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priyohere

waiting for my first tandem and FJC

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Hello experts,
While i am waiting for my first tandem and FJC, i am avidly reading this forum and any and every video i can find on YouTube (that includes all the malfunction videos !!), thought i will pick some of your brains on a few things:

My first tandem was scheduled for last saturday and its just my luck that it was overcast all day, so i reschedule for Sep 4 and keeping my fingers crossed, i also have FJC scheduled for Sep 9 and i am going for SL course.

While i am not afraid of heights, i am terrified of fall, and i am hoping that would go away after a few jumps. I do have some concerns that i was hoping to get some answers on:

1. My head usually spins when i am on a roller coaster and those damn things are taking 3-4-5 G turns, i just close my eyes and wait for it to stop. from what i understand, in this sport, thats not an option, well, if i want to live anyway :d
How the hell do i get over it? do i take a few more tandems and ask my TI to do some crazy turns so that i can get adjusted to it?

2. I am still finding hard to wrap my head around the fact that i would be hanging out of a strut and let it go willingly. i have a feeling i would hold on to it with my dear life.... any similar experience?

3. I have to fly the canopy on my own??? anyone wants to share what that first flight feels like? i am terrible with directions and worried that i will land in the next county ...:)

I have always wanted to skydive and worked very hard for more than a year to loose 110lbs so that i can jump out of a plane, wont let my fear stop me, just trying to understand what to expect in SL and how easy / difficult is to hang from that damn plane and take a leap of faith...

Thanks all. cant wait to jump

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priyohere

Hello experts



priyohere

1. My head usually spins when i am on a roller coaster and those damn things are taking 3-4-5 G turns, i just close my eyes and wait for it to stop. from what i understand, in this sport, thats not an option, well, if i want to live anyway :d
How the hell do i get over it? do i take a few more tandems and ask my TI to do some crazy turns so that i can get adjusted to it?


I never got any "weird" feelings on a roller coaster, but in Skydiving you do not pull those G's. Especially not as a beginner.

priyohere

2. I am still finding hard to wrap my head around the fact that i would be hanging out of a strut and let it go willingly. i have a feeling i would hold on to it with my dear life.... any similar experience?


Never jumped a 182, I can not comment. You will go over the plan on the ground, just stick to the plan.

priyohere

3. I have to fly the canopy on my own??? anyone wants to share what that first flight feels like? i am terrible with directions and worried that i will land in the next county ...:)


Again, you will go over the flight pattern on the ground. Stick do it and listen to the radio. It is actually very easy

priyohere

I have always wanted to skydive and worked very hard for more than a year to loose 110lbs so that i can jump out of a plane, wont let my fear stop me, just trying to understand what to expect in SL and how easy / difficult is to hang from that damn plane and take a leap of faith...


Awesome weight loss! If you have the discipline to do that you can do anything!

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Hi! I'm a total newbie (6 jumps so far...) so I think I can help a bit.

Quote

My head usually spins when i am on a roller coaster and those damn things are taking 3-4-5 G turns, i just close my eyes and wait for it to stop.



I hate roller coasters. Nothing you do in AFF is like them. The weird "falling feeling" is hardly registered... maybe for like a second or 2. Skydiving somehow doesn't trigger my height fear response either, which is always a problem when I force myself to ride a coaster.

Quote

I am still finding hard to wrap my head around the fact that i would be hanging out of a strut and let it go willingly. I have a feeling i would hold on to it with my dear life.... any similar experience?



My first jump was a tandem out of a king air, no struts were involved- my TI just walked up to the door, and I got ready for the ride. It was fun, so I decided to do AFF.

AFF surprise number 1- I'm jumping out of a Cessna which involves climbing out the door and hanging to the strut and then stretching one leg out until I check in, find my reference, get low and ARCH! The first time I attempted this, I froze on the wing and my instructor had to shake me twice in order for me to let go. It was difficult, but since climbing back in was impossible, I had to do it. Later I found out I took long enough that the pilot had to do another circle for the second group to jump out... pretty embarrassing.

Reading through these forums, you find that is not super uncommon- some students get door fear and can't even climb out. For me, it's never a question of the door- it's a question about whether to show up at the DZ and board the plane. Because I know if get in, there's only one way I'm coming down. It's a mental commitment for me at that point.

Quote

I have to fly the canopy on my own??? anyone wants to share what that first flight feels like? i am terrible with directions and worried that i will land in the next county ...:)



You will have a radio. Pay attention to the landing pattern, and ask questions about it before going up. Try and identify the DZ before jumping. Canopy flight is awesome. Landing is tricky, just don't forget to FLARE. Flaring too high or too low is bad, but still infinitely preferable to not flaring at all. Your instructors will give you much better guidance about than I possibly can. Listen to them and ask questions.

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there's no feeling of height, looking out of the plane, in free fall or under canopy. Things just look small.
President of my club, couldn't stand on a foot stool without becoming dizzy, jumping didn't phase him.
There's no feeling of falling in free fall. Its more like laying in water, but noisy from wind.
guy that us to be head of the USPA lost a bunch of weight just like you and for the same reason. He told me more than once, skydiving probably saved his life. Maybe someday you'll have his job.
smile
U only make 2 jumps: the first one for some weird reason and the last one that you lived through. The rest are just filler.
scr 316

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Have fun and enjoy your tandem. Let your instructor know that you will be coming back to do static line, so they can be sure talk you through the basics of canopy control as you fly under canopy with them. Most tandem instructors will be happy to let you fly the canopy while you are up high.

All your questions will be answered in FJC. That's the best place to get your info. Learning on the internet can complicate things if your first jump instructor tells you a slightly different way of doing things. You will practice the exit until you feel comfortable, so don't sweat it. Above all, be sure to RELAX. It's one of the most important rules of skydiving.

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Losing 110 Lbs is incredible and nothing in skydiving will be that difficult. I'd love to lose 40 lbs.

Falling out of a plane is a very simple curve that starts with you going horizontal ( the plane is going 80-90 MPH) and ends with you going vertical after 10 seconds. Nothing like a roller coaster at all. They might do some turns but those are mild compared to a thrill ride.

Letting go of the strut is awesome. Of course my first Cessna jump as around jump 90 for me. I'm sure it will be scary for you but that's all part of the game.

Don't close your eyes! Trust me on that one. ;)

Your first canopy ride is quite and, imho, divine. If you can ride a bike you can fly a canopy.

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priyohere

Hello experts,

While i am not afraid of heights, i am terrified of fall, and i am hoping that would go away after a few jumps. I do have some concerns that i was hoping to get some answers on:

1. My head usually spins when i am on a roller coaster and those damn things are taking 3-4-5 G turns, i just close my eyes and wait for it to stop. from what i understand, in this sport, thats not an option, well, if i want to live anyway :d
How the hell do i get over it? do i take a few more tandems and ask my TI to do some crazy turns so that i can get adjusted to it?



I'm not an expert but I have recent experience with this I'm happy to share.

As other have said, skydiving and roller coasters have nothing in common. You're not "pulling G's". Ever had your head out the window of a car going fast, or ridden a motorcycle with an open face helmet? It's like that but the wind is stronger. You'll feel more like you're floating in the wind than being accelerated through it. Even tight spirals under canopy don't feel like it and you won't be doing that as a beginner anyhow.

priyohere

2. I am still finding hard to wrap my head around the fact that i would be hanging out of a strut and let it go willingly. i have a feeling i would hold on to it with my dear life.... any similar experience?



After your tandem, you'll know if skydiving is for you or not. If it isn't, it isn't. But if it is, then you'll go over everything before your first jump. There's a plan, stick to the plan. And remember that while you're going to mentally rehearse everything that happens in the dive, as you actually do it, focus on what matters at each moment. On exit, think about smooth exit. In freefall think about relaxing, arching, being stable. At deployment think about smooth movements and keeping stable. Then your checks, then your pattern, then your landing. If you're thinking about it all at once you'll get what in the military we call a "helmet fire". This is not a good thing. It's happened to me and I find that rather than trying to think through the whole jump once I'd done a mental rehearsal, I just focus on each stage of the jump individually without thinking about what's "next". I don't think about landing patterns in freefall because it doesn't matter until I have something over my head I can fly and land safely.

priyohere

3. I have to fly the canopy on my own??? anyone wants to share what that first flight feels like? i am terrible with directions and worried that i will land in the next county ...:)



You're going to likely trace out everything about the pattern while you're planning your jump. You're heading for a target that will likely be readily visible from 13,500 ft, never mind from your deployment altitude. The spot is not going to be that fair from the landing area. Again, there's a plan, stick to the plan. Watch other canopies below you and see what they do and as soon as you can see the wind sock or whatever other direction indicators are used at your DZ make sure they're what you planned for, and if not, just adjust your plan. It's not nearly as hard as it sounds. You'll have a radio and a GCI coaching you, but think through it all so that you're anticipating what they'll tell you, then they can wean you off of needing it. Keep aware of your altitude and where you need to be at 1000, 500, 250 and you'll be fine. Don't look straight down, look out and get a feel for what your glide slope is like so you can judge your flare better. And when you flare pull the toggles all the way down, I had trouble with this and I've seen other students do so too.

priyohere

I have always wanted to skydive and worked very hard for more than a year to loose 110lbs so that i can jump out of a plane, wont let my fear stop me, just trying to understand what to expect in SL and how easy / difficult is to hang from that damn plane and take a leap of faith...



If you get scared, take some deep breaths and remember what you did to get there.

I know the feeling well. My second AFF jump, after four tandems, I was coming into the landing pattern and could not hear the radio well. I knew the plan so I followed it anyhow, but I brutally misjudged my flare height and wound up with a broken ankle.

I did two more tandems to get myself comfortable in the air while I was rehabilitating the ankle because it didn't feel ready to jump and they helped, but my first time going back out after I restarted my course I froze in the door and was so stiff on exit that my instructor couldn't maintain contact. I tumbled around, swimming in the air for probably 10 seconds before I remembered to breathe, relax, and arch. Before I knew it I was stable belly-to-earth, on heading, where I wanted to be in the sky, and altitude-aware.

Breath. Relax. Arch. Remember, skydiving is supposed to be fun, right?

(funny enough I decided to try and figure out where sky was in the sky so I started to turn, deliberately, to the left. She was off to the right and thought I was spinning so she dumped me at 9,500' and I got a really nice long flight down to a pretty good landing.)

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If you pasted your original email from some editor like Word, you might want to do that a bit differently because it made the page very wide on my browser.

I have had motion sickness issues all my life and they were bad when I first started skydiving. I doubt there is anything someone could do giving you a wild ride that would do anything but make you not want to skydive. Every time I got sick I didn't want to jump any more, but I would come back after I got to feeling better.

Things that made me sick feeling, I would work with the instructors to do anything we could to make it less of a problem.

You talked about hanging from the strut and letting go. One of the first skydive T-shirts that I saw said...."mind over splatter". That largely sums it up. Your training, confidence in equipment, confidence in instructors, and confidence in yourself must put you into a position/attitude where you want to climb out and let go. Doing a good job on the jump must be more important than your concerns outside of "doing a good job". When you have that attitude, you are ready to leave the plane.
Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

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priyohere

Hello experts,
While i am waiting for my first tandem and FJC, i am avidly reading this forum and any and every video i can find on YouTube (that includes all the malfunction videos !!), thought i will pick some of your brains on a few things:

My first tandem was scheduled for last saturday and its just my luck that it was overcast all day, so i reschedule for Sep 4 and keeping my fingers crossed, i also have FJC scheduled for Sep 9 and i am going for SL course.

While i am not afraid of heights, i am terrified of fall, and i am hoping that would go away after a few jumps. I do have some concerns that i was hoping to get some answers on:

1. My head usually spins when i am on a roller coaster and those damn things are taking 3-4-5 G turns, i just close my eyes and wait for it to stop. from what i understand, in this sport, thats not an option, well, if i want to live anyway :d
How the hell do i get over it? do i take a few more tandems and ask my TI to do some crazy turns so that i can get adjusted to it?

2. I am still finding hard to wrap my head around the fact that i would be hanging out of a strut and let it go willingly. i have a feeling i would hold on to it with my dear life.... any similar experience?

3. I have to fly the canopy on my own??? anyone wants to share what that first flight feels like? i am terrible with directions and worried that i will land in the next county ...:)

I have always wanted to skydive and worked very hard for more than a year to loose 110lbs so that i can jump out of a plane, wont let my fear stop me, just trying to understand what to expect in SL and how easy / difficult is to hang from that damn plane and take a leap of faith...

Thanks all. cant wait to jump



"Experts". Ha. Be careful who you pay attention to on here. No vetting whatsoever.

And on that note:

Don't worry too much about the motion sickness/g-loading issues. Make sure your Tandem Instructor knows you don't want to do a lot of tight spirals under canopy, and you should be fine.
Most DZs tend to discourage radical maneuvers under canopy anyway. They tend to create traffic conflicts (those are bad).

Don't worry about hanging from, or dropping from, the strut on the 182. I jumped for a long time at a 182 - S/L DZ. That was a very common question. You will be able to hold onto the strut just fine for the few seconds between "Get all the way out and hang" and "GO!!!".

If you find yourself unwilling or unable to let go, the instructor will let the pilot know and the pilot will "shake" you off. Actually, he will lower the nose just a bit, then bank sharply left while pulling up. You cannot hang on. It happens once in a while. And it's far, far safer to do that than to try to bring you back in once you are out.

Canopy flight is pretty simple. You are under a large, docile student canopy. While it is possible to do stuff badly enough to get hurt, the equipment is selected to make it as easy to fly as it can be.
You have two toggles (one in each hand). Pull left to go left, pull right to go right, pull both to flare (slow down).
You will most likely be "on radio" for your first jump. That means an instructor will be on the ground directing you. As in:

"Ok, it looks like you have a good canopy.
Kick out of any line twists, unstow your toggles and give me a right toggle all the way down."

"No, the other right toggle."

It takes a fair amount of courage and faith to go out the door and hang off of the strut. But it's really worth it.

Good luck, have fun.
"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

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"Experts". Ha. Be careful who you pay attention to on here. No vetting whatsoever.

And on that note:

Don't worry too much about the motion sickness/g-loading issues. Make sure your Tandem Instructor knows you don't want to do a lot of tight spirals under canopy, and you should be fine.
Most DZs tend to discourage radical maneuvers under canopy anyway. They tend to create traffic conflicts (those are bad).

Don't worry about hanging from, or dropping from, the strut on the 182. I jumped for a long time at a 182 - S/L DZ. That was a very common question. You will be able to hold onto the strut just fine for the few seconds between "Get all the way out and hang" and "GO!!!".

If you find yourself unwilling or unable to let go, the instructor will let the pilot know and the pilot will "shake" you off. Actually, he will lower the nose just a bit, then bank sharply left while pulling up. You cannot hang on. It happens once in a while. And it's far, far safer to do that than to try to bring you back in once you are out.

Canopy flight is pretty simple. You are under a large, docile student canopy. While it is possible to do stuff badly enough to get hurt, the equipment is selected to make it as easy to fly as it can be.
You have two toggles (one in each hand). Pull left to go left, pull right to go right, pull both to flare (slow down).
You will most likely be "on radio" for your first jump. That means an instructor will be on the ground directing you. As in:

"Ok, it looks like you have a good canopy.
Kick out of any line twists, unstow your toggles and give me a right toggle all the way down."

"No, the other right toggle."

It takes a fair amount of courage and faith to go out the door and hang off of the strut. But it's really worth it.

Good luck, have fun.



Thanks. You brought up a great point, I hear line twists are common in SL and of course it worries me a little.
on a different note, I have a habit of getting into weird situations and finding my way out of it. E.g. jumping into a ocean with a snorkeling gear and got up in a current that made it impossible to swim back ..someone had to drag my big ass back to the boat :)

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Hey man, the best way to approach this is to let your instructors tell you what you need to know for each stage. They want you focusing on very specific things and something you saw on youtube is just going to fuck you up.
"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

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While i am waiting for my first tandem and FJC, i am avidly reading this forum and any and every video i can find on YouTube (that includes all the malfunction videos !!), thought i will pick some of your brains on a few things:

My first tandem was scheduled for last saturday and its just my luck that it was overcast all day, so i reschedule for Sep 4 and keeping my fingers crossed, i also have FJC scheduled for Sep 9 and i am going for SL course.

While i am not afraid of heights, i am terrified of fall, and i am hoping that would go away after a few jumps. I do have some concerns that i was hoping to get some answers on:

1. My head usually spins when i am on a roller coaster and those damn things are taking 3-4-5 G turns, i just close my eyes and wait for it to stop. from what i understand, in this sport, thats not an option, well, if i want to live anyway :d
How the hell do i get over it? do i take a few more tandems and ask my TI to do some crazy turns so that i can get adjusted to it?

2. I am still finding hard to wrap my head around the fact that i would be hanging out of a strut and let it go willingly. i have a feeling i would hold on to it with my dear life.... any similar experience?

3. I have to fly the canopy on my own??? anyone wants to share what that first flight feels like? i am terrible with directions and worried that i will land in the next county ...:)

I have always wanted to skydive and worked very hard for more than a year to loose 110lbs so that i can jump out of a plane, wont let my fear stop me, just trying to understand what to expect in SL and how easy / difficult is to hang from that damn plane and take a leap of faith...

Thanks all. cant wait to jump



Piyohere! Welcome to skydiving... I am in almost in your shoes. I have two jumps under my belt and FJC. So my reply is both as an amateur and one who is fresh in the sport.

1. As I got older my sensitivity to 'motion sickness' (which is what I am assuming you are referring to) has increased. It was fairly bad after my tandem because the instructor did a lot of intense spiraling. I didn't really 'feel' sick until the adrenaline wore off about 1/4 mile down the road from the DZ. Then I had to have my wife drive while I tried to lay it down for a bit. Be sure to let your TI know so he/she can take the mild ride down. Motion sickness is an issue for a lot of people doing tandem (search the forum for more info) because generally speaking you are not in control and it may have to do with poor circulation due to the harness system. You do want to make sure you are well hydrated. You might want to make sure you are well fed. For me personally I am more prone to motion sickness if I feel famished. But it might not be the case for you.

Here is a clickable link to search the forum: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=search_results&search_forum=all&search_string=overcoming%20motion%20sickness&sb=score&mh=25

2. I am not doing static line but this I know: My first tandem was a HUGE psychological hurdle. There was fear, doubt, excitement, more doubt, questioning my sanity etc. etc. etc.... My second jump (yesterday) was totally different. I was more focused on the tasks of the jump. My mind set went from "Not sure I can do this" on my first jump to "I got this" on my second. Yes I still had some fear but nothing like my first jump. I hope you experience the same transition from first tandem to first SL.

3. I can't chime in much because I botched my landing a little. Started the flare a little early then released which caused me to slide in fast on my butt while draging the TI behind.

I also have obsessed with reading the forums and watching every youtube video I can find.

Now I have to wait for jump 3 and 4 around september 19th...
------------------------------------
Scientist and Physicist still do not understand gravity... Jumping out of an airplane is my attempt to help them in their quest to explain gravity.

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JohnMitchell

***

Quote

Hello experts



HaahhaaahahhhaahAHAAHAAAHAAAAA . . . .


:D:D Best post of the whole thread.

To the OP. . . .

Breathe, relax, smile. Take the class. Practice what they teach. Enjoy. :)
And Billvon had to edit out almost all of it because it broke the forum. Guess text doesn't wrap unless there's a space between all the "hahahaha's".
"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

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Alright folks... after 3 reschedules due to weather. i finally did it last night and i was a life changing experience.

Things are yet to settle in.. but ...

true, it doesnt feel like a fall, more like floating with a lot of noise. i was a little scared to be very honest when i stepped inside the cessna, looked around the rusty interior and the duct tapes all around and i was more concerned about the plane ride than anything else. at about 2k feet the emergency door right next to me starts rattling and i am telling myself.. fuck i am the only guy here without a parachute!!

Anyway, we finally reached the jump altitude, ready to jump when the pilot asks my TI .. hey can you close the emergency door.. WTF?? he tried, he couldnt and said fuck it, we are ditching this plane anyway :)

the freefall lasted about 3 seconds, at least thats what it felt like, in reality it was about 25 seconds or so. all i remember was i kept looking at the horizon, arched and a video guy flying all around us and before i knew it.. the chute opened. I had an alti, but completely forgot about it and didnt even realize it was there until we were under the canopy and the TI said, remember the ali i gave you... look at it :P

Now we are dangling at 6k ft and all i can feel is he is doing some adjustments / fiddling around with the harness. I am telling myself.. i dont know shit about skydiving, but i am pretty sure the thing he is fiddling with is keeping me alive. in a few seconds he asks me to stand up on his feet.. i didnt even know you can stand up on someones feet 6k ft in the air :)

he did his thing and slipped a little, or so it felt and i was like WTF just happened, he smiled and said i was loosening the harness.. i am like really dude? later after we landed he told me that he never tells this to any first jumper,but they disconnect the bottom to hooks after the shoot opens, it helps with the landing. it didnt make much difference in my life because 1. i am starting my FJC tonight and eventually will do it solo and 2. i am alive, so who the hell cares what he did.

What i missed is the canopy steering, because we lost a lot of alti while trying to get my heavy ass adjusted. rest of the canopy ride he showed me what holding area is, landing patters and base leg, wind sock.. and i dont remember a word he said .. lol

Over all, as i said its a life changing experience, if there are people out there who are still on the fence.. go do it. you wont regret.

when he was turning the canopy, my head was spinning a little, i am hoping it would go away with few rides and next time i would have to steer by myself so wont have time to pay attention to whats spinning and whats not!!

Starting my FJC tonight and then first SL jump tomorrow. i think i am going to switch to AFF after the first SL. at my DZ that's the rule, first time have to be a SL, then you can switch

Thanks all who commented on this post, the experience you shared is much appreciated

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Thats what i am hoping. Though i did my first jump, anytime i am looking at the video... or trying to relive the moment i cant wrap my head around the fact that i will willingly throw myself out of that plane. guess the only way to overcome it.. is to throw myself out a buncha times!!

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