my first hop and pop and nervous

[dpfire29 0]

I am going to do my first two hop and pops tomorrow. With 21 jumps, i have been inconsistent with my exits out of the pack. I am unclear if i can do a poised exit or just a bell out. At any rate, advise on the best way to pull quick and be stable is much appreciated. Also how do you guys calm your nerves from doing your first hop and pop?

[Divalent 137]

Have you looked at this thread?

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4564380

(And IMO, if you are focused on pulling quick, then you are doing it wrong. Practicing the exit at altitude is the smart way to go about it.)

[dpfire29 0]

well thats where i am confused, i have been told i have 5 seconds to pull to get credit for it. After looking back through all my videos, my longest fall unstable was 7 seconds. thanks for the advise, really need to get my exits nailed down.

[yoink 321]

RELAX.

You're overthinking it.


If you're trying to beat a clock you'll probably screw it up.

I'm not an instructor, but I seriously doubt they'll be putting you against a stopwatch. I think they'll want to see that you can exit stable and pull while staying stable relatively soon after exit- there's LOADS of time for that.

If it helps, I was taught to count my movements out loud like this:

Exit

ONE THOUSAND - stay in a really good arch position.
TWO THOUSAND - move to your pull position, staying stable
THREE THOUSAND - pull and recover to boxman.

see? Loads of time.

[rsb5267 0]

Everyone here is spot on. When i did my first few hop and pops my nickname was "quickdraw McGraw". I created many more problems than there needed to be by trying to get it out as quick as possible. I deployed on my back one time and had a pretty "fun" opening (ouch). Just take your time and dont even think about reaching for your pilot chute until after a second or two. Seconds are longer than they seem upon letting go of the strut, keep that in mind.

[AviationTD 0]

RELAX

I was inconsistent with my exits until my hop and pops. Everything just clicked. Know the three basic rules of pulling. Above all, listen to your instructors. My instructors never told me about 5 seconds pull to be credited, but your instructors would not let you do hop and pop if you are not ready.

How to calm nerves? Beat me! I was nervous as heck. Once the door opened, I wasn't even thinking about my nerves. Staying sharp on tasks and following through were all I could think. Flawless jumps on both hop and pops.

[dthames 0]

What type aircraft are you exiting from?

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

[Doug_Davis 0]

Dont be nervous. Hop and pops are easy. In static line progression, which is what I did, you do them on like jump 5.
Poised exit. Face into the relative wind. Arch. Pull.

[dpfire29 0]

pac 750. i have gotten a lot better with exits just not every single time. Also some have said poise out with my hands to my side but i have been coming out with arms stretched out in front, what do you guys think is better?

[PiLFy 3]

I'm no instructor, & I've heard differing delays taught at other DZs.

That being said. I was taught to pitch the PC on the count of three, regardless of stability. Enough to make sure you've cleared the plane. That student H&Ps were training for aircraft emergencies (bailing out). That you probably won't be stable, but to throw the PC anyway. I got yelled at for waiting another few seconds until stable, on my first try.

It takes ten seconds to fall the first 1,000 feet. Your first H&P will be from 5500 feet. You'll have plenty of altitude left. Talk to your AFFIs. You'll be fine.

[JackC1 0]

dpfire29

pac 750. i have gotten a lot better with exits just not every single time. Also some have said poise out with my hands to my side but i have been coming out with arms stretched out in front, what do you guys think is better?

Not out in front, arms out each side like you're waiting to hug the whole planet. A lot of people say you need to explode out the door into a big arch. I tend to think of it more as slipping out and placing myself gently on the wind, like I'm getting off a bus that's still moving, I need to pirouette so I'm facing forwards but not over rotate so I end up going sideways. I don't want any residual rotation after I've exited, I want to place myself with the right presentation and know that I'll be stable because I've exited in the right orientation. It's actually really easy. Exit positively because you need to clear the plane, but place yourself gently on the relative wind.

[dthames 0]

dpfire29

pac 750. i have gotten a lot better with exits just not every single time. Also some have said poise out with my hands to my side but i have been coming out with arms stretched out in front, what do you guys think is better?

There is no harm in doing more practice up high if you don't feel up to the task. No reason at all to do it if you don't feel like you have the control you desire. I did SL training and never had to face that situation but I was also not a very stable student. I had to really learn how to get stable, as it was not natural to me, not being able to arch worth a flip.

In this clip you can see what I learned to be a good way to exit. Arms nearly straight out to the side and really watching the plane for the first 2 or 3 seconds. Never mind what happened later in the video. Look closely at the exit. The wind is your friend. If you don't have the feel for it, you might want to practice a bit more up high.
http://youtu.be/s61DBgD3JG4

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

[jonathan.newman 1]

1. Relax -- rushing leads to more problems.

2. Plan your exit and figure out how you will catch the wind with different parts of your body.

3. Fly your body as soon as you hit the wind. There is no answer to stability. "put your arms out and feet on your butt" won't cut it.

4. Relax. Try climbing outside of the PAC and exit by peeling off with your left hand and left leg.

Ask someone on the load to video your exit. Good or bad, you'll learn something.

Stop worrying about it, relax, and fly loose.

[riggerrob 643]

"... watching the plane for the first 2 or 3 seconds. ...
http://youtu.be/s61DBgD3JG4"

[Boogers 0]

dpfire29

I am unclear if i can do a poised exit or just a bell bail out.

[Andy9o8 2]

Boogers

***I am unclear if i can do a poised exit or just a bell bail out.

You never could resist.

[FlyingRhenquest 1]

So how did you do?

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

[dpfire29 0]

well did not go as planned but i got the fear behind me. Both of my jumps are on you tube under hop and pops at raeford. First jump was way nervous and tumbled, pulled and had a good canopy by 4200. Second jump i tumbled once and kicked out of line twist at 4700 ft, both exits were from 5,500. I for some reason cant get down coming out of the plane and arching, not really sure how i am gonna fix that. I am really glad to have the fear behind me and ready to keep doing them to get it down pat

[BigMikeH77 0]

That's the spirit!

I know lots and lots of folks who were extra nervous on their first hop-n-pop. I happened to have had an instructor next to me on my first who clearly saw my apprehension and helped me with the spot, then gave a thumbs-up. That little bit of reassurance went a long way. I think the key really is to relax, just like everyone else on the thread says.

In time, you'll get better and even ENJOY them!

[gunpaq 1]

Good job & keep going.
Back in the stone age your first hop and pop, aka clear and pull, was your first freefall.

www.geronimoskydiving.com

[Divalent 137]

dpfire29

I for some reason cant get down coming out of the plane and arching, not really sure how i am gonna fix that.

How about this:

1) Review/talk with an instructor to get pointers on what you want to do (also reread the other thread I linked you to above: some good advice in there).

2) And then on *every* jump from altitude, unless you have a reason not to (like, jumping with someone else and it is *essential* that you exit a different way), exit as if you are doing a hop and pop and do a practice touch on your main handle.

[dthames 0]

dpfire29

well did not go as planned but i got the fear behind me. Both of my jumps are on you tube under hop and pops at raeford. First jump was way nervous and tumbled, pulled and had a good canopy by 4200. Second jump i tumbled once and kicked out of line twist at 4700 ft, both exits were from 5,500. I for some reason cant get down coming out of the plane and arching, not really sure how i am gonna fix that. I am really glad to have the fear behind me and ready to keep doing them to get it down pat

Did you really watch the plane?

Practice and it will come. Then it will seem like such a long time ago when things were different.

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

[FlyingRhenquest 1]

dpfire29

well did not go as planned but i got the fear behind me. Both of my jumps are on you tube under hop and pops at raeford. First jump was way nervous and tumbled, pulled and had a good canopy by 4200. Second jump i tumbled once and kicked out of line twist at 4700 ft, both exits were from 5,500. I for some reason cant get down coming out of the plane and arching, not really sure how i am gonna fix that. I am really glad to have the fear behind me and ready to keep doing them to get it down pat

Oh yeah, I've seen a lot of not-very-pretty exits from 5500, you know, that early on you haven't had a lot of opportunity to practice a stable exit on your own. Mine wasn't very pretty either, as I recall. It didn't take very many jumps for them to get stable. I saw one guy dive out with his ass to the relative wind, it's pretty easy to get tipped over if you do something like that.

A few jumps after the hop and pop I wanted to get stable in a hurry because I wanted to do some flips in freefall and the plane was a bit low (8 grand to avoid clouds.) That was the first exit where I felt the relative wind grab hold of me and try to spin me toward the tail as I made my exit. I knew if I let it, I'd end up tumbling, which wasn't the kind of flip I wanted to do! So I just steered back into wind -- flew my exit, really for the first time, and came off the hill thinking "Oh! That's how that's really supposed to work!" Funnily enough, I feel like the coaches provided enough of a distraction that I wasn't able to give some elements of my skydives full consideration. Once I was left to my own devices, I was able to think about the aspects of my skydive that we'd been glossing over in order to achieve our objectives.

Just keep at it! It'll click in no time!

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

[shropshire 0]

Fall get stable pull....
Fall get stable pull....
Fall get stable pull....
Fall get stable pull....


Sounds easy ... took me a while to work out the solution

Relax...Fall get stable pull.... ... oh and smile & enjoy.. after all it's a sport not a job.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[thomas.n.thomas 0]

dpfire29

well did not go as planned but i got the fear behind me. Both of my jumps are on you tube under hop and pops at raeford. First jump was way nervous and tumbled, pulled and had a good canopy by 4200. Second jump i tumbled once and kicked out of line twist at 4700 ft, both exits were from 5,500. I for some reason cant get down coming out of the plane and arching, not really sure how i am gonna fix that. I am really glad to have the fear behind me and ready to keep doing them to get it down pat

Well it sounds like you got the hardest part out of the way - first couple had me scared (well, every jump has me a bit scared, I won't lie). It does get a lot better. 3500 would still probably make my eyes go big, but I feel plenty confident about being able to jump out even a bit lower and having no issues. After a while, you've been practicing your poised exits enough, sometimes you just have to make the brain relax and let the body do what it knows how to do.

I heartily second talking with an instructor. They can usually come up with one or more variants of making you look at the plane, like counting how many fingers they are holding up after you exit, or telling you to stare into their eyes after you are out the door.