FallingMarc

Hey- I had to do 2 extra PRCP's and an extra 5 second delay earlier in my static line progression. I had a LOT of trouble keeping a stable arch. Even deployed on my back on a hop & pop. The next weekend, while I was driving to the DZ, I started thinking about all the trouble I was having, and thinking, "Am I really cut out for this?" and wondering just like it sounds you are, if I should turn around. Then I thought, NO, if I quit now, I'll be pissed off at myself for a long time. I made a conscious decision to learn from every mistake I made. My first jump that day was my second 10-second delay; I did a complete barrel roll on my first one. I went up for the second one with no thoughts of screwing up, only picturing myself doing the whole sequence right. I got out, let go, arched, relaxed, watched the plane go up all the way until I had a canopy over my head. It was the best feeling in the world. That one beautiful skydive gave me so much confidence, I have no longer had any thoughts of giving up at all, because I know I CAN learn from my mistakes, as long as I keep going up and getting out. The point I'm eventually going to make here is, don't give up! I had similar thoughts after I made mistakes, but I worked through it, and I know you can too. I'm very glad that I didn't quit. Even better, you recognized what happened when you pulled the wrong handle, and immediately did the right thing to fix it. If I had had a mal that early on, I would have pissed my jumpsuit. Well, if I *ever* have a mal, I'll probably piss. But regardless of my hypothetical urinary problems, you handled the situation, which is great! Hang in there, Marc

I didn't see Ed fall, but on my second dive, (of course, after we talked about all that) I misjudged and tripped on landing. I probably deserved it! Man, that'd be 3 cases I owe! Stupid me, lost my ripcord on the jump after that... and still haven't paid the case for my first freefall... jeez, it's gonna be a hell of a night when I come through and pay up! What I actually did was "hop" off the step feet first, so the relative wind caught me in the back. Now that I've thought about it a little more, I've got to where it makes sense in my head to actually dive off the step, but when I was first trying it, I was still trying to do it as if I was facing forward. My JM told me it was a perfect exit, if I had been sit-flying... Marc P.S. I have 20 jumps now, thank you very much... yes, I should be farther along the progression, but like I said... it's taken me a while to stop spinning!

Thanks everyone! Just passed my two 20-second freefalls today, with my turns coming much easier. I still tend to overshoot my heading, but I get stopped within 30-40 degrees, and the rest will come with time I hope. When I felt myself turning, and knew the problem wasn't my arms, I ended up sticking both legs straight out and bringing them together, then very slowly letting them relax back into a normal position... it seemed to work, however slowly. Also landed on the peas for the first time today... Anne can vouch for me! Now if I could just get it through my head that on a diving exit, you're *supposed* to go head down... Marc

Beautiful story, Michele! My advice, keep jumping, and keep writing!

Between my jumps I'm usually either watching people land from the edge of the fence(yeah, I'm meek, and don't head out to the truck...) or inside struggling to pack a Skymaster. Now that I'm packing, I've noticed that most students don't seem to start packing for themselves till they're off student gear... after doing the big student canopy as well as someone's regular rig(just packing and pulling, while I was learning), I've found out why! Marc

Hmm... I'm just learning to pack, and still jumping massive 300' ZP student rigs with springloaded pilot chutes... so as you can imagine I've come up with many a name to call them in my struggles to get first the bag, then the container closed... I can't WAIT till I get to use a rig with a throw-out PC... Marc

Anne- actually I think Louie is the one JM at Archway that I have yet to jump with! I was on the load where he and Karen went up and did CRW though, on Saturday. I think her name is Karen anyway. Man, I can't wait to graduate to the King Air, it's hard to meet any of you experienced people when I'm stuck in the Cessna! Marc P.S. Only four more jumps required before I start doing coached jumps from the King Air, though... let's hope I don't screw any more up...

Thanks guys! Hopefully with some more practice I'll be able to tell where my legs are a little better. I think the "the wind is my friend" thing might help me a lot actually, that's kind of what it took for me to nail the poised exit--I kept trying to work downward right off the step, and had all sorts of trouble, until I realized the relative wind was right in my face when I left. I had to make myself look straight ahead and consciously think "THAT is what I have to work with!" before I stepped off, but once I thought of it that way, I had no trouble with the exit. Thanks! And see ya next weekend Mike! Marc the Unstable

I'm a little more than halfway through my SL progression. Ooh--I'm gonna get ribbed just for doing SL instead of AFF. Oh well. My problem is thus: I've had some jumpmasters tell me to just let my arms and legs relax when I'm arched, and some tell me to push down against the wind. When I relax, I end up spinning, because I'm still not very aware of the position of my legs, and one gets higher than the other. When I push down, I can hold a heading and control turns, but I get tense and buffet like crazy. I know, my jumpmasters can tell me best, and practice is the best help, but have any of you had a similar problem, or have any tips for keeping myself stable without letting my legs get uneven? Marc

Maybe it's just because it's late and I'm tired, but... what? Screw it, I'm gonna go to bed, then I'm gonna go jump out of an airplane. Politics can wait. M

It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! I want to hug someone! And I want to get pissed drunk... and if you've ever seen me pissed drunk... then odds are I've already hugged you...

Just something else to think about on this topic, especially for newer skydivers or those unfamiliar with flying in general--a stall happens when the wing stops providing lift, which can be caused by airspeed becoming too low and/or the angle of attack becoming too high. On jumprun, the pilot lowers the airspeed while everyone gets out. On larger planes, if everybody runs to the back of the plane while the pilot cuts the speed back, this could cause a stall(airspeed is low, weight shifts back, nose pitches up). The weight needs to be farther towards the front of the plane to keep this from happening, or to help the pilot come out of a stall. This is also why it's important for the weight to be balanced and not shifting on takeoff, when the plane is near its stall speed anyway. Moral of the story, I think: don't fight your way to the door, keep the weight shifting out the door smoothly. And of course, the pilot-in-command has the final say on anything you do in the plane. 'Course, I'm still jumping from a 182. But then again, I was a pilot long before I was a skydiver...

Very eloquently put. But seriously, Dan, I wish more people had that attitude... people will disagree on everything under the sun, but the only way things get accomplished is when people look past that. Nothing is helped when people say, "Nope, I'm not gonna think about that. Your opinion does not even exist in my world." Marc

Argh... cable out here in BFE doesn't carry comedy central... anyone tape it?

Ok, if all the guns in the world suddenly vanished, yes, nobody would get shot with a gun. BUT, passing a law saying nobody can have guns but the government(can you say "police state"?) will NOT make the guns go away. The people that commit crimes with guns are *already* criminals. They break laws. It's what they do. Making guns illegal will not stop criminals from getting guns. I wish some of these statistics showed how many lives were saved each year by legal gun owners defending their families from attackers... Teach your kids about it! If it's not a big mystery, they won't have the urge to explore it! Teach them that guns kill, and to never point a gun at someone. Then take them to a range and let them shoot with you! Then, the gun ceases to be a toy, but becomes a tool. My dad owns a gun, and took me shooting when I was little. I never had access to the gun at home, but since I had been taught what it was, what it was for, and had a healthy respect for it, I had no urge to look for it or play with it. And I would never have even considered using it as a weapon. Marc

YES!! Common sense prevails again! I'm, well, a conservative, dittohead, card-carrying NRA member. But several of my very best friends are flaming liberals. Does that mean we can't hang out without getting into major arguments? Of course not! We have heated debates from time to time, but we still get along. We just realize none of us will change anyone else, so why get mad? Marc

I must be wierd or something, I've never had trouble with flaring too high, but a couple of times I've been coming in on final, thinking I'm getting close, so I start to flare, but then I think "wow, I've still got plenty of room up here, I'll just flare slowly and-SMACK!" Marc

I see myself suddenly losing altitude awareness... Marc

I'd say you have every right to smack him. I'm also of the type that would rather trust myself than someone else in situations like that, but if you can't trust the people you're jumping with to watch your ass, you're jumping with the wrong people. I mean, yeah, he's a whuffo anyway, but if he were to jump with an attitude like that he'd get himself or someone else hurt...

Megadeth's "High Speed Dirt" is the way to go... I can't drive to the DZ without listening to that one. Marc

I was going to jump this weekend... then I got rear-ended. I have a '90 Pontiac Firebird, and I got hit by a bigass Chevy Van. I won't know until I can take it to a body shop on monday, but we're assuming my car is totaled... nobody got hurt, but now I'm suddenly without transportation! It was the other guy's fault(actually a woman, but let's not get into that), and her insurance will pay something, but I'll be damned if I can't afford student jumps after this... Sorry, just needed a place to vent, you can all go back to your regular business now. Maybe I should check into that primal scream therapy... mmmm...

I know exactly what you guys are talking about--I only have 15 jumps but I was hooked from the start! Bad thing about the daydreaming for me is, I work at a golf course... I'm outside staring at the sky all day! "Marc, did you even notice when you ran your lawn mower into that tree?" Hehe... Marc

Hmm... I'm a bit new around here... but I'll volunteer anyway to judge the boobie contest.