Aff A jump didn't feel like I passed but cleared for cat b

[rogerpidactor 0]

Hi All. Been lurking for a few monthes getting ready for my first free fall. Had 27 military static jumps 14 years ago, fjc and aff A was Saturday.
Had a good exit, good arch and COA. Practice pulls were a fiasco! First one I grabbed around everywhere, vid shows me grabbing halfway up the rig. JM PLACED hand on the pc, second one grabbed around everywhere again and finally got ahold of mainside's altimeter which felt wrong but went for the third attempt after that. Grabbed around AGAIN a split second, but located it and felt right. Looked at the alt, and I was at 6000. Thought, "holy &@$& that went fast time to pull in a second!" Reserve side give me the "PULL!!!" and the index finger. (Found out later he recognized me fooling around on the practice pulls and called it by that point.) Reached immediately and pulled at 5700. No problem grabbing it when it was without thinking about reaching for it. Both said I exited great, arched good and pulled at correct alt. cleared for cat b. Can't help but feel that shoulda went better and disappointed in my performance. Sunday is next 2 maybe 3 cats. Any tips/comments welcome. I have read how you guys can be so I got my big boy undies on!!lol!

[FlyingRhenquest 1]

Heh. Make sure you can find the hackey on the ground. And on the plane. And then check to make sure you can find it again. And don't forget to pay attention to your altitude! Oh and welcome to the sport!

I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

[ianyapxw 0]

Welcome to the sport! Hope you have fun and blue skies

rogerpidactor

Looked at the alt, and I was at 6000.

So did you check your altimeter only once throughout the skydive?

[Trafficdiver 8]

You pulled at the right altitude.

Who gives a shit about the practice pulls.

Good work.

[rogerpidactor 0]

Exited at 10000, I did one COA was at like 9100 then, adjusted legs a little based on the hand signal from main side JM and then started practice pulls by the time I got it right and started next COA I was at 6000. Every dirt dive I practice that day I was doing like two more coa's after the practice pulls so I was a little surprised to see how long it had taken me to do those. I learned a valuable lesson in that don't get caught up being determined to do something and let that get in the way of checking in on my alt. kinda scared me to be honest.

[ianyapxw 0]

Yep that's a valuable lesson!

Great you learnt it so early on

[JBR 0]

when I did may AFF a couple of months ago I managed to grab everything but my hacky when doing practice pulls, practice on the ground and on your way up and you'll be fine. I grabbed my instructors alti at least three times, then his wrist a couple of times too. I'm only 20 something jumps in now but don't even have to think about where it is, I just reach and it's where I'm putting my hand, it's all about muscle memory.

[Andy_Collins 0]

I also have a nice video of level 1 AFF not being able to find my Handle. I almost found the cutaway handle and got pulled at 6000. Turns out I was simply not fully extending my arm and that's why I wasn't getting anywhere near it.

After my next jump I had no bother though, as soon as I started extending my arm fully

[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

[rogerpidactor 0]

Thanks for the welcomes and the pointers!! Glad to have a good resource for questions. Also thanks for the encouragement. Feel pretty sure a little calmness and relaxation, as hard as that is for a noob, would have done the trick. Gonna try real hard to employ that into my next dive. Can't hurt. Thanks again everyone!

[Di0 2]

They're called "practice" pulls for a reason! :)
The way you describe seems like a pretty darn successfull 1st jump to me!
Congratulation and welcome to the sport and the forums.

I'm standing on the edge
With a vision in my head
My body screams release me
My dreams they must be fed... You're in flight.

[dthames 0]

Tip: remember you are in training.

If it went perfect you would not really need much training.

You can expect good preformance from yourself and train to deliver it. But it will not happen very often. Certainly not at first. But don't beat youself up if you are not up to your own standards. Listen carefully to the instructors feedback and adjust accordingly.

What you feel you might need to do better on, you can work on the next jump. Your instructors will know when you need to spend more time on one thing or another.

Read/Study the SIM section 4 so you will better understand what you are being taught at the DZ. Lots of good stuff in the SIM.

Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

[CorvusCrypto 0]

Sounds like you killed everything else which is awesome. I can't wait to freefall man, you make it seems so exciting while I'm over here nervous for the first solo hop and pop xD haha

"I would rather be ashes than dust. I would rather be a majestic eagle riding a missile across the sky with sparklers than be an old couch potato." - Jack London (paraphrased)