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ThreesAndSevens

Hello from Arizona

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Hey everyone,

About five years ago I did my first tandem, thought it was great, but I never even considered taking it any further. But two weeks ago I did another tandem (Skydive Phoenix Inc) and I haven't been able to stop thinking about anything other than skydiving since. I just completed ground school and a learning tandem yesterday and I start the AFF jumps on Saturday.

I'm pretty nervous (mostly about my landing pattern) but really excited to get things started. Reading about other people's journeys through AFF on here has been extremely helpful and encouraging, and I hope that I'll soon be able to share all my positive experiences with you guys.

Thanks for reading!

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ThreesAndSevens

Hey everyone,

About five years ago I did my first tandem, thought it was great, but I never even considered taking it any further. But two weeks ago I did another tandem (Skydive Phoenix Inc) and I haven't been able to stop thinking about anything other than skydiving since. I just completed ground school and a learning tandem yesterday and I start the AFF jumps on Saturday.

I'm pretty nervous (mostly about my landing pattern) but really excited to get things started. Reading about other people's journeys through AFF on here has been extremely helpful and encouraging, and I hope that I'll soon be able to share all my positive experiences with you guys.

Thanks for reading!



If you're on Radio for the first jumps the BEST thing you can do (and it was hard for me to do with all the excitement) while in the air is note your spots and where they have you turning. You'll get the hang of it soon enough.

If you can, get a picture of the DZ (or google maps) and go over at home what your instructors taught you. Ask lots of questions, thats what you have instructors for :)
You are not the contents of your wallet.

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DrDom

***Hey everyone,

About five years ago I did my first tandem, thought it was great, but I never even considered taking it any further. But two weeks ago I did another tandem (Skydive Phoenix Inc) and I haven't been able to stop thinking about anything other than skydiving since. I just completed ground school and a learning tandem yesterday and I start the AFF jumps on Saturday.

I'm pretty nervous (mostly about my landing pattern) but really excited to get things started. Reading about other people's journeys through AFF on here has been extremely helpful and encouraging, and I hope that I'll soon be able to share all my positive experiences with you guys.

Thanks for reading!



If you're on Radio for the first jumps the BEST thing you can do (and it was hard for me to do with all the excitement) while in the air is note your spots and where they have you turning. You'll get the hang of it soon enough.

If you can, get a picture of the DZ (or google maps) and go over at home what your instructors taught you. Ask lots of questions, thats what you have instructors for :)

Thanks, I feel a bit better after checking it out on Google Earth. I will have a radio too, hopefully it works. :|

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So I did three jumps today and I'm not quite sure how I should feel about my overall performance.

Level 1: Awful. Arch was non existent, legs were kicked all the way up. I actually lost my instructors for a little bit and was on my back. I have no idea what the hell happened or how I got back up. All a blur. I however passed as I was still able to get set and pull on time. Landing pattern was bad too - I had no idea what to do. Radio helped a little but I still ended up way off the drop zone. Landing flare was perfect though, so there's that. I couldn't believe myself after I watched the video for this jump, it was such a mess, it was like I knew nothing.

Level 2: Awesome. I was really nervous because of my first jump but this one went really well. My legs were better (though still not perfect), but my arch was still pretty flat. My right turns were good, left not so good, but I never really felt out of control. The video showed that I really twisted/leaned my body when going to pull the cord which almost caused me to roll over, but luckily my instructors was there for support. My lines were a little twisted but they were pretty easy to fix. My instructor forgot to turn his radio on until late so my pattern was off again. Still kind of outside the dropzone but another good flare gentle landing. Overall a good jump. Instructor was happy, I was happy, felt good.

Level 3: An OK jump, I think. Good exit, better arch, still some leg issues though. When it came to the separation and heading, I started turning left immediately and couldn't counter it. I ended up pulling a little late but nothing too bad. Another shit landing pattern, landed way outside of DZ and almost landed in a bush. Unfortunately my instructors camera messed up and we didn't have video to review, but I guess we will get the video soon because I failed and need to repeat the jump.

Oh, and on top of all this, I dropped the rip cord on all three jumps, a dropzone record! Easy way to lose $45.

It's now the end of the day and I have this weird feeling. I don't feel like I'm good at this, at all. This shit is hard. I'm having a really hard time thinking while falling, most of my freefalls just seem like a blur. Even during the post jump briefing my instructor will ask me questions about what I did and I'm just clueless. It's like I check out during the fall. I'm forgetting everything. I never feel ready for a jump, but I'm not sure if I'm actually not ready or just nervous.

I ended up booking 5 minutes of tunnel time tomorrow morning at Eloy. Right now I feel like I have no awareness or control over my own body. I'm really hoping this helps.

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All of your problems sound normal. You took care of the important parts (pulling and not dying). Everything else will come with practice. It takes a while to become fully aware of the skydive. I still notice jumpers with many more jumps than I have seeing things in freefall that I was not aware of.

As for the pattern an landing off, well, if you handle the landing well, which it sounds like you did, and you don't mind a long walk and some gentle ribbing from other jumpers, then you really have no problems.

The world is your dropzone, land wherever your can land safely.

Keep with it, you progressed on each jump and that is going to continue. ;)

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Oh friend... 3 jumps and you expect perfection. You're as bad as I am! Seriously though, talk to your instructors and ask what their opinion is. My GUESS is that if they are progressing you they feel this is normal.

My exit arch 6 jumps in still sucks (except level 4... no idea there... left like I knew what I was doing). My landings... are all PLF and one faceplant from the mud (COULD have run it out if my foot didnt sink into the mess).

Don't be hard on yourself but if you're worried about progression just ask your instructors what they think. THEY are your best source of feedback :)
You are not the contents of your wallet.

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So here is the good news.....

You have recall, as opposed to blackout. That means you are "experiencing" the jump as opposed to merely "surviving" the jump.

What I am saying is that you appear 100 percent trainable.
We came here to eat donuts and kick ass, looks like there aren't any donuts.....

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I appreciate all the feedback guys, thanks a lot.

Maybe I am expecting a little too much from myself. I've watched a ton of AFF videos on youtube and it just seems like they all know what they're doing and I felt like I wasn't progressing at the same rate.

So I ended up going to Eloy in the morning and did 5 minutes of the tunnel. For the life of me I could not get stable. The instructor coaching me pretty much just said that I need to arch more with my pelvis (not my chest) and to relax. I left feeling pretty frustrated with myself (Seems to be a thing I frequently do, eh?) and then went straight to my DZ. My confidence was shit so I was extremely nervous to jump again, so I just hung out for a few hours, unsure if I would even jump today. I must have looked extremely nervous because so many people came up to me today to tell me to relax. My instructor said it would be perfectly fine if I needed the week to gather myself and then continue my jumps next Saturday, but I decided to go on the last load out. Holy shit I was nervous. But when the time came, the jump actually went pretty well. Good exit, maybe my best. Arch was definitely better, legs are still a little too bent though.

When my instructor released me my legs were uneven though and I started spinning to the left. I tried to counter it, but nothing happened. It's weird, I thought I was making the adjustments to spin the other way, but when we watched the video it was like I didn't do anything. Pretty much what happened on my first level 3 jump.

I think the main stand out from watching the video was just how tense I am. I don't even look like I'm enjoying myself. But hey, I passed level 3, and I even managed to hold on to my rip cord this time.

My instructor keeps stressing that I need to relax more, but I'm having trouble doing so. Any tips with this?

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ThreesAndSevens


Maybe I am expecting a little too much from myself. I've watched a ton of AFF videos on youtube and it just seems like they all know what they're doing and I felt like I wasn't progressing at the same rate.



Of course people will not all progress at the same rate. I'm having ups and downs myself (brilliant AFF1 and 2, disastrous AFF3 - rigid and stretched arms causing instability, lost altitude awareness and had to be reminded by the AFFI to check the altimeter at pull altitude. Had to do it again). Passed AFF5 yesterday in a not too bad jump. My stability is somewhat decent and I don't think I will ever again forget to check the altimeter regularly :$B|[/blush] )

About the AFF videos on youtube:

1) People will be more prone to publish them if they are really proud of their performance, or if they screwed up so badly they actually have great entertainment value. I don't think they represent an unbiased sample of AFF performances.

2) Often they are edited and they will leave out the "embarassing" parts of the whole AFF progression.

Keep it up and keep as posted!

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I publish my youtube videos no matter how bad they are. I'm doing the chronicles of my jumps and have NO problem laughing at myself. I'll see if I can post mine. I'm no pro. But I DID have about an hour of tunnel before AFF Level1.

Nerves? You want to talk nerves come up with me. I'm a total headcase!

If anxiety is your concern, and you have time, order "Transcending Fear" and take a yoga class. Yep, I know "shut up you crazy person" but hey... it got me out the door. It got me relaxed. Some good reading there.

I have also told people another thing to consider is "directed visualization". You find someplace quiet, preferably with something to put your feet on, and place yourself into a relaxed arch position. Close your eyes, and envision yourself in your arch. Relax, breathe, make your mind believe. You'll get it

Everyone gets there, but remember we are all different people with different neural connections. Some form more easily than others. I feel like a loser being afraid to jump, and then being at home in the air. I would rather be bad at arch and able to get out the door ;)
You are not the contents of your wallet.

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Here we go, some not-flattering AFF Jumps

Level 1: http://youtu.be/QMdlwL2g61w
Level 2: http://youtu.be/JEPAfprR1T0
Level 3: http://youtu.be/uatJnodKTNY
Level 4: No Video... sorry... and apparently one of my better jumps :\
Level 5: http://youtu.be/f9YIcDwkme0
Level 6: http://youtu.be/5vODVxbF1Ik

No shame here, enjoy my less-than-perfect expereince
you can probably smell my anxiety through the screen ;)
You are not the contents of your wallet.

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On relaxing. Never think of the negative on the plane ride up, it will make you very UNrelaxed in freefall... think about how awesome your skydive will be, a song that gets you going, something funny that happen or a joke you heard AND smile a lot!!! If you are not smiling, you are not skydiving! that statement is true BTW.

My instructor told me after I returned after 3 weeks of not jumping that my arch went to shit. To fix this he told me to fine a flat wall at home and stand about 16-18in from the wall, legs slightly apart as if in freefall and to push my pelvis out till I touch the wall and to say in arched position, head looking at the ceiling and to stand like that for 1 minute. Take a break and do it again multiple times though out the day. This will give you the feel for what kind of arch you need while in freefall.

If your palms are flat while in free fall you are probably not relaxed. Also 60sec's in a long time, enough time to do whatever needs to be done. Just remember the A.I.R. rule Altitude aware, In control, Relaxed, if you are doing these things you shal be good!

Good Luck, be safe and pull on time!

P.S. Remember everyone is different and these methods might not work for you, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. Make things work for YOU!

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That's some quality stuff you've got going on there DrDom.

You're definitely way better than I am, but I have the feeling you are also much younger, so just cut the old man some slack... B|

One thing got me worried - your main pin cover flap is loose on AFF level 3. From my relatively poor understanding, that is not a problem if you are flying belly down, but that's a discussion for a different section in the forum.

Keeping up with the spirit of illustrating our points, I've uploaded my failed and passed AFF L3:

Failed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLMGglo4DvQ
Passed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILIj3loGSVg

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I'm 35 so I like to think of myself is neither young nor old. In my mind nobody is old if they are jumping out of airplanes.

My arch and fall is ok but if you watch, I still lose it out the door and have my own issues. My point was not to show off, but to show we all have flaws and learning points.

None of this came natural... If you go to my YouTube page, go ahead and look at my FIRST tunnel session! I learned exactly how solid that plexiglass is on many occasions
You are not the contents of your wallet.

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DrDom

Here we go, some not-flattering AFF Jumps

Level 1: http://youtu.be/QMdlwL2g61w
Level 2: http://youtu.be/JEPAfprR1T0
Level 3: http://youtu.be/uatJnodKTNY
Level 4: No Video... sorry... and apparently one of my better jumps :\
Level 5: http://youtu.be/f9YIcDwkme0
Level 6: http://youtu.be/5vODVxbF1Ik

No shame here, enjoy my less-than-perfect expereince
you can probably smell my anxiety through the screen ;)



Haha what? You look awesome in these.

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ThreesAndSevens

***Here we go, some not-flattering AFF Jumps

Level 1: http://youtu.be/QMdlwL2g61w
Level 2: http://youtu.be/JEPAfprR1T0
Level 3: http://youtu.be/uatJnodKTNY
Level 4: No Video... sorry... and apparently one of my better jumps :\
Level 5: http://youtu.be/f9YIcDwkme0
Level 6: http://youtu.be/5vODVxbF1Ik

No shame here, enjoy my less-than-perfect expereince
you can probably smell my anxiety through the screen ;)



Haha what? You look awesome in these.

To the untrained eyes yes, my tracking is terrible, my exits de-arch, and i'm scared as all hell

The point was to be proud at however you progress, and realize that most YouTube videos are "good" vids, not real vids :)

Whatever you do, just have fun and learn while putting the priority on safety!
You are not the contents of your wallet.

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So I don't know what exactly happened, but yesterday everything seemed to click. I felt so much more comfortable in freefall. Arch was better, I could actually control turns, and if I ever lost stability I was able to restore it. Landing patterns went well too. After AFF 4 I asked my instructor to not give me instructions over the radio unless I was doing something really wrong. Having to actually think about it for myself helped a ton. I did accidentally land in a bush on one of my jumps, but I kinda just plowed right through it :P

I ended up completing all my AFF jumps and did two solo jumps. Did another three jumps today, just practicing turns, tracking, flips. I hope this weekend wasn't just a fluke, looking forward to jumping next weekend.

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