Damn!

[Luv2Fall 0]

Failed my C-2 (1-JM Release) for the second time yesterday. The first time, I had a slow right spin, stopped it and then started left slow spins. Yesterday, I had it nailed right after getting stable (almost immediately) after exit at 15,000 feet and had a wonderful stable fall until 6,000 feet when I locked on......I started spinning. The more I "tried to relax, the quicker the spins began.....they got so fast my JM tried docking to me twice to no avail. I then couldn't see my altimeter, worried as hell about line twists......I pulled.......luckily, no line twists. I was under canopy at 3,000 feet. Had an uneventful canopy ride and a great stand-up landing. I had the jump nailed until the end. I really don't know what happened or why. My JM said I tried too hard. He claims it was the best student C-2 jump he has ever seen until the end. Any suggestions or advice? I will do this jump for the third time, but no more as I truly can't afford to failing again anytime soon. Thanks.

[Hooknswoop 19]

Whatever you did to not spin......do that at pull time.

Some people teach putting the thumb of the left hand on top of the head while the right reachs for the handle. I don't pull that way, and it causes the student to drop their head, de-arch, etc. I teach to look over the top of your left hand (keeping it low), using it as a gunsight/front sight post, on the horizon. This keeps their head up, allows them to read their altimeter as they pull, keeps their shoulders more level, and is easier to hold a heading.

Most turns I have seen at pull time are to the right. As the student lifts their left hand up and they reach back with their right hand, they drop their right shoulder and lift their left, = right turn.

Hook

[Luv2Fall 0]

Thanks so much....it makes sense. Well, I "aborted" the pull and went back into a neutral position and arched to get stable again and that's when the fast spins got cranked up.

[Hooknswoop 19]

Remember, 1) Pull, 2) Pull on time, and 3) Pull stable. If it is pull time, PULL! You don't want to spend the rest of your life trying to get stable.

People tend to tense up at exit, start to relax, tense up for the pull and opening, then begin to relax, then tense up for the landing again. Be aware of these "peaks" of tension and be prepared for them, relax.

Hook

[PhillyKev 0]

I would get all wobbly and unstable at pull time for my first few AFF. Was definitely tension/anxiety...would start as soon as I locked on my alti and get progressively worse as I tried figuring out what the hell was going on.

Try this...as soon as you lock on, take a deep breath, look out at the horizon and then back at your alti. That's what got me to loosen up.

[rendezvous 0]

looks like you chose to pull when you felt things were getting out of hand. I'd say thats good thinking. Right on line with the cardinal rule: pull, pull at the right altitude, pull stable. It's the most important thing to remember and you did. As for the rest, well what does your instructor suggest you do ? he's the best one to get some input from since he's seen you do what you may have been doing wrong.

[Luv2Fall 0]

Great advise all......thanks!

The video doesn't show any obvious reasons.......my JM thinks that when I started to spin "I tried too hard not to"......relaxation problem?

[Clownburner 0]

When I did AFF6, I locked on at 6k and I was completely, totally, rock-solid stable. I then thought "Wow, I'm really stable, I should keep it like this" and almost instantly got slightly wobbly. ;-)

Sometimes the best thing to do to keep stable is to not worry about getting stable. Thinking about it too much seems to 'jinx' it and the tensing of your muscles causes you to get wobbly.

Keep at it, and as long as you follow the golden rule (pull!) you'll improve! good luck!

7CP#1 | BTR#2 | Payaso en fuego Rodriguez
"I want hot chicks in my boobies!"- McBeth

[blewaway5 0]

First my disclaimer: I'm not an instructor, I'm not a coach, I'm just a jumper. Now with that out of the way try this. Someone told me this and in some screwed up way it really helped me a lot. Of course I'm a little not normal at times. Anyway, have you ever done that thing when you were a kid where you relax your hand, especially your finger, and you can flick it with you r other hand and it just bounces around like it's not alive? Do that, then understand that you have to make a conscious effort at first to be able to do that with your body. Muscle memory takes practice, otherwise we'd all be black belts or something. Ok, now you can all laugh at me for that if you want, but it did actually help me relax when I first started.

Truman Sparks for President

[ltdiver 3]

Quote

...C-2 (1-JM Release) for the second time yesterday....

...I will do this jump for the third time...

How's that right rotator cuff injury doing?

ltdiver

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[Luv2Fall 0]

Held up very well......quite pleased.

Was afraid to chance it Saturday, but Sunday the weather was (again) so beautiful I couldn't pass it up.

Thanks for asking.

[Luv2Fall 0]

I watched my trainig video three times this morning......in a nutshell, my arms and hands are tensed. While both standing and then lying on the floor, I felt the tension in my arms and hands....made a conscious effort to relax them and got the feel of them being relaxed.

Gonna jump again tommorrow and try to nail it.

[riggerrob 643]

Remember to breath in freefall.
Especially remember to breath at the most stressful parts of the skydive, like exit, pull and landing. Incorporate breathing into your dirt dives to build muscle memory.

[skymama 37]

Quote

Remember to breath in freefall.

Wait a minute...I thought we all breathed through our skin!

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon