Hello from France and landing help?

[Lussebulle 0]

As it seems a tradition here... I just wished to say hello to everybody as I'm new on the site. I completed my AFF course in may and couldn't really find the time to jump much afterwards :-( only have 12 jumps so far. Hopefully I'll pass the A for Xmas (yeah right, crazy me with this weather !)
Can anybody help me me finding the right time to break (have no idea if that's what you call it in english)? How far from the ground should you be? Do you have any visual tips to know how far you are anyway? I had a tendancy to pull too high and now that I'm trying to correct it, I've had a few bumpy landings ! though nothiing epic to tell :-)

Thanks

N

[skymama 35]

Welcome to the fourms!

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[TXBLKBEAR 0]

Hi and Welcome.

I was told to wait until your about twice your height off the ground then start your flare. Make sure you flare (brake) deep (all the way down) and smooth. I'm no expert but that worked for me.
Blue Skies and good luck with the weather

***

Airborne!

[Plaedouh 0]

Hey girl, welcome to this place. Hopefully you'll have some fun and maybe even learn some stuff around here.
I have two thoughts with what you're asking. First, and before you try anything you may read here, is to talk with an instructor at your dropzone. You're going to get some great advice here, but do take a moment to discuss with an instructor anything you may think, any advice you want to try, or any questions you may have. While we all want to help, there is no way to compare to the value you will get from an instructor who knows you, knows your equiptment, and can actualy watch your landings with their own eyes, and give you direct feedback about what they see. Talk to an instructor, and ask him or her to watch what you do. The problem could be in your technique, your speed, your timing, or perhaps even in your equiptment itself. I have worked with students with all these issues, and seeing it is the only way to really identify the best solution.

Second, it will take practice before you get landings down perfect. It took me 12 tries to get my first stand up landing...another bunch before I got the feel to get it consistently. There is no quick fix, so just keep with it.

Some thoughts... it's better to flare a little early than a little late. If you start pulling the toggles too soon, pull just a little slower (and always commit, once you start, you need to stay with it). I'll also agree with what everyone already said here...great advice.

Best of luck, talk to an instructor and ask them to watch you, and let us know how things progress!

[Lussebulle 0]

thank you all for your advice I guess I was a bit lazy at the beginning cause the instructor would tell me exactely when to flare on the radio and now that I'm on my own I'm a bit lost Oh well, a little bit more adrenalin! I'll get even more addicted ! The free fall is definitely worth the trouble of landing !

[jumperconway 0]

Don't look down as Skymama said, look way out in front of you! You don't look at the stripe in the road right in front of your car when you drive (assuming you drive), do you? Look down the road and you'll be fine! Good luck and wellcome back!By the way, what canopies do you fly? F111 or ZP?

[Remster 24]

Salut Noelle!

You're more then welcomed to the En Français forum we have down here!
http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?forum=30;

Remster

[skydiver74 0]

skymama didnt say look down she said llok out (foreward)
I do look down but foreward too tho
Yhe first few jumps i looked down only but that's a natural reaction ...you need to know where to plant youre feet.
try to find something to refer youre hight to and flare about 3 mtr or 10 ft above the ground,.....that works for me.......but who am I with 80 jumps and only 2 landings were not standing.....

[jumperconway 0]

I just forgot to put a comma in the sentence. Skymama was NOT saying to look down.