How good were you as a newbie

[kallend 1,623]

Freefall - pretty damn awful until someone suggested I should wear 12 pounds of lead. Then OK.

Above average canopy flying (probably being an experienced glider pilot helped here).

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[fastphil 0]

I was a natural, although initially I may have not realized this, and really didn't know what the sport was about...

[Andrewwhyte 1]

I was just short of awesome as a student. This advantage had completely disappeared by the time I had 50 jumps. It is something I always tell my students when they struggle. How you do on your first ten or twenty jumps is rarely an indicator of how good you will be in one hundred jumps.

[mr2mk1g 10]

As a student - no idea. First time I saw someone in freefall was my qualification dive. Couple of jumps I even got down and spoke with DZ control (who were supposed to be watching my track turns or whatnot through telemeters) to ask how I did and whether I passed the level to have them stand and look at me like it was the first time they'd ever seen me before self preservation clicked in and they said "um er... there was cloud - couldn't see you". Yeah right you arsehole you didn't even remember to watch.

[dragon2 0]

I was pretty damn awesome!!!

I only spent like 13 jumps on a static-line.
I had 3 jumpsuits, so I could generally do 3 jumps without having to wash every suit.
I managed to funnel my first 4way at 100 jumps, which aside from me consisted of 3 instructors with a gazillion jumps, so I'm pretty proud of that one

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[adamUK 3]

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To add insut to injury... I wore spectacles which are best described as "birth control glasses". Hmmmm come to think of it, I wear different specs now... but they are BCGs too!

You too? They've only just got contact lenses in my strength (which I now wear for jumping). My glasses were very effective contraceptives. As for fogging up in the plane ride on the way up... jeez. Took 5-6k for them to clear in freefall

[grimmie 173]

I was pretty good at freefall, so so at canopy skills my first 99 jumps. On jump 100 I did a 36 point 4 way, I was so awesome! Well, the other 3 were Dan BC, James Layne and Troy Widgery! Nothing like just having to pick up grips as those guys flew around me
Now after thousands of jumps, I am a newbie all over again trying to freefly. I look like a Semi Truck amongst Corvettes, but I enjoy learning to fly all over again.
In skydiving we are always newbies. There's always something new to learn. When we think we know it all, trouble usually ensues.

[FlyingRhenquest 1]

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To add insut to injury... I wore spectacles which are best described as "birth control glasses". Hmmmm come to think of it, I wear different specs now... but they are BCGs too!

You too? They've only just got contact lenses in my strength (which I now wear for jumping). My glasses were very effective contraceptives. As for fogging up in the plane ride on the way up... jeez. Took 5-6k for them to clear in freefall

I did the lasik thing back in 2004, best 4 grand I ever spent. Some number of folks can't get it because of their pupil size in the dark. You want to make sure you get some guys with an eyeball-tracking laser, make sure they know what they're doing (Including measuring your pupils in the dark to insure your night vision won't be borked,) and spring for the custom correction that has the potential to render your vision better than perfect (I got 20/20 in one eye and 20/15 in the other.)

Driving back to the exam the next day without corrective lenses of any sort after 20 years of wearing glasses and never having driven a car without them felt... weird.

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

[Namowal 0]

Generally below average, but nobody's shown me the bowling ball yet...

My blog with the skydiving duck cartoons.

[Croc 0]

Generally below average--still! But way above average in enjoyment of this great sport. I was not athletic as a young man, so it is nuts to think I will become suddenly become well co-ordinated as an old man. But I am still making progress, and still look up every time the sky is blue.

"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

[ufk22 32]

Better than average, never repeated a student jump, but when I actually look back at my old log book, "not as good as I thought I was".

This is the paradox of skydiving. We do something very dangerous, expose ourselves to a totally unnecesary risk, and then spend our time trying to make it safer.

[iambeav2 0]

Fucking awesome!! Isn't this the response that EVERYONE should have...lol. It's like brewing your own beer...when you first start out, it tastes like shit to everyone else, but since you made it and you're proud, you lie to yourself.

...it's not the fact that you don't appreciate what you have until it's gone...it's the fact that you don't appreciate what you have until someone appreciates it for you!

[NWFlyer 2]

Sucked at pretty much everything except altitude awareness, heading control (I wasn't a spinner) and perseverance.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[LookUpHigh 0]

I was awesome at one thing, good at another, and sucked at something else. So i'll consider myself average. But the only important thing to me is I have fun, whether i'm learning, practicing or rocking a jump. Thats all that matters to me. Good or bad I jump because I love it.

[BrettTaylor 0]

Well I got my FS1 on 26 jumps so above average I'd say....

However looking back at some of my videos from jumps 1-25 there may be some room for improvement!

[JohnMitchell 14]

I was young and in really good shape and tried really hard, but I battled the spins like many static line students did. I was certainly not a natural at learning RW, but I always had good altitude awareness.

Put me down for barely average, but in good enough shape to handle it.

[popsjumper 2]

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I have no memory of anything between jumping off the step and having an open canopy.

Funny you should mention that. My brain woke up oh, about 15 ft off the ground....just in time to think, "PLF, Bitch!"

-Generally below average, but didn't suck-
Well, like most people, I'm giving myself more credit than what is due. Other than having a right-hand spin that went on seemingly forever and not making a formation in like forever, I WAS PRETTY DAMN GOOD!

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

[antibac 0]

My canopy flying was terrible, could almost never land where I was supposed to. Also had problems landing the canopy properly.

My freefall skills have always been pretty good, though I was kind of tense on my first 10 jumps.

[skyjumpenfool 2]

I don't wanna brag, but, what I lacked in Mad Skillz I made up for with bullshit attitude. Or, stated another way, I wasn't as good as I told everyone I was. But as far as you can prove, I was hot shit SkyGod great.
... some things never change?

Birdshit & Fools Productions

"Son, only two things fall from the sky."

[jonstark 8]

Initially I was scared shitless and had a tough time getting through the static line progression. Not terrible but a few extra hop&pops then a few more 5 second delays. Feeling stability on 10 second delays as I approached terminal velocity was a watershed event and my progress improved.

After 30 jumps and a year of hanging around EVERY weekend, good weather AND bad, I was regarded as a fairly safe student. They even allowed me to jump a PC at 50 jumps without the requisite 100 jumps. Nearly unheard of. At around 100 jumps I even got to jump a ropes and rings Strato Star. By then I had my senior riggers ticket and had had a couple saves to my credit.

Left Beaver Valley, moved south and started going to Deland once a month. There I was regarded as an up and coming prospect and taken under the collective wings of a great community of jumpers. Funny what self confidence, great friends and examples, and a willingness to do as instructed can do for an average guy like me. A Cinderella story really.

jon

[Quagmirian 40]

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At around 100 jumps I even got to jump a ropes and rings Strato Star.

Get a load of this guy, he thinks he can jump a bloody STRATO STAR with full ropes and rings at 100 JUMPS! Seriously get back on your C-9 you're going to kill yourself. Hell what can I say I bet you'll be jumping a Swift with a slider next!

[Tacpro 0]

This is my first full season in the sport, I started in mid September of last year completing only 11 skydives. So the beginning of this season was like starting all over again, sorta. Last year, during AFF I had a few issues like kicking in free fall and exiting stable.

This year I performed my recurrence jump without issue a few 360's and front flips. About two hours later, jump #13, I had my first cutaway! I pulled unstable and had line twist all the way up! So it was only uphill from that experience, unless I killed myself.......

Anyway, I did my fair share of funneling and falling out or flying by a group trying to dock. It was frustrating, RW started to bore me as I sucked, so my mind started to drift to free flying. Some of the best advice I received was to stick to flat flying with the notion of becoming really proficient at one style. I've participated on over 200 RW jumps, anywhere from 2way to 12ways! Reflecting on this I'm glad I listened, I've jumped with many 100 jump wonders who attempt a little of this a little of that and suck at it all.

Jumping with experienced jumpers in 2ways, going to 4way camps, and working with organizers on bigger ways really progressed my learning curve. Jumping frequently, 3-4 times a week, really helped in cementing what I learned. It helped living 12 miles from a turbine DZ. That allowed for some weekday action and I headed to a larger DZ on the weekends to jump bigger ways.

Although I don't have a coach rating yet I enjoy jumping with low jumper # skydivers. Because I'm new I still remember some of the new jumper apprehensions and issues. I feel it makes me a better skydiver, because I have to work harder when I jump with someone with lesser experience.

Retrospectively, I should have done some tunnel before this season, I feel that would have helped me earlier this season. Also, due to scheduling issues I missed both a Brian Germain and Jimmy T canopy course opportunity early this year. I've landed off 4 times this year, I consider two my direct fault and two due to spotting, but regardless of the reason I feel I would have had a better chance of getting back to DZ if I had been taught better piloting skills early on. I will say landing off has built my confidence as I've had to put it down in small fields or backyard 3 of the 4 times, unharmed and on my feet

I have jumped almost 250 times this season, earned my C, and now I find myself cautioning the FNG's on downsizing too quickly, I'm still at 1.1 and cool with it! I try to pass on the advice about becoming a good belly flyer first, as I feel that was the most crucial piece of advice that brought me to proficiency I'm at today

[ufk22 32]

Terrific take on things.
This should be required reading for newbs.

This is the paradox of skydiving. We do something very dangerous, expose ourselves to a totally unnecesary risk, and then spend our time trying to make it safer.

[jumpwally 0]

Some one forget their tea and crumpets ?

smile, be nice, enjoy life
FB # - 1083

[SammieJane 0]

That's how i find myself here :-) very useful. Think i am over thinking it all somehow though.