Progressively worse at AFF level E

[Dsix36 5]

My E1 flow was meant to be 2 barrel rolls and 2 flips.  It always takes me 5 seconds to stabilize on exit.  Barrel roll left and stabilized, barrel roll right and stabilized, to low for more maneuvers.  Pass to E2

E2 flow was meant to be front flip, back flip and repeat until altitude limit was reached.  The usual 5 seconds to stabilize after exit but had hard time keeping my heading at first.  front flip partial to flounder and recover but still rotating for a moment.  back flip to flounder and recovery but still rotating for a moment.  I never did a complete flip.  maneuvers over.

E2r same flow.  worse exit, long long time to get heading locked, front flip ended up on back and recovered but still rotating a long time.  By the time I was stable and had my heading locked it was eyes lock on altimeter time.

I seem to be pretty effective at recovery and holding a heading, but stopping my slow rotation and getting locked to a heading initially is eating up a lot of my freefall time.

Debriefing shows that my arch needs work and my exit form really just sucks regardless of method.  I am almost 60 and not a flexible as I used to be.  It was recommended to begin yoga and do stretches along with some tunnel time.  My back and neck are so sore stiff and sore right now that I can barely move.

Advise, tips, tricks? 

[Bokdrol 40]

Technique wise I can't help you. However, just stick with it and listen to your instructors, follow their advice and try to relax in the air. I was 59 when I did my AFF with an almost non existent arch and 60 when I got my A licence. I find that doing pull-ups really helps my neck, back and shoulders.  I've just done my 760th jump aged 69. I'll never be a great skydiver but I like to think I'm very very safety aware. I love the sport and 99% of the people involved with it. Good luck.

[Nabz 30]

23 hours ago, Dsix36 said:

My E1 flow was meant to be 2 barrel rolls and 2 flips.  It always takes me 5 seconds to stabilize on exit.  Barrel roll left and stabilized, barrel roll right and stabilized, to low for more maneuvers.  Pass to E2

E2 flow was meant to be front flip, back flip and repeat until altitude limit was reached.  The usual 5 seconds to stabilize after exit but had hard time keeping my heading at first.  front flip partial to flounder and recover but still rotating for a moment.  back flip to flounder and recovery but still rotating for a moment.  I never did a complete flip.  maneuvers over.

E2r same flow.  worse exit, long long time to get heading locked, front flip ended up on back and recovered but still rotating a long time.  By the time I was stable and had my heading locked it was eyes lock on altimeter time.

I seem to be pretty effective at recovery and holding a heading, but stopping my slow rotation and getting locked to a heading initially is eating up a lot of my freefall time.

Debriefing shows that my arch needs work and my exit form really just sucks regardless of method.  I am almost 60 and not a flexible as I used to be.  It was recommended to begin yoga and do stretches along with some tunnel time.  My back and neck are so sore stiff and sore right now that I can barely move.

Advise, tips, tricks? 

Advice : don't give up 

Tips: stretching and doing some flexibility training (yoga is one example)

Tricks: tunnel time

[Dsix36 5]

tunnel went very well.  the coach said my heading and turns were very good and only recommendation was to be more aggressive in my moves since I tend to be slow and cautious.  side slide needs a bit of work still.  We played a game of tag at his suggestion.  Turns out I was almost perfect doing that because I was relaxed and just flying and not overthinking everything.  I was either having a bad day or the sensory and task overload got me.  I am ready to go try again this weekend.

[CoolBeans 11]

Hey man, my AFF wasn't much different than yours. Sometimes you may want to just go with the maneuver from less-than-perfect or less-than-stable position. If you see that you have slow built-in turn in the free fall or are a bit unstable, you can still go for that front or back flip. Don't need to be perfectly stable. And sometimes you can burn a lot of altitude just trying to improve that starting position.

The purpose of E jumps as far as I remember is for student to show that they can get back to belly-to-earth orientation after whatever happens.

I've done that mistake myself that I was focusing too much on getting all the ducks in the row before starting an actual task at hand but then I would always end up short on time to finish. Have your mindset more on working on stuff right away, right after exit. And if you are a bit unstable? So be it. As long as you pull stable, that's what matters most. 

Edited September 16, 2020 by CoolBeans

[Dsix36 5]

This weekend of AFF is over and I am back home.  I jumped 3 times.  First time was not to bad but I still needed to stop rotation quicker.  Second time was even worse.  Instructor thought I would benefit from tunnel time more than doing a 3rd jump.  I wanted to jump just to get practice with exit and landing too.  3rd jump was with a different instructor and I told him that I had no intention of passing but just wanted to have fun and relax.  He said I needed a more positive attitude and we jumped.  I nailed it this time.  I even had a couple thousand extra feet after the drills to relax and enjoy the freefall.  After I pulled and looked up to verify the canopy I saw the left side had a line wrap.   I cut away at 4000 and landed the reserve.  I managed a decent landing too.  They recovered my canopy from the trees and powerline this morning.