Flanked my D2 category jump. How to regain confidence again?

[SFBayArea 0]

Little history, I've been steadily pushing myself to overcome that "frog brain" of mine, which was scared to death to jump from the plane. Before my first jump I imagined that once I jump for the first time the rest will be easy and not scary at all :-). Boy was I wrong. Before doing my 3rd jump I worked myself up so much that I was terrified to go through that door, I almost kicked myself out of it. Even when I jumped and safely landed I thought to myself that is it. However, week went by and I went to DZ again. When my name was called I almost found and excuse to leave the DZ, but I proceeded to my next 4th jump and I was surprised how much calmer I was on the plane comparing to just 20 min ago on the land. I jumped good and next week proceeded to my 5th jump D2 category. On that jump instructor let me completely jump out of the plane by myself, but from the standing in the door backwards to the world position, instead of a dive jump. To my surprise I let the plane go in a civilized manner :-) and started descending, but as soon as I started falling down I could not gain good arch and good stability. Though all previous jumps instructors told me that my arch is very good. So I ended up on my back. I tried to roll back to stomach, but it only worked from the second trial. Once I was on my stomach I started doing turns, but I lost lots of altitude and could not do all of the turns.
Even though I managed to turn back to my stomach those 5-10 seconds of me struggling to get in the good arch position made me doubt my abilities.
Because I recouped and still was able to do turns my instructor counted this jump as a success. However, I don't think it was a success at all. The next jump is E1 category, which is exiting airplane in the dive-superman manner by myself. I've seen videos and heard that mastering superman dive even harder than jumping backwards from the plane.

Do you guys have any words of wisdom? Should I re-take the D2 jump? Is superman exit really harder then regular student exit? If I sucked so much on first solo exit should I quit? These are all the questions going on in my mind now.

[GooniesKid 0]

Have you ever thought, "hey, maybe skydiving is not for me" ?

[grue 1]

SFBayArea

Do you guys have any words of wisdom? Should I re-take the D2 jump? Is superman exit really harder then regular student exit? If I sucked so much on first solo exit should I quit? These are all the questions going on in my mind now.

Door fear aside, is this the first jump that you weren't happy with the results of?

Regarding difficulty of various exits, it seems to vary between people. Honestly I'd rather dive out of a door towards the rear of the plane than present to the RW, it feels more natural to me. Your mileage may vary.

cavete terrae.

[StreetScooby 5]

Quote

So I ended up on my back. I tried to roll back to stomach, but it only worked from the second trial.

Arch hard through your pelvis, point your toes, and keep your head up. Also, try to keep your hands beneath the plane of your chin.

It took me 50+ jumps to get over the door jitters. Don't worry about it. Trust your gear, trust yourself, and have fun.

We are all engines of karma

[airtwardo 7]

GooniesKid

Have you ever thought, "hey, maybe skydiving is not for me" ?

I wuz gonna ask YOU the same thing!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[Trafficdiver 8]

GooniesKid

Have you ever thought, "hey, maybe skydiving is not for me" ?

Pretty edgy post from someone who won't post personal information.

[aeio540 0]

Newbie to Newbie:

SFBayArea

Boy was I wrong. Before doing my 3rd jump I worked myself up so much that I was terrified to go through that door, I almost kicked myself out of it.

That's normal at our stage. It's that fear that makes us check, recheck, triple check, and get one last final gear check before we jump. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous during the drive out to the DZ. All seems to go away once I go through my second preflight. It takes time.

Quote

Because I recouped

This is key. You recovered, you didn't go down a spinning mess and your instructor didn't have to pull for you.

Quote

Is superman exit really harder then regular student? exit?

I find it easier to do a diving exit. I don't quite know why. Just seems so much easier for me to get stable. Magic perhaps? Finished AFF and did my first solo jumps this last weekend. Head first I went out of the otter.

Quote

If I sucked so much on first solo exit should I quit?

Nope. Everybody screws up here and there. Many of us repeat a level. My level was 5, my turns were like molasses. I know other people who tumbled out of control during 90 degree turns and had to retake it...over and over and over again. They didn't give up. Remember mate, this stuff is like learning to walk, except you're falling at 120mph.

The only reason to not go through with it is if you are not getting any level of enjoyment throughout the jump or you honestly don't want to put any of the time and effort into it. There is nothing wrong with that, there are many a people who enjoy tandems. I know a couple that like jumping out of airplanes but that 6-8 hour first jump course though would be like putting them through torture.

Take your time and have fun.

[SFBayArea 0]

I ask my self that question every time I am in the plane. Though on the last two rides up I was almost OK and had very little fear.

[SFBayArea 0]

Thank you. I like the freefall feeling and love canopy ride. I will try and push it through.

aeio540

Newbie to Newbie:

***Boy was I wrong. Before doing my 3rd jump I worked myself up so much that I was terrified to go through that door, I almost kicked myself out of it.

That's normal at our stage. It's that fear that makes us check, recheck, triple check, and get one last final gear check before we jump. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous during the drive out to the DZ. All seems to go away once I go through my second preflight. It takes time.

Quote

Because I recouped

This is key. You recovered, you didn't go down a spinning mess and your instructor didn't have to pull for you.

Quote

Is superman exit really harder then regular student? exit?

I find it easier to do a diving exit. I don't quite know why. Just seems so much easier for me to get stable. Magic perhaps? Finished AFF and did my first solo jumps this last weekend. Head first I went out of the otter.

Quote

If I sucked so much on first solo exit should I quit?

Nope. Everybody screws up here and there. Many of us repeat a level. My level was 5, my turns were like molasses. I know other people who tumbled out of control during 90 degree turns and had to retake it...over and over and over again. They didn't give up. Remember mate, this stuff is like learning to walk, except you're falling at 120mph.

The only reason to not go through with it is if you are not getting any level of enjoyment throughout the jump or you honestly don't want to put any of the time and effort into it. There is nothing wrong with that, there are many a people who enjoy tandems. I know a couple that like jumping out of airplanes but that 6-8 hour first jump course though would be like putting them through torture.

Take your time and have fun.

[aeio540 0]

How much time goes by between each jump, if you don't mind me asking?

We had some horrible weather that slowed down my progress this year, or some other issues (head colds, travel, etc..) and I felt sort of uneasy when I would finally show up to a jump.

My point is that your jumps may be too far apart for you to acclimate to the jumping process.

Life does get in the way at times, I am getting ready to sign up for SDU and wouldn't you know it, I had to drop $1,000 fixing the wife's car AND my garage door needs fixed. Both car and garage door issues are unrelated despite the fact that they both need repair at the same time LOL. Unfortunately the wife isn't willing to eat Ramen noodles for a while to pay for my skydiving so it may take a bit of time.

[FlyingRhenquest 1]

Oh I talked myself out of going by the dropzone a few times a year ago. I'd be a lot more worried if you weren't at least a little nervous. That probably means you're not insane.

Tell me; what's the worst possible thing you can imagine happening? Other than dying, I mean. That could happen the minute you stick your nose out the door in the morning. You don't let THAT stop you.

I was most worried about falling out of the plane early. Then I realized I had a parachute on. So what if I fall out of the plane early? I'll deploy my parachute. Done.

I might have been worried about fucking up a jump, but so what if I did? I'd have to re-do the jump. I guarantee I learned something from each and every jump whether I completely fucked it up (And I REALLY fucked up a couple of jumps) or passed with flying colors.

So what if you can't get stable? Throw your pilot chute and hope for the best. If that doesn't work you have another one!

So get back on that horse and hopefully you'll have a year as fun as mine was!

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

[JohnMitchell 16]

FlyingRhenquest

Tell me; what's the worst possible thing you can imagine happening? Other than dying, I mean.

Heck, I consider that on just about every jump!

I don't think I ever will, but I don't want to be overconfident.

[nigel99 471]

Why don't you trust your instructors judgment? I'm curious as to the reason they passed you and yet you feel they are wrong?

It's fairly normal to over analyse your jumps, you have less than 10 minutes falling, the instructor knows what to expect of you. The goal is a lovely stable relaxed skydive, the 'pass' criteria are different. Being able to recover, be altitude aware and safe are probably what they look for.

Over time and jumps their expectations for your performance will rise, but for now enjoy your jumps and try your best!

Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

[nadominhoca 0]

nigel99, I was about to say the same!! Believe in your instructor! I'm 100% sure he is a professional that knows how to judge pretty well his students in order to let the "pass" to the next level. They wouldn't let you go for the next Cat if they thought that you wasn't prepared!!

I have nearly 20 jumps now, and I am almost getting my A license. During my AFF, I had to repeat the Cat C two times! Both I thought that I was very relaxed, but by some reason, things didn't work as I was expecting up there...

I never thought about giving up... actually, for me it wasn't any issue at all to come back to the DZ and repeat the jump.. I was actually happy just for the fact that I would jump again from the plane on that day!!

I think someone mentioned before, but skydiving, as well as other sports, you are suppose to enjoy it!! If you are trying to find reasons to cheer you up everytime that you go to your DZ, maybe you have to sit down and think about it... maybe is not for you..

Or maybe, just don't think too much.. just relax and enjoy it... you cannot imagine the difference when you jump with a relaxed body... things just flows better!! put a big smile on your face, and enjoy the jump.. not only during the free fall.. but try to do that for the entire process.. drive to the DZ listening to a music that you like, get there, have a nice breakfast, say hello and talk to your buddies, get prepared, do your briefing, and jump... easy as that!

[skybytch 273]

Quote

Being able to recover, be altitude aware and safe are probably what they look for.

This.

To the OP - From your description, there was all kinds of learning going on in your last skydive. You got unstable and you regained stability without your instructors assistance. That is all good. Your Cat E jump(s), with backloops and such, will be easier and better because you have already gotten yourself stable.

In the easier said than done advice category, don't be so hard on yourself. Why are you skydiving? Probably because at some point, you are having a blast while doing it. Skydiving is about having FUN! Beating yourself up for not being perfect really detracts from the FUN.

What are the most important things to do on any skydive? Pull, flare, walk back from the landing area and have fun are my list. Did you do those things? If you did, then it was a great skydive.

People with thousands of jumps still occasionally aren't perfect in the air. Remember that!

[SFBayArea 0]

Thank you guys. You really helped my decision. Since instructor gave me a full pass, and yes he is very experienced guy with 30 plus years of skydiving and over 12K jumps, I will proceed to the category E1.

[XMarked 0]

I remember being nervous on many occasions. Fear comes from intelligence and students who are not scared even a bit are those who scare me the most! It is part of the sport and over time you'll gain your confidence and forget all about the fear and just enjoy the fun times.

Many students have failed one or more levels for varying reasons. I have seen students who failed and did not accept that it was their own fault. They blame the instructors, gear, jumpsuits or even the sun was in their eyes.

From your version of the jump you know what you did wrong. You also know what you need to do to fix them because you handled it on your own in free fall.

Superman exit is a cake walk. Dive out, arch super hard, if you hold and trust your arch you will be stable in no time.

True confidence in the sky has to be earned and with each jump you earn a little bit more!

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

Since you used the term "frog brain", I'm going to assume you have read the "Skydiving Duck" cartoons.

If you have, then you know that door fear is very normal.
Doubting yourself is very normal.
Asking "What am I doing here?" while on the plane is very normal.

All because jumping from a plane goes against just about every survival instinct we humans have. It's not very normal.

Namowal, who wrote those duck cartoons, asked the very same question about the diving exit.

My answer was (and is):

How hard is it?
From a physical standpoint, not very. You simply throw yourself headfirst out the door, turn a bit to the side to present to the relative wind and arch. That's all there is to it. It's a very easy exit to get stable from.

From a mental standpoint, however, it's a bit more difficult. You have to throw yourself headfirst out the door. Of a plane flying waaaay above the earth. There's no "climb out into the wind then hang there for a second to get used to the idea before you let go." You just count off and go.

But once you've done a couple you will love them. Trust me on that.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[SFBayArea 0]

Yes, you right, I read "diving duck" exactly after I have my doubts after 3rd jump. I loved the story.
Thanks for the encouragement.

[uberchris 0]

where do you jump at?

gravity brings me down.........

[Gixxer2k4 0]

wolfriverjoe

If you have, then you know that door fear is very normal.
Doubting yourself is very normal.
Asking "What am I doing here?" while on the plane is very normal.

All because jumping from a plane goes against just about every survival instinct we humans have. It's not very normal.

Namowal, who wrote those duck cartoons, asked the very same question about the diving exit.

My answer was (and is):

How hard is it?
From a physical standpoint, not very. You simply throw yourself headfirst out the door, turn a bit to the side to present to the relative wind and arch. That's all there is to it. It's a very easy exit to get stable from.

From a mental standpoint, however, it's a bit more difficult. You have to throw yourself headfirst out the door. Of a plane flying waaaay above the earth. There's no "climb out into the wind then hang there for a second to get used to the idea before you let go." You just count off and go.

But once you've done a couple you will love them. Trust me on that.

Makes me feel better myself knowing I am not the only and neither is the OP. It gets better for me each jump and I keep going back to the DZ.