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Namowal

Noob Cartoons: Skydiving Duck

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Great job! Don't worry about the nervousness caused by the door. That's totally normal. The door used to freak me out too, especially when I was the one opening it. Over time I got more comfortable with it and now I have no problem sitting on the floor next to the open door.

Hopefully the weather will cooperate this weekend and you can finish level eight and maybe even get a solo jump in.
"I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

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Hehe, nice cartoon (as always). Congrats on passing. I liked the pic with skydiving duck tracking most B|
Good luck for level 8, though that sounds interesting to me as we only have Levels 1 to 7 in Germany, then students are handed a leaflet labelled "Level 8 - Solo skydiving, what now?" But if I guess correctly your Level 8 should be pretty much the same - solo skydiving accompanied by an instructor, huh? Wish you lots of fun and looking forward to your next cartoons - reading stuff for long winter evenings :)

The sky is not the limit. The ground is.

The Society of Skydiving Ducks

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Here's the cartoon about AFF level seven.



Congratulations! I love the depiction of your landing with the grass curling up in front of your heels.

Nitpicks:
- "I'll try this level and well see about the others..."
Correction: "Well" should have an apostrophe: "we'll".

- "I was ready to the dreaded level seven."
Correction: Should be "ready to do the..."

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Great job! Don't worry about the nervousness caused by the door. That's totally normal. The door used to freak me out too, especially when I was the one opening it. Over time I got more comfortable with it and now I have no problem sitting on the floor next to the open door.



That amazes me the way people sit by that open door like it was as benign as a television set. How long did it take to outgrow the door jitters? I think it's a combo of things that trigger it for me- there's the "don't fall off the ledge!" instinct, the noise, the novelty, the awkwardness with the heavy pack and the ever fogging goggles... ...falling out of the plane is a relief! :)
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Good luck for level 8, though that sounds interesting to me as we only have Levels 1 to 7 in Germany, then students are handed a leaflet labelled "Level 8 - Solo skydiving, what now?" But if I guess correctly your Level 8 should be pretty much the same


At this DZ, level eight is similar to seven, with less flopping around. I think it goes something like this:
Dive exit, front loop, barrel roll, 360 turn, dock on to instructor, release, turn 90 degrees, track away... Yikes! And just a few jumps ago I was "only" doing simple turns.
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Nitpicks:
- "I'll try this level and well see about the others..."
Correction: "Well" should have an apostrophe: "we'll".

- "I was ready to the dreaded level seven."
Correction: Should be "ready to do the..."



Good catch! Thanks.
p.s. Did you notice the flip drawing was missing a strap and the cutaway pillow. I caught the error last night and fixed it... ...only to upload the old cartoon by mistake. D'oh! I take lots of liberties with the equipment, but it still bugs me when I leave out the obvious.
My blog with the skydiving duck cartoons.

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That amazes me the way people sit by that open door like it was as benign as a television set. How long did it take to outgrow the door jitters? I think it's a combo of things that trigger it for me- there's the "don't fall off the ledge!" instinct, the noise, the novelty, the awkwardness with the heavy pack and the ever fogging goggles... ...falling out of the plane is a relief! :)



For me it was when I thought "what's the worst that could happen by sitting by the open door?" I realized that I could fall out and that was sort of the point anyway.
"What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

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>That amazes me the way people sit by that open door like it was as
>benign as a television set. How long did it take to outgrow the door jitters?

For me not long at all. I started doing static line, so I got used to sitting by an open door at 2500 feet. So once I started going up in Otters it was like looking at a map instead of looking down at an altitude that you'd actually jump from.

And after a while the door becomes much preferable to the 23 stinky people crammed into that Otter . . .

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Stinky people? I resemble that remark...

I'm not much farther along than our darling diving duck, and have a little acrophobia I don't imagine I'll ever get free of, but a few hop and pops for a canopy course helped with the door fear. Now I just hope I don't fall out prematurely, because I'll mess up the exit my group has planned a little earlier than usual...

OP - nicely done! If the rain stays away, I hope to see you around this weekend!

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I love sitting by the door. I would always finagle to be there. That was almost as good as the jump. Watching everything. After takeoff, laying on my tummy with my head hanging out all the way to altitude. It makes me happy, just thinking about it. :)

lisa
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So once I started going up in Otters it was like looking at a map instead of looking down at an altitude that you'd actually jump from.


Well, you do have a point there. When I got to AFF levels that included spotting, I thought I'd get dizzy or panicky by actually looking down. But it turned out to be more like "Say, it looks like Google Earth!"

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OP - nicely done! If the rain stays away, I hope to see you around this weekend!



Thanks! I'm keeping my fingers crossed about the weather. :)
My blog with the skydiving duck cartoons.

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I love sitting by the door. I would always finagle to be there. That was almost as good as the jump. Watching everything. After takeoff, laying on my tummy with my head hanging out all the way to altitude. It makes me happy, just thinking about it. :)



I never thought of doing that. I do like to watch the ground fall away out the window. Maybe someday I'll get brave and try your head-out-the door flight. B|
My blog with the skydiving duck cartoons.

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Well, you do have a point there. When I got to AFF levels that included spotting, I thought I'd get dizzy or panicky by actually looking down. But it turned out to be more like "Say, it looks like Google Earth!"



I only looked straight down from a plane once, and while I've a fear of height that under the right circumstances kicks in at 20 feet, my brain decided that it wasn't sure what it was looking at, but that it wasn't height. Twas only right before the landing I uttered the words "shit, we're up really high" :S

Anyway, nice cartoon and congrats on level 7!

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And just a few jumps ago I was "only" doing simple turns.



It's amazing how time flies, huh? Or to put it more correctly: Amazing how fast you progress :)
BTW: Sitting in a crammed 206 (three tandems for example) will make you longing for that door to open... :P
The sky is not the limit. The ground is.

The Society of Skydiving Ducks

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And just a few jumps ago I was "only" doing simple turns.



It's amazing how time flies, huh? Or to put it more correctly: Amazing how fast you progress :)
BTW: Sitting in a crammed 206 (three tandems for example) will make you longing for that door to open... :P


Thanks!
I was supposed to try level 8 today, but it was too windy and cloudy for students all day so I was out of luck. I hope the weather is better next week...
My blog with the skydiving duck cartoons.

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Doors on jump aeroplanes are only a relatively recent phenomena....a lot of dinosaurs prefer not to have one. Falling out is actually quite difficult due to the prop blast when the plane is at full power.

Good cartoon again, you are making good progress....
My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

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Good cartoon again, you are making good progress....


Thanks. I'm afraid I'll have to downgrade "good progress" to mediocre progress- as yesterday I learned, somewhat belatedly, that I was supposed to take and pass oral quizzes corresponding to each jump level.

I only have level "A" signed off! D'oh![:/] Feeling rather stupid about that...
My blog with the skydiving duck cartoons.

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Good cartoon again, you are making good progress....


Thanks. I'm afraid I'll have to downgrade "good progress" to mediocre progress- as yesterday I learned, somewhat belatedly, that I was supposed to take and pass oral quizzes corresponding to each jump level.

I only have level "A" signed off! D'oh![:/] Feeling rather stupid about that...


That's not something for you to feel stupid about. An oral quiz takes two people. Your instructor has to initiate the test. Why didn't he?
"For you see, an airplane is an airplane. A landing area is a landing area. But a dropzone... a dropzone is the people."

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yesterday I learned, somewhat belatedly, that I was supposed to take and pass oral quizzes corresponding to each jump level.


What oral quizzes? I don't recall that being in Elsinore's AFF (though I went through my AFF 3.5 years ago). If you mean the A license progression skills, you can do those as you continue on to 25 jumps.

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yesterday I learned, somewhat belatedly, that I was supposed to take and pass oral quizzes corresponding to each jump level.


What oral quizzes? I don't recall that being in Elsinore's AFF (though I went through my AFF 3.5 years ago). If you mean the A license progression skills, you can do those as you continue on to 25 jumps.



I believe they refer to the quizzes listed here.

One of the paragraph at the link says:
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When a student completes the requirements for each category, the USPA Instructor records it on the student's USPA A-License Proficiency Card and Application and administers an oral quiz. Especially in Categories A-D, the student should complete all the objectives of one category before making any jumps in the next.

(emphasis added)

For some reason, I had it in my head that the quizzes (and the card check offs) happened post AFF. so I never expected any. Plus I have had several instructors and nobody threw a former quiz at me (with the exception of my first jump). That being said, the material in those quizzes is more or less stuff we've gone over anyway, sans checklists and signatures.
My blog with the skydiving duck cartoons.

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For some reason, I had it in my head that the quizzes (and the card check offs) happened post AFF. so I never expected any. Plus I have had several instructors and nobody threw a former quiz at me (with the exception of my first jump). That being said, the material in those quizzes is more or less stuff we've gone over anyway, sans checklists and signatures.



Are your jumps signed off on your progression card? I suspect you'll find that most schools won't do a formal end of jump quiz, but instead, the instructors will pepper you with questions and test your knowledge in various ways throughout the briefing, jump prep, and debrief. As long as your card is being signed off as you're progressing through jumps and skills, I don't think you've got anything to stress about.B| And if it's not been signed off, sit down next time you're there and go through the card with an instructor to make sure that things are up to date (but I'd be willing to bet that it's already updated).
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

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as yesterday I learned, somewhat belatedly, that I was supposed to take and pass oral quizzes corresponding to each jump level.

I only have level "A" signed off! D'oh![:/] Feeling rather stupid about that...



I did all my quizzes (besides the Cat A quiz) right before taking my A License test. It's not a big deal, and more your instructor's responsibility than yours anyway.

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Sorry for the delay between posts. Bad weather and car issues have kept me grounded the last few weeks.[:/]

I'm hoping to take care of AFF level 8 tomorrow (Saturday).

In the meantime, here's one of my older cartoons, based on a nightmare I had. I drew it before my skydiving days, but it does take place up in the air, and there's some (brief) free falling.

My blog with the skydiving duck cartoons.

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