First Jump ... Proceeding Cautiously

[Phil3D 0]

I had my first tandem jump about 2 weeks ago and look forward to doing another. Needless to say, it was a lot of fun.

Now for the questions. I am a little nervous about a few things.

First, I screwed up a little and got a light ankle sprain. In light of that, should I do one more tandem jump and make sure I get it right this time or just go ahead into AFF traininig?

Second question is weather. The New England weather looks to be a little wet and the DZ only has outdoor packing. Is packing on wet days present any potential dangers to the jumper using said gear?

Could you help me with the relaxation part? My TM mentioned to me a time or two that I was stiff as a board. I don't loosen up very easily even in the non scariest of circumstances.

From the homework I've done, relaxation is key to pulling off successful aff jumps. I'm okay with the arch thing but I'm afraid that if I'm too tight and stiff, I could still tumble out of control in free fall.

That wasn't flying. That was falling with style.

[JohnnyMarko 1]

I say do another tandem and make sure skydiiving is right for you...as far as the ankle injury, Im assuming it happened on landing, so maybe try to pick your legs up as high as you can next time...

and the relaxation part....smile, breathe, relax...your going skydiving, the most fun you can have with your clothes on

And cant really help you with the AFF part...I went through IAD simply for the reason of $$$ and I liked learning one step at a time...others will have different opinions but talk to other people at your DZ and be careful about what you read on here

[Phil3D 0]

Breathing exercises might be a helpful thing.

So yeah, i will do one more tandem. As for the scattered shower thing and outdoor packing, I'm supposing that a dz that's been decades in the game know plenty about packing in less than perfect weather and so forth. So yeah, one more jump.

And, by the way, it was a landing thing. I put my right foot down a little too much at a bad time.

That wasn't flying. That was falling with style.

[spootch 0]

All these questions can be answered by your instructor Phil, and they are good questions to ask so start at the DZ Welcome to skydiving!

[pilotdave 0]

All packing areas are covered, mostly to keep sun off the gear and packers. But it also keeps gear dry when it rains. Tandem gear is packed in a new fully-enclosed tent. Not much packing tends to happen when it rains (since we're not jumping), but when it does, the gear stays dry.

Then again, a little water won't hurt anything. If something got really soaked, it would be opened up, dried out, inspected, and repacked.

Hope your ankle heals up fast! Another tandem might be a good idea if it makes you more comfortable. But when ya do AFF, good luck... ya might just get stuck jumping with me!
Dave

[Phil3D 0]

Just got the video today. The word my wife used to express the look on my face in the plane was "shell shocked". We both got a few laughs out of it.

The free fall went pretty well save perhaps a moment or two when Larry ( my TM ) had to tap my legs when they went a bit low.

So yeah, I'm all signed up for tandem number 2 on sunday. Maybe I'll see you there, Dave.

That wasn't flying. That was falling with style.

[cocheese 0]

Learning to fly can be hard or easy. Since skydiving is 80% mental, you should think about it a lot.

If you had to teach yourself how to fly, how would you do it?

Think about it... a lot. Study it. Then do it.

Think, then do.

[jhnhll 0]

I did my first 4 AFFs last weekend. I have some trouble with relaxing, but it got better each jump. Hope your weekend is outstanding. I have to skip this weekend but will be back for a few more next weekend!!! Good Luck!!!

[redlegphi 0]

The key to relaxation, for me anyway, has been visualization. On the ride up, once you clear 1000 feet, close you're eyes and visualize everything you're supposed to do on the jump from the time your instructor tells you to get up to the time you land. Visualize it over and over until you feel 100% comfortable or until it's time to get ready, whichever comes first. If you sit there thinking about nothing, your brain will automatically default to thinking about "holy fuck, i'm about to jump out of an airplane." So give it something else to think about instead. This can be especially useful once you start AFF, and you have a lot more to do during your freefall.
As far as tandem v. AFF for your next jump, I think it basically comes down to how you feel. I think doing a tandem can be a great way to get people past the initial fear of jumping out of the airplane so that when they do AFF on their next jump, they can focus on what they have to do and not be overwhelmed still by the fear. If you think you might still be in danger of being overwhelmed, I'd say try another tandem. If you think that you've gotten past the initial shock phase of jumping out of a plane, I'd say try AFF. Your instructors could probably give you a much better read on how you did on your tandem and if you're really ready for AFF. Good luck and welcome to the sport!

[Phil3D 0]

Okay, I just got done going up for second.
As for the jump itself, we exited at 14.500. From exit to 9000, he had to tap me a couple times to get my legs up higher. From 9K to the deployment at 5K, I was able to hold myself pretty steady with no additional coaching. The landing went well. Got my legs out plenty and no sprain this time. Perfect landing.

So I'm now all signed up for AFF. Just have some concerns about sensory overload and not being able to figure out where the drop zone is once I'm deployed under my own canopy.

The good news is there's always google maps images I could drill into my head. Plus, I know they're gonna be talking me down by walkie talkie anyways.

So here goes nothing.

That wasn't flying. That was falling with style.