froggie 0 #1 July 2, 2001 finally.. after a long snowy winter, after repeated levels, bad landings, money holds, after hundreds of hours at the drop zone, after 3 jobs (one of which i quit), after everything that has gone on since i made the desicion to go thru the student program i have finally graduated! whoo heee! did my levels 6 & 7 on friday. It couldnt have come together more smoothly. Level six went awesome. the exit was smooth, backloops were amazing, altitude awareness was completely on, and the tracking was undescribible. Do you guys remember the first time you got those arms out from in front of you, and was truely flying, without any body parts in front of your face? the feeling was... i cant describe it. up a little bit later for level 7. this one was also a solo exit, but with one front loop and 2 360 degree turns for practice. Thanks to our very own playmate we got 15'5 on that one. by 10 grand i was done the frontloop and 2 turns. It was time to do some flat tracking. Jeff (my instructor) gave the signal and it all felt so natural. My arms came down next to my body, my legs extended and locked. my head was high, and I was ready. Tracked next to eachother for a bit. then jeff gave the signal to turn and track. This time i rolled my shoulders in, and dearched. I was actually flat tracking! The feeling i got when i changed body position; the view of truely flying, free of any interference, no arms in front of me.. I cant describe it. And i cant wait to do some real tracking dives. and an added perk? Actually 2... i burned jeff a few jumps ago when i went into a deep arch, he said i took off like a bat outta hell. and then he said that i was tracking like crazy, he couldnt catch up to me until i turned back towards him and headed that way. Its nice to hear things like that.. it really is. Cant wait to get vertical! (afer a lot of work on my belly)so how was your weekend...?? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mouth 0 #2 July 2, 2001 CONGRATS....Skydiving is so much fun!!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymedic 0 #3 July 2, 2001 Good going kel..... bout stinkin time eh?marc Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Billy 0 #4 July 2, 2001 Hay Kel!! Congats Sweety!! Nowhere to go from here but up!,, then,, down,, then up!! And Down!! repeat until broke!! Hugs and Blue Ones!!B Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhillyKev 0 #5 July 2, 2001 Congrats again, Kel! You all should have seen the smile on this girls face as she was telling me about it. Definite skygoddess in the making. Now I just have to get done AFP so we can jump together. It'll be nice seeing you in the air instead of down by the hanger :-)cielos azules y cerveza fría-Kevin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grogs 0 #6 July 2, 2001 Woohoo! Way to go Kelly. Glad to hear you finished with your AFF. Now tell John he needs to get that Steerman down to Suffolk and jump in the front seat and ride down here with him. We definitely need to do a jump together. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Dutchboy 0 #7 July 2, 2001 Congrats, Kel!The Dutchboyhttp://www.geocities.com/ppolstra Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites PLFKING 4 #8 July 2, 2001 Way to go, Kel ! See, good things happen to good people who persevere...........That PLF Guy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites sinister69 0 #9 July 2, 2001 Congrats Froggie!!!Can't wait to see you up there!Blue Skies!Sinister69 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites skymama 37 #10 July 2, 2001 Way to go, Froggie! That must be a big relief for you. Now, it's time for you to take some roadtrips and jump with the rest of us! Andrea"Up high, I feel like I'm alive for the very first time" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites froggie 0 #11 July 10, 2001 Whoo hee! dave got here on saturday night. hung out with him and his friend sean all evening after work. I seriously felt like ive known him for years. Sunday moring i worked till about 3pm. me and dave ran back to my house to grab some grub. Hung out sunday night. Lots of fun. quite an amusing evening. Monday morning woke up and started jumping. Wish dave and sean could have stayed longer but im sure they (or at least wingi) will be. now, on to the skydiving stories...okay, heres the second attempt at updating you guys on the whole skydiving thing. First time i spent half an hour typing away just to loose my connection when i was writing the last sentances! argggg! so here it is, shortened.Did jump number 13 this morning. It was going to be my high solo. Nice exit, leveled off. did a back loop, then turns. realized i had a long spot so did some flat tracking towards my holding area. waved off at 5 grand. pulled at 4'5. Realized after trying to penetrate the wind for about 1,200 feet that i had to land off at the golf course. No biggie. except that on that very same load they were doing a demo jump into the golf course with some tandem passengers that worked there. So jump no 13 turned into an accidental demo jump into the golf course. I wanted to land across the street in a field instead but i didnt know the land and didnt want to risk unfamiliar territiory when i had a better option. I so did not want to have to land in front of a bunch of whuffos. but I had to... Stood that landing up (thanks god for not embarrasing me!). Next jump was my low solo from 5 grand. As a joke i waved off in the plane (thats my normal wave off alti.). Three tandems w/ vid were on that load so the 3 camera guys all videoed my exit. Nothing like 3 cameras in your face for your pre second low solo. :) leveled out and pulled w/in 5 seconds. Nice stand up landing 5 inches from the X. After that i went ahead and rented some demo gear from square 3. For the next two jumps id be jumping a spectre 190 instead of the navigator 200 i had been jumping. The third jump of the day was a skydive U coach jump. That went really sweet. Wave off at 5 grand, turn 180 tracked for 4 seconds. I got a bit "Um, i waved off at 5, i should be pulling now not tracking!" so i ended the track early. And it wasnt anywhere near as good as the last time i tracked. Jump number 4 today was the same as number 3 but with more backwards movent in there. Nice rear float exit again, on the 'hill' i actually turned my body towards my coach. That really impressed him. Smooth freefall. 5 grand waved off, turned 180 started to track. Felt something smacking the back of my right thigh. a second later my coach is flying under and a body space over to my left. I immediately thought "pilot chute in tow, hes giving me clear airspace!". no parachute deployment but i was still bugged out. Turned out it was my damned leg strap. So i tried to track but my procedures got the better of me and i waved off and reached for the hackie. One nice hard pull, nothing. second pull, nothing, a quick third pull, nothing. grasping the silver with the left hand while giving the hackie yet another yank. Finally! it came out. Joe estimates i was under a good canopy at 2 grand. Thats scary.okay, heres the lessons learned: 1) landing off is going to happen. its okay. expect the unexpected. adjust the landing pattern. be very aware of other canopies in the air with you. what your comfortable with (as far as space goes) they may not be. You see them but they assume you dont. So give a little extra since youre assuming they doubt your canopy skills. 2) low solos are fun! sub terminal openings are schweeet! 3) A few more practices on the two stage flare up high are necessary. 2 or 3 just dont cut it. A good PLF almost gaurentees youre at the least limping away :) 4) pack your own gear. if you cant pack your own gear know the person whos packing for you, know their skill. After 2 attempts and having a no pull realize youre in a high speed malfunction and pull the friggin silver. Those extra 2 attempts could have killed me 70,80,90 jumps down the road when im waving off at 3,500 feet. Now i know. so, four jumps today. a great end to a great weekend. lessons learned on every skydive. id say it was a great weekend and an amazing day of jumping. kelly Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites mouth 0 #12 July 10, 2001 Deland Aug 4-5 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Donna 0 #13 July 10, 2001 Congratulations, Kelly!! Sounds like you are doing great! Scary on that hard pull. Glad it worked out good! You sound like a natural! Skies,D Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites chrissylicious 0 #14 August 28, 2006 Well, you shouldnt have quit that 3rd job since you owe me like a couple hundred bucks I was really counting on that money so I could get a boob job. Thanks for nothen Oh, by the way congrats on your graduation"I will stick you with a rope"- ME Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Reply to this topic... × Pasted as rich text. Paste as plain text instead Only 75 emoji are allowed. × Your link has been automatically embedded. Display as a link instead × Your previous content has been restored. Clear editor × You cannot paste images directly. 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Dutchboy 0 #7 July 2, 2001 Congrats, Kel!The Dutchboyhttp://www.geocities.com/ppolstra Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PLFKING 4 #8 July 2, 2001 Way to go, Kel ! See, good things happen to good people who persevere...........That PLF Guy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sinister69 0 #9 July 2, 2001 Congrats Froggie!!!Can't wait to see you up there!Blue Skies!Sinister69 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymama 37 #10 July 2, 2001 Way to go, Froggie! That must be a big relief for you. Now, it's time for you to take some roadtrips and jump with the rest of us! Andrea"Up high, I feel like I'm alive for the very first time" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
froggie 0 #11 July 10, 2001 Whoo hee! dave got here on saturday night. hung out with him and his friend sean all evening after work. I seriously felt like ive known him for years. Sunday moring i worked till about 3pm. me and dave ran back to my house to grab some grub. Hung out sunday night. Lots of fun. quite an amusing evening. Monday morning woke up and started jumping. Wish dave and sean could have stayed longer but im sure they (or at least wingi) will be. now, on to the skydiving stories...okay, heres the second attempt at updating you guys on the whole skydiving thing. First time i spent half an hour typing away just to loose my connection when i was writing the last sentances! argggg! so here it is, shortened.Did jump number 13 this morning. It was going to be my high solo. Nice exit, leveled off. did a back loop, then turns. realized i had a long spot so did some flat tracking towards my holding area. waved off at 5 grand. pulled at 4'5. Realized after trying to penetrate the wind for about 1,200 feet that i had to land off at the golf course. No biggie. except that on that very same load they were doing a demo jump into the golf course with some tandem passengers that worked there. So jump no 13 turned into an accidental demo jump into the golf course. I wanted to land across the street in a field instead but i didnt know the land and didnt want to risk unfamiliar territiory when i had a better option. I so did not want to have to land in front of a bunch of whuffos. but I had to... Stood that landing up (thanks god for not embarrasing me!). Next jump was my low solo from 5 grand. As a joke i waved off in the plane (thats my normal wave off alti.). Three tandems w/ vid were on that load so the 3 camera guys all videoed my exit. Nothing like 3 cameras in your face for your pre second low solo. :) leveled out and pulled w/in 5 seconds. Nice stand up landing 5 inches from the X. After that i went ahead and rented some demo gear from square 3. For the next two jumps id be jumping a spectre 190 instead of the navigator 200 i had been jumping. The third jump of the day was a skydive U coach jump. That went really sweet. Wave off at 5 grand, turn 180 tracked for 4 seconds. I got a bit "Um, i waved off at 5, i should be pulling now not tracking!" so i ended the track early. And it wasnt anywhere near as good as the last time i tracked. Jump number 4 today was the same as number 3 but with more backwards movent in there. Nice rear float exit again, on the 'hill' i actually turned my body towards my coach. That really impressed him. Smooth freefall. 5 grand waved off, turned 180 started to track. Felt something smacking the back of my right thigh. a second later my coach is flying under and a body space over to my left. I immediately thought "pilot chute in tow, hes giving me clear airspace!". no parachute deployment but i was still bugged out. Turned out it was my damned leg strap. So i tried to track but my procedures got the better of me and i waved off and reached for the hackie. One nice hard pull, nothing. second pull, nothing, a quick third pull, nothing. grasping the silver with the left hand while giving the hackie yet another yank. Finally! it came out. Joe estimates i was under a good canopy at 2 grand. Thats scary.okay, heres the lessons learned: 1) landing off is going to happen. its okay. expect the unexpected. adjust the landing pattern. be very aware of other canopies in the air with you. what your comfortable with (as far as space goes) they may not be. You see them but they assume you dont. So give a little extra since youre assuming they doubt your canopy skills. 2) low solos are fun! sub terminal openings are schweeet! 3) A few more practices on the two stage flare up high are necessary. 2 or 3 just dont cut it. A good PLF almost gaurentees youre at the least limping away :) 4) pack your own gear. if you cant pack your own gear know the person whos packing for you, know their skill. After 2 attempts and having a no pull realize youre in a high speed malfunction and pull the friggin silver. Those extra 2 attempts could have killed me 70,80,90 jumps down the road when im waving off at 3,500 feet. Now i know. so, four jumps today. a great end to a great weekend. lessons learned on every skydive. id say it was a great weekend and an amazing day of jumping. kelly Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Donna 0 #13 July 10, 2001 Congratulations, Kelly!! Sounds like you are doing great! Scary on that hard pull. Glad it worked out good! You sound like a natural! Skies,D Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chrissylicious 0 #14 August 28, 2006 Well, you shouldnt have quit that 3rd job since you owe me like a couple hundred bucks I was really counting on that money so I could get a boob job. Thanks for nothen Oh, by the way congrats on your graduation"I will stick you with a rope"- ME Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
