Now that I've passed the 100 jump mark, I'm allowed to start landing in the "experienced" area--the grass lawn directly in front of the DZ. To make things more exciting, I decided to make my first attempt at landing in the yard (and not hitting the barbed wire fence or building that surround it) in the dark. Ok, maybe not a great idea, but I managed to talk myself into going through with it. By the time I actually landed, the winds on the ground were a lot lighter than they had been when we took off. Since I couldn't see the windsocks which would have alerted me to that change, I really overshot where I wanted to be. I still managed to stay inside the yard (though I was only 20 feet away from the fence), but I flared high because I was so nervous and PLFed.
The next load (jump #102 if anyone's keeping track) was a 3-way hybrid attempt turned into a 2-way human propeller with a spectator floating nearby. Not sure why Rob and I couldn't manage to get that spin stopped. Once under canopy, I could see that the general direction of the wind had changed by 90 degrees. Given the new direction, an overshoot on landing similar to the one I had just done would result in me hitting the building, so I decided to go back to the "student" landing area outside the fence for the time being. This time my landing was perfect--I gently stood it up, right on target.
In comparison to setting up my pattern in the dark, landing in the yard in daylight will be a piece of cake. Can't wait for my days off this week to go make a few more jumps!
1 comment:
Oh my gosh! Another update, already?!?! :P
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