skylord

Wilco! While my travel schedule keeps me hopping, the advantage is that now with my A I can take a day off and jump at all sorts of different locations! I'll do like a Triple A travel guide for DZs......hey, I bet I can get free jumps!!! (See, I'm getting the hang of it!!) Thanks again for the congrats! 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

Jeth, I'm in Chicago right now as I type this, connecting to National in DC. I travel a TON, and come through Chicago at least a half dozen times a year. I'll take an extra day or two to come out to the DZ here.... Thanks for the congrats! 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

http://skyflyer.nl/collision.mov 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

All, Haven't had time to do the write up yet, but I got my A on Sunday at Elsinore!! Wooo hoooo!!!! More later..... 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

OK, I see Han Solo, where's the other? 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

Elisha, Thanks. Was this a comment about writing too much or an observation as to my writing style? I tend toward stream of conciousness, with wry observations interspersed. Why 50 jumps before a hop 'n pop? I was a bit apprehensive, as I wrote, but I think your characterization (and explanation) of being a tad nervous prior to jump 50+ would help us understand the psychology of this kind of jump. Take care. 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

I'm there. One to go. All A license requirements are out of the way, except two. My self packed main awaits me, on my upcoming 25th jump. So this will be a combo jump. Check dive, and pack job jump. I review the packing sequence in my mind, it really isn't as hard as I made it, organize the lines, the cells, the slider, folds, and keep control at all times of a canopy that wants to open on the ground MORE than it wants to open in the air!! Anyway, in advance I just want to say that I am so looking forward to this Sunday. I have absolute confidence in my supervised pack job. I have absolute confidence in the training provided me by every instructor at Elsinore and Perris (wind tunnel). This is going to be fun. And when it is done, I will post the Reader's Digest recounting of my little journey to the A license. It isn't luck, it is training. If I can do it, anyone can. 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

Perfect! Boy can I relate! 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

Thanks! I think you'd find controllers at SoCal TRACON who would never put "talent" and "pushing tin" in the same sentence about me, and would encourage me to do ANYTHING else. To all that wrote about my "high altitude" hop 'n pop, man, 2,500? One of the guys in the back of the plane as we were taxiing out said to just go out the door now, and PLF it. I guess I'll get used to the idea it wasn't that low eventually, but boy after seeing the world exclusively from 12,500 or higher, it sure seemed that way to me!! 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

Cool. Reminded me of the good ol' AFF days, when you and I were young. That was a fun jump, but they all are. 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

Well, in my relentless and glacially paced plodding toward the "A" license, I met and had a discussion with the Notion of the Hop 'n Pop. This is a low altitude jump, get stable, and pull. But you all know that. I had the jump ticket for a week, and just let it lay there while I did my solo jumps at altitude and through a door that has now learned to fear me. I went out this morning, did 15 minutes Perris tunnel time with Erin of Elsinore Gravity, and went over to Elsinore. I get my solo ticket to manifest, and up I go. Jump, turns, track, pull, land, rinse, repeat. A voice calls to me from my pocket. "Bob, why won't you use me?" The Notion of Hop 'n Pop speaks. "Because that is insanely low and maybe they'll drop the requirement tomorrow." "But Bob, tomorrow is Sunday." Crap, my jump ticket is arguing with me. And winning. I sit down, and visualize the last exit, and the fact that I was rock solid stable within 300 feet. You know, screw it. I've worked through fear before, I'll do it again. I decide to divorce my hop 'n pop jump ticket by jumping it. I am initially placed on Load 17 (more later on why I mention this.) I get moved up to load 15 if I can make a 15 minute call. Sure! Lob tells me he'll have an instructor to "throw me out." I already had a rig out and preflighted, so I really had plenty of time. Shark is my instructor, we practice in the mock up. I'm ready, I gear up, and up on the load. I'm the only hop 'n pop, so Shark and I are the very last on the plane. The door sneers at me as I get in, and I do a fake head butt towards it. The door flinches. I respect the door, but I won't bow to its demands to fear it. I have no idea how to get that fold up seat down on the Otter, and even though Shark tells me I keep screwing it up. Ugh. We get the bench down, and buckled in. Off we go. Through 1,000 feet, we open the door. Wow, the back seats are the best in the house on a 103 degree day! I take off my helmet and undo the seat belt. Mmmmm. Nice and cool! I look around at this full load, tandems, AFF, and multi ways. To make room, several people move onto the floor of the airplane. I get a bit overwhelmed that I'm going to be first out, with everyone looking at me. And the door is crowded. Next thing I know, Shark is telling me to get ready. We're already going through 3,500 feet, and I'm out at 5,000. Man, this was fast! Next thing I know, everyone who could reach me was doing the hand slide/fist bang thing that is I guess the rage. Wow! I'm getting thumbs up from everyone. The support is too, too cool. But I've got a bit of work to do. I goggle and helmet up, and move over toward the door, still open. The relative proximity of the ground spooks me for a bit. I grab the bar and stick my head a good foot out of the airplane. I observe what is obviously a challenging spot since I'm going out so low. Shark confirms to me that it looks good. Relax, breathe. Shark taps me on the shoulder, obviously with the life saving advice I need on this jump. I turn to my instructor, who will now give me the words I need, in my moment of need. Here they are: "There's the pizza place!" The pizza place. That was where I bought he and another instructor lunch one day. Shark is hungry. Of course we're low enough that I can almost read the damned sign!! There's 5,000. Great job by the pilot, and the green light goes on. This is LOW!!! Chill, relax, breathe. I see the tandem videographers turn their cameras toward me. I got stable by 12,200 on the last jump. I've got more time than my ground proximity early warning system is telling me. Just no maneuvers this time. Check in with the very hungry Shark, OK. Poised exit. Arm out, in, go. It was fun!!! I went out a bit tensed, rolled to the left, and relaxed into an arch right away. I come head up, and I'm at three in my count but stable. Pull time! Arch, reach, there it is! Pull! The pilot chute pulls as easily as a watermelon seed sliding between your fingers. I feel the risers come up, my legs drop, but I'm still hauling ass. The chute has not opened fully. This gets my undivided attention. It is out there fluttering around long enough for me to direct an expletive laden tirade at it. It opens, eventually, and I'm under my main canopy. But I have NEVER had an opening that took so long, and why did it happen on the lowest exit in my life?? I'm going to take up my dissatisfaction with Customer Service! For the first time, I check my altimeter. 4,200. I was shocked, I was sure I was under 3,000. I actually had time to have fun with the canopy! I land, but get hit with a 90 degree wind change at about 15 feet, and PLF it in. No problems, and not even a bruise. I couldn't correct the drift in time safely, so I decided to take a roll in the dirt. I field pack, and get back to the briefing area. I had time to cool off, take off my jump suit, and get Gatorade and water. I decide to watch some of the others from my load come down. Shark is going the other way. "Good job!!" Really? Now he was on the load with an AFF student so went all the way up where you can't read pizza signs. Marie comes by me, and asks how my jump went. I said fine, but wouldn't you know it that was the LONGEST opening I ever had. She looks at me and says, "Well, you weren't at terminal velocity, that's why." All of a sudden I remember. I had been told that a hop 'n pop, done correctly, will take longer to open. They told me that, and I feel like a complete idiot. Anyway, thanks to Elsinore for getting me on the earlier load, since my original load was cancelled when this freak thunderstorm went through. I had a great Saturday. Shark debriefed me, and said the exit was a little shaky, but I recovered and flew. Everything else went great. I'm almost there. EVERYONE on the load was great, and while this will come as news to Shark, when you were looking out the door, they were telling me to just push you out. (jokingly). So I mimed it. Thanks to all of you who have helped me to this point. I'll never forget each and every one who have gently encouraged, and taken time with me to get me here. I'll have more to say later, but from this newbie's point of view to all of those with more experience: NEVER underestimate the effect of your words, advice, counsel. We look to you for all the subtle clues. I have never met any experienced skydiver who was too busy to take time with me, do a gear check, or answer any question I had. One told me, when the plane was touching down, that my request for a gear check was sufficient to have the plane hold a few seconds. Long story, the plane was early, we were late. But that dedication to safety means the world to me. We had a bunch of solos show up on one load, including me this morning. So a very experienced skydiver comes over when us newbies are having a "Who's on First" discussion as to exit order. She set it all up, and it was a safe jump. Her name is Ashley. She also did my gear check for me. Thank you! Anyway, relax, listen to the instructors, they KNOW what they are doing, and have fun skydiving. 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

Um, rrrrriigghht. This explains why the spot looked good to me and my cypress fired. 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

That is excellent, boy, you guys have your act together! 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

OK, but I have to tell you that I didn't get my legs in fast enough on my AFF-8 recurrency jump. This resulted in Shark accidentally being my first kiss pass. He wasn't bad, by the way. Not really. He was actually awful. OK, so are you out on Sunday? I wasn't able to do my planned jumps with the weather. So Plan B is tunnel Saturday early am, coach dive (fall rate), hop 'n pop, and try to pack a jump job. Sunday am is my check dive, and then I'm yours. 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

Excellent shot. I like the horizontal wind tunnel set up at the mock up next to the bar to help students get ready for the wind blast at the door. I think it is a valuable tool. What ever happened to those guys that got blown through the bar onto the grass? 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

All, I am so flattered everyone is asking me to dance! (Or more accurately pay for their jump ticket and/or drinks afterwards.) I want to start slow, so I have to decide between Frenchy, Bob, and Darcy. With whom will be my first two way? Hmmmm. Not surprisingly, I choose the hottie. Darcy, we're on. Before doing a four way, I want to make sure I can fly safely two way, in real conditions. I'll still buy the drinks, but Darcy is my date. I'll go slow on the two way stuff before moving up. That's it, problem solved! 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

No problem, then you, me and Frenchy (and the other Bob) can go funnel a 4-way. . .it will be HYSTERICAL. . . See ya soon. . . Darcy, I'll pay for the video for all of us. that way I can feel free to post it on skydivingmovies.com. So are we set up? Frenchy, you, Bob, and me at Perris? Tell me, where will I go in this four way? How do I exit? What if I suck?? What will we do? What if I start to cry? This is just way too much fun. I can't believe I'm even talking about this!! Fill me in on the details! 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

Michele, Sorry for the delay in replying. Great to see you too! Perris will be my second DZ, I've already decided. Hope to jump with you soon! I still owe you the Elsinore Burnout Auction date, right?? 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

Yeah, that's a good point. I'm rethinking my position right now. IF you can do it, I recommend it. Making it a waiverable requirement for AFF may be too much. You're probably right. I love tunnel work, I've got almost 45 minutes in the Perris tunnel. I'm going back this weekend, and then taking my A license check dive. I'm working with coaches from the top teams in the world. I'm spoiled rotten, and I think I fell prey to my own experience versus what is generally available out there. Sorry for that. Thanks for the counterpoint! 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

Rettrae, I know. The door would open, and on the multi ways I could feel the plane pitch down when the jumpers went. Arrgghh! Once I'm in the door, I'm good, and I've NEVER boltered an exit. I may not like it as much as I think I should have early on, but now I really dig the rush. Plus the tandems are watching, have to be brave! Save the screaming for free fall. . Now, I just love it. I really do! Thanks for the well wishes, I'll let you all know how the A dive goes! 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

I'm a newbie, but I would equate learning to skydive without tunnel time to learning to drive in a stick shift car. It can be done, but why add the headache? My two cents is roll in ten minutes into AFF, around level 4 or 5. Get the basics early on. I think it should be mandatory. My training took a whole different turn afterwards. However, I think a AFF-I should be able to waive the requirement for those who show exceptional progress on a case by case basis. 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

Bro, Life is funny. You'll be sitting there, across from an AFF student you think you never saw before in your life. Suddenly you'll recognize the person. It'll dawn on you. It will be golden. "Fat, dumb, and stupid" is no way to go through your grad dive. Now gear up and impress me. Don't worry. If there is one thing I've learned in life it is that the insecure people are the assholes. Never met, but if you're a medic and in love with a wonderful person, you have the world by the tail. Disregard all else! 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

Number One, It would be an honor for me, sir!! I cannot believe I'm almost there! Dos 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

Mark, Thanks! There was a song I heard that had a refrain, "Take That, Monster!" While I think it had a different connotation, I loved the song. 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

Wow, I can't even believe I'm almost ready for this! I'll be out Saturday early am at Perris for tunnel time, and then straight over to Elsinore after that. I should only have to do two jumps. I'm going to take Wednesday off, do a refesher packing course with Bill, try to jump a solo that day, and maybe my hop 'n pop. The solo will be my pack job. So get ready, skyyhi! You'll be taking my virginity away! 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