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 :(
Sunday, August 24, 2008
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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