frustrated!!!!!!

[thecarguru 0]

I have learned sooooo much from the forums on Dropzone.com I'm just getting ready to send in my paperwork for my A license......it seems like just yesterday I made my first AFF jump off the wing of a cessna. I cherish the memory. My fourth jump the DZ owner forgot I was on radio...he was too busy...or had his head up his ass or feeding the dog. At any rate, I landed 1/2 mile from the DZ....the owner didn't even know I was missing until my AFF instructor asked where I was. Although pretty hot under the collar, I was glad to be alive. The lesson to be learned...I am responsible for my skydive...even at jump 1. The same owner recently tried to sell me a used rig which I test jumped. The PD canopy is not a student canopy....full flare takes you back up....scared the shit out of me. Second lesson, ask lots of questions. I am responsible for my gear.....if you don't know what that means...find someone who does. While in Arizona on vacation I had a great experience in Eloy. It is a class outfit. I wish I had done my AFF there. They are into safety, committed to the individual skydiver and doing tandems for the public. They asked lots of questions before putting me up in the air. The areas I was shaky on, they went over until I understood without failure. After jumping at Eloy....I decided to find a new drop zone. A DZ with rules everyone has to abide including the employees. It's worth the extra drive time knowing the DZ is committed to Safety and Training.

[Hackb431 0]

Sounds like someone needs to bonk your old DZ on the noggin to wake em up! Glad to see you are samrt enough to realize there was a problem.

Here's to hoping you find a fun and safe DZ soon to keep enjoying this great lifestyle!

HackB A.K.A. "Puppy"

[skymama 37]

Welcome to the forums!

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[Witelli 0]

Quote

My fourth jump the DZ owner forgot I was on radio...he was too busy...or had his head up his ass or feeding the dog. At any rate, I landed 1/2 mile from the DZ....the owner didn't even know I was missing until my AFF instructor asked where I was. Although pretty hot under the collar, I was glad to be alive.

I had a similar issue, I couldn't hear the radio with the winds and all on my first AFF, I just heard bits and pieces. After that I made sure I was equipped to land without any guidance. It was a bit scary but taught me a valuable lesson. You're ultimately responsible for yourself, and never to rely on anyone else. At least my AFFI wasn't off with his head up his ass, he was always there for me, you just never can be too careful. Congrats on your A, I hope to be there soon too.

[calledisrael 0]

ha. yep, my first aff jump the radio didn't work. i landed on the far edge of the field. my instructor came over and was like, why didn't you listen to me? and i was like, why didn't you talk to me?

and that's great that you went ahead and found a new dz... it's not an easy transition to make sometimes, but it's way worth it. refreshing, isn't it, to get asked questions and really learn something?

life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.
(helen keller)