TheLackey

Dude 323 checking in if it's possible. No excel here, and really don't want it anyway.

Students are pretty much insulated from freefall mistakes that endanger others because of the supervision. Canopy piloting for the first few jumps also needs some supervision, and better yet, some input. It differs among individuals for how long, but it is in the best interest for everyone on the jumprun, on the DZ and in the sport that those first flights end up in the best way possible until they can be trusted to do mostly the right things by everyone else involved. You admit radios are a pretty good idea and that arrows or paddles are great tools. Call me coddled, but the one-way radio conversation in the pattern helped. My I's never talked to me after jump three, but they could have if there was a problem after that. Safety first. Perhaps the issue is the over-talking guys you have seen and not the radios themselves. And I haven't been around much either.

Oh to have had the presence of mind to plf and not sit and slide yesterday after an incredibly great AFF level 5. I was taught the plf and practice it daily, but shit happened. I watched several TI's slide it out with success before I went up. No excuses though. I think I flared too late, but my instructor said I didn't finish it which could also be true. My sit was on top of my left hand, and either that or the slide on top of it broke a bone as evidenced by the x-rays today. The hand specialist doc is tomorrow, and I hope to talk him out of a cast, if only because I did learn a valuable lesson and am a pretty active guy with plans that don't include plaster. And I want to graduate from AFF this weekend. It was all on me. No doubt about it. And I think that's part of learning to be safe and being able to keep jumping. I forgot my training in the moment and got a relatively cheap reality check in the big matters of skydiving. I slunk out of there quickly without talking about it in my debrief and after paying for my next jump while having a hard time signing my name. I learned a valuable lesson early on and only hurt myself mildly in the process. I was lucky to have have gotten such a good end result. From now I will plan on a plf all the way first. And I will ask the canopy piloting skills questions every time. I really like that part of the skydive anyway.

I did the same thing on my first AFF jump. Had the same thoughts even. Then I realized that nobody (even myself) could take the whole experience away from me. And I plan for it to be a long one. Speeding on the way home and trying to explain the whole thing to those that don't understand it are part of it, but hopefully not for long I repeated and all was great. Did level two the same day. Passed level three with no problems really, and then was given the choice to repeat level four or go on. I chose to repeat. And that is this weekend. No race here, and no reason to give it up for not progressing at the scheduled rate. I am not a natural at this by any means, but do figure that I will get there eventually. Comfort is key, and it takes longer for some. Me included I am finding out. The relax part in freefall it is completely foreign to me, but I will keep at it until it is possible and I can understand what everyone at the DZ talks about. So, two repeats before level five and I have convinced myself that that is fine, just not as cheaply done as some. What the Hell. They have all been great experiences, and worth the time and money. And it gets cheaper. The progression is a lot to handle every time. Stick with it and REALLY prove something to yourself. That's my plan. Good luck to us all.

For AFF, SDD was the best option for me geographically. Then I went there for the first jump course and knew it was the only option for me personally as well. Friendly is the rule. Great people make it so. Five weeks of bad weather on the weekend, five trips waiting it out and three jumps later, and I find myself missing the people and the breakfast burrito there during my work week. I know almost nobody, but meet more every time and look forward to it. I am old and very new to the whole skydiving thing, and it scares the Hell out of me, but somehow I am very comfortable with the situation when there. Credit the staff for that. I feel welcome, and that is enough for me. Don't know why I like them, but I do. It really is a great place to learn and spend the day.