I am SOOO downhearted

[bbarnhouse 0]

Dark~
At AFF5 my instructor told me I had a "built in" right turn. I liked to spin a bit too (although my reference to being a spinner is quite different)LOL
Seriously,I did exactly what Bill suggested and.....waaaalaa! Fixed the problem. Don't give up especially if you enjoy it.
Cheers!
B
It only takes a little pixie dust......

[PLFXpert 0]

DarkZone,
The more nervous you get about your jumps the less likely you are to improve. That is true with most everything in life. RELAX. Take some deep breaths before you leave the plane and on the ride to altitude, mentally picture yourself performing well. Imagine your body position, focusing on a heading, ect.
I do these things on nearly every jump and THEY WORK! Relaxation and mental focus are really all you need to vastly improve in a short amount of time.
It seems a lot less technical than the advice you might have expected to get, but try itMuch love and blue skies,
Carrie http://www.geocities.com/skydivegrl20/

[billvon 2,442]

>When I was off AFF and doing solo jumps if I started to spin I would find myself
>going into a track to get stable and then I would be fine on my belly again.
I don't recommend that for a few reasons:
1. It won't help a bad spin - it will just make you spin in a wider circle.
2. If you are successful, and you do "track out of it" a few times, you're essentially tracking in an unpredictable direction, and that's not a good idea if you're in the sky with other people.
Stopping a spin is one of those really basic skills that you have to have to do any kind of jumping. If one of my recent grads had such a problem, I'd worry about the criteria I used to pass him - was it too lenient, if he's off spinning on his solos? To fix it, I'd either jump with him a few more times, teach him leg turns or whatnot, or hook him up with a good coach to help him fix the problem.
-bill von

[ChromeBoy 0]

I graduated but had to take some time off afterwards. On my return jump and had a bad spin and tracked out of it. I went to the instructors and they hooked me up with a coach and I was fine from then on. Just having someone out there for a visual reference was good.
This is a different subject than what Darkzone is referring to so I will be quiet now. I lurk again.

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[Pammi 0]

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the more worked up about it you get the more rigid you become, the more rigid, it will get worse, it's a downward spiral.

EXACTLY! I went through this badly. The first time I started spinning badly was the time I lost altitude awareness and went way too low. Bad news. I was freaked about it after that. I had a terrific JM going with me...friends video'ing me and no one could figure it out. (Well, at first it was the legs, and I was very, very stiff...then after those were fixed, we were still spinning....it was just slowed down.)
What helped. Merrick knew I was freaking out and about to quit...JM was trying to tell me to relax (don't look at the pink elephants), finally Merrick told me to try doing a flip. JM agreed that perhaps we should quit working on my problem for a jump, work on something else. It totally worked!! It was so fun, and got my mind off of over-working my problem. Never spun again.
Good luck! Don't give up!
New pin jewelry!

[vickha 0]

I was the exact same way - spinning uncontrollably like a top. Sucks, doesn't it? I had the greatest instructor try to help me several days in a row. No good. During my last jump, I got a coach video. It showed me my mistakes but I don't really know whether or not it helped me. I was getting really frustrated and put way too much pressure on myself.
One night, as I was reading Parachutist, I ran across a letter someone wrote who was having problems during their coach jumps. Anyway, the letter said that skydiving was more work than fun. Once that person decided to enjoy skydiving again, regardless of what happened, they relaxed and was able to pass the level they had difficulties on. The next time I jumped, I told myself I'd smile during the entire jump. On the way to altitude, my instructor told me to tighten every muscle in my body, hold it, then relax. It worked a bit but I really think the smiling helped. For some reason, I left the plane smiling and I really enjoyed getting stable and the practice handle touches. When it came time to turn, I could do it - no problems. It was amazing. I don't know if my experiences will help you. The only real suggestion I can make is to smile during the jump and make yourself have fun skydiving again.
Good luck, have fun, and keep us updated on your progress.

[Darkzone 0]

Thanks for all the great advice, guys. I'll keep trying and keep you posted. I WILL NOT QUIT, DAMMIT!!
I apologise if this sounds selfish but It's nice to know that others have suffered the same problems as me. It's also good to know that the solution is there albeit aluding me for the moment but I will find it however long it takes.
If any of you are going to Langar tomorrow seek me out, the beer's on me!
Whooooohooooo!!! Hahahaha!!!

[Lindsey 0]

Try this.....RELAX! Let your body fall....let your arms and legs relax above you.....I mean REALLY relax. Your turns will stop as long as you're looking straight ahead and not twisting your body around.....
Peace~
Lindsey
Eve was framed!

[dove 0]

Hey darkzone! Wow - if you are this addicted to the sport when you feel like you aren't doing well, just think how awesome you are gonna feel when you nail it! Ah, bliss!
I think the theme here is SMILE!!!!! Shit - you do this for FUN, right?!?!?!? No one ever said you have to look pretty to have a kick-ass time! So go out there with a friend or JM and make the ONLY goal of the jump a contest of who can smile bigger and goofier. Just grin like crazy at each other, make faces, stick out your tongue. See what happens! Betcha don't realize til you get down that you were looking RIGHT AT EACH OTHER the whole time - and to do that you won't be turning!
Keep at it - we wouldn't let you go anyway!!!!! Yer stuck with us! Now smile and have fun, dammit!
dove

[pilotdave 0]

I had a case of the spins on my AFF 4... What helped me was to really think about my legs during the next jump. Toe taps can definitely help if it happens to be your legs that aren't even. You won't stop smiling for a long time when you FEEL the proper position and everything just clicks into place. Once you get it, you get it. On my level 4 (90 degree turns), I went with 2 JMs cause my level 3 wasnt perfect. My first turn went well, but then it was downhill from there and i just kept spinning clockwise. One JM was able to grab back on in front of me and eventually we stopped spinning. After opening, I found myself above the clouds with no clue where the DZ was. I had a radio, but the guy on the ground couldnt see me. He assumed i was upwind of the airport so he gave me two instructions... put the sun on my left, and aim away from the airport. Well, when i finally spotted the airport I realized i was quite a ways downwind of it. I ended up landing in someone's front yard, far enough away that he asked me where the dropzone was. But even after all that, it was still my funnest jump up to that point.
So, just have fun and enjoy it even if you are spinning out of control. Everything will just suddenly click into place and you'll be rock solid in freefall. Keep at it and use as many of those jump tickets in one day as you can.
Dave
http://www.skydivingmovies.com

[canopycudler 0]

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Ask if you can just go out and jump with your JM - smile, breathe deep and enjoy it, then go back up and do the turns, you'll be much more relaxed and perform better....

I think thats the very best advise..just relax and remember the beauty of your very first jump..
work like you don't need the money, love like you've never been hurt and dance like nobodys watching.
..

[crazymel 0]

It has all been said, but I'll just second that smile thing again. If you go to my earlier posts, you'll see that I had (actually still have at times) the same problem. I never had the problem during AFF - had a perfect body position, and my JM thought I was the best student ever, but then came the solo's..... I never spin, just slowly turn around and around. I tried all the advise these guys gave me, and it seemed to help. And then on my 13th jump I started to giggle during my exit, and couldn't stop giggling.....and then I realized - perfect, steady, stable heading and I started screaming from pure joy!!! A "perfect" solo!!! Finally!!! But off-course on my 14th jump I had the same problem again (but I think it was because I exited the plane wrong) and had to "fix it".... But I can't wait to get my ass in the air and try to work on it!! It's a challenge I can't wait to win! I know one day I'll look back and laugh at this. I remembered when I first started driving - every gear change was a conscious decision, and now it's like breathing!! Same will go for stability during free-fall..... We're gonna get there!!! And we're gonna love the journey!!!!!!! Isn't that what life is all about?????
Life is for the LIVING!!!!!

[BenW 0]

Darky,
Have a word with Milko, Richard or TonyD and see if they'll video your next jump - They can work it out with whoever might be despatching you. You'll have to pay their slot, but it'll be very beneficial to see what you are doing.
If this doesn't help, it may be worth doing the AFF jump that we talked about.
If you're there this weekend, we can have see what they'll do for you!
B