S/L to Freefall Status - Some Lessons Learned

[Gato 0]

In October of last year, I passed my Clear & Pull jump. A week later I did two 5 second delay jumps, which went pretty well. Enter midwestern winter, and I did not return to jump until May 18th of this year.

Got my refresher training, and recurrency jumps (1 PRCP, 1 C&P) and was cleared to return to my progression - 10 second delays.

(My exit weight is around 235, and I'm under a PD300 9-cell for all of these jumps.)

This last weekend, I met terminal velocity for the first time. I'm not even going to try and describe the experience, the one AFF and tandem babies have right from the moment they enter the sport. All I can say is that skydiving just became much more personal to me. And a whole lot more fun.

Briefly, here's how the weekend went:

First 10 s/d: I completely chipped with 3 complete revolutions - lost my altitude awareness, and pulled low. Too low for comfort, and for passing marks. Stand up landing.

Second 10 s/d: Much better, actually saw my instructor as I deployed, falling away from me. Opening shock was a bit more comfortable, but still a bit brutal. Stood up my first solo flare!! Passing marks, and I have to do one more. I'm exhausted from the heat and the adrenaline, so home I go.

Sunday, I return to the DZ for the third 10 s/d. This one was fantastic! No chipping, I stayed stable and on-heading, and pulled exactly at my assigned altitude, 3500' AGL. Great time playing with the canopy, doing flat turns from different brake positions, and a couple of turn-reversals. No radio assistance on this jump, and a great stand up landing. I'm now cleared for 20 second delays!!!

A few hours later, it's still hot as hell, and I gear up to go. We go over a new exit plan - I'm hanging, with my instructor, Gary, on the step, and Scott in the door. I give the nod, and Gary moves back, forward, Back/GO!!! I chipped a bit on this one, and thought I pulled at the assigned altitude, 4000'. Completely boned myself on the landing pattern - I forgot the rules about the wind, and couldn't see the direction the sock was facing, resulting in a downwind, buttsliding landing about 50 feet from a truck parked near the bonfire pit. FUCK!!

This will probably be the last entry in terms of my progression in the sport - I'm too busy trying to sort it all out in my head, and although I REALLY enjoy the feedback I get from all of you, I don't know that I want to take it so public anymore. I will, however, share what I took away from this weekend, in the interest of my fellow noobs and their survival/success in skydiving:

- There is a reason we are taught to pick a suitable landing target BEFORE WE ENTER THE PLANE. I hate to admit it, but my decision to make a downwind landing wasn't based on a coherent choice - it was all I had left! I was too low to turn crosswind or upwind, and the fact that I didn't knock the absolute shit out of myself on a GMC is purely luck. I will never, let me say again - NEVER leave the ground without knowing my pattern, and what the winds are doing. Don't get me wrong - I'm glad it happened, so I can learn from it, and I was suitably debriefed on why I cannot let that happen again.

- If you are a big boy (I'm not really fat, by the way) you will fall out of the sky like a fucking brick - and thus you will pass through 1000 feet faster than others. A simple 2 second distraction costs me about 500 feet, I'll bet, and that's enough to ruin my fucking day.

Want to know my favorite new phrase? ALTITUDE AWARENESS, MOTHERFUCKER!!!!!!

- If you are a noob in this sport, don't rush yourself into any decisions, circumstances, or beliefs about anything, or any one. That last one is VERY important - there are people in this sport who will brush you off like a gnat if you have an attitude. Those same people will love you, and put their faith in you and your abilities - IF you are humble, willing to listen, and willing to face some of your faults head-on. These are the people I want in my corner looking out for me, and I love them.

That's about it, for now. I'm still processing all the details, and I may never finish. I'm simply awestruck by everything I went through these past few days, and learning so much about myself.

I feel as if I'm peeling off paper-thin layers of dumbass, one at a time, every time I jump, and it feels damn good. Scary, but damn good.

Blue Skies to All of You,

Chris

(Edited to fix a dumbass mistake.)

T.I.N.S.

[shropshire 0]

Chris, First off well done. This is exactly why I like s/l progression; the rewarding smile you get when you first hit fall.

Enjoy your jumping from now on as much as you clearly have so far.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[Baksteen 84]

Great job on the first, mate
Don't worry about the openings - I used to think I got slammed too during my first freefall jumps, but I've come to realise this is simply the difference btween the deceleration of a subterminal opening and a terminal one.
You get used to it. Trust me.

"That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport."
~mom

[freeflyimpaired 0]

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This last weekend, I met terminal velocity for the first time. I'm not even going to try and describe the experience, the one AFF and tandem babies have right from the moment they enter the sport. All I can say is that skydiving just became much more personal to me. And a whole lot more fun.

Congratulations. I was a dope rope baby myself a couple of hours north of you in Nebraska. My first 10 second delay was a major turning point for me as well. I would probably fail to acurately describe what it was in me that changed in those 10 seconds but 10 years later I can still remember that jump and I still get that eerie rush back in my blood when I think about it. Stick with it man, the jumps will only continue to get better.

"Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so."

[airtwardo 6]

I feel as if I'm peeling off paper-thin layers of dumbass, one at a time, every time I jump, and it feels damn good.

Scary, but damn good.

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Good on YOU!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[Gato 0]

T.I.N.S.

[brucet7 0]

"- There is a reason we are taught to pick a suitable landing target BEFORE WE ENTER THE PLANE."

On one of my post AFF jumps I ended up across the taxiway in a flowerbed, between two little trees. I went home, downloaded an picture of the landing zone got a plastic protector and some dry erase markers. I look at the winds, watch the jumpers ahead of me, put an arrow showing wind direction on the map and draw a left and right turn landing. I have been close to target almost every time since then.

I also mark the line of flight on the picture so I can have a reference to track perpendicular to it. Maybe someday I won't need it, but not to that point yet.

POPS #10623; SOS #1672

[Gato 0]

Good idea. We have a permanent photo on the wall of the main packing area, complete with dry-erase markers, but I think I'd like to have my own version, as well.

Thanks, brucet7 - I'll be printing off a picture from Google Earth as soon as possible.

Later -

T.I.N.S.

[Jeth 0]

Chris,

Congrats on your first freefall! I was one of those "tandem babies" and I doubt I would've ever taken up the sport if I didn't get to freefall right away.

Now let me second what others have said about it just getting better. You probably wouldn't believe it if I told you all the dumbass things I have done since I started. But ya know what? I have learned from every one of my mistakes, and every time I jump I make fewer and fewer of them. Me improving my skills and becoming a better skydiver and canopy pilot is a big motivation and sense of accomplishment that I get from the sport.

Nobody is perfect. Everybody makes mistakes. But if you continue to try to learn from them (and don't beat yourself up completely when you make one), you will continue to get incredible joy and satisfaction out of this sport.

Good luck and blue skies

Beth

"At 13,000 feet nothing else matters."
PFRX!!!!!
Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109
My Jump Site

[plummeteer 0]

Good job "Chill". The rest of us would like you to start picking up those thin layers of dumbass, seems we either slip on them or they stick to us

Edo
Concumbui
Aethrae Cernuare

[billstap 0]

i would like to briefly describe to you my first terminal jump, as i too did S/L progression...

i would say it was a cross between the butterfly, backstroke and breastroke all in one "fluid" movement

it was special.....or was I.....i was wearing a helmet....i was wearing a rig that kind of resembled a straight jacket.....yes yes i was def special woo hooo

[daremrc 0]

Good stuff, cat! Glad to hear you're back in the sky. I did the same backloops as you on my first 10 second delay back after a layoff too... It's one thing to think arch, and another to do it
Way to admit to & learn from your mistakes, It's the people that refrain from calling themselves out and/or make excuses that are the scary ones.

Good judgement comes from experience, and most of that comes from bad judgement.

[Gato 0]

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I did the same backloops as you on my first 10 second delay back after a layoff too... It's one thing to think arch, and another to do it

WOW! Backloops?

I didn't actually have any backloops - the revolutions were on my belly - when I said I "chipped," I was referring to "potato chipping" - which I'm sure was from being too stiff and non-relaxed.

A backloop on a 10 second delay sounds pretty scary.

Thanks for the vote of confidence - admitting and correcting mistakes is how one improves anything. I taught myself that lesson as a musician, that unless you acknowledge where you are and accept it, it's almost impossible to grow into who you want to be.

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TO MY GOOD FRIEND, PLUMMETEER -

Thanks so much, Mark - I hope I get to jump with you again, soon.

And I can't help you and everyone else with layers of dumbass you may accumulate - I've been assuming all this time you all were dumbass repellant. Aren't most jumpers?

T.I.N.S.

[plummeteer 0]

I think I may have reversed the repellancy field for them many years ago. Now that I think about it, many of those people aren't around there anymore, maybe I repelled them elsewhere and attracted my own kind?

Edo
Concumbui
Aethrae Cernuare