...and I finally managed to find the time to make it out to the DZ again. I'm all for conserving money so I can pay off my credit card and start saving up to buy my own rig, but three weeks really was too long. Between the crappy weather and my financial situation, odds are good that it will be another three weeks before I get to jump next time.
Today was nice--a tad cold (45ish on the ground), but sunny at least. We had a grand total of three loads go up for the afternoon, and I made it on two of them.
Jump #31
The first load was me, Pat, Kevin, and a tandem passenger. This was the first time I've been in the plane with a tandem, and it was kind of amusing to watch him and think back to how nervous I was and how much of a rush I got from my first tandem, which really wasn't long ago. Since it had been a while since I'd been in the air, I went solo to have a chance to re-orient myself and relax a bit. I've been somewhat unstable on deployment in the past, so I took the opportunity to do practice pulls the whole way through freefall until I was totally stable in them. I think I've been bending at my hips when reaching for my hackey, which puts me into a slow turn... not good for on-heading openings. Once again, I screwed up my flare for a rough landing. I also misjudged the winds and ended up a few hundred feet away from my target landing area.
Jump #32
Pat and John went for a 2-way, and I did another solo. I dove out and did a couple somersaults on exit, which was new and fun. I practiced doing turns with my legs--something else I haven't tried before. I dipped a knee and went spinning one direction, straightened back out, dipped the other knee, and went spinning the opposite direction. I'll have to play around with that some more to get the hang of it so that I'm under a bit more control. I was on target for canopy control, but my landing still sucked, and Kevin was there to get it on video again. I'm used to having new things come easily to me, so all this difficulty with flaring is rather irritating.
I'm going to be working full time instead of part time for the rest of the school year. That will be great for saving money, not so great for having free time. After New Year's I'll have to go back to taking Sundays off from work so I can still jump every once in a while.
On another note, I'm hoping to do a bit of travelling next summer and in my year off from school. I've grown rather fond of the little Cessna-182's I've been jumping all this time, but it would be fun to get some jumps out of larger planes... and maybe a hot air balloon or helicopter too.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
I'm Really Uncoordinated
Today I turned down my manager's request to stay and work a full shift (I was only scheduled for three hours but one of the other cashiers called in sick) to go rack up some more debt at the drop zone. It's a good (or maybe bad) thing the DZO lets me run up a tab and pay it off every couple weeks. Otherwise my jumping would have to be really spread out.
The weather was actually pretty nice. Some scattered clouds, but mostly blue skies. The only problem was that so few people showed up that we had to sit around waiting for enough jumpers to fill a load.
Jump #29
Eventually some other people arrived and Brad, Dan, Pat, and I went up. This was the first time in a long time that I felt nervous on the way to altitude. Last night I had my first very vivid dream about a malfunction and a hard reserve pull, and I guess it shook me up a little bit, but still didn't stop me from going ahead with the jump. Pat and I did a 2-way again, and Dan followed close behind practicing his camera flying. Our exit went fine--no tumbling or anything of that sort. We planned on releasing and then doing some more fall rate adjustment after just falling face to face for a couple thousand feet. For the majority of the free fall, though, we were in a slow clockwise spin, most likely due to some of my leg asymmetry, so we didn't release our grips until just before time to turn and track off. Despite my best efforts to focus on holding my flare, I let up again about 5 feet from the ground for another rough rolling landing. It's really irritating how I continue to mess up my flare without even realizing what I'm doing.
Jump #30
After taking my sweet time at packing the gigantic, new, and slippery 260sq-ft student canopy I've been jumping, I went up on the third load of the afternoon for a hop-n-pop. Brad got out a couple miles from the DZ--right over his house so he could swoop into his rather tiny back yard. Impressively, he made it into the yard without hitting any houses or fences, and Kevin got it on video. My jump went better that the last few I've done. Although I flared about 5ft early, I managed to actually HOLD the flare all the way through for a decent landing. I stood it up, despite the fact that I had not planned on standing up any landings for a few more weeks.
So I made it through the day without injuring my ankle again... that is until I went to walk to my car to leave. I nearly re-sprained my ankle while walking out the DZ door. Doh.
The weather was actually pretty nice. Some scattered clouds, but mostly blue skies. The only problem was that so few people showed up that we had to sit around waiting for enough jumpers to fill a load.
Jump #29
Eventually some other people arrived and Brad, Dan, Pat, and I went up. This was the first time in a long time that I felt nervous on the way to altitude. Last night I had my first very vivid dream about a malfunction and a hard reserve pull, and I guess it shook me up a little bit, but still didn't stop me from going ahead with the jump. Pat and I did a 2-way again, and Dan followed close behind practicing his camera flying. Our exit went fine--no tumbling or anything of that sort. We planned on releasing and then doing some more fall rate adjustment after just falling face to face for a couple thousand feet. For the majority of the free fall, though, we were in a slow clockwise spin, most likely due to some of my leg asymmetry, so we didn't release our grips until just before time to turn and track off. Despite my best efforts to focus on holding my flare, I let up again about 5 feet from the ground for another rough rolling landing. It's really irritating how I continue to mess up my flare without even realizing what I'm doing.
Jump #30
After taking my sweet time at packing the gigantic, new, and slippery 260sq-ft student canopy I've been jumping, I went up on the third load of the afternoon for a hop-n-pop. Brad got out a couple miles from the DZ--right over his house so he could swoop into his rather tiny back yard. Impressively, he made it into the yard without hitting any houses or fences, and Kevin got it on video. My jump went better that the last few I've done. Although I flared about 5ft early, I managed to actually HOLD the flare all the way through for a decent landing. I stood it up, despite the fact that I had not planned on standing up any landings for a few more weeks.
So I made it through the day without injuring my ankle again... that is until I went to walk to my car to leave. I nearly re-sprained my ankle while walking out the DZ door. Doh.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Bad Habits
Despite the fact that I know I should wait a good six weeks (doctor's orders) before jumping again, I went against my better judgment and drove out to the DZ today to meet up with the few brave souls who were undaunted by the clouds and rain. I came away from it unscathed, so naturally I hope to jump some more this weekend, weather permitting.
Jump #27
The first load of the day made it to 5000ft. Unfortunately the clouds prevented us from going above that. I was apparently a little asymmetrical in the 10 seconds or so of freefall I got. I went into a slow right hand turn and managed to relax and stop myself just a couple seconds before deploying. There was a little bit of precipitation, and the feeling of the rain droplets hitting my face was pretty unpleasant, to say the least. Also, my flare pretty much sucked. I flared early, would have been fine, but then let up on my toggles just before touching down. I didn't bother trying to stand it up--in fact I've decided I'm not going to stand up any landings for a while so I don't put unnecessary pressure on my ankle.
Jump #28
The second and final load went to 4000ft. More rain, and even a little snow this time. My canopy opened into a right turn. Maybe my packjob wasn't so great and therefore the left break came unstowed during opening? The condensation that accumulated on my goggles was so bad that I couldn't even see through them, so as soon as I was under canopy and got both brakes released to stop my turn, I took them off and left them around my neck. Once again I flared early and let up just before landing. Kevin got it on video, so I was able to see what I messed up. Seeing my hands go up when I was supposed to be holding the flare, all I could think was "What the heck?!" I didn't even realize I was doing that... all I knew was that my landings had been kind of rough recently. So I need to work on staying focused and making sure to hold my flare. Strange how bad habits like that can develop... early on in my student training I was doing fine with my landings. It's also strange how oblivious I was to what I was doing.
Jump #27
The first load of the day made it to 5000ft. Unfortunately the clouds prevented us from going above that. I was apparently a little asymmetrical in the 10 seconds or so of freefall I got. I went into a slow right hand turn and managed to relax and stop myself just a couple seconds before deploying. There was a little bit of precipitation, and the feeling of the rain droplets hitting my face was pretty unpleasant, to say the least. Also, my flare pretty much sucked. I flared early, would have been fine, but then let up on my toggles just before touching down. I didn't bother trying to stand it up--in fact I've decided I'm not going to stand up any landings for a while so I don't put unnecessary pressure on my ankle.
Jump #28
The second and final load went to 4000ft. More rain, and even a little snow this time. My canopy opened into a right turn. Maybe my packjob wasn't so great and therefore the left break came unstowed during opening? The condensation that accumulated on my goggles was so bad that I couldn't even see through them, so as soon as I was under canopy and got both brakes released to stop my turn, I took them off and left them around my neck. Once again I flared early and let up just before landing. Kevin got it on video, so I was able to see what I messed up. Seeing my hands go up when I was supposed to be holding the flare, all I could think was "What the heck?!" I didn't even realize I was doing that... all I knew was that my landings had been kind of rough recently. So I need to work on staying focused and making sure to hold my flare. Strange how bad habits like that can develop... early on in my student training I was doing fine with my landings. It's also strange how oblivious I was to what I was doing.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
You know it's bad when...
...the "Mighty Mend-It" infomercial on the TV Guide channel gives you the itch to jump out of a plane. Somehow I don't believe that the little tube of glue being advertised really works well enough to repair parachutes. I'm also betting that the guy who jumped the mended canopy for the commercial mentally went over his emergency procedures a few times on the way up to altitude.
Although my ankle is getting better every day, I have at least another week before I'll be jumping again. This week I have a huge amount going on. I'm working about 40 hours. I also have a 15 page paper due Tuesday, a math test on Wednesday, and a speech to give on Thursday. How many pages have I written so far? How much studying have I done? The answer to both of these questions is a resounding ZERO. I pretty much did this to myself... again... but this week is still going to suck. At least I've gathered all the info I need for the paper and I've kept up on all my math homework.
After this week it might be longer yet before the weather is conducive for skydiving. The forecast predicts clouds, rain, and maybe even a little snow. Spring cannot come soon enough.
Although my ankle is getting better every day, I have at least another week before I'll be jumping again. This week I have a huge amount going on. I'm working about 40 hours. I also have a 15 page paper due Tuesday, a math test on Wednesday, and a speech to give on Thursday. How many pages have I written so far? How much studying have I done? The answer to both of these questions is a resounding ZERO. I pretty much did this to myself... again... but this week is still going to suck. At least I've gathered all the info I need for the paper and I've kept up on all my math homework.
After this week it might be longer yet before the weather is conducive for skydiving. The forecast predicts clouds, rain, and maybe even a little snow. Spring cannot come soon enough.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
A Little Something Totally Unrelated to Skydiving
Since I'm pretty sure that very few people are actually reading my blog on a regular basis (and at least two of those that are know me outside of skydiving), I'm going to go ahead and post about what's on my mind even though it does not pertain to skydiving in any way.
I am absolutely shocked tonight, but in a really good way.
A series of personal/family/financial issues have led me to consider taking a year off from school after graduation next spring. I went to one of my faculty members a little over a week ago to discuss this change of plans with him. When he realized that a major part of the reason I was considering taking a year off was my current financial struggles (despite the good news I posted about my mom's job a few weeks ago, not everything has been resolved), he actually offered to pay for some of my graduate school applications out of his own pocket. Today another professor asked to speak with me in his office. He had also heard that I am leaning towards taking a year off and wanted to let me know that if I needed assistance, the mathematics/physics department faculty had agreed that they would be willing to use departmental funds to help me out if it would make the difference between me going to or not going to graduate school. Seriously? Departmental funds? Aren't those supposed to go to things like... oh, I don't know... departmental expenses? When not even my own family is willing to step up to help me, I really never expected such kindness from my faculty. At most I thought they would say something along the lines of "Sorry to hear about that.... But good luck in life!" Instead they're going above and beyond, all to help a student they've only known for a couple years and who will be leaving them in just a few months' time. So I'm slightly overwhelmed and shocked by all this generosity. I mean, that sort of thing just doesn't happen, right?
At this point I don't know what I will be doing next year. I missed a major deadline related to my graduate school applications, so my options of schools to apply to are already limited. I still think I would rather take a year off and start with a fresh opportunity to apply wherever I'd like than settle for going to a school I really have no interest in attending. No matter what, though, I'm not going to take for granted the amazing professors I have had for the past four years. Even though this college was far from my top choice when I was just out of high school, I could not have picked a more amazing bunch of people to spend my undergraduate years with.
I am absolutely shocked tonight, but in a really good way.
A series of personal/family/financial issues have led me to consider taking a year off from school after graduation next spring. I went to one of my faculty members a little over a week ago to discuss this change of plans with him. When he realized that a major part of the reason I was considering taking a year off was my current financial struggles (despite the good news I posted about my mom's job a few weeks ago, not everything has been resolved), he actually offered to pay for some of my graduate school applications out of his own pocket. Today another professor asked to speak with me in his office. He had also heard that I am leaning towards taking a year off and wanted to let me know that if I needed assistance, the mathematics/physics department faculty had agreed that they would be willing to use departmental funds to help me out if it would make the difference between me going to or not going to graduate school. Seriously? Departmental funds? Aren't those supposed to go to things like... oh, I don't know... departmental expenses? When not even my own family is willing to step up to help me, I really never expected such kindness from my faculty. At most I thought they would say something along the lines of "Sorry to hear about that.... But good luck in life!" Instead they're going above and beyond, all to help a student they've only known for a couple years and who will be leaving them in just a few months' time. So I'm slightly overwhelmed and shocked by all this generosity. I mean, that sort of thing just doesn't happen, right?
At this point I don't know what I will be doing next year. I missed a major deadline related to my graduate school applications, so my options of schools to apply to are already limited. I still think I would rather take a year off and start with a fresh opportunity to apply wherever I'd like than settle for going to a school I really have no interest in attending. No matter what, though, I'm not going to take for granted the amazing professors I have had for the past four years. Even though this college was far from my top choice when I was just out of high school, I could not have picked a more amazing bunch of people to spend my undergraduate years with.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Injuries All Around
Last night was the Halloween party at the DZ. Everyone had a lot of fun until some guy visiting from out of town decided to go on a drunken tirade and smash a casserole dish into the side of our pilot's face. Said visitor is currently spending the night in jail awaiting his court appearance, while the pilot is left with a broken jaw.
Jump #26
This afternoon Pat and I went up for a 2-way so I could practice adjusting my fall rate. Our exit went well, but after we released our grips I started to backslide a little because I had my legs bent too far. Even though we didn't do much, the jump was a lot of fun--until it came time for landing. I flared late and upon impact my left ankle made a snap-crackle-pop kind of noise, and down I went. I spent the rest of the afternoon with my leg elevated and on ice. I don't know if my crash was due to the fact that I was jumping a different canopy for the first time and wasn't used to its flare, or if it was just a case of pure stupidity on my part. I knew I would eventually have to deal with skydiving related ankle injuries since my ankles generally find any way possible to hurt themselves. In the past I've had the same kind of injury as the result of walking down a flight of stairs and slipping while playing duck-duck-goose. At least when people ask why I'm limping this time, my story of injury is a little bit less pathetic than my previous experiences.
So I'm out of commission for a while to heal, and in no time I'll be going stir crazy wanting to get back up in the air. On a positive note, though, taking a couple weeks off from skydiving will definitely be a good thing for my checking account.
Jump #26
This afternoon Pat and I went up for a 2-way so I could practice adjusting my fall rate. Our exit went well, but after we released our grips I started to backslide a little because I had my legs bent too far. Even though we didn't do much, the jump was a lot of fun--until it came time for landing. I flared late and upon impact my left ankle made a snap-crackle-pop kind of noise, and down I went. I spent the rest of the afternoon with my leg elevated and on ice. I don't know if my crash was due to the fact that I was jumping a different canopy for the first time and wasn't used to its flare, or if it was just a case of pure stupidity on my part. I knew I would eventually have to deal with skydiving related ankle injuries since my ankles generally find any way possible to hurt themselves. In the past I've had the same kind of injury as the result of walking down a flight of stairs and slipping while playing duck-duck-goose. At least when people ask why I'm limping this time, my story of injury is a little bit less pathetic than my previous experiences.
So I'm out of commission for a while to heal, and in no time I'll be going stir crazy wanting to get back up in the air. On a positive note, though, taking a couple weeks off from skydiving will definitely be a good thing for my checking account.
Friday, October 24, 2008
The A License
Today was supposed to be spent taking the GRE for my grad school applications, but a flat tire on the way to the testing center changed my plans. I missed the test (there's $120 down the toilet) and, after getting the flat fixed, opted to spend the rest of the day at the DZ.
Abbie Mashaal, owner of Snake River Skydiving in Twin Falls, is in town this weekend for a pilot certification course (or something like that) and came by around 3:00.
Jump #24
After sitting around waiting for other jumpers to arrive (though no one else ever showed up), Abbie, Kevin, Brad, and I went up for a 4-way jump. I docked with Kevin, then Abbie and Brad joined us. We all released and did a left-360, and then tried to get back together but ran out of altitude. I, of course, fell below everyone else. I flared a little early (I think...), and although the touch-down was a little rough, I stood it up without a problem. As soon as I got back into the packing area, everyone was sure to point out that this was my FIRST 4-way, so now I owe another case of beer.
Jump #25 (woot!)
Abbie went up with me for my A license check dive. I spotted the load, watched Brad hang from the wing by his feet on his exit, then climbed out with Abbie right behind me. As dictated by the SIM, the dive plan included a right-360, left-360, back loop, and then docking. Abbie started to come in for a kiss pass, but then realized I'd said Kevin had already done that FIRST. Instead he went vertical, pulling me (head-down) along for the ride. I screamed a little out of surprise with that one. My flare and landing went well--not such an impact on my legs as last time.
So I'm done with everything for my A-license (guess what? yep... that's yet another case of beer), except a bit of on-ground emergency review. Tomorrow night I'm going out to the DZ after work for the Halloween party. Kevin and I are going to attempt to find some time to get the review done during the midst of the party, so by Sunday my application will be off to USPA and I'll be able to start jumping with everyone else. In the 7 weeks (plus 1 day) since I started jumping in Idaho, I've jumped 21 times. My non-skydiving friends say I'm obsessed, but an average of three jumps per week doesn't seem like so much to me. I just wish winter, along with a big decrease in jumping opportunity, wasn't so close.
Abbie Mashaal, owner of Snake River Skydiving in Twin Falls, is in town this weekend for a pilot certification course (or something like that) and came by around 3:00.
Jump #24
After sitting around waiting for other jumpers to arrive (though no one else ever showed up), Abbie, Kevin, Brad, and I went up for a 4-way jump. I docked with Kevin, then Abbie and Brad joined us. We all released and did a left-360, and then tried to get back together but ran out of altitude. I, of course, fell below everyone else. I flared a little early (I think...), and although the touch-down was a little rough, I stood it up without a problem. As soon as I got back into the packing area, everyone was sure to point out that this was my FIRST 4-way, so now I owe another case of beer.
Jump #25 (woot!)
Abbie went up with me for my A license check dive. I spotted the load, watched Brad hang from the wing by his feet on his exit, then climbed out with Abbie right behind me. As dictated by the SIM, the dive plan included a right-360, left-360, back loop, and then docking. Abbie started to come in for a kiss pass, but then realized I'd said Kevin had already done that FIRST. Instead he went vertical, pulling me (head-down) along for the ride. I screamed a little out of surprise with that one. My flare and landing went well--not such an impact on my legs as last time.
So I'm done with everything for my A-license (guess what? yep... that's yet another case of beer), except a bit of on-ground emergency review. Tomorrow night I'm going out to the DZ after work for the Halloween party. Kevin and I are going to attempt to find some time to get the review done during the midst of the party, so by Sunday my application will be off to USPA and I'll be able to start jumping with everyone else. In the 7 weeks (plus 1 day) since I started jumping in Idaho, I've jumped 21 times. My non-skydiving friends say I'm obsessed, but an average of three jumps per week doesn't seem like so much to me. I just wish winter, along with a big decrease in jumping opportunity, wasn't so close.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Falling Like a Rock
Jump #23
Tonight's jump was fun. I did a coach jump with Coy, one of the AFF instructors who's not around the DZ very often these days (and who, oddly enough, I met on an internet dating site about a year and a half ago... it's a small freaking world). The plan for the dive was to practice adjusting my fall rate to match his. I did a poised exit and watched Coy follow me out the door as I fell away from the plane. He caught up to me and then sped up to go low. I arched a little harder and caught up to him within a couple seconds before leveling out again to fall with him. Then he popped up above me, and I spent a few thousand feet trying to flatten out and slow down enough to join him. It didn't work out very well. I got my torso de-arched as I was supposed to, but I didn't have my arms and legs out far enough. Around 6000ft I adjusted my limbs to try to slow down more, and then I got really unstable and started wobbling and turning to the right. At 5000ft we turned and tracked away. I took a few extra seconds to re-stabilize before deploying (though my body position still kinda sucked), so I actually pulled a little bit lower than planned (3500-ish instead of 4000ft). On landing I flared a little bit early, but compensated for it as best I could by slowly going to full flare rather than punching it there right away. I was able to run off my extra speed in a few steps for a half-way decent landing.
I was really happy to make it out there for that jump, especially since it had been a full week since my last one. I spotted independently and got us out right where we wanted to be, so there's one more thing checked off of my A-license application card. Now all I have left is some on-ground emergency review and two more jumps. I'm not going to bother saying I'll get everything done this weekend, since every time I do that something gets in the way and I'm not able to jump at all. Instead, I'll just point out exactly how close that license is... only two more jumps!
Tonight's jump was fun. I did a coach jump with Coy, one of the AFF instructors who's not around the DZ very often these days (and who, oddly enough, I met on an internet dating site about a year and a half ago... it's a small freaking world). The plan for the dive was to practice adjusting my fall rate to match his. I did a poised exit and watched Coy follow me out the door as I fell away from the plane. He caught up to me and then sped up to go low. I arched a little harder and caught up to him within a couple seconds before leveling out again to fall with him. Then he popped up above me, and I spent a few thousand feet trying to flatten out and slow down enough to join him. It didn't work out very well. I got my torso de-arched as I was supposed to, but I didn't have my arms and legs out far enough. Around 6000ft I adjusted my limbs to try to slow down more, and then I got really unstable and started wobbling and turning to the right. At 5000ft we turned and tracked away. I took a few extra seconds to re-stabilize before deploying (though my body position still kinda sucked), so I actually pulled a little bit lower than planned (3500-ish instead of 4000ft). On landing I flared a little bit early, but compensated for it as best I could by slowly going to full flare rather than punching it there right away. I was able to run off my extra speed in a few steps for a half-way decent landing.
I was really happy to make it out there for that jump, especially since it had been a full week since my last one. I spotted independently and got us out right where we wanted to be, so there's one more thing checked off of my A-license application card. Now all I have left is some on-ground emergency review and two more jumps. I'm not going to bother saying I'll get everything done this weekend, since every time I do that something gets in the way and I'm not able to jump at all. Instead, I'll just point out exactly how close that license is... only two more jumps!
Friday, October 17, 2008
Sick of Waiting
So this weekend is out. After I get off of work I need to help my mom with some more moving. I WILL eventually find time to get my A license... and then my B license... and then...
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Docking, Part 2
Jump #22
Tonight I did a coach jump with Bill for another dive and dock. I waited in the door a little longer after he let go of the strut so I would actually have to dive. I didn't dive for very long, though, before I fell below him. I need to lose some weight--I fall like a rock and will definitely have problems jumping with people who can't arch enough to keep up with me. I made an effort to slow myself down by flattening out, and Bill sped up as well. In any case, I got back up to him and briefly docked just before 5,000ft, then turned and tracked before deploying. I'm a little bummed because I don't know how much of the fall rate adjustment was due to my actions and how much was Bill helping out.
That A license is definitely within reach. I'm looking forward to being able to jump with other people without having to pay extra for a coach to come with me. If I make it out to the DZ and the weather is nice, finishing up the last few requirements this weekend is a good possibility.
Tonight I did a coach jump with Bill for another dive and dock. I waited in the door a little longer after he let go of the strut so I would actually have to dive. I didn't dive for very long, though, before I fell below him. I need to lose some weight--I fall like a rock and will definitely have problems jumping with people who can't arch enough to keep up with me. I made an effort to slow myself down by flattening out, and Bill sped up as well. In any case, I got back up to him and briefly docked just before 5,000ft, then turned and tracked before deploying. I'm a little bummed because I don't know how much of the fall rate adjustment was due to my actions and how much was Bill helping out.
That A license is definitely within reach. I'm looking forward to being able to jump with other people without having to pay extra for a coach to come with me. If I make it out to the DZ and the weather is nice, finishing up the last few requirements this weekend is a good possibility.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Docking
Jump #21
I made it out to the DZ before 5 tonight and sat around until a little after 6 when the pilot arrived. We went up for the sunset load and I did a coach jump with Kevin for my dive and dock. I apparently didn't wait long enough after he left to get significant separation between us (he was supposed to be 100ft below me), but I did manage to dock with him--just barely. As I got close to him I pushed my right arm down a little bit and started to turn. After we docked, he came in and kissed me. On landing I flared a little late, had too much forward speed to try to stand up, and went with a PLF. For my first kiss pass I now owe a case of beer. Earlier in the evening Kevin also kissed Keith (yes, Keith is a guy). Kevin is all about free beer.
I made it out to the DZ before 5 tonight and sat around until a little after 6 when the pilot arrived. We went up for the sunset load and I did a coach jump with Kevin for my dive and dock. I apparently didn't wait long enough after he left to get significant separation between us (he was supposed to be 100ft below me), but I did manage to dock with him--just barely. As I got close to him I pushed my right arm down a little bit and started to turn. After we docked, he came in and kissed me. On landing I flared a little late, had too much forward speed to try to stand up, and went with a PLF. For my first kiss pass I now owe a case of beer. Earlier in the evening Kevin also kissed Keith (yes, Keith is a guy). Kevin is all about free beer.
Monday, October 13, 2008
The Boogie
Between Friday at 1:00pm and 11:00 this morning I left the dropzone for a grand total of 30 minutes to get food.
Friday was cloudy and miserable. A few of the people coming in from out of state arrived late in the evening, but most didn't get there until early Saturday morning.
Jump #18
I was on the one load that went up in the evening, and we only made it to 4,000ft because of the cloud cover. I managed to hit the step with either my chest or my arms (I thought I felt my chest hit, but Katie said it looked like I hit my forearms from where she was) as I exited. I didn't end up bruising from it, so I'm no worse for wear. I've never had to think about avoiding the step before, but you can bet it will be on my mind for many climb-outs to come. Hitting the step knocked me vertical, and it took about 10 seconds to get back on my belly and stable. It was pretty windy, and after I landed the wind pulled me over and then dragged me about 5 feet before I got my steering line pulled in far enough to collapse the canopy.
Saturday was even more miserable. The winds were between 20 and 30 miles an hour for the majority of the day. A total of two loads braved the weather. After watching their landings, it seemed pretty obvious to me that they probably shouldn't have jumped at all. A couple of people got dragged all the way across the landing area and only stopped because spectators ran out to help collapse their canopies.
Saturday night was interesting, to say the least. For dinner we had a whole pig, with an apple in its mouth and all. Watching the guy who was carving it pull the skin off like a peel on an orange made me almost sick to my stomach. Seeing the cooked blood that had dripped down from its ears wasn't exactly appetizing either. I got up the guts to go ahead and eat some, and of course it was delicious, but I could definitely go without having such a vivid reminder of where my food comes from ever again. We had a huge bonfire, and the fire department showed up after either a neighbor or a passerby called to report a structural fire. Our only guess is that, from a distance, they saw the frames of the old worn out couches we were burning and mistook them for a house. In all the time I spent standing around the fire and listening to the cover band play inside, I had a chance to talk to a huge number of new people, many of whom had come from Washington and Montana for the weekend. I love listening to the old timers talk about the crazy stuff they did in their younger years, even though some of the stories they shared seemed so outlandish that they couldn't possibly be true.
Late in the evening we had a toast to Michelle who was among the 10 people that died in last October's plane crash over the Cascade Mountains. Even though I never even met her, I got teary eyed several times as I listened to Michelle's friends and family share fond memories and express how much they miss her.
Sunday the weather was decent. There was still some wind, but it was at least jumpable. Midway through the day was the 8-way ash dive for Michelle. It was a very somber moment to see the puff of white as they released her ashes into the sky. Kevin was one of the 8 jumpers. He had pretty severe line twists on opening, and because he had opened so low and the canopy he jumps is highly loaded and descends really quickly, there was no time to try to get out of the twists. He ended up cutting away and going to his reserve around at 1500ft. That was the first time I've seen someone cut away.
After the ash dive, there was going to be a record attempt for a women's 9-way jump, but several of the women who had planned to participate got caught up elsewhere. Thus the record attempt had to be rescheduled.
Jump #19
As the afternoon turned to evening, I finally got back up in the air for a coach jump with Ben. After diving out on his count I was supposed to dock with him, but I couldn't seem to get my body position correct to move forward. Instead I literally flew in circles around him. I was extremely relieved to have a nice soft opening with no malfunctions on this jump. Why? Because after my hop and pop on Friday, I packed it by myself. Granted, Rick watched me pack a lot of it, but I did everything myself.
Jump #20
As soon as I got down from the jump with Ben, I went to manifest to see if there was time for me to make one more. John, one of the very experienced jumpers who usually jumps over at the Caldwell DZ, asked if I would do a two-way jump with him. I kept trying to explain to him that I don't even have my A license yet and that considering the fact that I couldn't even successfully dock on my previous jump there was absolutely no way I would be able to pull off any relative work, but he was insistent that I'd do fine. He got the approval of the DZO to jump with me (since he's not actually a coach or an instructor and I'm not licensed yet we had to get permission), and then proceeded to brief me on what we would be doing on the jump. I continued to remind him that I was very new to skydiving and that the jump would be a mess. He continued to tell me it would all work out. Since the jump would at very least count towards the 25 needed for my A license, I went ahead with it. I quickly packed my parachute, this time unsupervised. Fortunately for me, someone walked by and noticed a stupid mistake I made in my line stows, possibly preventing what could have been my first malfunction. We exited the plane, John docked with me, we turned a couple of quick points, but then fall rate discrepancies between the two of us made the rest of the jump a total mess, just as I had predicted. I spent the final 20 seconds trying to flatten myself out to slow down, while John spent it trying to arch harder and speed up to catch me. At 4500ft we both gave up, turned, and tracked. I pulled just below 4000ft. Once again, I breathed a huge sigh of relief to see a good canopy above my head.
Even though not much jumping went on for most of the weekend, it was still a fun-filled few days. My plan to complete all of my A license requirements is pushed back again, but I'm not too bothered by it. I have to successfully complete two dive and docks somewhere in my next 5 jumps in order to get my A right at the 25 jump mark. Tomorrow there is supposed to be a pilot at the DZ in the evening. I'll plan on going out after class again.
Friday was cloudy and miserable. A few of the people coming in from out of state arrived late in the evening, but most didn't get there until early Saturday morning.
Jump #18
I was on the one load that went up in the evening, and we only made it to 4,000ft because of the cloud cover. I managed to hit the step with either my chest or my arms (I thought I felt my chest hit, but Katie said it looked like I hit my forearms from where she was) as I exited. I didn't end up bruising from it, so I'm no worse for wear. I've never had to think about avoiding the step before, but you can bet it will be on my mind for many climb-outs to come. Hitting the step knocked me vertical, and it took about 10 seconds to get back on my belly and stable. It was pretty windy, and after I landed the wind pulled me over and then dragged me about 5 feet before I got my steering line pulled in far enough to collapse the canopy.
Saturday was even more miserable. The winds were between 20 and 30 miles an hour for the majority of the day. A total of two loads braved the weather. After watching their landings, it seemed pretty obvious to me that they probably shouldn't have jumped at all. A couple of people got dragged all the way across the landing area and only stopped because spectators ran out to help collapse their canopies.
Saturday night was interesting, to say the least. For dinner we had a whole pig, with an apple in its mouth and all. Watching the guy who was carving it pull the skin off like a peel on an orange made me almost sick to my stomach. Seeing the cooked blood that had dripped down from its ears wasn't exactly appetizing either. I got up the guts to go ahead and eat some, and of course it was delicious, but I could definitely go without having such a vivid reminder of where my food comes from ever again. We had a huge bonfire, and the fire department showed up after either a neighbor or a passerby called to report a structural fire. Our only guess is that, from a distance, they saw the frames of the old worn out couches we were burning and mistook them for a house. In all the time I spent standing around the fire and listening to the cover band play inside, I had a chance to talk to a huge number of new people, many of whom had come from Washington and Montana for the weekend. I love listening to the old timers talk about the crazy stuff they did in their younger years, even though some of the stories they shared seemed so outlandish that they couldn't possibly be true.
Late in the evening we had a toast to Michelle who was among the 10 people that died in last October's plane crash over the Cascade Mountains. Even though I never even met her, I got teary eyed several times as I listened to Michelle's friends and family share fond memories and express how much they miss her.
Sunday the weather was decent. There was still some wind, but it was at least jumpable. Midway through the day was the 8-way ash dive for Michelle. It was a very somber moment to see the puff of white as they released her ashes into the sky. Kevin was one of the 8 jumpers. He had pretty severe line twists on opening, and because he had opened so low and the canopy he jumps is highly loaded and descends really quickly, there was no time to try to get out of the twists. He ended up cutting away and going to his reserve around at 1500ft. That was the first time I've seen someone cut away.
After the ash dive, there was going to be a record attempt for a women's 9-way jump, but several of the women who had planned to participate got caught up elsewhere. Thus the record attempt had to be rescheduled.
Jump #19
As the afternoon turned to evening, I finally got back up in the air for a coach jump with Ben. After diving out on his count I was supposed to dock with him, but I couldn't seem to get my body position correct to move forward. Instead I literally flew in circles around him. I was extremely relieved to have a nice soft opening with no malfunctions on this jump. Why? Because after my hop and pop on Friday, I packed it by myself. Granted, Rick watched me pack a lot of it, but I did everything myself.
Jump #20
As soon as I got down from the jump with Ben, I went to manifest to see if there was time for me to make one more. John, one of the very experienced jumpers who usually jumps over at the Caldwell DZ, asked if I would do a two-way jump with him. I kept trying to explain to him that I don't even have my A license yet and that considering the fact that I couldn't even successfully dock on my previous jump there was absolutely no way I would be able to pull off any relative work, but he was insistent that I'd do fine. He got the approval of the DZO to jump with me (since he's not actually a coach or an instructor and I'm not licensed yet we had to get permission), and then proceeded to brief me on what we would be doing on the jump. I continued to remind him that I was very new to skydiving and that the jump would be a mess. He continued to tell me it would all work out. Since the jump would at very least count towards the 25 needed for my A license, I went ahead with it. I quickly packed my parachute, this time unsupervised. Fortunately for me, someone walked by and noticed a stupid mistake I made in my line stows, possibly preventing what could have been my first malfunction. We exited the plane, John docked with me, we turned a couple of quick points, but then fall rate discrepancies between the two of us made the rest of the jump a total mess, just as I had predicted. I spent the final 20 seconds trying to flatten myself out to slow down, while John spent it trying to arch harder and speed up to catch me. At 4500ft we both gave up, turned, and tracked. I pulled just below 4000ft. Once again, I breathed a huge sigh of relief to see a good canopy above my head.
Even though not much jumping went on for most of the weekend, it was still a fun-filled few days. My plan to complete all of my A license requirements is pushed back again, but I'm not too bothered by it. I have to successfully complete two dive and docks somewhere in my next 5 jumps in order to get my A right at the 25 jump mark. Tomorrow there is supposed to be a pilot at the DZ in the evening. I'll plan on going out after class again.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
A Few More Hours
Sadly last week's hop and pop was the only jump I was able to get in so far this month, mostly due to the weather getting worse as winter gets closer. So I'm still 8 jumps away from my A license, but this weekend I should (hopefully!) be able to get all 8 and then some at the No Turbines Michelle Barker Memorial Boogie. I took Friday through Sunday off from work so I can spend the whole weekend camped out at the dropzone meeting new people and jumping as much as I can. The festivities are going to be starting around 10:00 tomorrow morning, but I won't get out there until early afternoon because I still have to go to class. Now if I could just motivate myself to do the math assignment that has to be turned in tomorrow morning...
I think I'll just go to bed instead.
I think I'll just go to bed instead.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Simulated Emergency Exit
It was pretty cloudy and miserable by the time I got out of class this afternoon, but because Kevin said they were still going to try to make a couple loads if things let up, I decided to head over and try to wait out the weather. After spending my first hour and a half at the DZ behind the building cleaning up part of the mess left over from refinishing the roof, I was able to make it up on one load before sunset.
Note: I've decided to make my jump numbers here match up with those in my logbook... so please pretend that every jump number from previous posts was increased by 1 to compensate for my tandem in July.
Jump #17
Since it was getting very close to sunset, the jump had to be another hop and pop if it was going to happen at all. Randi and I both got out at 3500ft, Brett (yet another student working towards his A license) and Brad (our jumpmaster for the load) exited at 5500ft. After opening the door to spot, I couldn't help but think about how close we were to the ground. I swear if someone on the ground had waved to me I would have been able to wave back. Since the A license application card mandates that I deploy within 5 seconds of exiting, my plan was to slowly count to 4 and pull on 5. It just so happened that by the time I got to 2 I was stable, so not long after 5 I was under canopy and kicking my way out of some more line twists. It was pretty windy tonight. I did nothing but fly straight to the landing area--no turns, no downwind or base leg of the pattern. Also, I discovered that we actually have a pea gravel landing circle. This was news to me, since the spot I understood to be my target is 15 feet away from it. Anyway, I had a nice braked approach and landing right in the peas.
Even though it was just one jump, it was definitely worth my time to make the quick drive out there. I'm glad I didn't opt to spend the evening sitting in my apartment doing homework... although now I'm going to have to get up early in the morning to do my math assignment that's due tomorrow. I think it's pretty obvious where my priorities are at this point.
Note: I've decided to make my jump numbers here match up with those in my logbook... so please pretend that every jump number from previous posts was increased by 1 to compensate for my tandem in July.
Jump #17
Since it was getting very close to sunset, the jump had to be another hop and pop if it was going to happen at all. Randi and I both got out at 3500ft, Brett (yet another student working towards his A license) and Brad (our jumpmaster for the load) exited at 5500ft. After opening the door to spot, I couldn't help but think about how close we were to the ground. I swear if someone on the ground had waved to me I would have been able to wave back. Since the A license application card mandates that I deploy within 5 seconds of exiting, my plan was to slowly count to 4 and pull on 5. It just so happened that by the time I got to 2 I was stable, so not long after 5 I was under canopy and kicking my way out of some more line twists. It was pretty windy tonight. I did nothing but fly straight to the landing area--no turns, no downwind or base leg of the pattern. Also, I discovered that we actually have a pea gravel landing circle. This was news to me, since the spot I understood to be my target is 15 feet away from it. Anyway, I had a nice braked approach and landing right in the peas.
Even though it was just one jump, it was definitely worth my time to make the quick drive out there. I'm glad I didn't opt to spend the evening sitting in my apartment doing homework... although now I'm going to have to get up early in the morning to do my math assignment that's due tomorrow. I think it's pretty obvious where my priorities are at this point.
Monday, September 29, 2008
More fun at the DZ
I like working the early shift on Saturdays. It leaves me with enough time to run out to the DZ for a jump or two, which is exactly what I did this weekend.
Jump #12
I went up for a solo jump on the last load of the day on Saturday. Julie and Dan also came along and they helped me some more with spotting (though I got distracted and didn't give the pilot the corrections I should have). I was the first one out, and I decided to do a poised exit to minimize time wasted on getting stable. For something to do, I worked on turns again. I'm getting quicker and smoother at them now, and I've pretty much eliminated the unintentional slow turn from bending at my hips. I did a 360-right, 360-left, 90-left, 180-right, and then spent the last few seconds before pull time just relaxing. I overshot the landing again, but flared at the right height and managed to land gently on my feet.
Sunday morning I lazed around the DZ for several hours before getting ready to go. By early afternoon I was finally feeling energetic enough to get in the plane.
Jump #13
Another solo jump, this time with an unpoised exit. I was the last person out of the plane, and I almost fell out the door grabbing at an empty water bottle as it flew out into the wind. I still can't help but laugh a little when I think about the possibility of someone sitting in their back yard seeing a plastic bottle come out of nowhere and land in their lawn. I got out to the north of the landing area and just tracked south until 5000ft, where I stopped to get stable before pulling. My final approach was really fast compared to previous landings. I flared at the right height (according to those who were watching), but there was no way I was going to try to stand it up with as much forward speed as I had. I put my feet down and rolled twice over the right side of my body--another attempt at a PLF. Witnesses said I didn't have my arms tucked in the way I should have and was lucky I didn't hurt anything.
Jump #14
I finally jumped a canopy that I packed (mostly) by myself. I spent a good 40 minutes packing it, asking lots of questions and getting Rick (the S&TA for the DZ) to help me when I got stuck. As I was finishing up with my line stows, we realized that the plane was ready to go and they were waiting on me. I hurriedly finished up the pack job, not asking any more questions and finishing what probably would have taken me 15 minutes in less than 5. Then I threw all of my gear on and headed out to the plane, but not before having 3 people give me gear checks to make sure I closed the container and stowed the pilot chute properly. Rick came with me for another coach jump on tracking. He climbed out on the strut first, and after giving him a count to 3, I dove out the door. The plan was to use Rick as a reference point, tracking directly away from him for 5 seconds, then turning and tracking back. Well, I apparently started tracking too soon--before he got in the position that would leave me tracking perpendicular to jump run. Instead I was tracking directly up jump run (bad idea), but since I turned around and came back after 5 seconds, we weren't anywhere close to other jumpers. The canopy opened without incident, which was a relief considering how nervous I was about packing it. I tried to do some front riser dives, but I lack the necessary arm strength to do so on a giant 260 sq. ft. canopy. I landed about 20 feet from the fallen down fence I mentioned almost hitting in a previous post. My flare was much better, though. I stood it up gently again.
Jump #15
I got one of the more experienced jumpers to pack for me so I could make it up on the last load of the day. Randi (another almost A-licensed jumper) misplaced her goggles and had to ride the plane down. I did another diving exit and practiced flips this time. My front flip was more of just a tumble, but the back flip and barrel roll were pretty well defined. I tracked for 5 seconds or so before pulling, and under canopy I practiced flat turns from half-brakes. Undershot the target by a few meters, but stood it up again.
I'll be jumping again on Thursday, Saturday, and hopefully Sunday of the coming week. Since my first tandem counts towards the A license jump number requirements, I've only got 9 jumps and a couple more checks on the A application card to go. If I can get another 4 or 5 jumps in within this week, I should be able to get my license on the weekend of the 10th at the No Turbines boogie. I should really start saving up some money to buy some of my own gear.
Jump #12
I went up for a solo jump on the last load of the day on Saturday. Julie and Dan also came along and they helped me some more with spotting (though I got distracted and didn't give the pilot the corrections I should have). I was the first one out, and I decided to do a poised exit to minimize time wasted on getting stable. For something to do, I worked on turns again. I'm getting quicker and smoother at them now, and I've pretty much eliminated the unintentional slow turn from bending at my hips. I did a 360-right, 360-left, 90-left, 180-right, and then spent the last few seconds before pull time just relaxing. I overshot the landing again, but flared at the right height and managed to land gently on my feet.
Sunday morning I lazed around the DZ for several hours before getting ready to go. By early afternoon I was finally feeling energetic enough to get in the plane.
Jump #13
Another solo jump, this time with an unpoised exit. I was the last person out of the plane, and I almost fell out the door grabbing at an empty water bottle as it flew out into the wind. I still can't help but laugh a little when I think about the possibility of someone sitting in their back yard seeing a plastic bottle come out of nowhere and land in their lawn. I got out to the north of the landing area and just tracked south until 5000ft, where I stopped to get stable before pulling. My final approach was really fast compared to previous landings. I flared at the right height (according to those who were watching), but there was no way I was going to try to stand it up with as much forward speed as I had. I put my feet down and rolled twice over the right side of my body--another attempt at a PLF. Witnesses said I didn't have my arms tucked in the way I should have and was lucky I didn't hurt anything.
Jump #14
I finally jumped a canopy that I packed (mostly) by myself. I spent a good 40 minutes packing it, asking lots of questions and getting Rick (the S&TA for the DZ) to help me when I got stuck. As I was finishing up with my line stows, we realized that the plane was ready to go and they were waiting on me. I hurriedly finished up the pack job, not asking any more questions and finishing what probably would have taken me 15 minutes in less than 5. Then I threw all of my gear on and headed out to the plane, but not before having 3 people give me gear checks to make sure I closed the container and stowed the pilot chute properly. Rick came with me for another coach jump on tracking. He climbed out on the strut first, and after giving him a count to 3, I dove out the door. The plan was to use Rick as a reference point, tracking directly away from him for 5 seconds, then turning and tracking back. Well, I apparently started tracking too soon--before he got in the position that would leave me tracking perpendicular to jump run. Instead I was tracking directly up jump run (bad idea), but since I turned around and came back after 5 seconds, we weren't anywhere close to other jumpers. The canopy opened without incident, which was a relief considering how nervous I was about packing it. I tried to do some front riser dives, but I lack the necessary arm strength to do so on a giant 260 sq. ft. canopy. I landed about 20 feet from the fallen down fence I mentioned almost hitting in a previous post. My flare was much better, though. I stood it up gently again.
Jump #15
I got one of the more experienced jumpers to pack for me so I could make it up on the last load of the day. Randi (another almost A-licensed jumper) misplaced her goggles and had to ride the plane down. I did another diving exit and practiced flips this time. My front flip was more of just a tumble, but the back flip and barrel roll were pretty well defined. I tracked for 5 seconds or so before pulling, and under canopy I practiced flat turns from half-brakes. Undershot the target by a few meters, but stood it up again.
I'll be jumping again on Thursday, Saturday, and hopefully Sunday of the coming week. Since my first tandem counts towards the A license jump number requirements, I've only got 9 jumps and a couple more checks on the A application card to go. If I can get another 4 or 5 jumps in within this week, I should be able to get my license on the weekend of the 10th at the No Turbines boogie. I should really start saving up some money to buy some of my own gear.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Great News!
Today was a good day. My mom got hired for a full-time nursing position this morning. It pays enough to cover all of her expenses and then some, provides full health coverage as well as a 401k. Also, I found out that I'm getting a raise (and after only a month on the job). I'm going to be taking on a bit more responsibility, helping the managers with a task that has previously been reserved just for them. I'm not sure how much the raise will be, but every little bit helps. This means that a huge weight is lifted off of my shoulders. Barring some sort of catastrophe, the financial situation seems to have worked itself out. Phew!
So now my money earned can be dedicated to skydiving and fun in general. It's amazing how happy that thought makes me.
So now my money earned can be dedicated to skydiving and fun in general. It's amazing how happy that thought makes me.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
My first hop and pop
Jump #11
It's a good thing I'm not expected to buy beer for literally every "first" in skydiving. When I got to the dropzone, a load was about to leave to go to 5000ft, but they had one open spot. After running the idea by Kevin and getting his approval, I decided I'd fill the load. I was on my knees for the whole plane ride so that I could really look around and get a better idea of what the area surrounding the airport looks like from the air. Bill (one of the TI's) pointed out several landmarks and helped me with spotting. My exit went well. I de-arched and looked down at pull-time, which caused me to tilt forward slightly. By 4000ft I had completed my controllability check and was already playing around under canopy. I flared a little late on landing, but I was right on target for accuracy.
Things to work on: look at the plane when I'm falling away from it (I keep forgetting that), maintain arch and look at horizon on pull, PLF if the landing is going to be rough.
A few people from the DZ are heading down to a wind tunnel in Ogden, Utah, this weekend. They invited me to come along, and although I really want to go, I wouldn't feel right skipping out on work on Saturday. They'll have to have fun without me.
It's a good thing I'm not expected to buy beer for literally every "first" in skydiving. When I got to the dropzone, a load was about to leave to go to 5000ft, but they had one open spot. After running the idea by Kevin and getting his approval, I decided I'd fill the load. I was on my knees for the whole plane ride so that I could really look around and get a better idea of what the area surrounding the airport looks like from the air. Bill (one of the TI's) pointed out several landmarks and helped me with spotting. My exit went well. I de-arched and looked down at pull-time, which caused me to tilt forward slightly. By 4000ft I had completed my controllability check and was already playing around under canopy. I flared a little late on landing, but I was right on target for accuracy.
Things to work on: look at the plane when I'm falling away from it (I keep forgetting that), maintain arch and look at horizon on pull, PLF if the landing is going to be rough.
A few people from the DZ are heading down to a wind tunnel in Ogden, Utah, this weekend. They invited me to come along, and although I really want to go, I wouldn't feel right skipping out on work on Saturday. They'll have to have fun without me.
A Visible Difference
One of my professors made a comment this afternoon that kind of caught me off guard. He said that I've seemed happier during the past month than he's ever seen me. He knows how I've been spending my weekends, and he said it was pretty obvious that skydiving is what's making the difference. I guess I hadn't really thought about it, but yes, I am happier now than I have been in a long time. Even though my family situation (read "my mom's financial instability") is more stressful than ever, I'm enjoying life. It's good to have found something that makes the more unpleasant life activities worth suffering through.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Packing
Although I didn't end up jumping yesterday, the day wasn't a complete waste. I got Kevin to teach me how to pack a parachute. My first pack job was really messy. I practically crammed the chute into the deployment bag, and in the end it was very lop-sided and sloppy. I "milked" the lines when I was doing my line stows, so I ended up with a bunch of slack down by the risers. After Kevin came over and pointed out my mistakes, I tore it all apart to try again. Kevin had me go in the other room so he could really tangle everything up and make me figure out how to get it fixed. My second pack job actually went pretty well--so well that he said I should go ahead and put the rig on the table without having someone repack it. I wasn't very comfortable with the idea of my second attempt at packing a parachute being a matter of life or death for another student, so I waited until later in the evening and then pulled it all apart again so that someone who actually knows what they're doing could repack it.
Friday, September 19, 2008
First attempt at tracking
Lucky me, there was a pilot at the DZ last night.
Jump #10
I got out there around 5:00 and got in the plane just before 6. I did a coach jump with Dan, who's been around the sport forever. He was really helpful in going over new canopy techniques with me, and he also answered a couple of my questions about spotting. This was my first tracking dive, and it went OK, I guess. It took me a few seconds to figure out where my heading should be, and then on my first attempt to track I started drifting to the left. Dipping a shoulder to correct the turn didn't work very well, so I went back to the neutral position, turned the direction I wanted to be facing, and gave it another shot. I managed to fly straight this time. The plan was to track back and forth perpendicular (north-south) to jump run, but we were so far north of the landing area that I just kept heading south and didn't stop until just before pull time. I'm now pulling at 4000ft instead of 5000ft. My landing was very gentle, and only 10-15 meters off target.
If I finish moving my mom out of her house early enough on Sunday, I'll try to do a couple solo jumps in the evening. If not, I'll probably be waiting until next Thursday. Pretty soon I'll be out of money (or out of money that isn't already committed to paying my mom's living expenses and mortgage), so unless the DZO is willing to let me start a tab, I might have to take a break from jumping for a bit. If my mom's house would just sell already, I'd be set. Then she'd pay me back the money I've given her, and I'd have few grand extra to start buying my own gear. The only problem with that is so far there's been very little interest in her house. If anyone knows of a family looking for a ~20yr old house with 6 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, and 2 kitchens in a nice southern Idaho neighborhood, send them my direction.
Jump #10
I got out there around 5:00 and got in the plane just before 6. I did a coach jump with Dan, who's been around the sport forever. He was really helpful in going over new canopy techniques with me, and he also answered a couple of my questions about spotting. This was my first tracking dive, and it went OK, I guess. It took me a few seconds to figure out where my heading should be, and then on my first attempt to track I started drifting to the left. Dipping a shoulder to correct the turn didn't work very well, so I went back to the neutral position, turned the direction I wanted to be facing, and gave it another shot. I managed to fly straight this time. The plan was to track back and forth perpendicular (north-south) to jump run, but we were so far north of the landing area that I just kept heading south and didn't stop until just before pull time. I'm now pulling at 4000ft instead of 5000ft. My landing was very gentle, and only 10-15 meters off target.
If I finish moving my mom out of her house early enough on Sunday, I'll try to do a couple solo jumps in the evening. If not, I'll probably be waiting until next Thursday. Pretty soon I'll be out of money (or out of money that isn't already committed to paying my mom's living expenses and mortgage), so unless the DZO is willing to let me start a tab, I might have to take a break from jumping for a bit. If my mom's house would just sell already, I'd be set. Then she'd pay me back the money I've given her, and I'd have few grand extra to start buying my own gear. The only problem with that is so far there's been very little interest in her house. If anyone knows of a family looking for a ~20yr old house with 6 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, and 2 kitchens in a nice southern Idaho neighborhood, send them my direction.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Nothing to do
No pilot this evening, so I've been sitting around my apartment for hours trying to find something to do. I sincerely hope there's a pilot available on Thursday, since Sunday is going to be taken up helping my mom move, and I'm working every other day for the next week.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Off of student status, on to solos and coach jumps
There were several tandems as well as a few other students scheduled throughout the morning and afternoon on Sunday, so I took advantage of the downtime and did some reading for one of my classes. Around 5:00pm I finally got up in the air again.
Jump #8: AFF Category E-1
Since I was so nervous for the unpoised exit, Kevin agreed to let me do one more from the poised position. This was my first exit without an instructor holding onto my harness, and even that was somewhat nerve-racking. I stabilized shortly after leaving the strut and then did a back flip followed by a barrel roll. This was my first attempt at aerial acrobatics, and the maneuvers were, of course, rather sloppy. The main goal, though, was just to get off balance and then regain stability, which I did without any problem. The winds were coming from a different direction than they have on my previous jumps, and I had some trouble adjusting my landing pattern to compensate for the difference. I ended up way overshooting the target, landing not far from the runway and only 10 feet or so from a fallen-down barbed wire fence. I didn't get the flare right either and had to roll on landing (not quite a textbook PLF, but it worked well enough).
Jump #9: AFF Category E-2 (my graduation jump!)
On this one I faced my fears of the unpoised exit, which turned out to be a lot less scary than I had imagined. I managed to get my belly into the relative wind coming from ahead of the plane and didn't really even tumble before stabilizing. Then I did a front flip (or at least a messy attempt at a front flip) and tried to track forward to dock with Kevin. In three attempts I managed to maintain my heading and reach him once. On two of the attempts I was cocking one leg to the side, which caused me to turn to the left a little. My landing went better this time. I did a few too many s-turns near the bottom and bled off more altitude than I needed to, so I actually landed a little short of the target. My flare was much better and I was able to gently stand up on the landing.
And with that I was cleared for solo and coach jumps. If there's a pilot available, I'll go back out to the DZ tomorrow evening when I get done with classes. I'm not very confident in my spotting capabilities, so I'll probably pay a little extra for a couple coach jumps so I have someone there to help me out with it. I want to work on tracking some more, and just for fun I'd like to try some more flips. If I can continue to afford jumping as often as I have been in the last couple weeks, it won't be long before I'm able to get my A license. And to think... two months ago all I was going to do was a single tandem jump.
Jump #8: AFF Category E-1
Since I was so nervous for the unpoised exit, Kevin agreed to let me do one more from the poised position. This was my first exit without an instructor holding onto my harness, and even that was somewhat nerve-racking. I stabilized shortly after leaving the strut and then did a back flip followed by a barrel roll. This was my first attempt at aerial acrobatics, and the maneuvers were, of course, rather sloppy. The main goal, though, was just to get off balance and then regain stability, which I did without any problem. The winds were coming from a different direction than they have on my previous jumps, and I had some trouble adjusting my landing pattern to compensate for the difference. I ended up way overshooting the target, landing not far from the runway and only 10 feet or so from a fallen-down barbed wire fence. I didn't get the flare right either and had to roll on landing (not quite a textbook PLF, but it worked well enough).
Jump #9: AFF Category E-2 (my graduation jump!)
On this one I faced my fears of the unpoised exit, which turned out to be a lot less scary than I had imagined. I managed to get my belly into the relative wind coming from ahead of the plane and didn't really even tumble before stabilizing. Then I did a front flip (or at least a messy attempt at a front flip) and tried to track forward to dock with Kevin. In three attempts I managed to maintain my heading and reach him once. On two of the attempts I was cocking one leg to the side, which caused me to turn to the left a little. My landing went better this time. I did a few too many s-turns near the bottom and bled off more altitude than I needed to, so I actually landed a little short of the target. My flare was much better and I was able to gently stand up on the landing.
And with that I was cleared for solo and coach jumps. If there's a pilot available, I'll go back out to the DZ tomorrow evening when I get done with classes. I'm not very confident in my spotting capabilities, so I'll probably pay a little extra for a couple coach jumps so I have someone there to help me out with it. I want to work on tracking some more, and just for fun I'd like to try some more flips. If I can continue to afford jumping as often as I have been in the last couple weeks, it won't be long before I'm able to get my A license. And to think... two months ago all I was going to do was a single tandem jump.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
More AFF
In the past week I have doubled my total number of jumps... not like it's that big of a deal since that only brings me up to 8 (including the initial tandem), but it's been a fun week.
Jump #4: AFF Category C-2
Last Thursday (Sept. 4th) I made my first jump since I returned to Idaho. The student rigs here have pilot chutes instead of rip cords, but otherwise everything was familiar. The jump went pretty well. Kevin released me and I was mostly stable, though I went into a slow right-hand turn and then started chipping again around 7,000ft. I held onto my PC for a split second on deployment, but then released it and had a nice opening with no issues. I was pretty much without radio under canopy--Kevin told me when to turn in for the final approach, but otherwise I was on my own. I managed to flare at close to the right height and had a stand-up landing, though it was not quite as gentle a touch-down as I would have liked.
Jump #5: AFF Category D-1
I came back to the DZ again on Saturday evening, had too much to drink, embarrassed myself a bit, and spent the night there again. Sunday (the 7th) I got up bright and early (fighting against the urge to do nothing but sleep all day to recover from the previous night) so I could be on the first load of the day. On this jump I was supposed to be doing 90- and 180-degree turns, but I couldn't seem to get my body position quite right. I just fell stable and on heading... and then more chipping around 7,000ft. No turns = repeat the jump. So my goal of getting all the way through the course without any repeats is out. Oh well. As long as I'm still having fun, which I definitely am, I'll stick with it anyway. I was entirely on my own under canopy this time. I didn't even bring a radio with me, and I was a little nervous about how I would do without it. I ended up flaring waaaay too early (around 25 ft above the ground), realized my mistake, let up on the toggles (even though I knew I was supposed to just continue with the flare in that case), flared a second time, stalled, and then dropped straight down a foot or two for another not-so-gentle stand-up landing. I'm sure I'll get the flaring thing figured out eventually.
Jump #6: AFF Category D-1 (again)
This time I managed to turn, but then I couldn't get myself to stop. It was a slow turn--not out of control by any means--but if Kevin hadn't grabbed on to me again I doubt I would have been able to stop on my own. Thanks to the video, Kevin concluded that I was bending slightly at my hips, which caused me to turn regardless of what my arms were doing. Looking back at the older videos, it turns out that's what happened on my C-2 jump as well. More chipping at 7,000ft. This appears to be a chronic problem. On opening, I had line twists for the first time but was able to get out of them quickly. I flared a little too early, did another stupid double flare, and had another bumpy stand-up landing. Even though I felt like I wouldn't have been able to stop my turn, Kevin said I did fine and passed me on to D-2.
Jump #7: AFF Category D-2
Tuesday I came back to the DZ after class hoping to get a couple more jumps in. On this one I got my turning issues worked out. After Kevin released me I went into a right-hand turn as planned, making sure to keep my torso straight. I turned 270-degrees to face him, and then just made small adjustments to stay pointed at him. No more uncontrolled turns, though I was obviously still nervous and started chipping again. I had more line twists on opening--this time they were twisted a full three times around. It only took a few seconds to get everything straightened out, though, and then I just played around and tried out a couple maneuvers required for the A-license. I did a couple very sharp turns and tried out turning and flaring with the back risers. I'm starting to really enjoy my time under canopy. My flare was almost right this time--maybe a little bit early, but I managed a single smooth flare and yet another stand-up landing. On to category E and acrobatics!
After going over what would be required of me on the category E jump, we headed up on the sunset load. Unfortunately, the climb to altitude took longer than expected, and it was too dark for me to jump by the time we reached 10,000ft. So I got to ride the plane down for the first time. It was quite the experience. In an effort to get us back on the ground quickly, the pilot flew in fairly sharp spirals, and I could feel myself getting light-headed as the blood drained down to my lower extremities. Although I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to make that last jump, I was glad that Kevin made the call to ride the plane down. I'd much rather deal with that disappointment and stay safe than go for it and end up with an injury.
I'm planning to spend all day Sunday at the drop zone again, so we'll see how many jumps I'm able to get done. As much as I'm looking forward to trying flips and rolls, I'm also really nervous. Hopefully I'll get it right on the first try... I can't afford to repeat too many more jumps.
Jump #4: AFF Category C-2
Last Thursday (Sept. 4th) I made my first jump since I returned to Idaho. The student rigs here have pilot chutes instead of rip cords, but otherwise everything was familiar. The jump went pretty well. Kevin released me and I was mostly stable, though I went into a slow right-hand turn and then started chipping again around 7,000ft. I held onto my PC for a split second on deployment, but then released it and had a nice opening with no issues. I was pretty much without radio under canopy--Kevin told me when to turn in for the final approach, but otherwise I was on my own. I managed to flare at close to the right height and had a stand-up landing, though it was not quite as gentle a touch-down as I would have liked.
Jump #5: AFF Category D-1
I came back to the DZ again on Saturday evening, had too much to drink, embarrassed myself a bit, and spent the night there again. Sunday (the 7th) I got up bright and early (fighting against the urge to do nothing but sleep all day to recover from the previous night) so I could be on the first load of the day. On this jump I was supposed to be doing 90- and 180-degree turns, but I couldn't seem to get my body position quite right. I just fell stable and on heading... and then more chipping around 7,000ft. No turns = repeat the jump. So my goal of getting all the way through the course without any repeats is out. Oh well. As long as I'm still having fun, which I definitely am, I'll stick with it anyway. I was entirely on my own under canopy this time. I didn't even bring a radio with me, and I was a little nervous about how I would do without it. I ended up flaring waaaay too early (around 25 ft above the ground), realized my mistake, let up on the toggles (even though I knew I was supposed to just continue with the flare in that case), flared a second time, stalled, and then dropped straight down a foot or two for another not-so-gentle stand-up landing. I'm sure I'll get the flaring thing figured out eventually.
Jump #6: AFF Category D-1 (again)
This time I managed to turn, but then I couldn't get myself to stop. It was a slow turn--not out of control by any means--but if Kevin hadn't grabbed on to me again I doubt I would have been able to stop on my own. Thanks to the video, Kevin concluded that I was bending slightly at my hips, which caused me to turn regardless of what my arms were doing. Looking back at the older videos, it turns out that's what happened on my C-2 jump as well. More chipping at 7,000ft. This appears to be a chronic problem. On opening, I had line twists for the first time but was able to get out of them quickly. I flared a little too early, did another stupid double flare, and had another bumpy stand-up landing. Even though I felt like I wouldn't have been able to stop my turn, Kevin said I did fine and passed me on to D-2.
Jump #7: AFF Category D-2
Tuesday I came back to the DZ after class hoping to get a couple more jumps in. On this one I got my turning issues worked out. After Kevin released me I went into a right-hand turn as planned, making sure to keep my torso straight. I turned 270-degrees to face him, and then just made small adjustments to stay pointed at him. No more uncontrolled turns, though I was obviously still nervous and started chipping again. I had more line twists on opening--this time they were twisted a full three times around. It only took a few seconds to get everything straightened out, though, and then I just played around and tried out a couple maneuvers required for the A-license. I did a couple very sharp turns and tried out turning and flaring with the back risers. I'm starting to really enjoy my time under canopy. My flare was almost right this time--maybe a little bit early, but I managed a single smooth flare and yet another stand-up landing. On to category E and acrobatics!
After going over what would be required of me on the category E jump, we headed up on the sunset load. Unfortunately, the climb to altitude took longer than expected, and it was too dark for me to jump by the time we reached 10,000ft. So I got to ride the plane down for the first time. It was quite the experience. In an effort to get us back on the ground quickly, the pilot flew in fairly sharp spirals, and I could feel myself getting light-headed as the blood drained down to my lower extremities. Although I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to make that last jump, I was glad that Kevin made the call to ride the plane down. I'd much rather deal with that disappointment and stay safe than go for it and end up with an injury.
I'm planning to spend all day Sunday at the drop zone again, so we'll see how many jumps I'm able to get done. As much as I'm looking forward to trying flips and rolls, I'm also really nervous. Hopefully I'll get it right on the first try... I can't afford to repeat too many more jumps.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Patiently waiting
I've been spending quite a bit of time out at my new DZ, Skydive Idaho. Unfortunately, though, I haven't actually gotten to do any jumps yet.
I went out last Wednesday to meet my instructor (Kevin Purdy) and go through some quick training. I think the point of the meeting was actually for him to size me up and see if I was going to be a complete disaster once in the air, but the people at Skydive New Mexico apparently did a decent job (no surprise to me)--he said my previous training was definitely up to par. I went to the DZ again on Sunday morning hoping to be able to jump, but spent the whole day grounded due to pilot and weather issues. I ended up staying the night at the DZ with the idea that my time would come on Monday. No such luck--the weather sucked again. Tonight the weather was decent, but alas, no pilots were available (the DZ's full-time pilot is out of state for school this fall).
The upside to all of this is that I'm getting lots of time on the ground to get to know all of the other students and more experienced jumpers. I love how friendly everyone in the skydiving community is. I'm normally very uncomfortable around groups of people that I don't know, but I already feel right at home with everyone from Skydive Idaho. I look forward to spending a big chunk of my free time at the DZ just hanging out and picking up as much knowledge about the sport as I can. However, it would also be nice if the weather gods would smile upon us on a day when a pilot is around... I want to go skydiving again, dammit!
Oh... and as a side note, I did get that job I interviewed for last week. Hooray for having some extra money to blow on more skydiving.
I went out last Wednesday to meet my instructor (Kevin Purdy) and go through some quick training. I think the point of the meeting was actually for him to size me up and see if I was going to be a complete disaster once in the air, but the people at Skydive New Mexico apparently did a decent job (no surprise to me)--he said my previous training was definitely up to par. I went to the DZ again on Sunday morning hoping to be able to jump, but spent the whole day grounded due to pilot and weather issues. I ended up staying the night at the DZ with the idea that my time would come on Monday. No such luck--the weather sucked again. Tonight the weather was decent, but alas, no pilots were available (the DZ's full-time pilot is out of state for school this fall).
The upside to all of this is that I'm getting lots of time on the ground to get to know all of the other students and more experienced jumpers. I love how friendly everyone in the skydiving community is. I'm normally very uncomfortable around groups of people that I don't know, but I already feel right at home with everyone from Skydive Idaho. I look forward to spending a big chunk of my free time at the DZ just hanging out and picking up as much knowledge about the sport as I can. However, it would also be nice if the weather gods would smile upon us on a day when a pilot is around... I want to go skydiving again, dammit!
Oh... and as a side note, I did get that job I interviewed for last week. Hooray for having some extra money to blow on more skydiving.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
The Good and the Bad
I have decided to take a much lighter course load in school for my senior year and get a job. My first priority is helping my mom out with her bills, but the added bonus is that whatever is left over will go towards skydiving. I've never worked while going to school, so this will be a new experience for me. I need to maintain full-time status in order to keep my scholarship, but I'll only be taking 12ish credits per semester rather than the very painful 22 I had last spring. I'm looking forward to not wanting to die during midterms and finals.
The good news on the job front is that 24 hours after I submitted a couple online applications, I got a callback for an interview. This means that money for skydiving may be coming my way in the near future. The bad news is that it will still probably be another couple weeks before I can afford to go again :(
The good news on the job front is that 24 hours after I submitted a couple online applications, I got a callback for an interview. This means that money for skydiving may be coming my way in the near future. The bad news is that it will still probably be another couple weeks before I can afford to go again :(
Monday, August 18, 2008
Goodbye New Mexico
The DZ was really busy on Saturday, and the weather had turned to crap by the time my instructors were available. So I postponed my departure from NM by 24 hours so I could come back the following morning for my chance to jump. One of the other skydive students invited me to crash at his place, which saved me about 4 hours of driving. On Sunday I was able to get my C-1 jump done, but then I had to take off to finish packing and cleaning my apartment.
Jump #3: AFF Category C-1
I was EXTREMELY nervous for this jump... though I'm not really sure why. From 20 minutes before boarding the plane to when I climbed out on the strut, I was questioning whether or not I wanted to go through with it. I didn't get anywhere close to actually backing out, but I was very tense and had to close my eyes and focus on my breathing on several occasions.
Once I swung my feet outside the plane, all my nerves were gone. We exited the plane at 11,000ft AGL. I got into my arch and stabilized within a couple seconds, then did two practice pulls. By 9,500ft both instructors had released me. I was stable--no turning, no tenseness, good altitude awareness--until around 7,000ft. Then I realized my pull time was approaching and tensed up. That caused me to start chipping (skydive talk for wobbling) a little, though it still wasn't bad. Kelly was worried that I had lost altitude awareness, so he took a light hold on my harness around 5500ft, but just after he got a hold of me I waved off and pulled. My pull wasn't great. I de-arched and twisted my body slightly, causing a sideways drift--but I finally managed to hold on to my rip cord! Under canopy I played around with some sharper turns and spirals before heading towards the landing area and taking directions from the radio. When I touched down, I was beaming. The feeling of excitement and accomplishment was great. From now on when I start freaking myself out before a jump, I'm going to try to think back to that moment and about how much fun I had.
Kelly got this one on video, so I was able to look over it and actually see what I did right and wrong, which was really nice. Everyone who wasn't busy in the hangar came over and watched as well, so I got lots of input from various instructors and experienced skydivers. A couple people expressed surprise at how well I did--they expected me to be one of the ones that went spinning out of control after being released. I think that might have something to do with the fact that I am rather out of shape and could definitely use to lose a few (ok fine... more than a few) pounds. In any case, I passed category C-1. Next time I'll be jumping with just one instructor, and I have a mental list of things to practice before then.
Unfortunately, it might be a while before I get to make that next jump. Once I'm back in Idaho (which will be some time tomorrow afternoon... I'm at a motel in Utah on my way home right now), my money is committed elsewhere. Stinking obligations... I liked having a relaxing summer and just playing every weekend. Oh well. As soon as I'm able to come up with the cash, I'm off to my new DZ in Idaho to continue with my AFF lessons. My goal is to make it through the course without having to repeat any jumps. I doubt that will actually happen, but I'm off to a good start with the first three.
Jump #3: AFF Category C-1
I was EXTREMELY nervous for this jump... though I'm not really sure why. From 20 minutes before boarding the plane to when I climbed out on the strut, I was questioning whether or not I wanted to go through with it. I didn't get anywhere close to actually backing out, but I was very tense and had to close my eyes and focus on my breathing on several occasions.
Once I swung my feet outside the plane, all my nerves were gone. We exited the plane at 11,000ft AGL. I got into my arch and stabilized within a couple seconds, then did two practice pulls. By 9,500ft both instructors had released me. I was stable--no turning, no tenseness, good altitude awareness--until around 7,000ft. Then I realized my pull time was approaching and tensed up. That caused me to start chipping (skydive talk for wobbling) a little, though it still wasn't bad. Kelly was worried that I had lost altitude awareness, so he took a light hold on my harness around 5500ft, but just after he got a hold of me I waved off and pulled. My pull wasn't great. I de-arched and twisted my body slightly, causing a sideways drift--but I finally managed to hold on to my rip cord! Under canopy I played around with some sharper turns and spirals before heading towards the landing area and taking directions from the radio. When I touched down, I was beaming. The feeling of excitement and accomplishment was great. From now on when I start freaking myself out before a jump, I'm going to try to think back to that moment and about how much fun I had.
Kelly got this one on video, so I was able to look over it and actually see what I did right and wrong, which was really nice. Everyone who wasn't busy in the hangar came over and watched as well, so I got lots of input from various instructors and experienced skydivers. A couple people expressed surprise at how well I did--they expected me to be one of the ones that went spinning out of control after being released. I think that might have something to do with the fact that I am rather out of shape and could definitely use to lose a few (ok fine... more than a few) pounds. In any case, I passed category C-1. Next time I'll be jumping with just one instructor, and I have a mental list of things to practice before then.
Unfortunately, it might be a while before I get to make that next jump. Once I'm back in Idaho (which will be some time tomorrow afternoon... I'm at a motel in Utah on my way home right now), my money is committed elsewhere. Stinking obligations... I liked having a relaxing summer and just playing every weekend. Oh well. As soon as I'm able to come up with the cash, I'm off to my new DZ in Idaho to continue with my AFF lessons. My goal is to make it through the course without having to repeat any jumps. I doubt that will actually happen, but I'm off to a good start with the first three.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Ugh.
My body hates me. I have quite a bit of work to get done today, but all I want to do is stay in bed. My lower back is really sore (from maintaining my arch during free fall?); my neck, legs, and arms are all rather unhappy; and I have about half a dozen new bruises. I swear I'll go to the office some time this afternoon... just another hour or two of sleep is all I need...
Oh, and I'm already counting down the hours until next weekend. I can't wait!
Oh, and I'm already counting down the hours until next weekend. I can't wait!
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Yep, I'm hooked.
Today I completed my category A and B jumps at SkydiveNM.
Jump #1: AFF Category A
The first jump went really well. I got to the DZ just after 8am. Since I had already completed the ground training, I was able to make it up on the first run of the day. During the ascent I verbally went through the whole procedure with my instructors, Steve (who is not actually listed as an instructor on the website... maybe it's time for an update to the page?) and Kelly. Somewhere around 8,000ft Steve asked me if I was ready to skydive. My only response was "Hell yes!" When we got to 10,000ft AGL and opened the door, there was another small plane below and to the side of us, so the decision was made to climb a little bit higher while we waited for it to pass. We made a couple fairly sharp turns (or at least they felt that way to me) during that last bit of the climb--with the door still partially open--and I held onto the edge of the pilot's seat with a white-knuckled death grip. At 10,500ft we climbed out onto the very small step of the Cessna-182. Chest on the strut, check in, check out, prop, up, down, arch, and we're flying. We stabilized within a couple seconds. Kelly, my reserve side instructor, then began giving me instructions via hand signals. Check altitude. Arch. Practice touch. Check altitude. Relax. Practice touch. Arch. Check Altitude. The goal was to get in three practice touches, but we ended up doing four and still had a couple thousand feet to spare. Kelly said he seriously considered giving me some signals to start leg work, but decided to let me just relax and enjoy that last bit of freefall. By 7000ft we had finished all the maneuvers and I just looked straight down at the ground coming up towards me. Lock on to the altimeter at 6000ft, wave off and pull at 5500. The canopy inflated with no issues. Control check was good. Then a voice came in through the radio attached to my chest strap directing me where to go. The winds were very low (only 3-4mph), so I was ready for a rough touchdown. The last 100ft of the descent went really fast. By about 50 feet I felt like the ground was rushing up at me and seriously wanted to flare early, but I held out and waited for the command from the radio--and I was glad I did. My landing ended up being nearly perfect. I was about 20 feet outside the plowed landing circle, but I was able to stand up on the landing. Much more graceful than the face plant I did during my tandem jump. After my initial celebratory yell, I think the first thing out of my mouth was "Can I go again?"
Fortunately for me, the four scheduled tandem students never showed up. There was more than enough time for me to make another jump.
Jump #2: AFF Category B
My second jump was a little bit rougher. The goal this time was to practice straightening my legs and tracking forward across the sky, dragging my instructors along with me. My arch on exit was pretty weak, so it took a few seconds longer to stabilize. The first few altitude checks and tracks went well, though I would later come to find out that after each track my "relaxed" position was a little bit too relaxed--my knees were too bent and my arch was weak. If no one had been holding on to me, I would have started rolling around. Somewhere around 7000ft I stopped actually reading my altimeter and lost altitude awareness. I tracked forward several more times, looking at my altimeter (but not actually absorbing what it said) before each one. Suddenly I felt a firm tug on my harness. My instructor was trying to get my attention. Check altitude. I'm already at 5000ft. Crap! Wave off and pull. Canopy was good, but the landing didn't go so well. I flared too late, tried to run off the extra speed I had when I hit the ground, but face-planted instead. Should have gone with PLF. That makes three skydives with two face plants. I'm off to a great start...
Even with the couple weak spots in my second jump, my instructors were complimentary. Try to maintain a strong arch from the get-go next time, and pay more attention to leg position. Otherwise, good jump. At least I managed to regain awareness and pull my own rip cord. So I passed category B. Oh, and I owe the DZ a case of beer for losing my rip cord handle on both jumps. I was supposed to hold onto the handle after pulling and then stow it in my jumpsuit. Instead, I pulled and dropped it in the middle of a field. My bad.
So next weekend I'll be getting up at the butt crack of dawn again so that I can leave my apartment by 6am and make the two hour drive to the DZ by 8. Hopefully I'll pass category C-1, maybe C-2 if there's time before the weather gets nasty. Then I'll be off for a 15+ hour drive back to Idaho.
On a side note, my dad said this evening that he couldn't believe I was actually planning on skydiving on a regular basis. He knew I'd always said I wanted to skydive, but was sure I wasn't serious. Oh, I'm serious.
Jump #1: AFF Category A
The first jump went really well. I got to the DZ just after 8am. Since I had already completed the ground training, I was able to make it up on the first run of the day. During the ascent I verbally went through the whole procedure with my instructors, Steve (who is not actually listed as an instructor on the website... maybe it's time for an update to the page?) and Kelly. Somewhere around 8,000ft Steve asked me if I was ready to skydive. My only response was "Hell yes!" When we got to 10,000ft AGL and opened the door, there was another small plane below and to the side of us, so the decision was made to climb a little bit higher while we waited for it to pass. We made a couple fairly sharp turns (or at least they felt that way to me) during that last bit of the climb--with the door still partially open--and I held onto the edge of the pilot's seat with a white-knuckled death grip. At 10,500ft we climbed out onto the very small step of the Cessna-182. Chest on the strut, check in, check out, prop, up, down, arch, and we're flying. We stabilized within a couple seconds. Kelly, my reserve side instructor, then began giving me instructions via hand signals. Check altitude. Arch. Practice touch. Check altitude. Relax. Practice touch. Arch. Check Altitude. The goal was to get in three practice touches, but we ended up doing four and still had a couple thousand feet to spare. Kelly said he seriously considered giving me some signals to start leg work, but decided to let me just relax and enjoy that last bit of freefall. By 7000ft we had finished all the maneuvers and I just looked straight down at the ground coming up towards me. Lock on to the altimeter at 6000ft, wave off and pull at 5500. The canopy inflated with no issues. Control check was good. Then a voice came in through the radio attached to my chest strap directing me where to go. The winds were very low (only 3-4mph), so I was ready for a rough touchdown. The last 100ft of the descent went really fast. By about 50 feet I felt like the ground was rushing up at me and seriously wanted to flare early, but I held out and waited for the command from the radio--and I was glad I did. My landing ended up being nearly perfect. I was about 20 feet outside the plowed landing circle, but I was able to stand up on the landing. Much more graceful than the face plant I did during my tandem jump. After my initial celebratory yell, I think the first thing out of my mouth was "Can I go again?"
Fortunately for me, the four scheduled tandem students never showed up. There was more than enough time for me to make another jump.
Jump #2: AFF Category B
My second jump was a little bit rougher. The goal this time was to practice straightening my legs and tracking forward across the sky, dragging my instructors along with me. My arch on exit was pretty weak, so it took a few seconds longer to stabilize. The first few altitude checks and tracks went well, though I would later come to find out that after each track my "relaxed" position was a little bit too relaxed--my knees were too bent and my arch was weak. If no one had been holding on to me, I would have started rolling around. Somewhere around 7000ft I stopped actually reading my altimeter and lost altitude awareness. I tracked forward several more times, looking at my altimeter (but not actually absorbing what it said) before each one. Suddenly I felt a firm tug on my harness. My instructor was trying to get my attention. Check altitude. I'm already at 5000ft. Crap! Wave off and pull. Canopy was good, but the landing didn't go so well. I flared too late, tried to run off the extra speed I had when I hit the ground, but face-planted instead. Should have gone with PLF. That makes three skydives with two face plants. I'm off to a great start...
Even with the couple weak spots in my second jump, my instructors were complimentary. Try to maintain a strong arch from the get-go next time, and pay more attention to leg position. Otherwise, good jump. At least I managed to regain awareness and pull my own rip cord. So I passed category B. Oh, and I owe the DZ a case of beer for losing my rip cord handle on both jumps. I was supposed to hold onto the handle after pulling and then stow it in my jumpsuit. Instead, I pulled and dropped it in the middle of a field. My bad.
So next weekend I'll be getting up at the butt crack of dawn again so that I can leave my apartment by 6am and make the two hour drive to the DZ by 8. Hopefully I'll pass category C-1, maybe C-2 if there's time before the weather gets nasty. Then I'll be off for a 15+ hour drive back to Idaho.
On a side note, my dad said this evening that he couldn't believe I was actually planning on skydiving on a regular basis. He knew I'd always said I wanted to skydive, but was sure I wasn't serious. Oh, I'm serious.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
The Adventure Begins
On July 6th I finally went for my first tandem jump. I've wanted to skydive since I was 15. When I turned 18 a friend and I agreed to go together (actually the agreement was that she would skydive with me if I went to a male strip club with her), but then she backed out. I didn't want to go by myself, so I continued for more than three years to try to convince anyone and everyone I know to try it with me. This summer I finally found not one, but six willing participants--all fellow members of the Los Alamos Summer School in Physics. We went to Skydive New Mexico in Belen and had an amazing time. As soon as the jump was over I knew I was hooked. I couldn't wait to go again. A week later I called and signed up for my first AFF (accelerated free fall) course.
So last weekend I went through the six hours of ground training required for AFF, but then the winds picked up and I didn't get to make my jump--darn! I'm going back in a little more than 24 hours to give it another shot. As the weekend approaches, my nerves are starting to get to me again. I've spent the majority of the week thinking about nothing other than skydiving. I've read through multiple blogs (in their entirety) from people who have posted their experiences with AFF, and I've watched several hours worth of video clips. I made the mistake of watching a video of a horrific skydiving accident that left an experienced jumper paralyzed, but even that hasn't change my mind about wanting to go again. When I wake up, skydiving is the first thing on my mind. While I'm at work (trying in vain to focus on the task at hand), my mind constantly wanders back to the thought of jumping out of a plane. My recurrent nightmares about falling out of control that used to leave me in a state of panic have morphed into dreams about floating through the sky--a sensation I don't think I'll ever get enough of (even though I've only experienced it once thus far).
I really hope the weather holds out on Saturday, but New Mexico is prone to afternoon thunder storms. I'm sure I'll be able to get at least my first jump in before the clouds roll in, but if possible I'd love to try for more than that. In a week and a half I'll be heading back home to Idaho, and then I'll have to find a different DZ. I want to get as much experience as I can while I'm still here because I already know how great the people at SkydiveNM are, and I feel very comfortable with them. I'm crossing my fingers for sun!
So last weekend I went through the six hours of ground training required for AFF, but then the winds picked up and I didn't get to make my jump--darn! I'm going back in a little more than 24 hours to give it another shot. As the weekend approaches, my nerves are starting to get to me again. I've spent the majority of the week thinking about nothing other than skydiving. I've read through multiple blogs (in their entirety) from people who have posted their experiences with AFF, and I've watched several hours worth of video clips. I made the mistake of watching a video of a horrific skydiving accident that left an experienced jumper paralyzed, but even that hasn't change my mind about wanting to go again. When I wake up, skydiving is the first thing on my mind. While I'm at work (trying in vain to focus on the task at hand), my mind constantly wanders back to the thought of jumping out of a plane. My recurrent nightmares about falling out of control that used to leave me in a state of panic have morphed into dreams about floating through the sky--a sensation I don't think I'll ever get enough of (even though I've only experienced it once thus far).
I really hope the weather holds out on Saturday, but New Mexico is prone to afternoon thunder storms. I'm sure I'll be able to get at least my first jump in before the clouds roll in, but if possible I'd love to try for more than that. In a week and a half I'll be heading back home to Idaho, and then I'll have to find a different DZ. I want to get as much experience as I can while I'm still here because I already know how great the people at SkydiveNM are, and I feel very comfortable with them. I'm crossing my fingers for sun!
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