AFF-4 is Part of My Autobiography Now

[skylord 1]

Went up to Elsinore today to look AFF-4 in the eye and kick its ass.

Actually, that isn't what it initially felt like at first. It had been eight days since my last jump, and on the drive north to the DZ I had the jitters a bit. Nothing major, just the "Why am I doing this?" "Boy, did I have fun last time!" internal argument.

I got to the DZ, paid for the AFF jump, and had to wait around awhile since it was such a slow day. That didn't help the nerves much. Shark hooked up with me and did the ground preparation for my jump. Today, was a new exit and a new challenge: one instructor only going out the door.

Yo Yo was going to be my jumpmaster, and now I am being given more and more responsibility for the jump and my equipment. I selected the parachute, did the pre-checks, and adjusted the harnesses, too. I thought it was a bit overwhelming but I followed the flow I learned earlier and remembered to check everything.

Suit up, (oops, I have my watch on, I'll leave it with Shark for safekeeping) and into the airplane. We had quite a bit more room, so it was easier to check outside the window at what the various altitudes looked like. 2,500. This is my hard deck. 5,000 is my pull altitude.

Door opens for a hop 'n pop. Anxiety wells up like a Tammy Faye Bakker teardrop. Relax, take it easy. I dab the teardrop of anxiety away but it has mascara on it.

Yo Yo has me envision the skydive in my mind and I do, but sometimes the thought of going out of the airplane with just one jumpmaster bothers me. He has me go through the dive flow again, slowly and deliberately. That helped tremendously. Woooo. Not as bad as my second jump but I'm definitely a little tense right now.

Jump altitude, door open! The blast of cold air hits us, but it's ok.....relax, enjoy the dive. Everyone gives me the secret skydive handshake which I've now nailed to the point that I am reasonably certain I won't get arrested on the ground. Out goes all the others, now it's our turn. Yo Yo has me spot prior to climb out. I have to hold the rail with my right hand and look out underneath the airplane. I point out my target, and get the thumbs up, and it's time to go.

I cross my hands on the rail, and do a pirouette into position. Wow, it feels like I'm already in free fall! 45 degrees left shoulder out, left foot dangling, check JM, OK, (no one else to look at, it is time to skydive!)

Ready!

Set!

Shit! I started my leg count OPPOSITE to what I was doing, so "Arch" was my leg against the bottom of the doorway. Maybe no one saw it. Improvise, quick. Think of a word, Shit works.

So the exit went Ready, Set, Shit, Arch!

This was the first time I could see the jump ship the whole time until we came off the hill. Wow!

First COA, at 11,500, thumbs up! PRCT, slow and deliberate just like Yo Yo told me, bingo, nailed it. Second COA, about 10,000, thumbs up!! I pick out my heading on the horizon. It is a beautiful view, with the Pacific Ocean in the distance, blue, reflecting the afternoon sun. Ahhh. Heading is solid. Suddenly a jumpmaster appears between me and the Pacific Ocean. Jesusmaryandjoseph it's Yo Yo!! I do the math. One jumpmaster minus one equals zero. I am falling on my own.

Sometimes you just get into a different kind of conciousness in a skydive, do you know what I mean? I had a strong emotional flashback on learning to ride a bike, and watching my dad let go of me. Of course, I had more than 4 and a half minutes to learn that skill.

In any event, Yo Yo had an ear to ear grin on his face. I was a little anxious. I started a small turn to the right, and corrected. I got the relax sign from Yo Yo (these guys are good). It fixed it. Then I started to get a little buffet, which kind of surprised me. Yo Yo gave me the legs out sign. I did that, but apparently I wasn't paying enough attention to leg position and I started a pretty good left turn.

This was obviously evil spirits pushing me around since I thought everything position wise was great. I stopped the turn at 180 degrees and got the legs out sign from Yo Yo who somehow managed to be waiting for me at the end of my little carousel ride. Laughing now. That was when I felt my legs moving all over the place. I was at 8,000 ft and in a tango competition from all the foot movement I was making. Concentrate, but don't obsess on the problem. Relax, chill. Feel the pressure on the legs and toes.

Yo Yo drifts over to my left, a bit away, 6,000, lock on, I decided to wave and pull at 5,500 instead of 5,000. I just wanted the extra couple seconds to find the PC. This is MY jump. Oops, forgot to wave off, forget it, I'm already on the handle, got it, pull!!!

I feel the increasingly familiar sensation of the bag coming off my back and the risers coming up. I look over to my left and see Yo Yo, still smiling, turn left and track off. Swee......BAMMO!

That was kind of a hard opening. Not bad, but harder than in any other AFF jump I've done. No problems, check canopy, it is good. Shark, who has without a doubt by now hocked my watch, told me about rear riser turns, and flat turns. Time to experiment, and let's see what this baby can do. Thumbs down and pull, ugh, on the left riser, same with the right. Hmmm. Much more sluggish, but it works.

I told Shark and Yo Yo that once I did my controllability checks I was going to do some tight turns one way, roll out level, and go the other way. I didn't want to spook someone into thinking something was wrong. Left tight 360, toggle ALL the way down. Man, you really spiral down, even under a 260 sq. ft. canopy! Same to the right......Yo Yo comes on the radio and tells me it was a good skydive (really?), and that he had bought my watch from Shark. He tells me this landing will be on my own, unless I'm late in the flare, and then he should get the watch for free.

I entered my pattern, a bit high and tight at the X, extend a bit, oops, I'm coming down steeper than I thought, Yo Yo tells me legs together, I do, for a couple seconds, wait, wait, shoulders, and down.....tiptoe landing! Yes! I raise my hands in triumph and ecstasy as my chute reinflates behind me from the wind and I start to get pulled backward.

Hey, Bumpkis, the skydive isn't over yet! I collapse the chute, and Mark heads out to pick me up in the cart.

"Great landing, man!"

"Can I have my watch back?"

"How'd it go?"

"I think it went fine, where's my watch?"

"Looked good from down here!"

"Great, sign my logbook for me then, where's my watch?"

Yo Yo debriefed me afterwards. He prefaced what came next with "It was a good skydive, you did great". He then recounted in detail our whole skydive and what I did wrong. That was great, and is exactly what I need to hear. He made it clear from the beginning that I passed, but this was what I needed to work on for the next level. He told me the buffet is something all students have to work through, and he could tell from my corrections I was doing the right thing. He did not have to redock on me.

So, I had fun today, sorry for the long post. I learned that there are no demons up there pushing you around, it is all an issue of learning to fly your body. We have powerful control surfaces that operate most optimally under relaxed conditions. I learned that while it isn't extremely difficult, it is not as easy as many, many of you make it look. I was lock on solid for about 15 seconds, and the next I'm turning. I figured it out thanks to training, relaxation, and JMs who smile at you through the whole skydive.

I just need to figure out how to get my watch back....

Bob

Bob Marks

"-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

[Shark 0]

Good job! I could have gotten more for the watch, but it didn't have those glow in the dark numbers on it. In fact, I don't think there were any numbers.

Yeah, that was Ed's idea to pick you up. He saw you under canopy and brought up the golf cart. Brittnay, the German hottie laughed and mentioned that I had no confidence in your canopy control & accuracy.

[skyyhi 0]

Geez, you had fun on the ground with Mark and fun in the sky with YoYo. . .I am sooooo jealous. . .

Well, I'll get to play around with the guys this weekend when I finish AFF. . .too bad you have to go to Hawaii. . .you'll miss the bonfire and beer. . .course I am sure the other guys will drink your share. . .

Congrats on finishing and good luck on AFF 5 tomorrow. . .

________________________________________
Take risks not to escape life… but to prevent life from escaping. ~ A bumper sticker at the DZ
FGF #6
Darcy

[skylord 1]

Quote

Brittnay, the German hottie laughed and mentioned that I had no confidence in your canopy control & accuracy.

See? She's going through a painful divorce after her drunken weekend in Las Vegas and you can't even find my contact info. Are we talking about the same Brittnay?

I'm a sexy, sexy student, sky diving bitch!

Bob the sexy sky diving student bitch

Bob Marks

"-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

[GentleTiger 0]

What a great story, I loved reading it, especially because my mind plays the same games yours does. I only hope my Level 1 goes as well! Good luck on Level 5, keep us posted!

________________________________________
Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a tiger in the sky!! Throw down some steaks and run for the hills!!!

[flyinghonu 0]

My palms are soooo sweaty from reading your post. I'm going to be doing AFF2 in 10 days. Your post helps calm my nerves and remember the most important thing about the jumps...they are supposed to be fun and relaxed
And congratulations!!!

"Excuse me while I kiss the sky..." - Jimi Hendrix

[hawkflight 0]

I love reading cool posts like yours...I'm doing Aff 3 and 4 on Sunday and after reading your post I'm stupid excited..........Keep me posted throughout your progression ....love it

...............................

"Any fool can learn for his own mistakes, a wise man learns from anothers." Mark Twain

[skyyhi 0]

Hey Tom,

Good luck on your AFF 3 and 4 on Sunday. I am finishing my AFF this weekend.

I gotta agree. . .Bob writes a good story. . .too much fun. . .

________________________________________
Take risks not to escape life… but to prevent life from escaping. ~ A bumper sticker at the DZ
FGF #6
Darcy

[hawkflight 0]

congrats on Finishing Aff I ca'nt wait to say the same thing.........Tom

...............................

"Any fool can learn for his own mistakes, a wise man learns from anothers." Mark Twain

[Casurf1978 0]

Hey congrats on finishing up aff 4! Hopefully, I'll see you out there one weekend.

[StearmanR985 0]

I enjoyed your tale! Congrats and keep up the good work.
Hope you have a blast on your next AFF!!