No pull AFF 1

[Vivid 0]

So skydiving has always been a dream of mine, and after six years I finally am able to go forward with it. I went through my aff 1 over the weekend, and loved every minute of it. I did my COA, three practice pulls, second COA, forward movement, back to arch, and was responsive to hand signals; however, when 6000 came up I locked on and went blank, next thing I know I feel my main pulled and I'm under canopy at 4500. I shake my daze away and remember time to canopy check, and lined up for holding area. Apparently they were giving me pull sign, and trying to pull my arm back for pull. I felt completely fine up until 6000, is this a case of sensory overload? This was my first jump, and I'm confident I will stay altitude aware for my next jump. Still, I worry that it could happen again even with confidence, since I've never experienced it before. How common is something like this?

[shorehambeach 9]

Welcome Vivid

I wish I did as well (and could recollect) as much as you did on Level 1. I am a new jumper just got my A license.

Well done on everything you completed
Sensory overload probably - this is exciting stuff and that was your first jump.

The more jumps you do the 'longer' the 50 seconds or so of freefall become as your senses get used to it.

My instructor pulled for me on L2 - this made me more aware when 'pull time' came on L3

Blue skies and well done.

[Vivid 0]

Thanks for the reply, and congratulations on getting your A!
I was under the assumption it could be common after my instructor asked me what I remember from my jump. Still, I was quite upset with myself for not pulling my own chute! She assured me it was normal, but also told me that it would be a fail if I didn't pull on level 2.

I cannot wait for my next jump! Was curious though if there are any tips on powering through that fog, or if it just comes with experience?

[dthames 0]

A lot of people suggest “sensory overload” is a common problem in the beginning. I think the overload is at the brain (storage) level, or it seemed that way to me.

I was always very aware of everything going on around me and I was able to interact properly. But so many things happen so fast, that trying to store all of them and then recall them is a challenge. I recall after my first jump, about one hour after debrief, I went to the instructor and (just now remembering) asked, “Did you give me COA, after I was locked on at 6000? What was that?”.

For me the repetition of the dive flow is what burned it in so that I was not trying to recall the steps during the jump. They just happened. I understood what the repetition training was for. I missed jumping the after FJC but went home and did the dive flow for my wife, and then my son. Don’t feel put out if the instructor asks you to repeat the dive flow over and over. It is good to do that, even when you know it already.

It might sound funny saying this but I tried to not allow what I was doing to distract me from what I was doing, or better yet, supposed to do. I would try to not let the fact that I was falling distract me from arch, reach, grab, pull.

Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

[EChen22 0]

My first AFF jump, I was nothing BUT altitude aware - as in, got stable, did a practice touch, locked in to my altimeter at 9K and ... didn't move until I pulled at 5K, haha.

Everyone experiences that first solo jump a bit differently. Since I had done a lot of tandems before AFF, the altimeter and pull-time were familiar to me. But solo freefall? Brand new experience

You may never get rid of the butterflies, but you can teach them to fly in formation.

[shorehambeach 9]

Vivid,

Its amazing how that freefall seems to go so fast when you first jump - but after a while time seems to slow down.

Even as a low jump number (30+) newbie its amazing how long this freefall seems now compared to when i did AFF. I guess its just becoming acclimatized to the new environment and your body and mind adjusting to this new environment.

I no-pulled on L2 so had to repeat. Don't be concerned about how many jumps it takes you to get through AFF - I had to repeat some levels, but each jump (pass or fail) was a great learning experience as I learned a lot more about getting out of the plane, stability, canopy control and landing and getting my 'head' in the right frame of mind.

:)

[Kalrigan 6]

Quote

I no-pulled on L2 so had to repeat. Don't be concerned about how many jumps it takes you to get through AFF - I had to repeat some levels, but each jump (pass or fail) was a great learning experience as I learned a lot more about getting out of the plane, stability, canopy control and landing and getting my 'head' in the right frame of mind.

:)

Totally agree with this. I myself I'm still working on my AFF (passed level 6 yesterday) and my biggest fear was failing one. The thing is, with every jump you learn something, with every jump you get used to flying more and more, it starts feeling more and more comfortable. So even if you happen to fail one or even a few, don't be too hard on yourself, every single jump helps. When I thought of it that way it just didn't matter anymore and I actually started enjoying the jumps more and felt more relaxed and aware.

As a new jumper myself, I remember going into some sort of shock the first 10 or so seconds of my AFF 1. I was still trying to figure out WTF is going on and why I decided it was a good idea to jump out of a plane. All of a sudden I could barely remember what each hand signal meant and my altitude awareness was pretty bad. Maybe that same shock eventually hit you later on in your jump? I mean information overload, added on top of the shock of a first "solo" jump, that's quite something you know?

It gets better, with every jump it will feel more and more natural and things will become normal. Checking alti every 5 seconds, or knowing it's time to pull etc... It becomes like driving and looking into your mirrors and stuff you know?

Good luck man, enjoy your AFF it's a great and fun experience.

[RyanFYF 0]

I did something like that on aff2. 6000 I locked on, 5.5 I decided to see what the ground looked like and didn't pull fast enough. I reached back around 5.3 to pull my chute but it was missing! then I got snapped back and realized my main side instructor beat me to is by half a second lol. He said he just wasn't sure if I was gonna pull or not so he was doing it to be safe. I passed since I was right behind him with the reach, he said he literally could have handed me the pilot chute.

I went on to fail level 3 twice just outta nerves and being so stiff. Hit up the tunnel for a 10 minute sesh and ended up doing 4 and 5 in one jump. Going for level 6 Monday.

So don't worry about it. Keep it up, and ALWAYS try to learn something. No matter where you are at the DZ keep your eyes and ears open. It'll help ALOT I promise

[EChen22 0]

I was pretty stiff throughout AFF (and had a built-in turn), so one of my instructors decided to do a "fun jump" with me. There were no tasks to complete other than to enjoy myself.

We went out in a gripped exit and he came around in front of me, grabbed my hands and gave me a huge, goofy grin - instant relaxation!
Since it wasn't a "real" AFF jump, there was no pass/fail pressure, nothing I HAD to do, which helped immensely.

You may never get rid of the butterflies, but you can teach them to fly in formation.

[shorehambeach 9]

Yup - me too. Jump 5 was a relaxation jump. Did nothing but smiled. They told me not to check in with them un til I had checked in with myself...just aksed me to be alti aware and pull.

[devildog 0]

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A lot of people suggest “sensory overload” is a common problem in the beginning. I think the overload is at the brain (storage) level, or it seemed that way to me.

That's what sensory overload is. You're brain is being bombarded by all your senses in a way its never had before, and it's can't keep up.

Time dilation works both ways. For some, the free fall seems over too quick, others, time stretches out. My first jump, when I went to do my first COA I thought I had lost a lot of altitude when I went to check. I was surprised to find we were well above 12k because it felt like I had been falling forever.

You stop breathing for a few minutes and everyone jumps to conclusions.

[EChen22 0]

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They told me not to check in with them until I had checked in with myself

Love that It's amazing how much better I fly when I just take a deep breath and relax.

After AFF, one of my favorite jumps was my first solo - no one in the sky but me. I was able to take in so much, think about so much and truly enjoy the freefall. That's the jump that offically got me hooked.

You may never get rid of the butterflies, but you can teach them to fly in formation.

[Vivid 0]

Thanks for all the feedback guys!

I think after having the past two weeks to think it over and over again, and really have all that I learned in my first class sink in, I'll be much more prepared for my next jump.

I think about my next jump daily. Can't wait to dive again.