Not cut out for it?

[StinkyPete 0]

So, my experience so far, and my abilities are starting to be doubted by me.

I started AFF, and have made 12 jumps to date (all in a very quick succession). I am in an AFF program that was designed to be 2-3 weeks long, 0 to A license. I know it isn't preferred but it has been free so i cant complain at all.

For the last 7 years all i have wanted was to be a skydiver. When this opportunity arose i jumped on it. Now I am stuck. I just cannot get my body to fly. Everyone keeps telling me to relax and that it will eventually just click. Here i am at 12 jumps and stuck on Category D, while my peers in the class are on H and above already. Every day for the last 2 weeks i have tried so hard to get everything to come together and just work but it just isnt happening.

Today, I had a Cutaway. It was a bad spinning malfunction that is completely due to my poor body position during pull. I started to get squirly at about 6,000 ft lock on, i was what i thought stable pretty quickly but that was not the case. When the main deployed the bridle caught my arm, causing the bag and right side suspension lines to wrap the canopy somehow and only the left side of the canopy opened and it turned into a very violent spin. I tried to pull the risers apart, shake them and anything else i could but after about the first 1,000 ft of this i knew there was no saving it so I initiated emergency procurers and luckily my reserve opened perfectly with no twists. I continued my landing pattern and landed on the DZ, no problems under canopy from there on out.

But now, i am wondering, are some just not cut out of skydiving no matter how bad they want it? I mean, how many times can i do a category D jump? Ive tried and tried and i just cannot get my legs to stop moving. I have been in the tunnel, flew fine. My brain just wont "shut off" during Freefall. I have zero "fear" of exiting the air craft. I want this. Theres the occasional nerves of course still, but in flight and free fall especially i am trying to think, whats my right hand doing, oh, hows my legs, let me make sure my right foot is good. Its seriously holding me back and i cant seem to get over it.

Sorry for the long post, more of a rant.

Any advice other than "just have fun, relax" Honestly I have heard that probably 100 times this week from dozens of instructors.

[jzzsxm 0]

Are you even remotely close to a wind tunnel? If your big problem is stability then wind tunnel time is going to be the perfect solution for you, and WAY cheaper than all the jumps you're repeating.

[oldwomanc6 38]

Is this a question more about the fact you had a malfunction so early on and aren't progressing as quickly as you hoped?

lisa
WSCR 594
FB 1023
CBDB 9

[ridebmxbikes 0]

whoa dude! you had a mal and performed your ep's and saved your life from a shit canopy! if there isn't skydiver in there then i'll be damned! welcome to club plan b!

just relax dude, remember why you started skydiving in the first place. isn't this something you want to do? that should be enough to give you the confidence you need... that and the fact you now know you can pull the silver handle if you need to! you know you can fly in the tunnel, at least in the sky you dont have to worry about hitting any walls

keep it up bro and dont let a little challenge stop your dreams! in a few more jumps you'll be laughing about how you couldn't get it in the beginning

welcome to the sky bro!

[FlyingRhenquest 1]

They were always telling me to relax and it'd be so much easier. I was always like "I am about to jump out of an airplane and I AM NOT GOING TO RELAX!" But you know what, it's really MUCH easier if you just relax.

Maybe all those people telling you to do shit is making it hard to relax. Maybe try hitting the tunnel for 5 minutes or so of no-objectives "I'm just going to fly around and have fun" time and see if you can relax in there. Sounds like you're getting frustrated and trying to muscle through it, but you really can't do that. It's more tai chi than tai kwon do.

In general, if it's not fun for you, don't do it. On my first 25 jumps it was not uncommon for me to land laughing uncontrollably at the ridiculousness of something I'd done -- losing instructors, face planting a landing, barrel rolls, my AFF instructor's notorious AFF 7 exit where you fling yourself from the aircraft and grab your ankles... I was having the time of my life. If you're not enjoying it, do something else. You can always come back to this later if you feel you're ready, then.

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

[Muffie 0]

You had a malfunction, kept your head, and handled it properly? While keeping track of your altitude?

Seems to me you're probably doing a helluva lot better than some of those folks who've advanced a few levels over you. Many at this stage who had a malfunction would not handle it as well.

And you've done tunnel time and were fine? And aren't scared when you're in the plane? Then this is a mental issue. You know you can do it, right? You're just psyching yourself out because you've wanted this so bad for so long.

You're finally jumping out of a plane! After seven years of wanting to! Focus on that. Forget everything else. It'll come together.

[cruelpops 0]

OK, so you had the mal and you proved in reality (not just in theory) you were capable of handling a very stressful emergency scenario. That, in-of-itself, should be enough to get most of those sections checked on your A-card.

Ya relax - whatever - easier said than done. I almost took out my instructors on more than one occasion because I couldn't relax and was going psycho on swoop & docks. It happens to more people than you think on all types of maneuvers with people with varying degrees of skill.

What part of the Category D is giving you the problem? Is it the 90s, 180s, 360s, all of it or just some of it? Each of those maneuvers allows for some latitude and don't need to be perfect to within a degree or two. People either freeze and don't move or they overcompensate and get overkill. I was overturning, trying to twist my body and using heavy legs and no hands instead of using a light leg/foot with a light hand. It's slight movements and adjustments.

Also remember to begin to stop the turn before you get to your intended mark which can be a quick but subtle countermovement.

Think of it this way... if you pull out of the driveway and turn left at 5mph, you are cranking on that wheel to do your 90; your foot is slightly on the gas but ready for the break and your head is turning right and then left. If you're driving 70mph down the freeway and change lanes, it's a very slight input of the steering wheel. You are falling fast and to get the desired direction it takes only slight movements of your body.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, drive down the highway at 70mph and put your arm out the window at a 90 degree angle with your hand palm down. If you move just your pinky - watch what happens; dip your hand 5 degrees left or right - watch what happens. It only takes subtle movements to force your arm into radical motion.

[nadominhoca 0]

ARCH, ARCH, ARCH!!!! I really believe that this is the main objective of an AFF course!!

I had problems with my CAT C jumps.. had t o repeat a couple of times... and i was feeling the same.. I'm pretty relax during the exits, i'm pretty relaxed during the freefall, i'm arching as I suposed to do, so why the hell I'm getting unstable!?! Trust me.. i wasn't really relaxed, I wasn't really arching enough...

Went to the tunnel for 6 minutes only... just to have fun, to get stable, without any objectives... my next jump was a completely different experience.. now I could really feel how relaxed I wasn't before... I could really feel that I wasn't arching enough...

For me the tunnel was my breaking point.. it really worked pretty well!!

I am almoust getting my A license now, did several solos, and I'm finishing the coach jumps.. since my third CAT C attempt, skydiving became a complete different game for me!! It's so much fun!!! It's so realxing up there!!!

Try the tunnel!!! and ARCH!!! believe me, ARCHING is a tool that will fix 90% of your freefall "problems" during your AFF course!!

Don't give up bro!!!

[AdamTheRock 0]

Skydiving is a massive head F#ck. So you just need to learn how to deal with the frustration that comes with it.

You've only done 12 jumps, you are overthinking everything. The more jumps and tunnel you do, the better you can be. Just keep at it dude, and dont forget to smile and have fun up there!

[DSE 3]

First, congrats on taking the steps to become a skydiver.
Second, congratulations for properly managing a cutaway and safely landing.
Third, what do your instructors that are there with you, the ones who have consistently seen your performance, telling you to do?

Sometimes instructors struggle communicating with students. Sometimes, instructors aren't seeing the genesis of the problem, and make things worse by simply saying "relax" (I don't say "relax," I say "breathe")

Talk to the people close to you there at the DZ. This early on in your skydiving career, seek advice up close and personal before trusting anyone over the internet. Including me.

[matt002 0]

If there are more talented people in your class, this is a good sign for you.

Talent is a curse, it makes people lazy and removes the feelings of challenge and triumph that are essential to maintain motivation.

If you persevere, you will succeed, true story.

[mr2mk1g 10]

Sounds like you're doing cracking to me. So your mates are further through the course than you - fuck 'em. You're progressing at your rate and you're doing just fine thanks. Keep up the good work and the progression will follow.

[popsjumper 2]

Here's some interesting reading. This is logbook entries from one of our most respected Canopy Relative Work (CReW) long time skydivers, Wendy Faulkner.

You think you are having problems with getting licensed?
Read her logbook and compare. You're gonna love this.

http://crwdog.servebeer.com/CRWdog/HowCRW.html

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[faulknerwn 36]

Yes my logbook is a good read :). I have over 9000 jumps now so even I figured it out. Have another lady at my dz who also took 48 jumps to get off student status.

When I do AFF jumps with my students who can't relax I make them smile at me. I always tell them even if it is the most forced smile ever, you can't be too tense if you are smiling :). I also make completely goofy faces at them just to make them laugh. It's all in the relaxing...

[Kalrigan 6]

My advice could be completely useless considering I'm only a few jumps ahead of you and not anywhere near experienced as some of these fine folks around here but figured I would share my experience, as one student to another.

My first 2 jumps were tense as hell. Thankfully my instructors were holding on to me otherwise I would have been all over the place. On my 3rd jump I happened to switch instructors and during the jump when they tried letting me go they noticed how crazy tense I was. I was wobbling like a damn potato.

I remember people telling me to relax, but how the fuck do you do that as someone who just started jumping out of planes? For me I thought it was easier said than done. I mean I understood the concept, but how can I make my body relax when I just jumped out of a plane and all my mind is telling me is to go into a fetal position and scream?

I spoke to my instructor when he told me I need to relax. I told him how does a new jumper do that? Our minds are fucked, overwhelmed, tense, and to be honest scared. He looks at me and goes: Smile. If you are jumping out of a plane without a smile then you're doing it wrong. Smile your whole way up, smile as you're about to exit, pick a heading and smile like you've never smiled before. It got so much better after I did that. I still had to go trough some legs adjustments but I was already way ahead.

I couldn't believe how something as simple as smiling could help you so much. Keep that in mind, it helped me, it might help you as well.

Don't give up man, keep at it. Who cares if you failed a few jumps? You know, I had that fear of failing when I was working on my Solo and I realized it only made things a lot more stressful, fearful, and tense than it already is. I told myself I don't care it I fail, I'm still having fun jumping out of a plane and that's all that matters. I failed my C1 jump the other day with back loops because they were not good enough, I was either goin off heading after I do a full loop, or I just can't complete one and end up all over the place. I landed and my coach looks at me and goes: So how do you think it went? I told her it was sloppy and messy as hell, but I had the biggest smile on my face because at the end of the day I'm doing what I fell in love with, jumping and flying.

Keep at it brother, progress at your own speed, at your own comfort. Don't worry about others, it doesn't matter where on the scale they stand on. Worry about yourself, your life, your love for this sport.

Don't forget to smile, did I mention that already?:)

faulknerwn

Yes my logbook is a good read :). I have over 9000 jumps now so even I figured it out. Have another lady at my dz who also took 48 jumps to get off student status.

When I do AFF jumps with my students who can't relax I make them smile at me. I always tell them even if it is the most forced smile ever, you can't be too tense if you are smiling :). I also make completely goofy faces at them just to make them laugh. It's all in the relaxing...

This is the first time I actually got to read your logbook, so funny. Wendy I loved how you were pokin fun at your own self. I don't think I've seen anyone more dedicated than you to pass something. If that doesn't encourage people I truly don't know what else would. Thanks for being awesome and sharing it with everyone.

[mrubin 0]

There's a reason that you keep hearing that you need to relax. It works. But we know that its not really that easy to command yourself to relax. DSE makes an excellent point about focusing on your breathing instead of trying to force yourself to relax. Before exit, try taking a few slow, deep breaths. Calm your mind and your body will follow suit. I know this from experience. I had a lot of trouble relaxing and then I was told to breath and it worked wonders.

You've had successful jumps and done well in the tunnel. You've even successfully dealt with a malfunction. Id' say that as long as you're enjoying yourself, skydiving is for you.

"I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

[GooniesKid 0]

StinkyPete

So, my experience so far, and my abilities are starting to be doubted by me.

I started AFF, and have made 12 jumps to date (all in a very quick succession). I am in an AFF program that was designed to be 2-3 weeks long, 0 to A license. I know it isn't preferred but it has been free so i cant complain at all.

For the last 7 years all i have wanted was to be a skydiver. When this opportunity arose i jumped on it. Now I am stuck. I just cannot get my body to fly. Everyone keeps telling me to relax and that it will eventually just click. Here i am at 12 jumps and stuck on Category D, while my peers in the class are on H and above already. Every day for the last 2 weeks i have tried so hard to get everything to come together and just work but it just isnt happening.

Today, I had a Cutaway. It was a bad spinning malfunction that is completely due to my poor body position during pull. I started to get squirly at about 6,000 ft lock on, i was what i thought stable pretty quickly but that was not the case. When the main deployed the bridle caught my arm, causing the bag and right side suspension lines to wrap the canopy somehow and only the left side of the canopy opened and it turned into a very violent spin. I tried to pull the risers apart, shake them and anything else i could but after about the first 1,000 ft of this i knew there was no saving it so I initiated emergency procurers and luckily my reserve opened perfectly with no twists. I continued my landing pattern and landed on the DZ, no problems under canopy from there on out.

But now, i am wondering, are some just not cut out of skydiving no matter how bad they want it? I mean, how many times can i do a category D jump? Ive tried and tried and i just cannot get my legs to stop moving. I have been in the tunnel, flew fine. My brain just wont "shut off" during Freefall. I have zero "fear" of exiting the air craft. I want this. Theres the occasional nerves of course still, but in flight and free fall especially i am trying to think, whats my right hand doing, oh, hows my legs, let me make sure my right foot is good. Its seriously holding me back and i cant seem to get over it.

Sorry for the long post, more of a rant.

Any advice other than "just have fun, relax" Honestly I have heard that probably 100 times this week from dozens of instructors.

Bro, you've only made 12 jumps..you're not going to be Jeb,,,skydiving takes alot of money and commitment. You saved your own life..you should be glad AND you owe your local DZ and rigger a BEER. IF you're going to part of this community you better start paying your dues.

And yes, some are just not cut out for skydiving no matter how bad they want it. Examples are the following but not limited to:
poor people without jobs.
mimes.
newbies that want to be freeflyers after 5 jumps just to look cool.

[wmw999 2,120]

Quote

And yes, some are just not cut out for skydiving no matter how bad they want it. Examples are the following but not limited to:
poor people without jobs.
mimes.
newbies that want to be freeflyers after 5 jumps just to look cool.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[dthames 0]

I struggled with stability. The wind tunnel didn't seem to help me much. I quit AFF and went to SL so I could slow things down and work at a pace needed for a slower student. That all worked out very well for me.

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

[ksudiver87 0]

I had troubles with my legs spinning me as well. It helped me to just jump with the instructor and not do anything, i think we even played rock paper scissors once, point is to distract your self and let your memory control work. Try walking and think "left, right, left right," chance are you'll look stupid, uncoordinated. plus its just fun to fall and think "wow, this is really happening right now" good job on the cut away!

~Always do stupid things safely~

[EChen22 0]

After a couple of tense jumps, one of my AFF instructors took me on a "fun jump" in the middle of my AFF course. There were no objectives other than to HAVE FUN! That jump did WAY more for me than trying to keep passing the same level over and over.

We stayed linked and just played and made goofy faces the whole time. Someone else mentioned it too - smiling is a GOOD thing and helps you to relax automatically!

Not sure if this is an option for you, but if one of your instructors is willing, it could really help!

Blue skies, and good luck

You may never get rid of the butterflies, but you can teach them to fly in formation.

[Croc 0]

Are you saying that you fly like a piece of plywood?

Sounds like a future CRWdog to me!

"Here's a good specimen of my own wisdom. Something is so, except when it isn't so."

Charles Fort, commenting on the many contradictions of astronomy

[StinkyPete 0]

SO, little update.

First, thanks everyone for the words and encouragement.

I did three jumps today. My instructors insisted on going out with 2 instructors today and do nothing but PRCP, slow, controlled and smooth on the first jump. That went really well, everything was great!

2nd Jump, one instructor, work PRCP with no one holding the harness, slow controlled and smooth. went pretty good, got wobbly once, stopped and immediately went back to my arch.

3rd jump, Solo exit, 1 instructor. Exit was great, no flipping, came off the hill great and stayed on heading pretty much. We worked on legs legs legs. He was in front of me, would have me track forward to him. He would back slide, we would do it again. It was to help me get my legs working, in unison. It went great as well. Nothing bad, little wobbly at times but never out of control.

all in all, today went great. Still haven't gotten past cat D but as everyone here as assured me, it will come!

I will be back out there tomorrow, 3 more jumps, maybe more? hopefully, we can work legs some more, relax (lol) and get some damn turns in!

[joelgibson 0]

FlyingRhenquest

Maybe all those people telling you to do shit is making it hard to relax.

We all learn differently. When I had an instructor who told me to do stuff, asked me to repeat it, nodded and said, "cool."It was on, I rocked those AFFs. When I had instructors who talked me through the dive flow for an hour and asked me 60 questions on the ride up, i barely passed. You need to know if you're a tell me-then leave me alone learner or overteach the crap out of me learner and cherry pick your instructor, If you EP'd successfully with a cool head, you got the stuff! Keep it up.

SCR 15113
USPA Coach-C
Hellfish 1004

[vincenzo57 0]

Just wondering if you are doing what I was doing. I've just finished my AFF and then had a 4 week gap. When I came back for the first jump my freefall was crap, because I was bouncing. I knew then that I was overcompensating and instead of trying to correct a feet down position I just relaxed into the arch and accepted what was going to happen, and lo and behold it worked. 4 or 5 jumps later my freefall is great, I'm really enjoying it and I'm now very confident. Good Luck