First AFF failed really bad! need imput!

[elgue 0]

I had my first AFF jump today and I failed.

I exit the plane nice ( I remember that) but then my mind went blank. I was not there. I kind a remembe checking for the altimeter and my brain would not process the information. Actually in the pics they took I appeard most of the time looking to the dame altimeter, I was staring to it but I could see no freaking numbers (I was not there). Of course I failed to pratice reaching the pilot chut aswell.

Well Anyway when I kind a came back into sense I was already at 5500 and I remember at that moment that I have to pull the pilot chute, well when I tried to reach I COULD NOT FIND IT. Thanks God my jump master did his job and deployed the thing for me.

I enjoyed my chute ride. But I can not say the same of the freefall, of course cuz my brain was shut down.

Does anyone from this forum did go through and mind blank thing in their first jumps and was able to overcome the issue? Or should I just stop jumping.

[virgin-burner 1]

i'd say it's pretty common; cant remember my first jump at all, altough, i was told i did everything right. on jump #2 and #3 i was just really scared..

i got a couple more jumps now. it's all gonna be good!

“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

[Hellis 0]

How can you fail really bad and still survive?
Keep smiling and you will do better on the next jump

[muz 1]

Cheer up! It's pretty normal to stuff up jump #1. We're earth-bound creatures after all. Savour the accomplishment of your first jump, and seek advice from your instructors for the next one!
The net may not be the best place to debrief your FJ :-)

[dragon2 0]

I did staticline not AFF. For the first 3 jumps I could remember being in the plane and ... then I was looking up at a nice big canopy. Did I jump out myself? Did I get thrown out by my instructor? Who knows, I sure don't So yeah, it's called sensory overload and I got it bad. After those 3 SL jumps I did a tandemjump (a jump-in at a party, couldn't do that by myself yet at the time of course) and again I "woke up" a few seconds after exit. After those 4 jumps, all in one day, the sensory overload went away and the tandemride the next morning back to the DZ and the subsequent SL and freefall jumps I was aware for the exit too.

I gather you talked with your instructors about your experience? And gather they've seen this before... If I were you I'd give it another go

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[popsjumper 2]

I call it "deer in the headlights".


You'd be surprised how often that happens on Level 1.
Even with top-notch ground training it happens.
You're not the first and you're not going to be the last.

You're stepping out into an environment that you've never experienced before. You have responsibilities that you've never had before. It's not that uncommon for the brain to lock up in such a situation.

Your sphere of awareness will widen as you progress.

Your post sounds as if you are worried about your performance....no need. You'll get over it, I'm sure.

Funny thing...that's one of the reasons why we push tandem video so much. People tend to remember very little about the skydive....the video fills in the blanks. Did you get video of your AFF jump?

Believe me, if you continue on, you'll look back at that first jump with fond memories and a laughing punch at yourself.

Like the Dragon, I did SL and here's what I remember of my first jump.
1) Standing in line, getting hooked up on a DC3.
2) Stepping out the door
3) The ground from about 15 feet.
4) Picking up my stuff and seeing my brother standing by the pea pit.

...and that's it.

Anyway, congrats on making your first skydive and joining us in the sky.

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

[jimmytavino 16]

was it your ABSOLUTELY first jump???
or had you done a tandem jump previously??


If you'd never been out of a plane before this,,,, then you have learned that sometimes
temporal distortion / sensory overload can get the better of you...

There is LOTS to do , on the type of jump that you accomplished....

and that is WHY, a capable skydiver ( or two,) goes along with you.

Tandem = hang on, and then enjoy
Static Line = Let go, and then enjoy

but AFF Jumps = exit and THEN start thinking.....

it's not easy...so do not beat yourself up..
Rather than saying " I failed really bad"
try saying " I failed Really GOOD"
... it's all about attitude.
what sort of plane did you jump from...??

imho a cessna AFF jump # 1, is more intense than exiting from a larger door aircraft....
Climbout alone, from a 182 or a 180 requires lots of guts, and effort....

anyway. do your best on each jump, Progress as much as you can, each time and

"expend great effort , to stay relaxed...!!! "
hahaha now there's a sig line for ya'....

jmytavino
A 3914
D 12122

[tdog 0]

If you really want to jump again (I bet you do) - then go back to the dropzone and JUMP!

You will do much better the 2nd time.

Here is the deal. I have taught many first timers in first jump courses and then taken them on their first jump. EVERY TIME, the people who overthink it - always do poorly.... The people who say, "lets go have fun, F### YA!" - seem to do great... So just relax and have fun! Part of over thinking it is posting a bunch of threads on Dropzone.com and thinking all week about the responses and letting the energy build up to tension... So, today is Saturday, go to the DZ and jump!

[gzimmermann 0]

[reply
Your sphere of awareness will widen as you progress.

Not so long ago for me, only 7 months. It was not so bad but I can still remember the "growing sphere of awareness" jump by jump until level 7. It is important that you were capable of your sensing and actions when under canopy. My coaches recommended to me strongly from jumps 2-5 to focus on "RELAXING". It became much better. I suggest you relax and rely on your coach(es) for the next levels. After all you are paying them to make sure you are safe to pull. Bottom line for me: The AFF and subsequent jumps made me feel my limits like never before in life. And that's why I love this sport so much, still. The sky is open and so are the limits you can achieve with skydiving. Have fun and thanks for admitting!

[fencebuster 7]

It happens sometimes . . . sensory overload plus stress and your mind can't process all that stuff at one time. Practice, practice, practice the dive flow. Now that you have been out the door once, you know what it is like and your next effort will be much better.

Charlie Gittins, 540-327-2208
AFF-I, Sigma TI, IAD-I
MEI, CFI-I, Senior Rigger
Former DZO, Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures

[wolfriverjoe 1,340]

Quote

It happens sometimes . . . sensory overload plus stress and your mind can't process all that stuff at one time. Practice, practice, practice the dive flow. Now that you have been out the door once, you know what it is like and your next effort will be much better.

This is why a lot of places reccommend a tandem before doing AFF. It isn't just to make money, it's to get the "Holy Fuck I Just Jumped Out Of An Airplane And Am Now Plummeting Toward The Ground" thing out of the way under more controlled circumstances.

I have seen tandem students (one jump wonders) complain that the freefall only lasted a few seconds and they didn't see the video guy at all - and then watch in wonder at the video as they look around, wave at the camera and even dock on the camera flyer. All the time saying "I don't remember any of this". Sometimes they remember later, sometimes not.

Next time should be better, and it will improve more as you go on.

Your instructors should have covered this. The FJC at my DZ includes a (brief) discussion of sensory overload and that it's not unusual.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[pinkfairy 0]

Quote

I enjoyed my chute ride.

Hey you didn't fail the canopy part! You even enjoyed it! A jump with good freefall isn't such a good jump after all if you end up in a tree.



Everybody here will tell you to talk to your instructor who has seen you jump. We can't really say anything. Has your instructor told you you should quit?

Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet.

I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you?

[DSE 3]

If you're undamaged, there is no "fail." You may not have satisfied every goal with 100% success, but you exited, managed freefall with some assistance, and you landed without incident or injury.
Very few people do everything perfectly or even very well in their first experience.
Focus on the successes of the jump and build the success of the next one based on the successes of the first one.

[Hooknswoop 19]

Go to a wind tunnel.

Derek V

[KermieCorleone 0]

the first thing my AFFI told me on my debrief was, "tell me what you think happened and then I'll tell you what actually happened" ... I did pretty well passed my lvl 1 and aced it but there were still some pretty big gaps in my recollection of what happened ... your level of perception will increase with more jumps ...

- Neil

Never make assumptions! That harmless rectangle could be two triangles having sex ...

[cloudclimr 0]

I remember my first tandem and it truly was a "holy fuck" experience. I wished the hell I did a video because I still can't remember the moment I left the plane until I landed. It had an inspiring effect on my senses.
I'm glad you brought this up. I'm starting the AFF course this Spring. I already spoke to the dzo about doing several more tandems first just to help widen the sphere of awareness and get that "inspiring effect" aside and also so I have a better shot of doing well through the course. I'm one of those people that have to know the people well and the routines in order to be comfortable especially when it comes to this sort of sport.
I wouldn't be beating myself up over the experience. Be proud of what you accomplished and for being honest about how it went.
Good Luck with the rest of your training

[GLIDEANGLE 1]

If you walked into the hanger after your jump, it was a good jump. noy every AFF level 1 student can say that. Students can do very bad things under canopy, you didn't do those deadly things… congratulations!

Smile, Breathe, Relax!

Welcome to the sky!

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

[jackwallace 3]

When you walk away from a landing the only thing you failed is not getting someone else to pay for your dives. If it was fun do it again. Just keep smilin'

U only make 2 jumps: the first one for some weird reason and the last one that you lived through. The rest are just filler.
scr 316

[danielcroft 2]

I didn't get to skydive today so you're one up on me.

[johnmatrix 21]

I did a similar thing on my first jump. I was concentrating so hard on getting my exit count right and not freaking out that I forgot to arch before the sensory overload hit.
When I realised that all I could see was blue I snapped out of it, arched (JMs re-attached), completed the bits and pieces, got down safely and passed.

Not finding the pilot chute I think is pretty normal for a first practise pull in the air, but you didn't get that far due to being owned - thus you not finding it at pull time.

But hey - sounds like you had a stable freefall and altitude awareness at pull time, so it's not all bad.

I agree with everyone above. Try again!

[StangMan90 0]

On my Cat A jump the radio was on the wrong channel and I ended up landing without any radio assistance. But it didn't bother me because of the care my instructors took to train me, put me at ease, which in turn helped me with relaxing and breathing, which kept me in the moment.

For me, relaxing has been the most important student tool to have and the hardest to remember. I'm pretty sure that a lot of experienced skydivers would tell you something similar because the words "just relax" have been used more in this setting than any other learning situation I have experienced.

BTW, even with all that relaxing, I had to do Cat. C three times, not because I failed, but because I was told post-jump that there were a couple of things that needed improving. That teaching philosophy helps keep me from being too hard on myself when I think I haven't performed as well as I should. Don't beat yourself up. You are most likely doing better than you think (that's how it's been for me, anyway). In addition, I've been told that any skydive you can walk away from unharmed and without hurting anyone else is a good one (makes sense to me).

Now, let's both just get through AFF without getting broken. Then our instructors will be happy and so will we. Blue skies!

Joe

simplify

[popsjumper 2]

Quote

...there is no "fail." You may not have satisfied every goal with 100% success, but you exited, managed freefall with some assistance, and you landed without incident or injury.
Very few people do everything perfectly or even very well in their first experience.
Focus on the successes of the jump and build the success of the next one based on the successes of the first one.

Thanks DSE. THIS is one of my pet peeves...Instructors who tell students PASS or FAIL.

In my perfect little skydiving world those two words would not exist and DSE points out exactly why.

Students aren't taking a test...they are trying to learn skill sets. Some learn it in 1 jump, some take more.
Just that simple.

You instructors would serve your students well by embracing the idea that they are LEARNING! They are learning by DOING. They are doing better with PRACTICE.

You hardliners who are going to say SIUCC and say "tell it like it is" are missing the point entirely. This is not a wishy-washy, don't-hurt-little-Johnny's-feelings issue. This is an approach that focuses on success, not failure.

OK...my blood pressure is going back down now.
Cheers!

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

[DesertDevil 0]

Quote

I had my first AFF jump today and I failed.

I exit the plane nice ( I remember that) but then my mind went blank. I was not there. I kind a remembe checking for the altimeter and my brain would not process the information. Actually in the pics they took I appeard most of the time looking to the dame altimeter, I was staring to it but I could see no freaking numbers (I was not there). Of course I failed to pratice reaching the pilot chut aswell.

Well Anyway when I kind a came back into sense I was already at 5500 and I remember at that moment that I have to pull the pilot chute, well when I tried to reach I COULD NOT FIND IT. Thanks God my jump master did his job and deployed the thing for me.

I enjoyed my chute ride. But I can not say the same of the freefall, of course cuz my brain was shut down.

Does anyone from this forum did go through and mind blank thing in their first jumps and was able to overcome the issue? Or should I just stop jumping.

The people in this pictue did an awesome job on their first AFF. These pictures were their graduate jump. My advice is to talk to your instructor to get more ground school. If you feel like he or she isn't helping enough, you can always ask for another instructor. You may get inconsistent/false information on dz.com.

[JohnMitchell 14]

Hey, how was your body position? How was your exit count? Seriously, I want to know, because those two things are huge in my book. I've had folks blank out before, but if your count and body position were good, we can keep the skydive safe. If you curl in the fetal position and tumble us, things can get sporty. So if you had a good body position, congratulate yourself.

Now, practice the dive flow over and over, standing up, lying down, whatever works. Make it a part of your subconscious. Mentally relive that first freefall, remembering the wind and noise and sights. Get your brain used to it. Now visualize all those sights and sounds and feelings and visualize yourself completing the dive flow, reading the altimeter and pulling at the proper altitude. The best skydivers in this sport swear by mental rehearsal and visualization. It's the best way to turn in a peak performance. Good luck.

[christelsabine 1]

Quote

I had my first AFF jump today and I failed.
....
Does anyone from this forum did go through and mind blank thing in their first jumps and was able to overcome the issue? Or should I just stop jumping.

Yep. Several times. I do not even remember my very first jumps. My first instructor sent me back home with the friendly advise to *look for something closer to earth*

As stubborn as I was, I just changed the DZ, et voilà: It worked. I very much enjoyed the surprise in my former instructor's face when meeting him somewhere in a foreign country doing my 100th jump from a heli.

If you want to jump and feel addicted, go on. But, it's not only a question of beeing addicted, it's a money question, too. Repeating jumps is costly

Good luck

dudeist skydiver # 3105