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.

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.