dthames 0 #51 November 15, 2014 DrDom*** Here's one little thing that I don't think has been mentioned yet: If you have done 6 AFF jumps, depending on re-do's, you may be getting up close to what was Level 6, the unstable exit. No need to worry about that big transition from in the airplane to normal freefall. Forget the perfect exit, perfect presentation to the wind, leg kicks, and so on. Just tumble on out and sort it out afterwards. It is a bit of shock therapy and doesn't exercise one's actual stable exit technique, but can lead to it being less stressful because you're proving to your mind that falling out of an airplane isn't as big a deal as it was screaming at you! (DZ's will vary of course in exactly how they brief the unstable exit.) I did not have to redo any of the levels. Once I'm out of the plane I'm surprisingly calm to the point I notice altitude, cues, and even the foliage and clouds. I find it rather relaxing. I learned I can't track for crap. Anyhow, all my exits were poised 1-4 and 5-6 were poised since I had never jumped the Cessna (all were twotter jumps). Its not so much freefall at terminal, its that odd transition time that is hanging me up. The 9.8m/2^2 that accelerates me downward from the door. I understand it, but it feels so weird I can't get over it. I feel the sky calls, I'm going to go back... its just a matter of figuring out WHY this part feels so odd for me. What do you mean by "unstable exit"? All my exits are unstable ;) I de-arch like a boss. Fortunately I am good at rolls and flips so I can re-orient pretty quick. I can remember a time as a young adult that I found a bluff (over water) that was high enough that I really got to feel the acceleration of falling. I thought it was just so cool, that feeling. Embrace it.Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!” Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnMitchell 14 #52 November 15, 2014 DrDom I learned I can't track for crap. Few people can at first, and many never learn to track very well. In fact, I know a few that have more that 1000 jumps and are abysmal at tracking. It's a huge survival skill. Keep practicing. Find some jumpers that track well and get some coaching from them. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LyraM45 0 #53 November 16, 2014 I am the worlds most nervous jumper. I'm an anxious person to begin with, but I guess the anxiety of jumping is more of like a nervous excitement that is bad yet good at the same time. I've jumped on and off for 10 years, having to take breaks for various life reasons, and I'll echo what others have said for the cure-- jump more, especially multiple jumps in a day. When I show up and just do one here and there, it's almost not even fun because I am just a basket case and don't even get to relax and enjoy the jump. As soon as that one is done, it's MUCH more fun after that. I love the days where I can crank 4-8 jumps out. By the second or third one, it's just so much more relaxing and fun. Why is your season done in NH? I did my AFF through snow and winter conditions at Xkeys many years ago. It gets cold at my dropzone in norcal now too, but you just suck it up, layer up, and go on with your bad self. You make it happen if you want to jump bad enough. If the cold really is too much for you (it gets to that point for me now as I get older and spend more time in the sport, but definitely was not the case when I was young, new to the sport, and super excited), then definitely take the advice about going south for the winter for a week and just cranking out as many as you can. There are fabulous boogies in FL during the holidays! Just try to relax. Breathe. Visualize the skydive with a smile on your face. Good luck! Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnMitchell 14 #54 November 16, 2014 LyraM45 If the cold really is too much for you (it gets to that point for me now as I get older and spend more time in the sport, but definitely was not the case when I was young, new to the sport, and super excited) I remember doing CRW at 15 degrees, too frozen to open my hands after landing, and loving it. Now I stay home on frosty days. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlyingRhenquest 1 #55 November 16, 2014 JohnMitchell I remember doing CRW at 15 degrees, too frozen to open my hands after landing, and loving it. Now I stay home on frosty days. Hah! It didn't last long for me. I was gung-ho enough to jump at any temperature the DZ would fly at for my first year. Right now, if it's colder than 50 on the ground, I roll over and go back to sleep. Sadly they also drop back to reduced hours over the winter and about half the nice jump days are on days when they're not flying.I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trafficdiver 8 #56 November 16, 2014 Most of the northeast dropzone a send their planes elsewhere in the winter so unfortunately there is no place to go, save for CPI, which does fly a cessna on good weekends. Believe me if SNE kept their otter all winter I would jump it all the time. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrDom 0 #57 December 1, 2014 SNE has been closed a while. I am working on moving (local but buying/selling homes is stressful anyhow) and getting through a little family loss... so this winter will likely be a bust anyhow. I have managed to recruit a friend who may get current (he is a B or C license, cant remember) while I go back through AFF. I'm going to do a little tunnel, take some flight lessons, and just get used to being in the sky a bit more. I'm going to jump again. I don't think its optional for me. I just felt so alive and (sorry to the atheists in advance) so close to God while up there. My head was finally clear, I was living the moment, and when I landed I rememered that life is more than paperwork, diseases, patients, and all the life issues that we put too much importance on. I'll get there :)You are not the contents of your wallet. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GoHuskers 0 #58 December 1, 2014 I would guess that replacing a negative anticipation of the weird feeling with a task would be the best solution. A good example is focusing on your body position and making sure that you are presenting it so that the wind will push you into the position you want to be in to ride the hill and have a good skydive. Every discipline in skydiving is a series of tasks whether you are turning points or holding part of a raft you have something you're supposed to do from climbout to laying your canopy on the packing room floor. Just focus on your purpose. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Boomerdog 0 #59 December 1, 2014 What Trafficdiver wrote! We've talked about this ad nauseum have we not? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shorehambeach 9 #60 December 1, 2014 Boomerdog What Trafficdiver wrote! We've talked about this ad nauseum have we not? + 10 Stop typing get jumping. Simples. Skydiving is not a spectator sport. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
