Stinkin Up Your Student Solo Exit

[sum1mom 0]

Okay guys…I had the worst solo exit EVER yesterday. Stepped out of the plane, watched the plane, feeling good – then holy crap – I’m a gymnast!! It was a relief to get on my back for a couple of seconds before I rolled out. WOW.

I wasted 3.5K worth of freefall just trying to get stable. I totally f*&cked the whole thing up.

Needless to say….I’ll be repeating that dive flow. I’m such a dork.

My poor, poor instructor….God bless him…he’s a patient man.

Any other stories to comfort me with...or am I the only one?

[tombuch 0]

Dude, it sounds like you did OK. If you were able to recover stability on your own, then once on the ground you should raise your right hand, reach around to your left shoulder, then pat yourself on the back. Loss of stability is a scary thing and recovering should give you tremendous confidence. As you keep learning you will be able to recover in even less altitude.

Sometimes we learn more when things go wrong than when they go right. Look for the positives here and enjoy your skydives!!

Congrats on recovering!

Tom Buchanan
Instructor Emeritus
Comm Pilot MSEL,G
Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

[bertusgeert 1]

I'm sure many people screwed up many dives. Dont worry, I did a few times in my short skydiving history!

First one was level 4, when I didnt present myself to the relative wind, and flipped over on my back. It was the first time on my back and I was scared s#@tless! I flipped over soon though, but still wasted about 4 grand! DIVE FAILED.

My first solo I also did a Hop n Pop, but it turned out to be more of a Pop n Hop! People in the plane edged towards the door as my pilot chute went just underneath the tail! My desires to safe under canopy so soon was explained to me very seriously that it was indeed not very safe!

Just learn from your mistakes, you will make plenty more! Dont worry!

---------------------------------------------
As jy dom is moet jy bloei!

[Luna 0]

Yeah, don't feel bad about it. My first solo exit was my 2nd Casa exit. I felt confident about it because the first one, with 2 instructors holding me, had gone well. Just backed up to the edge and hopped backwards. This time I de-arched and my hands hit the tailgate as I fell away, and it took a good ten seconds of flailing and flipping around to finally get stable, then I proceeded to spin out of control when I tried a turn. Only tried one because I knew the dive was going to be a do-over anyway and the spin had freaked me out. 2nd try on solo exit went just fine. Don't worry, you'll get it.

I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

[sum1mom 0]

Thanks all!! I knew I blew it and laughed my butt off at the video.....for the second day in a row (I got stuck on my back on another dive flow on Saturday and had to roll out).
I swear I'll just need to dub the Looney Tunes theme to my student tapes.

Today, I haven't laughed about it....at all. That was a baaaaaad baaaaaad exit!!! I'm not so freaked out about it that I will not continue jumping, but man, my heart is racing like crazy. A very delayed reaction.

It's like it just happened...

[racer42 0]

What a shame. Now you'll have to practice that over and over and over..........

L.A.S.T. #24
Co-Founder Biscuit Brothers Freefly Team
Electric Toaster #3
Co-Founder Team Non Sequitor
Co-Founder Team Happy Sock

[sum1mom 0]

I don't need to practice flying on my back. I'm getting pretty good at it.

[daveb 1]

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Thanks all!! I knew I blew it and laughed my butt off at the video.....for the second day in a row (I got stuck on my back on another dive flow on Saturday and had to roll out).
I swear I'll just need to dub the Looney Tunes theme to my student tapes.

If you're like most of us, you'll repeat this over and over and over and over and.... And the only time it's bad is if you beat yourself up over it.

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Today, I haven't laughed about it....at all. That was a baaaaaad baaaaaad exit!!! I'm not so freaked out about it that I will not continue jumping, but man, my heart is racing like crazy. A very delayed reaction.

It's like it just happened...

But, you're alive and well, so you did recover. You've done it once, so you know you can do it. The only unrecoverable exit is the one you give up on. Probably the most difficult thing in this sport is to keep your cool on when something funky happens, and correct it as needed. You did this! And that is a very good thing.

[wmw999 2,544]

I'll add to the chorus.

Especially if you maintained altitude awareness while unstable, you did a fabulous job. AFF programs have people exit and deliberately go unstable because recovering from instability is an important part of training -- you have clearly mastered this important skill

Good job! Just think -- that level will be incredibly easy, now you just have to get through this one!

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[sum1mom 0]

I had just completed my loops front and back on Saturday. It was ugly, but I recovered well both times. My first "back loop" was more like a cart wheel....so there I went whoop whooop whoop through the air. Then went right to my front loop. But, I was EXPECTING to do these things. On my exit yesterday the shiat just went freakin crazy really freakin quick. I over compensated everything, sending myself into more flips. Then, "rested" on my back (completely dearched) and admired my instructor with this surprised look on his face. I smiled, waved, then rolled out of it. I was a geek. Only completed one task in my dive flow.

I just don't want this to affect me negatively. Like I said, today my heart has been racing all day....delayed adrenaline?????

Who knows....help!!

My thanks to everyone. Maybe someday I'll post my blooper reel.

[Brian425 0]

Practice, practice, practice. I only have 21 jump so far. I am working on my exits on every solo jump right now. I tend to have a weak arch on my exit from the otter. I got two videos this weeekend and they really helped. I am not perfect; but, they really did help. Seeing what you actually do helped me so much more than haaving someone tell me what I did.

Stick with it and work with your instructor, you will improve.

The only time you should look down on someone is when you are offering them your hand.

[GravityGirl 0]

Hey! Way to get stable! You jumped, you saved yourself! Now how big of a dork could you really be?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peace and Blue Skies!
Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

[Flyer2Diver 0]

I had many, many bad exits! I got a reputation among the instructors as the guy who forgets to arch. I never had a problem regaining stability, just didn't look too elegant. I even tumbled the exit on a hop & 'n pop. That one made me nervous, but I'd done it so many times it was easy to fix real fast without even thinking about it. Now, I kinda think it was a good experience - instability is no problem because I know I can get stable whenever I need to.

I've since realized that my problem was not properly presenting my body surface area to the relative wind, and not arching - I'd be so focused on thinking about the dive flow, count, etc., that I'd blow the exit.

Blue Skies
John

_______________________________
30005KT 10SM SKC 23/05 A3006

[Dougiefresh 0]

I feel your pain. I, um, didn't arch going out the door yesterday.

On video, of course. I flipped and flailed for two seconds before gaining stability.

I'm looking at it as my introduction to freeflying.

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams

[sum1mom 0]

Brian....I too am arch disabled. Like you say...not too pretty! I also am beginning to think
I have A.D.D.!! If I think about my legs my brain is not focusing on keeping my eyes on the plane on exit. I think that's what happened coming off the hill...I adjusted my legs and dearched. I am finding the more I think, the less I relax, the less I arch. Dont get me wrong though, I'm having a total blast. I just freaked myself out today, thinking way too much about what i did wrong yesterday, instead of how much fun I had in the meantime. My only concern is the mental adjustment I must make before my next jump, so that i stay relaxed and not stress too much before my jump.

Need a serious relaxation technique.

The rest should just be "cake." I've done the hard stuff...and it's only been hard when I made it that way.

I WAS just so mental earlier....you guys are helping me come back around.

[sum1mom 0]

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I feel your pain. I, um, didn't arch going out the door yesterday.

On video, of course. I flipped and flailed for two seconds before gaining stability.

***

Yeh...that's what they are telling me I did ... they laugh and call it my free-fly dive.

I always thought freeflying was pretty graceful....uh, but so is flying on your belly.

I think I'll just make up my own discipline

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[nael 0]

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I'm looking at it as my introduction to freeflying.

hehe I did a similar thing. I usually jump from a skyvan, but on my stage 7 I did it from a cessna. Straight out the door I went into 3 front layouts which were so much fun, I got stable, did a 180, found my instructor and just laughed and shook my head, she laughed too. I just wish I could do layouts intentionally! Although I failed that jump, it was my best jump yet in my eyes - first cessna jump (loved it!), first time I was completely unstable and not at all concerned - just thought it was fun, and first backflip and tracking attempt.

I passed stages 7 and 8 last weekend, now I have 3 hop and pops to do to complete AFF. I refuse to do them from the cessna or beaver because I dont know that I'll be able to do a stable exit and from 3000' I damn well want to be stable on exit! I plan on doing heaps of jumps from altitude from the cessna later on, so that I can get better at my exits.

Lastly - we're students! We're supposed to scare our instructors and give them something to laugh about later on! Bring on the unstable exits and in my case - almost taking out my instructor in a track.

www.TerminalSports.com.auAustralia's largest skydive gear store

[kellysalt77 0]

on sunday i tried a 2way from 12,000ft and we didn't get together once. i have about 175 jumps, she has about 70, and i was the one backsliding across the sky like a dumbass. not to mention she just started jumping again after a 7 month layoff and i jump every week. i had an awesome instructor and i can't imagine what must go through her head when she sees me fly. i have yet to do justice to what i was taught. don't get discouraged-- you're completely normal.

[sum1mom 0]

Man, I was thinking about my upcoming hop & pop and stressed myself out this morning. I'll secretly ride the plane to altitude so that I can "nail it." I have a few more jumps to repeat first

Cesna exit - NO WAY!!!

BTW...need to correct my post..I lost 4.5K trying to get stable....Gawd could you imagine??

What a ride.