Need help, having doubts.

[guineapiggie101 0]

Currently still stuck on AFF 3, after doing it 8 times (2 of which was done today). First jump of today, I got into a nasty spin which freaked me out and gave my instructors a bit of a worry. First time having a spin and I realized that spins are very scary and very disorienting. My mainside was able to redock on and stop my spin, but I was disoriented and they had to pull for me.

Second jump, I did a lot better. Almost went into a spin but was able to compensate enough to stop it. Great arch and everything, but I forgot to pull and they had to pull for me.

I'm angry at myself and frustrated to all hell. I am not sure what I need to do to make everything "click" in my head so I can remember everything. I have done about 45 minutes of tunnel with 2 excellent instructors. I have jumped with some of the best instructors there is at my DZ.

I know I am more relaxed on my 2nd jump of the day, so I should do more than one jump in one day.

I worry what will happen when I have to fly solo for my licensing dives (after AFF). I am still very dependent on my instructors to guide me in for landings because I hurt my foot about a month ago on a landing and now, when I land, I worry about hurting myself.

Any ideas on how to get over this hump. I am stumped. I guess jumping more than one jump a day might help.

[shah269 0]

Are you near a tunnel? Can you get some tunnel time in?

Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay.

The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

[guineapiggie101 0]

I have done about 45 minutes of tunnel time with 2 of my AFF instructors coming to watch and helping me out. The last time I did tunnel was about 2 weeks ago. My last tunnel time was very good. Was able to stay stable and even do turns.

I am not sure how to make everything "click" together in my head, and it is frustrating me.

[skycamefalling 0]

Try and do a jump with your instructors where it is just a relaxing jump with no dive plan. When they release you, just close your eyes for a few seconds or so. Use that time to relax, feel the air and what your body is doing in freefall. Everything will click soon and you will realize that you were overthinking this whole thing. Smile. And when you are smiling, you will relax. Once you are relaxed, give your instructor the finger to show him you are relaxed and having fun.

Speedracer~I predict that Michael Jackson will rise from the dead.
And that a giant radioactive duck will emerge from the ocean and eat Baltimore.

[catfishhunter 1]

Jump more.... It's the only cure. It will either click or you'll go broke either way your still jumping from a friggin airplane :)

MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT
Life is Short and we never know how long we are going to have. We must live life to the fullest EVERY DAY. Everything we do should have a greater purpose.

[guineapiggie101 0]

this might be an idea. I dunno.

I am spending a lot of money on this already, just to be at AFF 3. It is frustrating. I don't know how to make it all "click" in my brain and fit together like a puzzle.

Once it clicks, it will be a piece of cake. Now to find that "click".

Catfishhunter, I think I need to jump more (like more than one jump in a day), and this whole endeavor is killing my funds a lot quicker than I expected.

But it is soo addicting. Just need to get over my fears.

[skycamefalling 0]

How many times do u go through the dive flow before your jump? What exactly is that you are fearing?

Speedracer~I predict that Michael Jackson will rise from the dead.
And that a giant radioactive duck will emerge from the ocean and eat Baltimore.

[danielcroft 2]

When you put too much pressure on yourself, you're making your job a lot harder. People always say to relax, this is actually an instruction rather than a suggestion. By that I mean that it's a lot harder to fly in any position without being relaxed, both physically and mentally. The other issue is not being in the moment. By that I mean that you're not thinking about the job at hand and in doing so you're kind of sabotaging yourself.

When you're in free fall or landing, it's really important to be there and not worrying about something that could happen or did happen. This skydiving caper is kinda dangerous so you should be afraid but you should try to work out a way to be comfortable with your fear so that you can do the stuff you need to do. It sounds like I'm suggesting it's easy but I know it's not.

I'm sure you posted up to vent a little and that's cool but talking to your instructors should be your first point of call.

[guineapiggie101 0]

I go through the dive flow at least 2-3 times before I jump. We go through it once at the mockup, right before we board the plane. Then we usually go over it at least once while on the plane. My instructors also quiz me on the hand signals while we are going up.

About 2 months ago, I sprained my foot while flaring (flared too early and rolled my foot). Now I am afraid when I land. I depend a lot on radio and always ask my instructors to give me a soft landing. As I come into my descent (aka below 100 ft), I start to panic a bit, worrying that I might roll my foot or something worse. I don't know how to get over that issue (jumping more would probably help).

Also, today when I got into a nasty flat spin, that scared me a lot, and made me worry a bit when going up for my 2nd dive of the day.

[guineapiggie101 0]

Yes, this was a bit of a vent post.

Part of me is also afraid to completely bare all of my worries and anxious concerns, for fear that I might be told to give this up.

I need to get over this hump and make this all "click". Just don't know what the magic "key" is to unlocking that puzzle.

My next step is to try and do more than one dive every time I do jumps.

[danielcroft 2]

You'll probably find that your instructors have heard it all before. We all had fear (well, the really crazy ones didn't!) to overcome when we started out. I had to lie down and take deep breaths before each jump, then I'd repeat my dive flow continuously on the way to altitude. I was my worst critic (still am) and had my instructor tell me to lighten up.

No one is perfect in this game, don't expect too much of yourself, it only makes it harder. Lots of people like to remind students in your predicament that you still made a skydive and that's pretty awesome. Win or fail, you'll still be awesome.

[guineapiggie101 0]

My instructors are always telling me to lighten and up and relax. It's not easy. I usually try to psych myself out and tell myself it will all turn out ok and that I will do well. I was a lot more relaxed on my 2nd dive of the day, and had I pulled, my instructors would have passed me on my AFF 3 (I could kick myself for not pulling).

I love the DZ I jump at, and the people there (instructors and funjumpers) have been very nice and supportive. I just feel like the "moron" for repeating AFF 3 so many times. Although I am learning stuff from each jump I do.

[guineapiggie101 0]

Quote

Lots of people like to remind students in your predicament that you still made a skydive and that's pretty awesome. Win or fail, you'll still be awesome.

This is very true. I have to keep this in mind :)

[davelepka 4]

Quote

my instructors would have passed me on my AFF 3

Ok, so you've pulled before, but I don't think you've ever managed to stop your own spin, or maintain a heading, right?

So this is a victory. Not pulling is a tough one to ignore, but think about it this way - you've got 7 previous tries at AFF 3, spread out over a couple months due to your injury, right? So what happened is that you put your mind to it, figured it out, and flew right. The problem was that you got wrapped up in it and forgot to pull.

I'm going to come right out and say that's a mother of a problem, and thank god for your instructor who got it done for you, but try to look at the upside of your situation. You succeeded in flying straight with no help, and I would even suggest that countering or stoping a turn and then flying straight is harder than just being released to fly straight the whole time. Losing it and getting it back is way harder. Take this success, combine with all the times you succeeded in pulling for yourself, and you're on to AFF 4.

Also, stop telling yourself that 'you' do better on the second jump. It's not just you, it's everyone. There's nothing odd about you, or nothing odd about the first jump that makes it 'bad' for you, the simple fact is that currency is king, and when you make a jump an hour after the last, everyone is going to be more relaxed and do a better job. Making more than one jump a day is universally a good thing, and makes everyone do better. Drop the idea that you and the first jump of the day don't get along, or you'll never have a good first jump.

Overall, you came back after a long layoff, did a warm up jump, then went on to tackle your biggest problem with AFF 3, flying stable without assistance. Yes, you forgot to pull (which we could really just call a loss of altitude awareness., you might have caught on a pulled at 4k or 3k if your instructor had not done it for you). It was a simple mistake, and you just need to go up and correct it.

[danielcroft 2]

Look, it's pretty obvious to me from across the intertubes what's happening and I think you can easily fix it if you allow yourself to make errors and just accept it. Yes it sucks having to pay for another jump but in reality, these are some of the safest, easiest jumps you'll ever do. You have two people there whose job it is to look after you and all you're really trying to remember is to relax and pull. Once you've done that, the same applies for landing, you just need to flare. There are many, many intricacies that you need to fill into the blanks here but that's what learning is all about.

Give yourself a break already. Go up, have fun, relax and enjoy.

[nigel99 143]

If you like jumping then the best thing to do is forget about progression. Not everyone manages to go through AFF at the same rate.

Focus on having fun first and progressing second. Why not discuss doing a couple of jumps with your instructors that is focussed on the part of the jump that you really enjoy so that they are more fun jumps than training.

If money is a real problem then possibly changing over to static line could help. I know people can be very condescending about SL jumps but I really struggled with fear and quite happily did SL jumps because it met my comfort level. Even after I was cleared for freefall I would occasionally do a SL jump to ease my nerves at the start of the day. If canopy control worries you maybe take a break and do a tandem or two...

Finally sometimes it helps to change planes, dz's or instructors. Sometimes we just need the right person to connect with us (absolutely no reflection on the current instructors). I tend to prefer the more military shout at you and kick you out the door type. Also with aircraft a little cessna that takes time to get to altitude might give you time to collect your thoughts for example. Lots of things you can play with and learn as you go.

At the end of the day remember this is a hobby not a job. Only 2 things really count - enjoying yourself and staying safe.

Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

[guineapiggie101 0]

Thanks. Your post points out that I am making small improvements which is something I am very proud of. Baby steps. Gotta keep that in mind. I just get so frustrated at myself because when I talk to other AFF students, it seems everybody else seems to go through the program with none or very few repeats.

Currency is king, I agree.

Besides the cost , I don't plan on giving up yet.

I need to find a way for things to "click" in my brain. Just don't know that "magic switch" to do so.

[GLIDEANGLE 1]

This link is to the student logbook of a jumper who shares multiple world records for skydiving. If she can get beyond her student struggles...so can you.

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

Your description sounds like you are over-thinking skydiving. Use progressive relaxation and visualization to see the jump happen exactly as you wish. Include visualizing that you feel happy and that your body is flying well without you thinking about it. Skydiving is sort of like riding a bike... If you try to think about the process too much... It doesn't work well.

The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

[shah269 0]

I am no expert in this, I just got my A last year but I've been riding motorcycles for about 6 years and have done quite a bit of track time on various bikes so those with thousands of jumps please correct me if I'm wrong.

Belly to earth skydiving is much like riding a bike around a track.
Let's start from the ground. You have done the usual 3 dirt dives.
OK stop, get your gear on and go sit in some place quiet with your eyes closed. Focus on your breath. In slow motion run the sequence in your head, from the door to when you pull. Don't try and "see it" no one's brain is that good when they start. Just go through the muscle memory. Push out, smile, legs bent, smile, circle of awareness, smile, hands about equal distance, smile, touch toes, smile, circle of awareness, smile, practice touch, smile, knees and toes touch and flare and land and so on. Just keep it simple.

OK now you are in the plane, I know some of the tandem guys really have too much fun on the way up. That bothers some people and I know it bothers me. My brain feeds off the anxiety of the tandems and that's not a good thing. So I close my eyes and focus only on my breath and what my plans are. Make it your skydive make it your moment of zen. You are doing something others only dream of and you should be very proud of yourself every step of the way.

The act of breathing and repeating these thoughts in your head sets up a pattern of thoughts in your brain similar to a score of music.
I use the same if I'm taking a friends bike around the track.

As for flat spins. Older guys please verify or disprove accordingly please no pissing matches. I noticed belly to earth flight is very similar to riding a bike. To go left, look left, push left shoulder down. To turn right, look right and push right. So if you are spinning say right push hard with your left shoulder and look left.

It's funny, even pushing your knees hard down even gets you to side slip as if you were on a bike. Though safer due to the lack of the ever popular high side!

And well, enjoy what you are doing. I know you are worried about getting hurt. I know I am. So focus on how you got hurt. You didn't have you knees and toes together on your final just focus on getting your knees and big toes together which will give you that clarity of sight to maybe judge your height a little better.

Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay.

The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

[Squeak 17]

at most you have like 10-15 mins in the sport of skydiving...name another sport where you expect yourself to be GOOD after 15 mins??

Lighten up Francis, breathe out on exit and smile.

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[Ron 7]

1. Don't beat yourself up.... You seem to do this a bunch and it makes everything in your life more difficult. Accept the fact you made a mistake, learn from it, and move on.

2. Try going to the tunnel and then directly to the DZ to do AFF L3.

I'll refrain from giving actual skydiving advice... Since you should not be getting any technical advice from anyone but the instructors that are jumping with you.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[DocPop 1]

It seems to me that your problems are coming from being tense.

You flew fine in the tunnel, right? Could be that was because you had no AFF level to "pass", no need to maintain altitude awareness and no landing to worry about.

You have been hurt - it is perfectly understandable that you would be concerned about it happening again.

I have a suggestion for you to pass by your instructors. How about if, for your next jump, you go out with your instructors and do nothing except try to relax in the wind, keep an eye on your alti and pull at the right time? Your instructors could keep a hold of you and your only "work" would be to relax into the arch, just like you did in the tunnel - and to pull at the correct altitude.

After you land, get packed up and right on the next load to do your level 3.

Just an idea - it might help. See what your instructors think.

Hope that helps.

"The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls."

~ CanuckInUSA

[shah269 0]

DocPop
+1!
That's how I got back in the air after I came back from my accient!

Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay.

The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

[Fast 0]

Quote

1. Don't beat yourself up.... You seem to do this a bunch and it make everything in your life more difficult. Accept the fact you made a mistake, learn from it, and move on.

2. Try going to the tunnel and then directly to the DZ to do AFF L3.

I'll refrain from giving actual skydiving advice... Since you should not be getting any technical advice from anyone but the instructors that are jumping with you.

All of these are very good ideas and great advice!

~D
Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me.
Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

[DSE 3]

Quote

1. Don't beat yourself up.... You seem to do this a bunch and it makes everything in your life more difficult. Accept the fact you made a mistake, learn from it, and move on.

2. Try going to the tunnel and then directly to the DZ to do AFF L3.

I'll refrain from giving actual skydiving advice... Since you should not be getting any technical advice from anyone but the instructors that are jumping with you.

I'm glad someone said it. Guineapiggie....everyone means well here, but they aren't familiar with your specifics. Air time and confidence will settle this out for you.Have you been practicing yoga breathing?
We do want to see you succeed and move on to the next levels, and we're there to do whatever we can do to facilitate that growth.