Feeling a bit off? / Sketchy jump

[kram88 0]

Hey guys, I just now recently got onto my solos.. Past few jumps have been a little rough. Like I hit a slump or a little rough patch. Just not all the way there in my game.. First mock hop and pop went okay. Kinda did a low turn and hit a wind blade which isnt normal since Ive been standing up most my landings.. After that on my first hop and pop it was all sorts of fucked up and could of seriously hurt/killed myself. That's been bugging me since then. And today when I came back I jumped and was so set on my gear and thinking through the jump I forgot to put on my goggles prior to exit and couldnt believe I did such a dumb thing... I did a solo after that by myself and it went well and was happy about it. But like fuck a low turn a sketchy ass hop & pop and then didnt put on my goggles. wtf is wrong with me :\ Im asking for trouble..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXlgu-1gHrA

[FlyingRhenquest 1]

Nerves maybe, or distractions. Do you go over your gear when everyone starts putting their helmets on, and do it the same way every time? Watch other skydivers, a lot of them check their handles and straps several times on the way up. When everyone's putting their helmets on you probably still have a minute or two to make sure you're in order. Check your handles, make sure all your gear is where it's supposed to be, make sure you're in order for the jump. I nearly forgot my altimeter once when someone asked me a question while I was getting my gear together. Boy would THAT have been embarrassing. Fortunately I realized it while we were getting on the trailer and was able to run back for it.

Until you have the whole checklist firmly in your head, try not to allow others to distract you when you're gearing up and on the plane. For those few minutes until you have your feet back on the ground, nothing is so important as making sure your jump is safe, and that warrants your full attention. Especially, turn off the phone.

Can't tell you why you turned low. Why did you turn low? Were there obstacles before then, did you lose altitude awareness? Would you have been better off not turning and doing a PLF on landing? It takes a while to get your pattern dialed in. Talk to an instructor or maybe see if you can find someone to give you some canopy coaching, if it's really giving you trouble.

I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

[kram88 0]

Well I usually rely a lot on my coaches / instructors to spot for me and tell me which way to track. Tell me when to put on my goggles ect. Check my pins. Gear check me on the plane. I go over EP's the way up to altitude and practice cut away / reserve. Everything else. I guess the goggle part Im so used to someone telling me when to put it on it just slipped my mind. I know I shouldnt rely on people and Im trying to break that habbit. As for the low turn it wasnt like drastically low. I was turning onto final to face into the wind and did a 90 and did a cross wind landing but my pattern was off.. I was maybe 100-150 ft up. I didnt think it was super low and I didnt pull the toggle way down. but a lil more than a flat turn which I was trying to get at. They noticed it was low and mentioned it to me. As far as the hop n pop ive never been that stable on the hill and need to work on my exits. I know where I went wrong.. Just venting because these past few slip ups have kinda been eating at me and making me very discouraged and upset. Being careless/reckless/stupid...

[kvnhlstd 0]

That guys look in the plane after your jump was awesome... that is all.

Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth - Mike Tyson

[SEREJumper 1]

You have 21 jumps and getting close to your "A" I imagine...

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Well I usually rely a lot on my coaches / instructors to spot for me and tell me which way to track. Tell me when to put on my goggles ect. Check my pins. Gear check me on the plane.

Stop relying on other people to spot for you, if you need more practice, ask for it and then start doing it yourself. Have a plan on which way to track prior to exiting as well, it shouldn't be made up in the air as you go. Plan the dive, dive the plan. Same goes for knowing when to put on your goggles, get into a routine and stick with it. If you don't understand why someone wants you to do something at a certain altitude, find out what they expect of you.

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I know I shouldnt rely on people and Im trying to break that habbit

How are you trying to break the habbit? See my post above.

The low turn

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They noticed it was low and mentioned it to me.

Do you know what you did wrong or is there something still unclear as to why your pattern was messed up? Did you seek out advise if something was unclear?

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As far as the hop n pop ive never been that stable on the hill and need to work on my exits.

And it showed in the video. How many solo poised exits have you made? "First mock hop and pop went okay", how do you mean okay? How much training was given on how to do your hop n pop? How much dirt diving did you do with your instructor prior to the jump? How much time did your instructor take with you after the jump to do the debrief with you and help you understand what went wrong? These are all important questions to answer.

I'm not trying to beat you up, just a lot of unanswered questions that need to be filled in. When did you start jumping and how current are you?

Everyone makes mistakes, just learn from them. Start taking responsibility for your skydives and ask questions from those you trust.

We're not fucking flying airplanes are we, no we're flying a glorified kite with no power and it should be flown like one! - Stratostar

[GAjumper84 0]

You mentioned the danger to yourself with that hop and pop exit, but the worst decision/mistake you mentioned was that low turn. You could've turned that 90 straight into someone else following the correct pattern. Fortunately that didn't happen, and you are ok. I would suggest talking to your instructors about a full repeatable gear check before you put the rig on, before boarding, and on the plane. Then at a certain altitude, put helmet and goggles on, final gear check time. Everyone has different ways and different orders, but it is always a set repeated process. That is the best way to guard against missing something. Oh, and if you arent sure about something on the ride up (did i check that pin? Etc) dont be afraid to ask the person behind you for a gear check. Good luck!

[Joellercoaster 6]

kram88

did a low turn and hit a wind blade which isnt normal since Ive been standing up most my landings

Sorry to pick up on just one sentence, but other people are well covering the psychology side.

But, these two things are almost entirely unrelated.

1. Standing up your landings is just a matter of flare technique and timing - it's a motor skill and it will come to you.

2. Doing a low turn and hitting a wind blade are about planning your pattern, setting up in the right places, and then following your plan. That is to say, about thinking ahead and knowing where you are, well before you are in that kind of position. Canopy coaches, even when they're coaching swooping, talk a lot about planning and pattern setting!

Bringing it back into the main topic, having your skydive all laid out in advance, in detail, before you get in the plane, will help a lot. This includes the gear and door sequence, the freefall part, canopy ride, all the way back to the hangar. Having it all sorted out will help you feel much more in control, and will make you a lot safer.

(Don't sweat the hop and pop exit too much. Your mistake was a small one and your instructor will easily be able to point it out from the video )

--
"I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan

"You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

[skinnay 0]

Take a good look at your body position through 0:24-0:26. It gets all kinds of fucked up as you reach for the PC. By 0:26 you're completely de-arched and almost in a ball, don't do that

Just try to relax and fly the exit for a couple seconds before you pitch. Watching the plane fly away will help. While relaxing is always easier said than done, practicing exits up high and learning to fly the hill will help.

Also, there's nothing wrong with being nervous on hop and pops. I've only done a few and I still hate them

[DrDom 0]

skinnay

Take a good look at your body position through 0:24-0:26. It gets all kinds of fucked up as you reach for the PC. By 0:26 you're completely de-arched and almost in a ball, don't do that

Just try to relax and fly the exit for a couple seconds before you pitch. Watching the plane fly away will help. While relaxing is always easier said than done, practicing exits up high and learning to fly the hill will help.

Also, there's nothing wrong with being nervous on hop and pops. I've only done a few and I still hate them

Aside from repetition, how does one prevent that de-arch on exit. I'm notorious with it. That "hollow stomach" feeling overcomes me and I stay balled up a little like that... the overload and such. Is it just experience and comfort?

You are not the contents of your wallet.

[mistercwood 287]

The harder you arch, the longer you have before the ground comes into view, so the longer you have before your brain realises what you've just done and freaks out accordingly...

You are playing chicken with a planet - you can't dodge and planets don't blink. Act accordingly.

[dthames 0]

DrDom

***Take a good look at your body position through 0:24-0:26. It gets all kinds of fucked up as you reach for the PC. By 0:26 you're completely de-arched and almost in a ball, don't do that

Just try to relax and fly the exit for a couple seconds before you pitch. Watching the plane fly away will help. While relaxing is always easier said than done, practicing exits up high and learning to fly the hill will help.

Also, there's nothing wrong with being nervous on hop and pops. I've only done a few and I still hate them

Aside from repetition, how does one prevent that de-arch on exit. I'm notorious with it. That "hollow stomach" feeling overcomes me and I stay balled up a little like that... the overload and such. Is it just experience and comfort?

As a kid we had a little game we called the belly buster contest. We would jump off of the diving board and see who could land with a big fat/flat PLOP on the service of the water, spread out, belly first. It hurt and stung a lot. Only those a bit touched would win, because it hurt to do it right.

If the plane was headed straight down and would hit the surface of the ocean one second after you exited, your instructor might say, “Here is a chance to make one last splash in life. See how good a belly buster you can do”. Your task would be to exit perpendicular with the relative wind, coming from the direction of the aircraft flight and smack the water squarely. That is the proper orientation to the relative wind.

If you exit with the correct orientation to the wind, then your body posture, your arch is the second thing. Tightening your butt muscles help some. Watching the plane as you fall away works wonders. It keeps your head back, which causes you to naturally arch as you track the plane with your head. It is hard to describe how helpful watching the plane is until you do it and see for yourself.

In static line progression, this is the jump where it really clicked for me. If you can stop it on 16 seconds, you can see I am still giving the plane a good look and continue to do so.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phvG7wwaHBw

“Cleared for solo practice to the top” is what my log book shows. What a happy day. That is the same is getting off of AFF. I had really struggled with stability up until this point. Then it all started to make sense.

Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

[blue_bert 0]

I found that controlling your breathing on exit helps a lot. When I 1st started jumping on exit I would flip at the last second on to my back and couldn't work out why this was happening as i was doing everything I was taught.

Then someone pointed out that I maybe holding my breath on exit and as soon as I realized this, I was able to correct it and all of a sudden I wasn't flipping over on exit anymore. (This only happened on dive exists).

After spending a little time in the wind tunnel I found that when I held my breath it actually made me de-arch a little, which I can now use to help control my fall rate.

Little things can make a big difference in this sport.

[topdocker 0]

DrDom

***Take a good look at your body position through 0:24-0:26. It gets all kinds of fucked up as you reach for the PC. By 0:26 you're completely de-arched and almost in a ball, don't do that

Just try to relax and fly the exit for a couple seconds before you pitch. Watching the plane fly away will help. While relaxing is always easier said than done, practicing exits up high and learning to fly the hill will help.

Also, there's nothing wrong with being nervous on hop and pops. I've only done a few and I still hate them

Aside from repetition, how does one prevent that de-arch on exit. I'm notorious with it. That "hollow stomach" feeling overcomes me and I stay balled up a little like that... the overload and such. Is it just experience and comfort?

I teach jumpers to do hop-n-pops all the time, and what you are doing is very common, even for people who have way more experience than you. So first, let yourself off the hook a bit! Second, look at the video carefully as you exit, you NEVER looked at the plane, you looked down instead, so you are de-arching from your head.

When you step out of the door, look at the wing, and keep looking at it! That is where the relative wind is coming from, but many jumpers want to rush onto their bellies because that feels normal to them. But when you do that, the relative wind is not across the control surfaces (arms, legs, belly) and you can get out of control easily.

I walk jumpers through the mock up and practice over and over that they will essentially be standing next to the plane with the relative wind blowing them backwards while they fall away and slowly transition to belly-to-earth. Keep your belly button to the relative wind!

And really, don't feel bad. A few years ago on a commercial photo shoot, I watched dozens of the best relative workers T-bone out the door of a DC-3 doing hop-n-pops! Literally thousands of jumps and did not have the skill.

Keep at it and good luck!

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Jump more, post less!

[BobxMarley 1]

1. Googles - You know when you leave your house and you think "Keys, Wallet, Phone"? Just before you reach altitude think "Helmet, Goggles, Altimeter". Make it a habit and you will have eliminated this problem. I usually add this HAG check into my check of 3's. Never rely on other people to notice things. Always have a set routine you always do to keep yourself safe.

2. Hop-N-Pop - I though it was pretty cool. It was almost like a sit fly hop-n-pop. Pretty dope if you ask me. In all seriousness though, I think you just dipped your head and tucked your legs. Two things that can be fixed. So, I wouldn't worry about it. Next time, when climbing to altitude, close your eyes and go through your jump and picture yourself executing it flawlessly. Do not let past experiences interfere with whats in the now. Next time, focus on the fact that you're going to have an awesome jump and then go have an awesome jump.

3. Windblade- I bet you were too focused on not hitting the wind-blade that you hit the wind blade. Am I right? I saw a student one time hit the pick-up van. He was so worried about hitting it that he hit it. Our brains don't process negative commands well. Instead of focusing on the van, he should have focused on that clear landing patch that he wanted to land at. Always focus on what you want to happen. Focusing on what you don't want to happen...usually makes it happen. Good ol' Law of Attraction.

You're good man! Just remember to do your checks, visualize your jumps, have confidence in yourself, and have fun!

Klaasic

[FlyingRhenquest 1]

Dunno what the big hurry was anyway. I've gotten 25 seconds of freefall in on a hop and pop. Admittedly ground speed was slow as hell that day and we were somewhere north of 8K by the time we got to the mid-field spot I wanted to get out over!

Come back in a couple dozen jumps once your exits are stable and try again! Hop and pops are pretty nice once you get over being freaked out because you're jumping from the altitude you're used to pulling at from your training. I've been using them to practice my gainer exit and cleaning up my pattern lately. Mmm don't do 25 seconds of freefall though...

Once your exits are stable you actually can deploy as quickly as you tried to if you want to. I do that from 12-13K on a regular basis. I'm a high pull fiend and seem to end up doing at least one a week in the summer. There's nothing quite like riding down after getting in the saddle by 12500 feet.

I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

[Tink1717 2]

+1

Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off.
-The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!)
AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717