Gato's Realizations

[Gato 0]

Hello DZ Peeps -

Well, it finally happened today. After going through the 1st-Jump Course last weekend and getting winded-out, I made my 1st S/L jump at around 10:40am this morning. To be perfectly honest, I don't think anything I could write here could adequately describe how I feel right now.

I've had some dinner and a couple of malted-barley pops, and I really want to go have a shower and crash for the evening, but I have to tell someone about this. I know you all need to hear another newbie story like you need fiberglass panties, but I think discussing what lessons I learn AS I learn them may help keep me alive and intact, as well as emotionally solvent. Take today, for instance:

9:15 am - My wife and I arrive at the DZ. My instructor would be the JM, but he's teaching the S/L class today, so after I signed in, I met the JM for my group of 3, Michelle, who is very cool and very smart. We're on for the 1st load of the day, as soon as the winds die down.

10:00 - We get the go ahead, winds are down to 11-12 mph, having gusted earlier between 14 and 19 mph. Before the pilot can give it full throttle for takeoff, they ground us - gusts from 15 - 19 again.

10:35 - We're on again, we're geared-up and off to the races. Since my exit weight is 225lbs, OF COURSE I'm the first one to go. Michelle gave the go ahead, and I'm inching my way out to the wing strut (READ: I'm not moving decisively, taking way too long). I hang too long also. It took me I'd say around 7 or 8 seconds to make myself let go. I'll be completely honest with you all, that was an act that scared the cowboy-shit out of me like nothing else ever has. My arch, deployment, audible sequences, canopy check, and brake unstow were all very good. Slid on my ass for landing, which was pretty cool (fun) actually, since it wasn't painful, even though I wish I could have stood it up. This was due to a less then aggressive-enough flare motion, I was told.

After my briefing with the other 2 jumpers and our JM, the owner of the DZ (who guides us down by radio) came up to me and asked me to follow him up to the rigging loft. I won't divulge the exact contents of the conversation, but he basically wanted me to understand why what I had done was so dangerous (Distance from the DZ, my rig possibly opening prematurely and killing all of us with a tail entanglement, etc.) He wasn't a jerk about it, and I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING HE SAID. I'm sure having my class last week and jumping today was a contributing factor in how I basically froze, but I'll make no excuses for myself. Major lesson learned.

Second Jump, 45 minutes later: My instructor is the JM with the same 2 other students as before. This time, my climb-out and hang were almost perfect with no hesitations. My canopy, I swear, took an extra second and a half to open, but "Lines, Slider, Square," and I'm cool. Great ride back to the DZ, and I'm feeling the canopy a little more this time. Almost stuck the landing, but I tripped forward a little and stumbled, no damage done. I'm much happier with this ride, with the possible exception of the slower opening. At de-briefing, my JM asks me if I hit my arm on the plane's landing gear. I have no idea what he's talking about, and I have no pain (except the cockleburrs in my right palm) and no visible signs of injury. I get my first logbook and first jump certificate (yawn) and decide I'm done for today. I think two jumps for my first day is plenty for me (I could have had a third, I had the money with me just in case.)

So here's the thing: My wife wanted to stop at the Walmart, five miles down the road, and I decide to stay in the car and chill while she's inside. So I'm sitting there in my Grand Am with the AC blasting cool air on me, seat laid back smoking a cigarette, when I notice a little pressure and tightness in my left wrist. I feel around for a moment, and discover I have a little pain - right where the wheel of a Cessna 182 might hit you if you grazed it while dropping away. Holy fucking shit. I'm bruised and I didn't even know it!

So here is a series of huge lessons I learned today. Adrenaline and its peripheral effects are NEVER to be ignored. What might have happened if I'd taken a third jump? Did my canopy REALLY take an extra 1 1/2 seconds to inflate on my second jump? Those questions scare me more than dropping off the wing strut of an airplane.

I personally would like to thank all of you who take the time to offer your wisdom and insight into this sport, and if I've ever presumed to know more than I really did, I most humbly apologize. Until you have been in these circumstances, you absolutely cannot know shit. Now that I've had most of the shit scared out of me, I'll probably go back next weekend and try to get in 1 or 2 more. Back on the horse.

I must offer my humblest thanks to Brian Germain, whose 3rd SKDV Radio interview probably saved my life today. I should have taken more time to mentally prepare for jump #2. This helps in understanding the lack of certainty in making my 3rd jump today - I couldn't know if I was ready!

Thanks for taking the time to read this - I'm open to others' ideas on this subject, just as long you don't openly flame on me until you've fully read and understood my posting. Skydiving IS fun, but one could get oneself on a massive sleighride to hell with one tiny fuck-up.

Thanks and Tremendo Indigos,

ElGato

PS. Sorry about the misspelled words and periodic corrections in my post. A couple of pics coming soon.

T.I.N.S.

[Babi 0]

Last year, almost to the date, I made my first jump. It is still engraved in my mind like it was yesterday. I, too, took long time to jump. I froze and even argued with my JM to wait a bit. I know that had I jumped when he told me to, I could not make it as good as I did. Maybe you rushing the second jump was the reason for your injury?? The C-172 is the scariest plane there is, but in my mind still the best for SL jumps. Some of us just need that little extra time to re compose our thoughts and I think the JM should take this into consideration. Maybe taking just one first time jumper at a time. Although I was told what to expect up there, I think it would help if I was shown some footage of the actual jump WITH SOUNDS and if I was told just how very windy it is up there. These two things took me by surprise and I froze.

I've heard worse stories since. One (now experienced jumper) actually rode the wing for full circle while the plane had to turn back to the DZ, refusing to either let go or climb back into the plane.

If you have a video of your two jumps, watch them over and over. It will turn your stomach around for the first 100 times, but when you stand on the strut next time, you'll be cool.

[mnealtx 0]

Congrats, and welcome to the sky, brother!! Even if you never jump again, you'll never look at the sky the same way again.

Absolutely get back on the horse, *IF* you decide it's right for you. This is *NOT* a sport for everyone, and there is *NO* guarantee of perfect safety. You have to decide if the rewards are worth the risk, to YOU, and there's absolutely *NOTHING* wrong with deciding it's not right *FOR YOU*.

EVERYone makes mistakes - you learned why what happened was dangerous and how to correct it. You did good on your second jump, and didn't get the "TUG" (Take Up Golf) speech - sounds like a good day, to me!!

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[riggerrob 558]

Your posting reminds me of my own first jump - 29 years ago this month.
I remember standing on the step and I remember hanging under a white, round parachute.
The period in between is a blur.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Did my canopy REALLY take an extra 1 1/2 seconds to inflate on my second jump?

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Your first and second canopies probably took exactly the same amount of time to open, but your perception changed. The first time, you probably had waaaaay too much adrenaline coursing through your veins, distorting your sense of timing.
The second jump, your brain slowed down a bit. closer to reality.
A large part of teaching skydiving is training students' brains to think at twice highway speeds (120 mph versus 55 mph).

[Gato 0]

Hey Riggerrob -

I agree. It's a little unnerving for me to recognize all of this. No, it's a lot unnerving.

A few years ago I read an article in a guitar magazine in which the author desribed the Time Dilation Vortex (If you are a Trekkie, you will know this as Temporal Distrortion.) He explained how a group of players can get so excited onstage that they actually begin to play faster and faster - but they aren't aware of it. The audience is more than aware of it. I teach this stuff to my students.

And yet, in this new situation, where my survival is at risk, I froze. I injured myself without any awareness of it whatsoever. The next time I go (if I go) I'll give myself a lot more prep time, and I won't be in a hurry to jump just because the winds are down right now.

Slowing Down,

Gato

T.I.N.S.

[kkeenan 13]

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Hello DZ Peeps -

So, Mr. Cat, you have returned to these Sacred Forums. And you have returned not as a whuffo, but as one who has actually left an aircraft in flight. It's quite a bit more intense than reading about it on the internet, isn't it ? Congratulations on your jumps.

In my opinion, S/L is a better training method for learning canopy control, which is really more important to survival in skydiving than freefall skills. It sounds like you have a good group of people at your DZ to look after you. Good luck with your future progress in the sport.

Get used to finding bruises in odd places with no idea how you got them. It happens all the time. The time dialation thing is interesting. You will find that you are seeing and processing more with each jump. Thanks for the nice narrative.

Kevin K.

_____________________________________
Dude, you are so awesome...
Can I be on your ash jump ?

[jojo69 0]

I have to say that now that I jump with other people I frequently find new and exciting bruises all the time. I do not remember anyone or anything that I may have bumped or grabbed but there they are.

I think that the pure concentration on what has to be done on each jump causes me to ignore everything but the movements I am expected to make.

It took a long time for me to be aware of real time verses adrenaline time. It actually took me 15 or 20 jumps just to recognize where I was in the air compared to the DZ.

[zgfreef 0]

my first static line jump... black out / brain out of order
second -a little bit shorter black out
7 th jump- awake
13 th jump- free jumpafter 20 th pure pleasure....

[Gato 0]

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So, Mr. Cat, you have returned to these Sacred Forums. And you have returned not as a whuffo, but as one who has actually left an aircraft in flight. It's quite a bit more intense than reading about it on the internet, isn't it? Congratulations on your jumps.

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Thanks for your kind words. And yes, reading about it is only about information and content; the experience of skydiving can never be expressed in words or images. To do it, you have to put yourself (your life, not your reputation) at risk and trust a lot of other people. Let them TRY to make a video game do that, and I'll think about buying it.

Have a great week & stay frosty -

Gato

T.I.N.S.

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[damion75 0]

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So I'm sitting there in my Grand Am with the AC blasting cool air on me, seat laid back smoking a cigarette, when I notice a little pressure and tightness in my left wrist.

You want to be careful you know, smoking can kill you!

***************

Not one shred of evidence supports the theory that life is serious - look at the platypus.

[mfrese 0]

Wow.
First of all, thanks for a great post, it takes me back to when I was a newbie (except I went through AFF instead of SL). I'll make a few comments, based on my experiences over the last 11 years jumping, and the last 6 years jumping with over 900 people attached to me for their first jump.

- Your time sense will definitely be messed up at first, don't worry about it. For the first 20-30 jumps, most people are feeling nothing but "Holy Fucking Shit" the whole time, so it takes a while for your brain to realize it's working in a different mode. Eventually (if you continue), you'll find that you adapt to the faster realities of freefall and canopy flight.

- My wife enjoys playing the "where's Mike bruised today?" game every time I come home from the DZ. I'm looking at a inch-wide bruise on the top of my left hand as I type this...I know the jump it happened on, no clue at all how it happened. If you're focusing on the right things (brisk but not hurried climbout, good arch, good release, canopy checks, head on a swivel, fly your pattern, flare at the right time and altitude), you won't notice things like little bruises and dings until later. Speaking of which...those cockleburrs in your hand? They wouldn't be there if you'd done a PLF...

- You're the only person who can decide if this sport is right for you. I personally decided 10 seconds into my first jump that I would be doing this as long as I was able to walk, talk and breathe, it had that profound an effect on me. It may indeed become a "massive sleighride to hell", but hey, life is fatal, right? An example I've used with some of my students: a woman and her son were driving on a freeway outside of San Francisco when a dump truck hopped the railing on the overpass above them and fell 60 feet into their lane, killing them both instantly. In other words, it can happen to you any time...despite your genes, how much money you have in the bank, your commitment to a vegetarian lifestyle, regular high colonics, or your reaction time to a malfunction. Train hard, prepare yourself mentally, listen to guys like Brian Germain ( and read his book, too) and Scott Miller, and you have a great chance to have a long and enjoyable skydiving career.

And if you DO bounce, well, you're allowed to be pissed, but not surprised.
Take care, let us know how it goes if you go back!

Mike

Doctor I ain't gonna die,
Just write me an alibi! ---- Lemmy/Slash

[Andy9o8 0]

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And if you DO bounce, well, you're allowed to be pissed, but not surprised.

That sums it up quite nicely, in fact.

[Gato 0]

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Speaking of which...those cockleburrs in your hand? They wouldn't be there if you'd done a PLF...

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Hey Mike -

You got me - I'm busted.

Honestly, I followed the radio direction, "3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . flare flare flare . . . . . stand up." Now I know I have to be prepared for a PLF at any time.

Incidentally I meant to post pics yesterday, so here's a few.

PLEASE take note of my Easter-egg-colored gay-ass PD300 student parachute, which is the most beautiful canopy I've ever seen. Nothing compares to seeing that expanse of nylon over my head after the bottom dropped out on the world. Also, note the near-perfect ass-slide landing, and the very happy Gato after the 2nd jump.

Big-ups and Respect,

Gato

T.I.N.S.

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