andy061 0 #1 September 17, 2012 I've just recently found this forum and thought I'd say Hi... Hi! :) My name is Andy, I live in Newcastle, Australia and I'm 51 years old, you think I'd know better than to jump out of perfectly good airplanes... I did my AFF1 2 weeks ago and it was pretty intense as I'd never done a tandem before and didn't know what to expect, talk about a leap of faith... The jump went well, I was pretty tense, but did everything right except remembering to wave off before deploying my chute...doh! I even had a perfect soft stand up landing, the gods must have been smiling on me :) I went to do my AFF2 yesterday, and the DZ was really busy. I waited around until 2pm after being there since 8am (time to get really nervous!), but finally got on the manifest with a couple of available instructors. The plane climbed to 14,000 feet and waves of nerves would sweep over me from time to time. My instructors told me to just relax, and remember to arch.. The door opened, 3 guys jumped out and I was next. One instructor, then the other climbed out of the plane, and I proceeded to climb out between them. I was outside the plane, knees bent, back straight. I turned to the instructor on my right to "check back". Lo and behold he was gone! I looked down to see him looking peacefully up at me as he fell backwards towards the clouds below...a mental image I'll never forget..he'd lost his grip. Nothing to do but get back in the plane and go back down...I think the plane ride is the worst bit. As the day was so busy I didn't get another chance, so I'll be back to try again in a couple of weeks. Sorry for the ramble, but who else really understands what it's like except those who have done it?? Thanks for reading!The older I get, the better I was...! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymama 35 #2 September 17, 2012 Welcome to the forums! 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 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
andy061 0 #3 September 18, 2012 Thank you :)The older I get, the better I was...! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kenthediver 0 #4 September 18, 2012 Andy, hi from another late starter! Never too old, and never too silly! Enjoy the journey. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
andy061 0 #5 September 19, 2012 Never too old is right, wish I'd started sooner One of my instructors said to me that skydiving is a journey into yourself, I know exactly what he means. Happy jumping!The older I get, the better I was...! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chewy123 0 #6 September 21, 2012 Hey there and welcome! I'm new to and just got my A. I don't understand what happened. You have 2 instructors on jump 2 and one of them just went? Did you guys have a ready set go system. He just jumped by himself? I'm really confused. I lost an instructor on a jump where I only had one and they say if that happens and your cool just finish your skydive. Thats what I did and passed but it wasn't jump 2 it 4 or 5. So your other instructor pulled you back in the plane and you guys rode down? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
andy061 0 #7 September 22, 2012 Congratulations on getting your "A", something for me to look forward to! One of my instructors just lost his grip as he tried to reach for me before we jumped. When I saw he wasn't there I just got back into the plane and rode it down. At least on the debrief I was told I did the right thing. My usual instructor had the flu, so didn't jump with me, but he was doing the ground radio. There were a few clouds that day, and he was peaking out a bit as he hadn't seen me come down and thought I was floating away somewhere above the clouds! All in all is was kind of funny.The older I get, the better I was...! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
