to make us newbies work for it... but someone will have to say THAT as well...

Flyhi... Thanks for your time and your response... your comments regarding fall rates... sounds like something I can't figure out by doing math... because right now... i don't know WHO I'll be jumping with... which brings us back to Ms Wendy's comments/advice... used it should be... assuming it doesn't prove to be a search for a unicorn... Thanks again and Blue Skies!

So, I'm new to the sport and older. 1st jump at 50. Started the reqs for my "A" license at 52. Full of all those silly questions and I don't know what i don't know. CURRENT silly question. What's the difference between and RW jumpsuit and a Competiton jumpsuit? Do these differ from student jumpsuits or are student jumpsuits just the name of suits provided on loan by the DZ? I'm wanting to pick one up over the winter. Since I live in upstate NY, we won't jump a lot at my home DZ between mid october and late march and that would seem a good time to play hurry up and wait. A few jumpers at my home DZ suggested used and Bev or Tony suits. But I'm not seeing much so I figure by end of December, order if I haven't found used.

Like a few comments I've seen on here, I'm older and very new to the sport. Made my first tandem for my 50th. I'm 52 this yr & started the reqs for my "A" license. My instructor had concerns about my having a bad left knee. I won't get into the damage, but went to the ortho who told me "if you wanna do it.. DO IT. You already need an artificial joint and you cant really damage it worse." So I'm going forward. I may pick up a little slower, but the way I look at it i wasn't gonna do 50 jumps and quit... so what difference does a few extras in getting my license matter. Yes i know I'm bugging the hell out of a lot of friends who know me & don't share or get the interest. Yes I know I likely sound like one of those annoying newbies who has no idea how silly they sound and don't know what they don't know. SO...? ! I cant let it go... and why should i? Blue skies.