FallingMarc
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Everything posted by FallingMarc
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Sounds like you had an awesome day! Congratulations! Marc
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Hey Michele, so, that means statistically, we've got nothing to worry about for a long time, right? Blue Skies and Good Canopies, Marc
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Whats your Name and what do you do for a living?
FallingMarc replied to Viking's topic in The Bonfire
Wow, absent minded me, took me a week to notice this thread. Anyway... Marc Mallette, sophomore at the University of Illinois in psychology... but with every jump, a career in skydiving looks better and better...! As it is, I'm an assistant groundskeeper at a golf course in the summer(I sit on my ass on a lawn mower, staring at the sky, all week long), and hoping to win the lottery or for some rich old guy to give me money so that I can buy a rig and keep jumping during the school year. On the skydiving front, I've got 25 jumps, and my current skills are unstable exits and kicking out of line twists. Eventually I hope to learn to fall in a straight line(sounds like it shouldn't be that hard, when I say it like that). Marc -
Alriiiight! It only gets more and more fun from here on out...
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Wow, that's an odd situation. But in my also inexperienced(25 jumps) opinion, you did the right thing--you saw that your canopy was square, determined that it was safe to land, and made it down safely. The fact that you landed safely is the most important part. Something just struck me as really scary... I'm not totally sure what your situation was, but if your risers were twisted, were your 3-rings clear? I just had a mental image of deciding to cut away, and only one side releases... ::shiver:: Marc
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Archway Skydiving Mmmm... wonderfully familiar view.
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1/2??? What, were you interrupted? Or are you mocking your partner...? Marc
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It's a good thing this happened on the student gear, then, right? Marc
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Wonderful! Isn't it great to work through your fears, then you see it all so much more clearly afterwards? Good to hear you had such a great jump! Marc
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Anne, heh, the composure you saw was partly due to a conscious effort, but mostly due to you guys helping me through it. Believe me when I say I would have been much worse off, and probably not jumped, had everybody not been so friendly and helpful. Thanks everyone for your encouragement! And, oh yes, I owe quite a bit of beer... I don't mind at all though! Marc
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Can't tell my family about it, so I'll tell you guys... I gotta tell someone a story like this!
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Hehe, I know what you mean... my second SL was about six months after my first, then after that day it was almost two months before I went again... each one felt just like the first time! Marc
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A lack of fear and complacency are two different things... if you're not scared shitless getting out of a plane after just one jump, that's great, as long as you don't let yourself get so loose that you lose awareness or start forgetting about safety issues... For me, it took about 15 jumps to quit thinking "I'M GONNA DIE AAAIIIEEEE!!!" climbing out... Marc
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I was pretty sure the FARs said that everyone on board a plane which would go beyond normal flight procedures(aerobatics, skydivers exiting, etc...) had to have a chute on. But maybe that's only for smaller planes...
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Hey, everybody already said it all, but I second it. I think blowing a dive now and then is just something we all have to get used to... it seems like for me, the only way I really learn something is to do it wrong a few times first, then I figure out why it's wrong and can fix it without too much trouble. But it's all worth it when everything comes together for that one perfect skydive at the end of the day! We're all here for you! Marc
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I had a dream where I bounced, but it was way back when I decided I wanted to try skydiving but before I actually did it... good thing it didn't stop me! But just a couple of days ago, coincidentally, I had a dream where I jumped over the golf course where I work, I think it was a demo or something, and when I pulled and looked up, all the lines were straight and the slider was down, but my canopy was all misshapen, like it had a line-over. It was wierd, I just looked at it and tried to figure out what was wrong, because it was flying like normal too, it just wasn't rectangular. I ended up landing it in a lake, too, then I woke up. Wierdness abounds. Oh yeah, and... They can't... at least not legally, I'm almost positive... Marc
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I can't tell if I'm being mocked or not! Come on, I can't be the only skydiver who also happens to play golf (very badly at that)...
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Let's see... currently my skills are limited to turning, diving in a half-assed attempt to track, and checking my altimeter constantly. Plus I can usually land in the general area of the DZ, and I've come up with some really creative new exit positions, but that's getting better... But eventually... RW and freeflying both look like so much fun, I believe I'll have to make a clumsy attempt to learn both of them at the same time. But what I'd really love is to become a TM and cameraman, and see all the new people on their first time out the door! Then again, as long as I'm jumping, I'm happy... Marc
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I won't be able to jump there yet, but I'm sure as hell gonna try to go for at least a day, seeing as how it's only a couple hours drive. It'd be great to meet some of you guys! Marc
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Hard to think of a situation where I'd actually put myself in power lines, if I thought I was aimed anywhere near them I'd rather land crosswind or downwind than risk even possibly hitting them. But if there's no way out, like you said, then I'd do absolutely everything in my power to keep from touching more than one at a time, or from touching them and the ground at the same time, because you don't get zapped if you're only in contact with one. Even if I found myself hanging a couple of feet off the ground, I don't think I'd cutaway--I'd rather wait until help found me and got ahold of the power company to turn off the lines before messing with anything. Marc
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Well, not really a whuffo, but 22 mph gusts over the DZ made me use my saturday for more whuffo-like pursuits... I actually played golf with my family... Luckily, I was able to at least get in the air, in a cessna 172, but the whole "staying in the plane" thing threw me off. Is it just because I'm new, or will I spend the rest of my life unable to concentrate when I can see a beautiful sky? The sight of a huge, bright blue sky evokes a real, emotional reaction that I never knew until I experienced the total freedom of skydiving... Hoping tomorrow brings better weather and blue skies for all concerned, Marc
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Wow... Reading your writings makes me so glad I understand the feelings you describe, and I feel sorry for those that never will. You rock! Blue skies for everyone! Marc
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Excellent, I get to skip the newbie stage! Kinda...
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I saw the subject header and immediately had an image in my head of freefalling with a guitar strapped to me... wonder how much that would spoil the airflow... Marc
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0:2:2... fairly low, I know, but come on, I'm getting there. Two cases of beer owed in one day, though... one for my first landing on the peas without radio assistance, one for losing a ripcord somewhere over one of the many fields of corn in downstate Illinois. Now if I could just work on that first 0... Marc Almost through the whole SL progression! Woohoo!