2wheeljunkie 0 #1 April 18, 2004 I did PRCP 3 & 4 yesterday. I was really confident on the first jump. It felt really good. I felt stable. I did a good PRCP, stowed my cord, however, the following jumpers said they saw feet. My arch was decent, but I put my head down. My instructor told me to focus on the wing on the next jump. Well, I had good focus on the wing, but my arms were forward, and I apparently kicked a foot forward and did a back-flip. Must have faith in the arch. I was pissed for a few seconds. I actually got to see the line twist this time and compensate for it with the risers. Also got to manually move the slider down. Good experience. I remembered to do the PCRP, but it was waaaay late. My hands were already in the toggles. The wind had started to pick up on my second jump, and I had to limit my turns because I was moving toward the DZ fast. Both of my landings were soft, but with a pull down. Have to let go of ONE toggle. Oh, and take that step forward. The day was a good dose of confidence followed by a good dose of humility. Today I'm going to take a nice, relaxing m/c ride through some major twisties to the other DZ in the area and check it out. By no means have I conquered fear, but I have knocked the crap out of it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnMitchell 16 #2 April 18, 2004 Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it. Skydives where you are perfectly satisfied with everything are pretty rare. That's when you quit learning. That kicking your foot forward? I bet it was the right foot, correct? That comes form twisting at the waist to the right, trying to get to that ripcord behind your back. Remember, the only thing that needs to move when you pull are your two arms. Everything else stays locked in place. I had a friend who practiced PRCP in a swimming pool until he could get to freefall. He was pretty pruney by then, but he made it. Enjoy the MC ride, but think about staying with one DZ until you get a license. Each DZ has slightly different equipment and procedures, and it can be a lot of work for you and the DZ if you switch around a lot. If you like motorcycles, you'll love freefall. Keep at it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skailz 0 #3 April 19, 2004 Hey there, welcome to the sky.. :) It's perfectly natural when you only have 3, 4, 5 jumps to still be making a basic error like kicking a leg out.. etc. You will be suprised that in a few more jumps I bet it will not be a problem. I remember my first 5 second fall. I felt lost for a few seconds.. didn't know which way was up or down.. haven't felt like that since really. I'm always upside down now. :) Trust the arch.. no matter what, in freefall, if you hold that position right, you will turn belly down to earth and at least be flat like that. You may or may not be turning, but that's a different topic. One thing that has helped me a TON in the air is this concept... Your center of gravity needs to be in front of your center of drag. Like a dart.. they fly straight.. their weight is in the front.. the drag is in the back. Same thing with an arrow, or a badmitton (however you spell that). That is also true in the air.. your center of gravity is around the center of your belly, and by arching with your hands and feet back in an X shape, you are putting your center of gravity just ahead of your center of drag.. the result? A stable belly to earth fall. If you kick your legs or arms out in front you, you are putting the drag in front of your center of mass, which will turn you around within a couple seconds if you hold that. Same with head-down and sit fly.. notice the legs will be open in a head-down usually and the arms are out more in the sit. Hope that helps.. it helped me a lot to look at it like that... Blue Skies, ~Skailz~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2wheeljunkie 0 #4 April 19, 2004 Thanks all. I know I'm verbose, but I feel the need to vent to understanding minds. I get something out of every reply. John, I'm not switching DZ's. I like where I am, and I'm sticking with it until license or longer. QL StL was dead by the time I got there today (high winds). Got a great 200+ miles in on the bike, though. Static line ends in 1 day at the DZ By no means have I conquered fear, but I have knocked the crap out of it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
