My Eloy Experience

[fred 0]

(disclaimer: this was originally written for a more general audience than dz.com, but I thought I'd repost it here for your enjoyment. It's kind of long, sorry about that).
Brief backstory. My parents are retired and living in Arizona. I'm unemployed and living in Michigan. So we all had some freetime, so I went to see their "winter estate", and headed down to Arizona for a week.
Well, it just so happens that my parents live about 15-20 minutes away from Skydive Arizona in Eloy, which is the largest dropzone in the country. So, while I was in the area . . .
I started skydiving this past summer, I jumped out of a tiny little Cessna. The Cessna is like a clown car, and we shove 6 people into an airplane built for 2.
(picture) Cessna shown actual size
So, at GLSD, my home dropzone, I'm used to showing up around 10AM, at which point I will sit around and watch some planes go up and some parachutes land, and then when I've settled my nerves a bit, go and manifest for a jump. That is, I have plenty of time to think about what I'm about to do, and it's a relaxing nerve-wracking good time.
Now, I arrive at Skydive Arizona at 8AM, and they direct me immediately into this office, where I explain who I am, what I've done, what we've discussed in email, etc., etc., and then they hand me the paperwork.
And folks, I've signed my fair share of waivers before, but this one had me initial just about every sentence. "You may die. If you're lucky enough not to die, you may get seriously maimed. If you happen to avoid getting seriously maimed, you may just get injured. If you don't get injured, well, consider yourself lucky.
"But in the case that you do get killed, maimed, or injured, you agree that it's not our fault: That skydiving is dangerous, and you're taking your own risks by even watching skydivers.
"And in the case that it is our fault, you acknowledge that people, even instructors may make mistakes that result in your being dead/maimed/injured, and will not hold us accountable.
"In the event that you think you want to hold us accountable, you agree that you can't.
"In the event that you hold us accountable anyhow, you agree not to sue.
"In the event that you choose to sue, you understand that you will pay all legal fees associated with said lawsuit.
"In the event that you win said lawsuit, you agree to pay any awarded damages to yourself."
Um... I'd say they covered all bases. Anyhow, I was ready to sign away my life, and jump out of some airplanes. I figured I'd sign my waivers, get my brief "transition training", and sit down and watch some divers while I waited for my hour call to get on the plane.
Well, I signed my waivers, paid a small fortune, and found out that the guy who was standing around in the room was actually waiting for me.
So, this very buff marine guy, wearing his daunting "Golden Knights" fleece, drags me into a private training room, and for the next 2 hours quizzes/teaches me various things that I previously thought I knew. (Examples: "What's the lowest that you'll pull your reserve?" My answer: "Well, until I hit the ground." His answer: "You'd better make that decision before that becomes an issue.")
It was obvious that, even after 15 jumps in a static line program, I knew nothing about this sport.
All the new stuff that I declared I was nervous about learning? Yeah, I had to learn that. And then I had to relearn everything else. The equipment was all different, the planes and exits were all different, the emergency procedures were (similar, but) different. It was a whole ton of differentness. It was
way off the difference scale.
And what really surprised me? My instructor was patient with me. He'd ask me something, and I'd answer in what I thought was the correct way, and he'd say, "close, but ..." and spend 15 minutes explaining it to me. I know he didn't make much money for all that time he spent with me, but he was patient,
instructive, and, most importantly, unforgiving.
Yeah, we went through training, and when we stepped out of that room, he said, "Let me go see when we can get on a load." And I thought, "Whew! I need to sit down and rest. And I can't wait to tell my parents how much I've learned!" (My parents were sitting out there watching skydivers land, which, for those of you who don't know, is a very fun activity, even if you don't want to jump out of a plane yourself. Eloy draws quite a crowd on weekends.)
So, as I was reviewing what I'd learned in my mind and waiting for my instructor to come back and tell me that we'd be leaving in an hour, my instructor came back and said, "Okay. We're going up in 10 minutes. Put your rig on."
And I did. I rushed to get a jumpsuit (They had tonysuits, which is definately going to be my first RW jumpsuit, because it was so baggy and comfortable and just so cool feeling, but that's another story), and he grabbed me an altimeter, goggles, and gloves.
A couple things there. First, I own my own goggles. They were sitting there in a bag next to my parents' lawnchairs. The altimeter? It was my instructor's, he let me borrow it. The gloves? Folks... I'm a Michigander, and while it wasn't exactly the dry heat of the desert that I'd been expecting, I wasn't exactly freezing under that jumpsuit.
But whatever, I put on the equipment. And then I heard the call: "Five minutes for skyvan 2", and my instructor told me, "That's us!" And I looked at him and said, "But you trained me to jump out of the otter! I'm not ready for a new plane. Better get us on the next load." And he just said, "It's
easy, I'll tell you how it's done on the way there."
So we walked to the tram. And he told me about leaving out of the back of an airplane.
Folks, the tram? This is yet another thing that I wasn't prepared for. I'm used to walking past the sign "Skydivers boarding aircraft *only* beyond this point" and climbing into an airplane. Here? I hopped on a trailer pulled behind a pickup with some makeshift bleachers on it, and rode it at
close to 45MPH along the ground. It was some scary shit, let me tell you.
(picture)Midnight tram to Georgia
So, we rush to board the plane first (because we're last off), and I'm still thinking in my mind, "Okay, ripcord is here now.", and we take off. My instructor looks at me and says, "relax", and I'm thinking, "You dumbshit! You fucking relax! I'm as relaxed as I'm going to be, okay,
punchi? Now you just fuck off and let me think about how I'm about to die."
And he kept interrupting my pessimistic thoughts and saying, "Come here! Look out the window!" He pointed out to me the "tetrahedron", which somehow or the other tells me which way the wind's going. Folks? It was invisible. There was no little white arrow like he said he was pointing at. He was making shit up just to fuck with me. And like an obedient little student I said, "Oh yeah! That's it, eh?" I couldn't see a thing except for desert and a lonely little runway.
Anyhow, I look at my altimeter, and we're up there. I follow others' cues and put on my helmet and goggles, and my instructor's telling me something but I can't tell what with all the engine noise and that obnoxious beating of my heart drowning out his voice.
And thats when groups begin to exit. They were basically in 4's, but it was still the coolest thing I'd yet seen, since I'm used to that tiny little plane (shown above), and then it's our turn.
I turn and present my side for him to grab onto. I'm pretty sure I always overdid that, turning my side to him a little bit far from the door, and then tiptoeing back into position. And it was easy.
"Ready" "Set!" "GOOOO!"
That was me. I did the count. I said, "Hey! We're jumping now!" And I just stepped off backward into the openness. And it was amazing.
And then things went poorly. Check heading. Check altimeter. Yell altitude toward jumpmaster. Skip important step. Practice pull. Repeat. Repeat. Check heading. Check altimeter. Yell altitude to jumpmaster. Again skip important step. Try and fall stable.
Y'all? That jump was a mess. The important step I skipped? Watch my JM for instructions. Things like arms out, legs in, knees together. All that instruction that would have helped me fall stable? I didn't bother to pay attention to him. I fell wobbly and chippy and altogether unstable. I kept looking at and reading my altimeter, and then see him pointing, and realized, "Oh yeah! When I read that 5500 on my altimeter, I was supposed to pull."
And I did what I had laughed about in training. I realized that I was low, reached for me ripcord, then thought, "Hey! You forgot to wave off!"
So I let go of my ripcord, waved off, and then pulled. (Proper course of action? Forget waving off, and just pull.)
Whatever. The dive was a mess, and my instructor let me know. (Amazingly, that was probably the one dive of the day that I actually landed accurately).
I got to the ground, huffing and puffing, gathered my stuff, and went back to the student area.
And that's when I got yelled at. Did I mention that my instructor was a marine? Because, uh, some of that boot camp helled through. He said something like, "Okay, what happened? Yeah, yeah... Okay, come in here. Lay down, bitch."
And that's when he had me exercise.
Folks, I'm not in good shape. Muscle tone? Yeah, you can find it over there, on that other guy. And he put me face down on the ground and had me hold up my body in a practice arch. I'd done this before, on my own, and it's some pretty tough work. But I've never had somebody yell at me for
failing.
He'd say, "Okay... Show me a good arch. Yes, that's it. Good. Hey! I didn't say to put your legs down. Show me a good arch. Okay. Show me a turn. Good. Hey! Get your legs and arms up!" And I'm on the floor dying. He's having me hold this arch on the ground and I'm screaming, "But it's so much easier when the wind is supporting me!" And he's yelling, "Feel the burn! Feel the burn!"
And then, when he was satisfied with my suffering, he said, "Okay. Ready for another one? We've got a 20 minute call. Grab a rig and check it out yourself. Be all set in 10 minutes."
And at that moment, I hated my instructor more than I've hated any man in all my life. I wanted to rest. I wanted to relax. I wanted to give up and to never have to do those stupid floor exercises again. Hell, I half expected him to suggest it: "Yeah, that first jump? It really sucked. Perhaps
this isn't the sport for you." But no, he was like, "Yeah, that first jump? It really sucked. If you don't do better we're going to have to ship you to Guantanamo Bay until you can improve."
And we got on the plane again. And this time, something very exciting was happening. My Dad was on the same plane. I was sitting across from him, and sitting next to his video guy, and I was just not paying attention the entire ride up. I was so amused at watching the expressions on my Dad's face, since this was going to be his first time jumping out of an airplane, and he was obviously very nervous. And I was very amused.
We got to altitude, and a 12-way or more left, and the plane did all sorts of weird bounces, and it was my turn. I got into position, presented, and realized that my dad was jumping right after me. I looked my dad in the eyes, smiled, and "ready. set. go." and I jumped out of the plane, looking
at my dad as I fell away.
(picture) It ain't so high
This jump went much better. I remembered to wait for instruction (one signal, consistent through the rest of my jumps: bring your legs in), and checked my altimeter, and pulled on time, and everything went smoothly.
And that jump? I had no fun. I loved leaving the plane staring at my Dad, and I liked the idea of it, but I really didn't have a good time.
And I told my instructor that I needed a break. I'd catch up with him that afternoon.
I went and had lunch with my parents, watched some landings, and still couldn't decide if I was going to jump again. We sat down, and my parents said, basically, "You'd better sign up if you want to jump again." So I went to see what was going on. And my instructor had about a dozen
tandems to do, and there was no chance of fitting me in for a couple hours.
Still undecided, I told them I'd be there tomorrow, and we left for the day.
And I did not know if I would ever jump again.
To Be Continued . . .

[MarkM 0]

Damn girl. Give me one of those relaxed easy going DZs any day Did you have problems putting your arms too far forward on your arch? I'm doing that and I think it's from the hanging SL exits from the Cessnas I first learned on.

[kingbunky 3]

excellent writing! i haven't had the opportunity to jump from anything but a 182 yet, but having a big gaping hole in the back sounds easier to get out of than climbing over people and around crap and then hanging from a wing!"Jumping out of planes for the thrill of it all."
-J.Geils Band

[fred 0]

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Did you have problems putting your arms too far forward on your arch? I'm doing that and I think it's from the hanging SL exits from the Cessnas I first learned on.

Actually, I had the opposite problem. I had to bring my arms forward and my legs in. The instructor really helped me with my arch on the ground. I wish somebody had been that forceful with me practicing my boxman at the SL dz. He really helped me figure out what I was doing wrong (actually correcting it? Well, I'm still working on it. I need more practice).

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but having a big gaping hole in the back sounds easier to get out of than climbing over people and around crap and then hanging from a wing!

The skyvan was heaven. I could look over and talk in almost a normal voice before exit. Being able to actually stand up in an aircraft is a blessing. I'm a bit frightened of my next 182 jump, since I'm going to have to do all that crap again.
And spotting? I know how, I've done it well, but the GPS spots were *so* much easier.

[MarkM 0]

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I wish somebody had been that forceful with me practicing my boxman at the SL dz.

I'm wondering if that must be more of a focus in the AFF/AFP programs, because no one really went over my arch much on SL either. Think SL is more of a "Hey you lived! You pass."

[Viking 0]

makes me wanna just stay at Otay where i can go at my own pace, hey we have an otter, thats all i need........................well other than a parachute and a few other things.
I swear you must have footprints on the back of your helmet - chicagoskydiver

[freeflir29 0]

"The skyvan was heaven. I could look over and talk in almost a normal voice before exit. Being able to actually stand up in an aircraft is a blessing."
Ahhh....a turbine snob in the making......"I only have 131 jumps, so I don't know shit..right?"-Clay

[fred 0]

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Ahhh....a turbine snob in the making......

No doubt. I think my closest is about 3 1/2 hours away in Chicago... I'm awful nervous about my next cessna jump.
On that note, a question:
What are good exits from a C-182 that a person who's just off student status can do? I've never done anything other than climbing out onto the strut and doing a hanging (poised?) exit. Can you dive out? What's that sign that says, "No King Air exits!" mean?
I'm sure I'll find all of this out pretty soon, but my local dz isn't opening until April, and I'd like to fantasize about not having to climb out and hang.

[freeflir29 0]

"Can you dive out? What's that sign that says, "No King Air exits!" mean?"
Yes you can dive out. Just keep your feet on your ass. I have no idea what a "King Air Exit" is...better ask. The coolest Cessna exit I have ever seen was a couple weeks ago out of the Cessna at SD Atl. Woody climbed out, hooked his feet on the leading edge of the wing and hung upside down for a few seconds before dropping away. That one gets the most style points. "I only have 131 jumps, so I don't know shit..right?"-Clay

[MarkM 0]

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I'm awful nervous about my next cessna jump.

Why? It's not like you'll have to land in the thing...

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What are good exits from a C-182 that a person who's just off student status can do?

A batwing! Do a batwing for Mark!

[MarkM 0]

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Woody climbed out, hooked his feet on the leading edge of the wing and hung upside down for a few seconds before dropping away.

Yep, that's a batwing.

[freeflir29 0]

"Yep, that's a batwing"
I was thinking it was but I'm often not up on all the cool names of stuff unless it's an Oppenheimer or flower....yep...I think I'm done....
"I only have 131 jumps, so I don't know shit..right?"-Clay

[AggieDave 6]

Climb out, put one hand on the strut, your feet on the step, squat down like you were doing a cannonball off the diving board and let go and grab your legs. Fun exit, you'll tumble backwards until you arch it out. "Alright, at 4500 lets break it, turn 360 and track away..."

[FallingILweenie 0]

A few weeks ago I was in a 3 way out of a cessna where i was in the v diving, and one of the other guys was poised. the cool part of it was the 3rd guy was hanging off the wheel strut so i was essentially looking down right at him from the diving position on the v. the way he did it was to when you climb out onto the step, you kneel down then you put your hands on the step and lower yourself down. it was a pretty cool exit. i imagine its gotta be way cooler to do it with other people to look at than by yourself though so jump with someone else when you do it!
blue skies
Tomas

[fred 0]

Sorry, I was mistaken. I'm pretty sure the sign reads, "No Golden Knights Exits"... Perhaps my DZ just has a thing against military folk.