I just completed my 14th IAD jump (I'm in RN school, so I don't have the money for the AFF yet). The first time I didn't hang far enough out on the strut and when I let go I bruised my upper arm badly on the step. I was so high on adrenaline I didn’t feel pain until an hour later. After that, the instructor put sticky tape in the shape of his hands on the correct strut placement. This may help with the grip and keep other students from making the same mistake. I just completed 20 seconds of freefall from the poised position and I do like it better than the hang. Its bad enough on your first jump to battle your brain to get out at even 4000 ft but to deal with the hang and the fear of blowing off makes it worse.
