mdrejhon 8 #26 April 28, 2005 My training begin this weekend! The weekend's almost here already... They have said they have solved all the logistics for training a deaf guy like me. Too bad the weather doesn't look good for jumps, but I'm going anyway. May not be able to get any jumps in during Saturday because of rain. They told me I should stop paying attention to weather forecasts and come anyway ;-) At least I'll be able to do the ground school portion. (Lesson Learned: Weather is not a reason to skip a weekend for training, you got to show your dedication.) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flyangel2 2 #27 April 29, 2005 QuoteMy training begin this weekend! The weekend's almost here already... They have said they have solved all the logistics for training a deaf guy like me. QuoteToo bad the weather doesn't look good for jumps, but I'm going anyway. May not be able to get any jumps in during Saturday because of rain. They told me I should stop paying attention to weather forecasts and come anyway ;-) At least I'll be able to do the ground school portion. (Lesson Learned: Weather is not a reason to skip a weekend for training, you got to show your dedication.) Yup, you can't do a thing about the weather, so stop checking the forecast. At your learning level in the sport, there is no such thing as a weather day. There is still so much you can learn when you are on the ground. Learning how to skydive doesn't just involve being in the air. Good luck and have fun.May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mdrejhon 8 #28 May 2, 2005 I did one jump and the ground class... Got rained out, and put on wind hold most of the weekend! Oh well, I'll do more jumps next weekend, I hope! The weather played games with the dropzone. A load went up during a sunny period, and they landed in sudden torrential rain. High winds were pretty strong (something like 45mph). Another load went up during relatively strong winds, and came down when it was suddenly more windy, two of the canopies got blown off-zone. (They were OK). Another person landed near the landing area, but he was floating straight down, unable to outrun the wind. Good thing there's lots of farmland out in this small rural neighbourhood dropzone, lots of soft landing. One rig got muddied up, and that ended her day (phooey). They said it was a really unusal day on Sunday, so I got to experience a little dropzone drama for the first time (high winds, then another load caught in rain, then another load had a couple of off-zone landings). Still not going to stop me from completing my training. Not going to let Mother Nature stop me! I'll wait patiently on the ground until it's blue skies and gentle winds. During my times between classes and jump, and being grounded, I had the opportunity to play a little sports, play poker, watch a bunch of movies/videos, have a beer night. Getting to know the dropzone regulars. Watched them fly steerable ramair kites during the periods we were grounded due to winds. Forked in my contribution for the "rock climbing wall" fund, building a small wall at the back of the airplane hangar. (25% complete now.) I now know why people drive an extra hour or two for Gananoque, because the people are more friendly there! My avatar is now a photograph, of the dropzone at sunset. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #29 May 3, 2005 Congrats Mark on making that first jump! It's a good thing you are a student now, since you got a great opportunity to watch experienced jumpers make fools out of themselves by jumping in questionable conditions that did get worse than when they took off in the plane! Now you know what to avoid doing later on! I too have done the high wind jumps, and once got dragged 50 yards across the DZ after making the softest touchdown in 30+ mph winds... Keep it up, and keep in mind that just because there's a weather hold for students doesn't mean that being at the DZ was a waste of time. There's plenty of other ways to learn... sometimes at the expense of others... "Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mdrejhon 8 #30 May 9, 2005 My PFF Experience Posted in Safety and Training: QuoteEIGHT jumps in one weekend! I only had 4 tandems before this weekend. Started my PFF program. Now I'm exiting and freefalling without the instructor holding onto me. Fun! Didn't expect to jump that many times during PFF training. I only got one jump last weekend (the pre-qualifying tandem jump). I tripled my lifetime jump total in just one weekend. So that means this weekend contained all my first solo landings too. The weather conditions was almost good enough that I could have theoretically graduated in just one weekend! If it weren't for those wind holds, of course... Then I'd end up grappling to find money to do jumps next weekend before my midmonth paycheque! There were bonuses too. Two free videos of my jumps, one of them courtesy a "vidiot-in-training". And one jump was almost 13,500 feet in a Cessna, rather than the normal 12,500. That must have been a lucky climb, I heard Cessna's don't usually go that high very well... Have to repeat one PFF level, but overall, I think I did okay as a student. Good stuff though. Didn't hurt myself, but I did have a big embarassment. I have to try not to take it too hard....(I always do that...sigh). The weekend went well otherwise. Canopy piloting was mostly excellent though (for a student), got myself homefield grass unassisted several times with the arrow eliminated, even one on-target landing (pea gravel, 3m from center). I did an excellent job crabbing on that one... Flare was excellent on all but one landing, where I flared slightly too early. 6.5 standup landings, 1 soft butt landing. (The 0.5 standup was a near-loss of balance onto my butt then I recovered as the canopy pulled me back up). Now, it's not all flawless, I got critiqued on several things... But I think they now trust me a little more getting back to the dropzone area without guiding me, and I'll have to endure less of those wind holds ;-) Man, there were so many wind holds... But they're looking out for my safety! I'm somewhat of an inconsistent freefaller. Some things were really excellent (3 first backloops ever, in less time most students can only do 2), finally can do a 360 turn fast and stable. But I screwed up a track causing me to go unstable. I arched and stabilized a bit but not completely. I felt I had to pull while I was still somewhat unstable (because I felt like I ran out of time to stabilize.) At least I didn't panic and did not rush the pull. "Relax" is my main problem at pull time. Pull altitude was reported great every time though. Altitude awareness was reported great, but can't get complacent about that either... It was sure an experience though. Learned a lot in just one weekend! And even, no, that wasn't my biggest embarassment. *blush*. Something I'm not sure I should talk about online. (Needless to say, I think they're glad they flew me on a very forgiving Manta 288sqft canopy.) I think I'll nail it within one (or two) more repeat levels, I'll even ask for two repeats if it is better safe than sorry even if I do the next one well enough, then do my graduating jump when both the instructor and I feel ready. I'm exhausted, so I'm heading to bed shortly. Night all. Blue skies! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mdrejhon 8 #31 May 9, 2005 QuoteCongrats Mark on making that first jump!Actually, that was my fourth tandem which was a part of Gananoque's PFF program which requires tandems at first, and successfully accomplishing various objectives during that tandem. My first solo landing was only this weekend (as was also my first unassisted exit and freefall too, a few jumps later during the same weekend...) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #32 May 9, 2005 Mark, That is way cool! I don't hear of very many students that make that many jumps in a weekend! Not even at the big twin turbine DZs! You done good. Keep it up, and stay safe! "Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mdrejhon 8 #33 May 9, 2005 Tell that to my sore legs, arms and feet! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #34 May 9, 2005 QuoteTell that to my sore legs, arms and feet! You jump often enough, your body will get used to it! There was a time when I was current enough that I could do 10-15 jumps a weekend and not be sore. Tired yes, but not sore."Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mdrejhon 8 #35 May 16, 2005 Okay. This weekend was great. 5 jumps on Sunday alone, although Saturday had zilch due to bad weather. I'm finally on solo self-supervised status. Even got a few pratice fun jumps in. On time for next weekend's boogie. Onwards to my "A". Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #36 May 16, 2005 QuoteOkay. This weekend was great. 5 jumps on Sunday alone, although Saturday had zilch due to bad weather. I'm finally on solo self-supervised status. Even got a few pratice fun jumps in. On time for next weekend's boogie. Onwards to my "A". That's awesome, Mark! Now comes a pretty good challenge. Your first boogie. The DZ will become as busy as you ever thought it would be, and more. You'll remember to keep your head on a swivel, making sure the space around you is clear in all phases of the skydive (no potential or imminent collisions coming). Also, the skydive is not over until you've safely made it back to the packing area. It's going to be fun and exciting! And maybe you'll experience just a tad bit of sensory overload too. Stay alert! "Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mdrejhon 8 #37 May 16, 2005 Yeah, my instructor told me he is going to teach me a few additional canopy airspace lessons for when this dropzone gets busy. My training was during late April and May, with the Canadian spring and gloves-required-at-altitude, which is a less busy time of the year too for this neighbourhood DZ. This permitted me one-on-one classroom training and the whole airspace all to myself (all the experienced pilots were long landed almost before I opened. Okay, not that quickly, but close. Yes, I pulled at 4000 and they pull at much lower.) This warmer weather and the "Otter Weekend" will make things dramatically busier at this dropzone. I'm looking forward to new lessons. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
