static line frustrations

[bluefingers 0]

Hi all
I'm a s/l student from SA. I have noticed that most seem to do AFF (believe me, if I could have afforded it, i would have gone that option).
Anyway, I have 20 jumps, and have STILL not got past 3sec delay. First 3 s/l went well. Fourth one (drcp), landed in a tree. Went uncurrent (stoopid me). No task s/l, then drcps. Arch went to hell. Finally got to First freefall on jump nr 13 (lucky I'm not superstitious). Lifted a knee, flipped and pulled on my back. Watch the pilot chute bounce off my foot. Try again. This time, arch like a pigeon, pulled on my back. Rushed my drills. Back to drcp x 3. Back to 3 sec ... rush my drills, tipped nto my side. Repeat. Go back up same day, do exactly the same thing. D'oh!
Uncurrent (double stoopid).
This last weekend, I had to do ANOTHER no task S/L, and must do 2 drcps before I can do 3sec again.
My question after this tale of woe - am I wasting my time? I enjoyed my last jump so much that I cursed myself for going uncurrent. I enjoy it. I can't wait for this weekend to get the drcps out theway. But at the back of my mind there's a little voice that chirps "maybe this isn't for you". Everyone at the DZ is so supportive, and tell me it's just a stumbling block, and once I get past it, all will be fine, 10 points for perserverance etc etc. But I see how other students progress and I feel like a right twit.
What do you think?
BF

Kerry

[nigel99 144]

Hi really struggled on s/l as due to finances (I was 16) I could only jump once a month which meant that I did god knows how many static lines.

However I really enjoyed jumping and regardless of the stigma attached to not "skydiving" but just falling out the door, I had fun, I started learning to spot - and generally getting fun for ME from the jumping.

When I eventually got to freefall I still couldn't progress still money issues and then a friend suggested I leapt from 8K for my 5/10 sec delays rather than the 4/5K (on a round under canopy by 5/6K!!!) It really helped as it de-stressed the dives for me as with no cypress AAD's I found the stress really high knowing that I had x seconds and the extra 3/4K gave me more time (in my head at least)

Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

[ernokaikkonen 0]

>My question after this tale of woe - am I wasting my time?

Bullshit. That's right; bullshit.
Trust me, even the hopeless ones have hope...

Erno

[fudd 0]

Hi
I had the aff progression and had to do level 3 like 5 times. Just couldn't keep my heading. Suddenly it all felt so natural and the rest of the levels just were easy and fun.
Finished my student jumps and did 5 point on my first 4 way 3 jumps later.
Once you get the hang of it, you can't believe how you could struggle with making a stable exit. And it feels so good We all have had a hard time mastering the skill of skydiving at some point or another. Here the other day I saw a video of one of the first AFF jumps that one of the AFF jumpmasters at my dz did. Funny to watch, and nice to see that even the skygods had a hard time in the begining.
It sounds like you enjoy skydiving. Just relax and have fun and it will all work out.
-fudd

There are only 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't.

[bluefingers 0]

One good thing is that I am getting lots of canopy control practice!!! - would love to learn to spot. Must chat to JM. I'm always last out of the C182 because of my size ... and can't see a thing!

Kerry

[bluefingers 0]

*sigh* 2 more days ....

Kerry

[bluefingers 0]

thanks for that encouragement ... everyone at the DZ has been telling me this, but I have had a hard time believing it .... problem with being a perfectionist. IT SUCKS big time when you don't get it ..... roll on saturday .... it's going to happen soon ... I can feel it!

Kerry

[Jussi 0]

We have one guy who did about 100 staticline jumps.....

[sangiro 4]

Kerry,

Ek't 14 vyf sekonde spronge gemaak! Ek dink ek't omtrent deur elke ding gewerk wat jy hier deurgaan. Die spul het altyd gespot en gese ek gaan biinekort 'n uur se vryvaltyd net van 5 sekonde spronge he!

Ek't onder andere my pilot chute gevang terwyl ek op my rug le en dit tussen my bene deur ontplooi! Toe ek los om vir die silwer te gryp toe smyt hy my om, sny my agter my oor en whip-lash die wit warm waks uit my uit soos die main tussen my bene deur oop maak!

Meeste studente het een ding waarmee hulle sukkel. Ek voorspel dat sodra jy die een reg kry gaan die res redelik glad verloop. Jy se jy geniet dit... so daar's jou antwoord!

Safe swoops
Sangiro

[meatmissile 0]

Very often people who struggle to get it right in the beginning end up doing it better than anybody else (as with so many other things in life as well).

So hang in there! En sterkte met jou progression - dit raak erg lekker hier van 10 sekondes af aan.

--
ZZZzzzz....

[meatmissile 0]

Quote

Toe ek los om vir die silwer te gryp toe smyt hy my om, sny my agter my oor en whip-lash die wit warm waks uit my uit soos die main tussen my bene deur oop maak!

Ek het dit al gesien gebeur met 'n ou by Wonderboom, ene Andrew Bailey. Was lank gelede, kan nie onthou wanneer nie. Hy het vir 'n week daarna geloop soos Long John Silver na 'n lang shoot.

--
ZZZzzzz....

[tombuch 0]

Quote

I'm a s/l student from SA. I have noticed that most seem to do AFF (believe me, if I could have afforded it, i would have gone that option).
Anyway, I have 20 jumps, and have STILL not got past 3sec delay.

You are not wasting your money, as long as you are having fun.

However, you might talk with the DZ Manager and see if he would be willing to cut you a deal on a couple of AFF jumps. You have already given him a bunch of money so he knows you are a good customer, and he may be willing to help you out financially.

Sometimes students can hook up with a good instructor who will even suggest a cheap way to do AFF for people like you. Believe me, instructors hate to see students with stability problems and we look for anything that might help them master the skills. I know alot of double rated instructors who will take a SL student having trouble on an AFF jump at cost.

So, even if you can't afford the full AFF program, it might be possible to do a couple of AFF jumps to get more time for stability practice. It doesn't hurt to ask.

As for most people doing AFF...that's probably isn't true, at least in the USA. There are no absolute numbers, but my hunch is that tandem is number one by far, followed by static line, then AFF. USPA actually crunched some numbers based on instructor currency requirements and found that SL is still a very popular program.

Tom Buchanan
Instructor (AFF, SL, IAD, Tandem)

Tom Buchanan
Instructor Emeritus
Comm Pilot MSEL,G
Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

[bluefingers 0]

WOW! I shoulda posted here ages ago instead of getting all despondent ....
Thanks for the encouragement all
Sangiro, Ferdi ... nearly fell off my chair when I saw some Afrikaans, maar ek bly in Durban en my Afrikaans is nie so goed nie, but after I read your post a couple times I understood
Ferdi - I see you from Pretoria - didya come down for the Easter Boogie at PPC this year? I was the chick with a bored expression collecting jump tickets ...
it burnt my butt big time to sit and watch everyone else having fun

Kerry

[carbonezone 0]

<<<>>>
Ok Sweetie as silly as this may sound, I would like you to try this. Muscle memory babe. Arching does not come easy for some men so here is something that worked for one of my friends / students. Find some water, float on your belly, Arch - Arch - Arch. If you are arching, you will sink. This is Good. Keep doing it. It really worked for him right away on his next jump. Also, get yourself a pillow and lay it on the floor in front of a mirror. Lay on your belly and assume box man position. Look at yourself in the mirror to perfect it. Now, relax, close your eyes and assume box man again. Open your eyes and see if you are in the correct position. If not correct it. And keep doing it. Soon it will become natural and you will be sleeping and waking up in your box man position. Now do the same thing for your ripcord pull position (left hand over head). Now, this is how you will start turing off your alarm-clock in the morning!!!!
Blues Sweetie and remember HAVE FUN AND KEEP TRYING.
Tami

[bluefingers 0]

One of our JM's has vowed to kick my butt if he sees me standing talking to anyone and my legs aren't spread apart, hips forward! Had me hopping off benches, steps whatever the entire day and that evening .... he made his point!
WHen I did the jump, I was more relaxed and slowed things down a bit - was more conscious of my body position than I have ever been - guess what - it worked. I am feeling far more positive now, and I just know that I am going to get through the next 2 drcps and 3 sec just fine!
I actually tried the "stand and arch" thing while I was chatting to some wuffo friends last night. WHen I started moving my arms about (the pull), you should have seen the look I got! It was hysterical!

Kerry

[faulknerwn 36]

Keep working at it! I had 3 tandems, 2 AFFs and 43 SL jumps when I finally graduated student status. I have almost 3000 jumps now so even I eventually "got it!"

If you want to get some hope, go to
http://www.eco.utexas.edu/~faulkner/skydiver/howcrw.html

That's my student logbook. Its rather funny reading now years later. I like the entry "Lived through it again".

W

[Skystorm 0]

Or when male skydiver forget to tuck away the family jewels properly.... You spot them from the ground, doing no radical turns and upon landing the first thing they do is loosening the legstraps. Cracks me up every time.

Kerry, hang in there. I struggled with my 180-turns, had to do a bunch of them. Then one day my b/f told me to forget everything, relax and have fun. It worked.

Gene Police: "YOU!! Out of the pool, NOW!!!"

[PhreeZone 15]

I always wondered how you got so good at clear and pulls....

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[christoofar 0]

Quote

We all have had a hard time mastering the skill of skydiving at some point or another. Here the other day I saw a video of one of the first AFF jumps that one of the AFF jumpmasters at my dz did. Funny to watch, and nice to see that even the skygods had a hard time in the begining.

After the beer light came on one night we had a FJC party. Everyone brought their first tandem video or AFF video. Some of those skygods' were hilarious! Made for a very fun party.

____________________________________________________________
I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

[ScottishJohn 25]

Quote

I actually tried the "stand and arch" thing while I was chatting to some wuffo friends last night. WHen I started moving my arms about (the pull), you should have seen the look I got! It was hysterical!

You should see the looks you get from wuffo's when you try to launch a 4 way formation out the pub door at closing time.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
If you think my attitude stinks you should smell my fingers

[wlie 0]

Quote

Trust me, even the hopeless ones have hope...

Tom Petty - Even the losers, get lucky sometimes.

My other ride is the relative wind.

[ernokaikkonen 0]

>You should see the looks you get from wuffo's when you try
>to launch a 4 way formation out the pub door at closing time.

I think it's more like:
"You should see the looks you get from wuffo's at closing time. "

no, no...hmmm:
"You should see the looks you get from wuffo's. "

Yeah, that's more like it

[Snowbird 0]

Hey Kerri you'll get there! Remember that determination and persistence are the most important tools for success!

I did 10 practice pulls and 13 jumps before my first freefall, so I know the frustration you mean. It's worth it to push through.

And do go read Wendy's student logbook, followed by her list of achievements. Thanks Wendy for posting that; I read it this spring when I was beating myself up for my lousy arch. It inspired me.

Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.
-Robert A. Heinlein

[coconutmonkey 0]

Carbone had it right on for you there, muscle memory. There is a reason that places like airborne school take weeks to teach you what could be taught in a day... so you can do an action in your sleep... which is where logic and reason go when you're too worked up about doing something right.
Don't give up on it! A few more and you'll be on your way to graduation and looking to buy a rig.

Hearts & Minds
2 to the Heart-
1 to the Mind-
Home of the Coconut Lounge, Spa, & Artillery Range

[billvon 2,400]

>Anyway, I have 20 jumps, and have STILL not got past 3sec delay.

If you can scrape up the money, doing one AFF may help you. It gives you 45 secs to work on body position, and that is directly applicable to your problems on exit. A 'hybrid' program worked for me, and I made 10 SL's before I even did my first freefall.