My First Jitters

[Shadowplay 0]

I did my level two today and had a lot harder time stablizing myself in freefall than I did on level one. Sure it was a 5-7 seconds delay at most but I've been walking around with a nervous feeling ever since and thought maybe if I wrote some crap down I might feel better. My JMs said the rest of the dive went fine, they just couldn't figure out why my exit was so crappy especially since I had no problem on level one. I thought maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was a different, faster plane or that I had driven for 14 hours from Tennessee and probably wasn't as focused as I should have been because of that. Then maybe I started wondering if I'm always going to have this problem now and evil doubts started creeping into my head.

I guess I'm stressing about this because I'm such a perfectionist. I know I probably shouldn't worry about it, I mean the rest of the jump went fine but it continues to linger in my head- why the f*ck couldn't I get a good arch out the door this time?

The clouds rolled in so I wasn't able to jump again, but at the very least the whole thing taught me a lesson. Try to end the day on a good jump.

~SP

[MattyBoy 0]

I wouldn't stress if I were you, it sounds like your JM isn't! I think that AFF is almost designed to highlight some potential problems in order to prepare you to deal with them when they happen when your solo, (eg. the JMs sending you unstable to ensure that you can recover). You should try to see it as a positive that you had a slightly shaky exit with instructor(s) there...if you never had a bad one until you were on your own you wouldn't know what to expect! Anyway, 5-7 secs hardly sounds like a long time to me, I took longer than that from 3k on my first Hop&Pop!

Enjoy the rest of the stages!
Matt.

by trhe way, what aircraft are you jumping from then?

I may be gullible but at least I have a magic fish

[BobB 0]

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I guess I'm stressing about this because I'm such a perfectionist. I know I probably shouldn't worry about it, I mean the rest of the jump went fine but it continues to linger in my head-

You must be my twin. I did AFF CAT-A and CAT-B Saturday. I was scared that my CAT-A JMs would fail me because I felt like I didn't do what I thought I should (I felt like I zoned out and failed to lock on altimeter at 6k). All I could think walking back to the packing area was "jeez...my alt awareness sucked...maybe I'm not cut out for this...etc."

As for your exit, I wouldn't worry about it. Jumping a different aircraft would make a world of difference in my newbie opinion. Not to mention maybe being exhausted from a long drive.

Don't worry about it!! Enjoy it.

Yes, I know it is snowing.
No, we are not putting the top up.

[Shadowplay 0]

It was a Twin Otter I believe. It was the same kind of plane that I did my lvl one on but a lot faster I guess with a lot more prop blast. I didn't think I had any trouble getting in the door or anything, it's just that everytime I started going into an arch I started kicking my legs for some reason...

Thanks for the words of encouragement by the way..

[Fast 0]

I just made my third trip out of a plane today, and every one I make seems to get me a lot more comfortable with what I'm doing.

I had mostly stable exits today, and I think once you have a few nice ones your confidence will go up (mine sure did.)

GL with AFF, I can't wait to get up and do L3.

~D
Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me.
Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

[AggieDave 6]

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I guess I'm stressing about this because I'm such a perfectionist.

Ok, good for you...now get over it.

I know that sounds harsh, but its not intended to be. See, a lot of folks in skydiving are like that, but they have all had to come to realize that no matter how long you're in the sport, no matter how many jumps you have, there will be some aspect of this sport that you suck in. That is what makes this sport so damned cool. It is darn near impossible to be the best in everything. In a couple things, sure, its been done, but in everything...nope.

Now apply that to your situation. You've just begun the journey. The destination is your goals, those goals (as little as they may seem, i.e. "I'm going to stand up this landing") can be reached with dedication and time. However, even as simple as your goals may sounds and seem, they're not. They require very dynamic skills that can only be learned by time and jumps (even with some short cuts that can be taken...i.e. tunnel camps, canopy control classes, etc).


So stick with it, don't stress about it, smile and enjoy the kickass sport that you're appart of. If you have to repeat student jumps, so what, it doesn't matter, just keep on learning and keep on going, you'll get through it.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[Luna 0]

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it's just that everytime I started going into an arch I started kicking my legs for some reason...

This is actually very common. I was kicking for at least the first five jumps or so. It's an unconscious reflex thing. Don't worry about it! Everyone has stability problems at first. I mean, if we didn't have problems, we wouldn't need training, would we? And you will find that you may have a nearly perfect jump one time, and the next time it all goes to shit. It just happens. The main thing is to accept that you are learning, that you will get better, and that as long as you learned something on every jump, you did not fail! And most importantly, try to relax. It really helps with your stability when you can relax. Good luck!

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

[DA50 0]

You have to remember this one, very important thing.........you have to HAVE FUN !!!

You only have a couple jumps Relax. It will come to you.

Before you know it, you are going to get all bent out of shape because you missed your slot on an 8 way.

The learning never stops.