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cassieaf

Help!! I screwed up my level 1 AFF..

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If you keep skydiving you will sooner or later land out. Any of a number of things can cause this. A bad spot do to miss judging the winds. A long spot do to the other groups taking too long in the door. Opening high, opening low, a reserve ride, etc. How interesting it is will depend on the surrounding terrain and the decisions you make. It is not necessarily something to be freaked out about but it can add dangers to the landing.

This isn't necessarily the place to be giving instruction. Sitting around the bonfire drinking beer with your instructor or more experienced jumpers is the proper and traditional setting for the imparting of knowledge to young jumpers. But I'll toss a few thoughts.

Statistically landing off is one of the best ways to get hurt. It ups the odds of some thing going wrong significantly. Better to land back at the drop zone in the wide open field that you know and love with plenty of altitude to set up for a nice relaxed pattern. Start with forwards planing to make that happen. Be aware of where the airplane in relative to the drop zone and what the winds are. Look down and know where you are before you exit. Be prepared to break off early and change your opening altitude if your long. Keep in mind where you are relative to the wind line. Learn to maximize your glide and your float under canopy to bring you back to the drop zone with altitude to spare.

Basic ideas. If you are flying under canopy the envelope that you can reach under canopy is basically a cone beneath you based on your glide angle. If their is wind that cone will be slanted at an angle with the base down wind of you. How much it slopes will depend on your canopy speed relative to the wind. If your canopy has the same speed as the wind turning into the wind will mean that you are coming straight down. That side of the cone will be almost vertical. If your canopy is faster then the wind there will be more angle as you penetrate. The down wind side will be shallow as the wind act with you to carry you down range. The base of the cone is not round. It's an ellipse. This is because you can slow your decent rate with breaks and float the canopy to allow the wind to carry you down range. So you can stretch your flight down wind to carry you back from a long spot. Conversely If you want to land on a target like the peas you can think of the envelope as the same cone turned upside down. with it's point on the target. Wonder out side that cone and you can't get back to the target.

Things to remember. The earlier you make decisions the easier they are to implement. Keep an eye on your "Outs". The places you will plan to land if you can not make it back to the DZ. If you are coming back from a long spot they each have their own landing cone and pattern. If you can't make it back then choose one before you are hosed on it too. Don't try to make it back across an area you don't want to land in unless you know you can make it. Half way across the subdivision is not the time to realize that you can't make the field. So plan in advance. Stay aware. Make your decisions early and follow them. Know which way the wind is blowing relative to the sun. Assume every house has a power line running to it. Lines are hard to see. But if you look closely you can see poles. Every pole has a wire running to it. At night if you can see a light, it's on a pole, that pole has a wire running to it. If their are people with you land together. If you can't make the DZ land as a group not spread out all over. Cary a cell phone. Have the phone number for manifest or who ever at the DZ so you can call for a ride. Be ready with directions. Ask what the street names are on the aerial photo of the DZ and learn them so you can give directions to where you are. If some one is hurt you may be talking to 911 not a jumper and "That curvy road south of the pond" will mean nothing to the ambulance driver.

I rambled more then I planed to. But I'm board. All of these things and more you will learn over time. The best thing you can do is hang at the DZ even when your not jumping. Most of what you learn will be around the fire as the old gray haired jumpers hold court and tell tails.

Lee
Lee
[email protected]
www.velocitysportswear.com

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I did my first off DZ landing Saturday with a friend at Skydive City. We landed by Chancy Rd. It was my 52nd jump and just got my B license. He had more than 800 jumps and it was his first off landing also. It was a bad spot no wind situation. We pulled a few hundred feet sooner realizing we were far away and still wasn't even close to making it back. As soon as I opened I rear riser turned toward the DZ and did my loosening chest strap and collapsing riser thing fast and sat in heavy brakes. I remembered where the landing direction was. I watched where my friend landed and landed next to him safely on my feet by Chancey Rd. As fast as we grabbed our gear and climbed the gate by the road they had a truck right there to pick us up. Most of the staff had to say to me "so you had your first off DZ landing?" Everyone was concerned. They look out for newbies at Skydive City/Zhills! Those two canopy classes helped me out!

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chips26

Needless to say, landing did not go as smoothly as planned, given the same exit spot and winds, I wouldve done a right hand pattern instead and wouldve risked crossing the runway on my base leg. But at that point under canopy I was just reverting back to training and what we had discussed on the ground.



Crossing the runway on base leg is NOT a good idea if you want to stay alive in this sport.

[:/]

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I have had 3 off landings on my first 100 jumps(at 2 different DZ's:S
they are always interesting. I have climbed over barbed wire fences, waded through a creek, landed in a thorn bush (not recommended), and picked up by a farmer on one of those cool ranger ATV things. and I am sure some of the experienced ppl have even crazier landing out stories

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shorehambeach

***Needless to say, landing did not go as smoothly as planned, given the same exit spot and winds, I wouldve done a right hand pattern instead and wouldve risked crossing the runway on my base leg. But at that point under canopy I was just reverting back to training and what we had discussed on the ground.



Crossing the runway on base leg is NOT a good idea if you want to stay alive in this sport.

[:/]

That I realize, and thats one of the things they taught me in my FJC. My instructor did say it was allowable depending on the circumstances as long as you continue your situational awareness. Even so its not something I plan on doing ever, seeing as we have lots of soft corn for outs :P

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chips26

******Needless to say, landing did not go as smoothly as planned, given the same exit spot and winds, I wouldve done a right hand pattern instead and wouldve risked crossing the runway on my base leg. But at that point under canopy I was just reverting back to training and what we had discussed on the ground.



Crossing the runway on base leg is NOT a good idea if you want to stay alive in this sport.

[:/]

That I realize, and thats one of the things they taught me in my FJC. My instructor did say it was allowable depending on the circumstances as long as you continue your situational awareness. Even so its not something I plan on doing ever, seeing as we have lots of soft corn for outs :P

Ah yeah, our ground school instructor told some horrific story about watching a guy lose his legs to a landing plane that way. Also one about nearly ripping his big toe off landing on asphalt in flip-flops, and apparently his instruction in EPs and PLFs stuck pretty well too. See? I WAS awake in ground school!
I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

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You did not fail, there is no failing in AFF. AFF is practice, nothing but practice. What do basketball athletes do when they have bad shooting? They practice, this is the same thing. When was the last time you did something new and as intimidating as skydiving and were great at it the first 15,30, 50 times? Stop looking at it as failing, and you will be way less stressed throughout your jumps. That will also lead you to enjoying the jumps a lot more which is key in skydiving. You repeated a jump, that's an acceptable term to use. And hun, a lot of people repeated jumps. Some of the best flyers I know have repeated a tons of jumps, and there is no shame in that. We all learn differently, we all progress differently, we all react to new environments differently, so you can't really judge yourself as a person based on having to repeat a jump.

Many people make the sport seem easy when they do it, but it's far from it. It's a very humbling sport, and when you start jumping you will realize how much hard work and determination all of those amazing flyers have put into the sport. It's also a very male dominated sport, so you will have to accept that there will always be more guys than girls in this sport but that shouldn't change anything. They should respect you, accept you, and treat you the same way they treat anyone else, if not feel free to leave and go to another DZ. The girls on our DZ are just like us, we treat them just like we treat each other as guys, it's fun, it's friendly, and it is what it is.

Back to the jumps, just remember that as long as you had fun, you learned something from the jump, and you landed safely (on or off the DZ), that's all that matters. Everything else will come in due time. Stop stressing yourself over meaningless crap and just enjoy the journey. The number one priority in skydiving is fun, and in order to do that properly you will need to let go of the mistakes, learn from them, and simply learn to enjoy every jump for what it is, a beautiful skydive.

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I know a couple D-License guys who are exceptional jumpers who always laugh and re-tell the story of their level-1 (CatA) jumps. They said it built character and prevented them from being too cocky through the rest of it. It is a learning process, you learned. I call that a victory, even if you need to re-do the level. Remember that your mind is the greatest piece of safety equipment you have, you just connected another neuron, made another wrinkle, and will keep improving.
You are not the contents of your wallet.

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An update: All has been going GREAT with AFF. However, I have to retake level 5! I jumped on Saturday and my nerves were a bit high, was sort of tired and had a breakup almost two weeks back, not that its any excuse- I exited not by stepping out looking at the prop but by turning almost into a ball, and got freaked out in freefall when I lost control and started spinning. My mind went 500mph in the other direction, instead of arching I thought, "Oh shit- oh shit I'm actually going to fail! Omg, gotta fix these legs, why am I spinning?!?!?!" My arms were rigid and unsymmetrical and the wind was flying me. I was unstable at 5500ft and my instructor had to help me pull, ugh. I had a line twist I was able to kick out of. I started my flight pattern a bit high but executed a great landing. Anyone have any advice on relaxing in the plane, even exercises?? My ADHD doesn't help with this either, I'm legit actually worried for my next jump right now..
I like planes almost as much as jumping out of them.

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cassieaf

Anyone have any advice on relaxing in the plane, even exercises?? My ADHD doesn't help with this either, I'm legit actually worried for my next jump right now..



Visualize the successful jump multiple times on the ride to altitude. When its almost time to exit, take at least three slow, deep breaths to calm yourself. And then smile. I've found that it's a lot harder to get nervous if you're smiling.
"I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

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Deep breaths when youre on the step or in the door, right before exit sequence. Visualization of the dive helped a great bit on the ride up as well.

I had to retake my level 7 because I freaked out on exit and ended up in a really uncontrolled tumble for several thousand feet. I was able to stabilize and pull on time, but it did scare the shit out of me. I repeated the dive a couple of loads later after settling down, and I ended up killing it and graduating. Looking back I'm glad I had to retake the dive and had that scary death tumble experience, it gave me the confidence that I could get out of it if it ever happened.



DO NOT think about what can go wrong with the jump, messing up..etc. Focus on killing it...everytime, and you will.B|

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Lots of good advice on here. One thing that comes to mind is that it sounds like you were pretty distracted and freaked out before you even got on the plane. It's fine to be nervous, but if you are really having some issues on the ground you can always talk to your instructor and ask to get put on a later load while you re-center yourself. He might be grumpy, but remember that it is your call when/if you are going to jump.

Remember, you are ultimately the one in charge of your own safety and you should never let anyone or anything (including yourself) pressure or rush you into something you aren't ready for or feeling up to.

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Gotta agree, the thing about this sport (and all of aviation) is that you should be 100% or on the ground. Just my opinion but I've skipped a few flights and even one jump because I was not there 100%.

You can make the sport as safe as you want ;)

With that in mind, remember always that you need to be relaxed to perform properly. Brian Germain wrote a great book "Transcending Fear" that I refer all my airborne friends (GA pilots, Paragliders, and any skydivers I run into). You can be great at many things, so long as you can enter a calm state where you can think.

In between jumps you should check out his book, its excellent.
You are not the contents of your wallet.

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shorehambeach



Welcome to skydiving ! Well done on doing your first jump :-D

Congratulations on:

Getting to the DZ
Getting through ground school
Getting kitted up
Getting in the plane
Taking off and Being the only girl
Checking your rig
Listening to your instructor
Exiting the plane
Arching
Carryout out drills
Watching your Altitude
Flying your canopy
Landing

Ok, so you didn't pull and were a little freaked out. This is the sport.
I didn't pull on Level 2. Simple.

If your coach said ""What happened? You screwed that one up royally!" then he needs to learn some people skills.


What happened is all of the big list above and yea- there's room for improvement - but its the same whether you have 1, 100, 1000 or 10,000 jumps.

AFF is not about passing/failing. Every jump is a huge learning curve and leap of faith.

You just jumped out of a plane and survived. Be proud. Be happy and get back in the SKY.

Emotions go very up and down when you start jumping - don't get too high with the highs and don't get to low with the lows.

B|



You rock.

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Hello, the exact same thing happened to me last week . I was focused and ready to go jump . Got out with two instructors I didn't know until 10 minutes prior to our load being sent up . I went into a weird blank in the exit procedures of the plane and don't remember leaving the plane at all . It's called sensory overload . Your brain trying to comprehend everything at once in this new scary environment . I couldn't locate my hackey on practice pulls , my legs were bent straight up to my rig like an idiot . My arms were all fully extended outward like a bird trying to fly for some reason . I landed safely without an issue . Felt totally embarrassed about it all . I was the last of 7 out of my class to make the first jump and the only one to mess up on everything in the dive flow . Oh , and did I mention I completely zoned out at 5500 feet and they had to deploy my chute for me . No idea what happened there . Redoing my jump tomorrow so I wish you the best of luck! Relax , breath , repeat .

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