Jump for Diabetes Round 3

Skydiving on a Budget

Skydiving is expensive.

I know I’ve touched on the skydiver budget before, but it’s definitely not something to be taken lightly. As someone who has gotten herself in and out of debt and round and round we go, I’ve got a handful of tidbits to share on the subject.

When you first enter the sport and do your $200 tandem (or your first $350+ AFF), thinking about pursuing your license can be scary, especially from the perspective of your wallet. It often helps that people continue to tell you that it will get cheaper once you get off student status, but honestly, that’s not always the case.

Sure, jumps to altitude are usually no more than $25 each, but people who go balls to the wall in this sport tend to spend thousands of dollars just to get started. After your student training, it’s time to buy your own gear so you’re not wasting money on renting.

Then you need to buy things like an altimeter, helmet, jumpsuit, and dytter. Then, for those who take interest in having their own videos, you’ll need a camera helmet and camera setup. Or, many people now are doing the whole GoPro/Contour thing, which tends to be a much cheaper option – and if you haven’t seen the videos before they’re very high quality!

Once you’re fully geared up, you’ll want to travel to some of the best events around. So you’ve got travel expenses, money for a good gear bag to keep your rig safe during travel…you get the idea.

Of course, there are ways to go about getting everything you want out of the sport without completely breaking the bank. Yes, gear is expensive and it is true that you get what you pay for (for the most part), but there are options…If you don’t care about matching all your gear and having the latest new toy, that’ll be a start. Places like dropzone.com and even eBay have plenty of used gear options. This is great for anyone who doesn’t mind a gently used rig/canopy/helmet, you name it. I was lucky enough to find a great deal on my first rig on dz.com, as well as a helmet that’d only been jumped a handful of times, and RW suit, freefly pants, and I’ve also been able to sell used canopies, jumpsuits and more. Don’t forget to ask around your home dropzone too, you never know who might be selling, and maybe for even cheaper than they would have online cuz they don’t have to deal with the hassle.

The other thing I recommend, for those who aren’t completely against using credit, is to have a card specifically for skydiving. You can track how much you spend and see where you can cut corners. If you’re lucky enough to be at a dropzone where the DZO will help you finance your gear orders or training, definitely take him up on that. Then you won’t have to worry about interest rates and all that jazz.

Say you’re at a smaller dropzone where this isn’t feasible, you can always look into helping out around the DZ. You might be surprised how much extra cash you can earn from packing a couple days a week or helping out with manifest, or even helping to promote the dropzone. Any little bit you can do to help might earn you a few free jumps here and there.

If you’re really trying to stick to a budget and you’re doing everything you can to scrimp and save for all those fun boogies, but you just can’t seem to make the rent payment after a week in Puerto Rico, you might want to considering picking one or two must attend boogies every year to help save on travel expenses throughout the year.

Living in cold climates in the winter can be painful, so (and I need to take my own advice on this one) it might be a good idea to stick close to the home dz when the weather is nice to you have enough to go around come winter and you’re not sitting behind the computer drooling over the pictures your friends posted on Facebook from their beach landings in PR. Not that I would know anything about that….hehe.

As you get further into the sport and start buying and selling gear, things can get even more complicated. Be sure to do a lot of talking with others about how to do this the right way so you’re no losing money or worse, getting screwed for unsafe gear. And of course, there’s a whole new set of financial challenges when you start exploring other disciplines like wingsuiting. I’m still navigating issues like this – I’m no help there.

So yes, skydiving is expensive, but there are plenty of people out there doing it, and doing it regularly, who seem to be getting along. Sure, some might be living beyond their means and taking advantage of credit, or some that are living below what they may have considered standard before they fell in love with this sport, all so they can get their adrenaline fix.

Whatever the case may be, people are making it work for them. Be sure to ask around, you might be surprised what kind of tips people have for making the financial stresses a bit less intense. What are some of your financial tips for skydiving?

Love and Blue Skies!

Ashley

Spring back into Skydiving

With the weather warming up a touch I can’t help but think about Safety Day that’s just around the corner and finally getting back in the air!

A few of my fellow jumpers in the Chicagoland area have asked me to talk about coming back to the sport after a long period off, like you know, the winter. Of course, I’m not the best person to ask since last winter I didn’t go more than 3 weeks without a skydive, so speaking from experience is going to be difficult.

Regardless, this is a great time to take a look at the challenges in coming back to the sport since so many of us will be doing so in the near future. So I’ve skimmed my resources to provide some thoughts for making your transition back to the skydiving world as smooth and painless (figuratively and literally) as possible.

• Attend Safety Day – the official USPA Safety Day is on March 12. Many dropzones choose to have theirs on different days to accommodate jumpers who might want to attend other, larger Safety Day events. Regardless, be sure to attend at least one. For those who may not realize it, Safety Day is more than just about getting back in the air / completing recurrency jumps (if the DZ you’re at is even flying that day). It’s about refreshing your memory on safety in the sky. You’ll have a chance to not only review the USPA BSRs and any changes to the SIM but also refresh on your home dropzone regulations. You’ll review landing patterns, pilot policies and have a chance to hear from the S&TA. I can’t stress the importance of this day enough. You might be surprised how much has fallen out of that brain of yours over the long winter months.

• Check your gear – if you weren’t due for a reserve repack or inspection, be sure to give your gear a good once over yourself. Make sure your 3 rings are in good shape, that your closing loop isn’t worn, that your pilot chute is cocked. If you doubt your last pack job on that final jump of the season, you may even want to shake out your canopy and give it a fresh pack.

• Review canopy skills – I’m a big believer in being a safe and competent canopy pilot; it could save your life. You never know when that rogue student might enter your landing pattern and necessitating a last minute adjustment. Parachutist Online has a great article on becoming a better canopy pilot. This is a start, but if you haven’t before, a canopy course is always a good idea. That’s high on my priority list this year for certain!

• SIM on the go – I mentioned this yesterday on Twitter but if you’re an iPhone user, be sure to download the USPA SIM app. What a better way to stay fresh on those BSRs than by having them in your pocket? You can download the app here or by searching USPA SIM in the app store.

• Watch and read to learn - as I mentioned a couple weeks ago in my currency post, I can’t recommend enough watching videos and reading indicent reports to help you learn what not to do. Get the butterflies out by watching a few cutaway videos, find out what went wrong in seemingly routine skydives that ended in injury or even death by scanning your Parachutists and Dropzone.com incidents. Learning from others mistakes can possibly save your life.

• Make that first jump a safe one - speaking of getting the butterflies out, you’re bound to have some on that first skydive back. I certainly did, even after I was only out for 3 weeks. I imagine it being a bit more intense this year. If you don’t need a recurrency jump with a coach/instructor, make sure that first jump back is with someone you trust and/or someone you’ve flown with a lot. A 16-way zoo dive likely isn’t the best way to get back in the air, just a thought.

I’m sure this isn’t all, so let’s hear it from those of you who’ve been around longer than little ole me….what are some of your suggestions on coming back after a long period off?

Blue skies!

Ashley

Winter To-Dos

With winter in full swing and many of us who have been on the ground since November (yes, I’m slightly ashamed by this fact) are getting the itch to do anything skydiving related, now is a great time to get those pesky little to-dos out of the way.

You know, rig inspections, reserve repacks, cypress maintenance, all those little safety things that, come May, you’ll be so thankful you did so that you’re not out of commission, or worse, spending your hard-earned cash renting gear while your Cypress is in for it’s 4-year.

So if you haven’t already, pull out your reserve repack card and take a look. If you’re due anytime in the next few months, it might be time to start thinking about setting up a time for a repack so you can spend every moment of nice weather this spring doing what you love most – and no, that doesn’t mean hovering over your rigger for that last-minute repack so you can get back in the air.

Speaking personally, I’m kinda kicking myself for not having thought about this sooner. In all reality, in December I should have remembered that my Cypress is due for it’s 8-year maintenance and sent it in – especially knowing that I’m due for a reserve repack in February anyhow. For those who are new to the sport, when you’re dealing with AAD maintenance, it’ll require a reserve repack as well – do yourself a favor and time it right so you can kill two birds with one stone.

One thing to remember when you have an AAD, especially a Cypress, is that you have regular intervals where this little bomb on your back needs some TLC. Battery changes and manufacturer maintenance can come at the most inopportune times if you’re not diligent. With Cypress, you have to send the device in for two weeks – add shipping time in there and you’re looking to have your rig out of commission for the better part of three weeks. What a more convenient time to get this out of the way than during winter when, if you’re like me this year, it’s very likely you’re sitting on the ground (well, for at least 3 consecutive weeks at some point or another).

Another good suggestion, while your rigger has your gear, is to have him give it a good once over. Some riggers don’t include inspections in their reserve repack pricing, so you can’t just assume it’s going to happen. Most good riggers do take the time to look over your rig, after all, your safety is their priority (if it wasn’t they wouldn’t waste their time getting paid pennies to ensure you have a reliable back up ride in case of emergency, now would they?). But you can’t just assume that’s going to be the case as every rigger is different.

Take time this winter to establish a rapport with your rigger. Let him learn about you, your skydiving habits, your wants and desires in the sport. Build up a little trust in this person who may be packing your next  reserve ride. Having a solid relationship with your rigger will help, trust me. Besides, if they know that you typically throw your rig on the bottom of the closet in your damp basement, at least they’ll know to look for black mold during a repack.

For those that didn’t catch it, that was a bit of sarcasm. Please, never, ever store your rig in an unsafe place. Invest in a gear bag, keep it in a cool, dry place. We may all be thrill seekers, but most skydivers I know don’t seriously have a death wish…

Alright, enough with the black death talk. Point here is, take care of your gear. Do it now before the weather turns nice and you’re spending a day on the ground because your reserve repack date was on the most beautiful day of the spring.

Blue Skies!

Ashley

I’d rather be skydiving: Segway Edition

For my regular readers, y’all are aware of the fact that I recently made a rather hefty life change and moved back to the Midwest (as I grew up a Michigander), to the city of Chicago. Though we’ve only been here two weeks, I can already tell you that I’m loving it!

This past weekend Rick and I decided to be tourists in our new town and go on a segway tour of the city. I know it’s sounds insanely cheesy coming from the mouth (er, uh, I suppose it would be fingers in this instance) of a skydiver, but this was incredibly fun!

This is what a segway looks like, for those who might not be familiar. And yes, we wore the ridiculous looking helmets.

Our reservations were on Saturday, which ended up being the perfect fall day, and we spent three hours on these machines touring the city without breaking a sweat.

We were able to cover somewhere between 8 and 10 miles and catch the Chicago sights, including:

Soldier Field

Grant Park and Buckingham Fountain

Shedd Aquarium and Museum Campus

Alder Planetarium - which boasts the best view of the Chicago skyline

Millennium Park and the most photographed piece of art in Chicago - Bonus points for those who actually know the name of "the bean"

And they even stopped just outside of museum campus to let us chow down on a Chicago Dog:

If you've never had one, they're a must try!

Of course, the weekend wasn’t complete without a trip to the dropzone where, as I mentioned earlier this week, I got my new canopy all hooked up, flew it for and packed it. Maybe in the near future I’ll do a post on tips for packing new canopies…though in the meantime if you know of any, please send them my way, that thing is a bitch to pack!

Love and Blue Skies!

Ashley

It’s all custom!

Well it’s official, my brand new custom rig is complete thanks to the recent addition of my Sabre2 120. It came last week and I’ve been so excited to see it – even more so to fly it!

Custom teal with black ribs, one white and one black cell. LOVE!

Thankfully, CSC has plenty of riggers on staff that don’t mind helping a girl out. Though I’ve seen slinks put together a couple handful of times, I’m still not confident to do it myself. What can I say, I like to have someone who really knows what they’re doing make sure I’m squared away.

Between Doug (the dzo) and two rigger friends it was hooked up in no time. The hard part, was that first pack job. Ugh! Even though I was packing a 120 into a bag and container sized for a 135, it was still a bitch to get in there. It took me 2 attempts to get the slippery ass canopy into the bag, and another three attempts to get my container closed. But let me tell you what, it was worth the struggle.

That first jump was a three way freefly fun jump with Rick and Stephanie. We did a knee lock exit, of sorts, and broke off into a campfire sit. I have to admit my head wasn’t totally in the freefall as I was anticipating deployment.

I was going to pull a bit high, but by the time we broke off and I felt I’d sufficiently tracked away, I was at 3 grand.

The opening was a bit squirrely, with a long, long snivel but sloppy pack job could have lots to do with the weirdness. Once I got situated under canopy I was in heaven. Once again I had a canopy that responded to my direction and I managed to get to the ground in a decent amount of time. The flare was nice and strong…light winds and the landing was tip toe.

I couldn’t be more excited about this canopy. Thanks PD!

It’s too bad that the end of the season is so near. I just might have to plan a warm weather trip for the near future…any suggestions?

Blue skies!

Ashley

Review: Infinity Containers, part 2

So for those who are paying attention, yes, this is my second review on the Infinity containter – but this time, I’m a little wiser, so I’d like to share a few aspects of this brand that keep me coming back for more.

Earlier this season I was talking to a fellow jumper who was looking to buy her own gear. She, like me, was on the smaller side, looking for a rig that not only fits her, but held a moderate size canopy. Most of the used small rigs out there hold 120s and below – not ideal for the recent A-licensed skydiver.

Of course, I wasn’t planning to sell off my gear so quickly, but when I saw a jumper in need, I took the opportunity to not only help her out, but to go down the path of ordering brand new custom gear myself. When it came to a container, naturally, I went with Infinity again.

(Brand new out of the box!)

The container has since been packed with a brand new PDR 126 and I’m currently sporting a green and white Triathlon 135 until my custom Sabre 2 -120 arrives.

(Packing up! *Photo by Steve Mead)

Here’s what I LOVE about this container:

1) Integrated secondary riser cover. Not only does this keep everything in place, whether you’re freeflying or belly flying, but it looks slick. It’s all one seamless piece.

(*Photo by VSE)

2) Bridle cover within the bottom flap. My old Infinity didn’t have this feature, and I have to say, for freeflying it’s the only way to go. I have no doubt that my bridle is secure when I’m out there on my feet and (attempting to make it) on my head.

(*Photo by VSE)

3) The people! I’m a big believer in customer service can make or break a company. Between Kelly, Tony and Gail, I was given the most incredible customer service ever – even when I was a total pain and asking Tony to send me pictures of fabric colors. Gail even went so far as to send me a picture of my rig before she shipped it off because she knew how excited I was. It’s little things like that that go a long, LONG way in my book. Love these guys!

4) Speaking of colors – the color options they have available are some of the best I’ve seen. I love that they have a charcoal option aside from the lighter silver. And I can’t say enough about the neon blue. Oh come on, you know color matters in this sport – don’t fool yourself, it’d matter to you too!

(All dressed in my Freak N Suit and Infinity…two of my favorite skydiving brands! *Photo by Steve Mead)

5) Sizing. It fits perfectly! Beyond perfectly. Since it was made for my measurements, it’s one of the most comfortable things I’ve ever put on my back. And as I’m flailing in the sky, I don’t even realize it’s there. This new one is so little and compact too!

6) All the little features like stainless hardware, articulated harness, completely freefly friendly…even the angled tuck tab for easy pin checks.

Needless to say, I’m a huge Infinity fan. Those crazy kids over at Velocity Sports Equipment really know what they’re doing! They got me hooked – I’ll forever be an Infinity users. Thanks guys, for an incredible product with impeccable service!

Blue skies!

Ashley

A little on downsizing

This weekend Rick and I headed to Start Skydiving in Middleton, Ohio with our friend Joe for a weekend of “all you can eat” skydiving as we were calling it. They were running a special, $210 for all the jumps you can make in a weekend. We had to take advantage of that!

The first day we made 10 skydives, so Sunday we jumped for free! That’s good stuff right there.

We also were able to make night jumps for our D-license requirements. This is a great dropzone to do night jumps, the LZ is huge and the hangar lights shine into part of the designated landing area so if you’re accurate you can see your feet as you land, making it pretty cakey if you ask me.

Lots of great freefly jumps were made this weekend, too! More docks than I’ve ever made in a single weekend, and my partner and I realized just how much we’re getting it together. Fall rate is less of an issue than it’s ever been and we spend most of our jumps face to face, docking on each other. I LOVE skydiving with him!!

I also was able to demo a “new” canopy this weekend. On the first jump of the weekend we were teamed up with one of the local freeflyers who mentioned that he had a Sabre2 for sale. This got my attention as that’s what I’ve had my eyes open for lately – but when he mentioned it was a 120, I was hesitant.

After a few conversations with trusted friends and fellow jumpers, I felt confident that I could fly it. So I took it for a spin on a hop ‘n pop. I went without a weight belt, or even a jumpsuit, just to get a flavor of how it flew. It opened like a dream…definitely a different story than my Sabre 1. The responsiveness is incredible, pull a toggle and it goes! Landing was a breeze too – the flare is nice and strong, so even coming in a little hot I’m able to get it to slow up enough to tiptoe out.

So, I decided to take it for a full-altitude skydive on the next jump, weight belt, jumpsuit and all. Sure enough, I loved it just as much on this jump too!

I continued to use this canopy throughout the weekend – even through night jumps. It finally feels like I’m in charge of the canopy and I can make it do what I want…and I’m not staying in the sky for 10 minutes! So I brought it home for my rigger to inspect…fingers crossed.

Now, here’s my disclaimer. For anyone who is counting, I skipped a step in the canopy downsize process. I started on a Triathlon 160, downsized to a Sabre 1 150 and now I’m on to a 120. As I mentioned earlier, I was hesitant when he said 120, I even mentioned that “it’d be great if it was a 135,” but given that I’m about 130 pounds out the door, those with much more experience than me advised that I’d be alright.

Normally, I wouldn’t recommend people skip steps in downsizing like this, but every person is different and it all depends on your flying ability and what you want to do with the canopy. After almost 10 jumps on it, I definitely feel confident. This canopy gives me room to grow. There’s so much I can do with it over time. And for right now, as a pretty conservative canopy pilot, it gets me to the ground quickly and safely.

So when it comes time to downsize, demoing is a good idea. You never know what you might be getting yourself into, so try before you buy and see what’s right for you.

Blue skies!

Ashley

Purchasing Gear

This is something I’m starting to feel like I’ve become an expert at: buying skydiving gear.

Last July I bought my first rig off dropzone.com. I just happened to be surfing online at 2am when it popped up. I was one of 5 people to respond within the first few hours. But luckily, I was the first and had dibs. The entire rig had 70 jumps on it. I thought for sure I’d keep it a long time.

Fast forward to Safety Day this year when a student, who is also a small girl, overhears me saying that I’m planning to downsize and want to sell my canopy. She was all over it. So I just happened to mention that my rig might fit…so she tried it on. Sure enough, she fell in love with it.

That’s when I realized it was time to start looking for new gear, again. Wait, didn’t I just do this?

So, being the mildly obsessive girl that I am, I went home and printed off at least 20 Infinity container order forms, pulled out my markers and colored pencils and went to work designing the perfect rig. I’d told myself I was going to get away from the electric purple and blue color scheme, go with something a little more “me.”

I tinkered with Spartan colors (green and white) but it just didn’t do anything for me. I tried my hardest to find a way to use their blue violet color, mainly because it was unique, but I still just wasn’t pleased. So after weeks of playing with colors I finally settled on a design.

And guess what: my new rig is blue and purple (and black). Turns out that color scheme was me after all.

Naturally, after placing that order it was time to get a matching freefly suit. So I called up my new friend Angela over at Freak n’ Suits and gave her a rundown of what I was looking for – but ultimately I wanted to give her creative freedom to make it look how she thought would be best.

Less than a month later my suit arrived! It fits perfect, and the colors are incredible! I highly recommend the electric blue for any suit that Angela makes for you. I couldn’t be happier with mine!

(Hard to tell just how bad ass the suit really is in this photo.)

Of course, the ordering process still is not complete. I need to get with Performance Designs to order my PD reserve – though that shouldn’t be too difficult as I’m just going to get stock white. And of course I’ve spent plenty of hours on PDs online canopy designer trying to find the perfect colors for the Sabre2 135 that I’m thinking of purchasing.


As you can see, purchasing gear can be a very involved process, especially when ordering new. But, in the end, when everything fits you like it should because it’s custom made for YOU, it’s worth it!


Needless to say the buying is never complete in this sport. Just when you think you’ve got it all, there’s the newest toy or shiny object you just HAVE to have.

My rig is scheduled for delivery in mid-July. When it arrives you can be sure  to find pictures of my newest toys right here!

Blue skies!

Ashley

Flying with weight

A few weeks back I decided to open my wallet for a piece of equipment that I’ve been told time and time again I would eventually need to fly with, but I’ve been too stubborn to purchase.

I don’t like being told that I’m going to need something in order to accomplish what I want in freefall. Sure, we all need parachutes, that’s a given. But when I was told I would need a weight belt (or vest) to keep up with others in freefly (and on my belly too, though you’ll rarely catch me there), the stubborn ass in me came out.

“I can just stand and catch up if I need to.”

Well, that didn’t prove to work as well as I thought it would – even standing I’m still pretty floaty.

“Well then, I’ll go head down to catch up.”

Turns out my head down skills aren’t where they should be to stick with a group of sitflyers.

“Well, what’s 10 pounds going to do anyway?”

Turns out…a lot! I’ve been flying with the belt off and on the past few weeks, forgetting it at home once, doing some solos another time, but for the most part the belt has been on. Though until this weekend, I didn’t really realize just how much of an effect it has on my fall rate.

(The first jump I did with a weight belt at Zhills. You can see a little bulk in my lower back, but nothing too terrible. In fact, it’s the same jump as my blog header – you can’t even tell I’m wearing weight there! *Photo by Aaron Stocum)

Jump #1 at The Ranch entailed me in a sit, looking down at my buddy Tom. Once I realized a stand was going to be necessary, he was too far gone and I, for the life of me, couldn’t stick a stable stand .

So for jump #2 I strapped on an extra 10 pounds around my waist and off we went. On this jump, I was only very slightly above him, in fact, if I would have kept a better heading and focused on driving my hips forward we could have easily made a couple good docks.

I think I was in awe of the difference the weight really made.

The rest of the weekend I worked on my fall rate changes and focused on the differences the weight makes on my skydive. I was even surprised how much I could feel the difference under canopy and coming in for a landing.

Needless to say, I’m incredibly happy with the weight. Who would have thought a girl could get so giddy about putting on 10 pounds?!

Best part is, in freefall, I don’t really even realize it’s there. I tuck the buckle back between my rig and lower back and, aside from the little jelly roll appearance it gives under my clothing, I’d never even know it was there on the skydive!

For all you floaty skydivers out there, I highly recommend strapping on a weight belt and giving it a go. It might just make all the difference in the world!

Blue skies!

Ashley