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.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
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.
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