Cre8dCute 0 #1 February 12, 2005 I have completed my AFF and have a few solos completed. I still botch my exits; however, I think this is due to fear. I know it is not a normal thing to jump out of a perfectly good airplane, but I want to do this. I feel so awesome once I am out of the plane and it is just an awesome experience each and every time. I just purchased my own gear and all; however, I need some tips to get this fear thing out of my system. On the ride up to alti I get so nervous and often times doubt even getting out of the plane, but I make myself go out. Does everyone go through this and will it ever be a natural event to actually exit the plane? I just would like to have an awesome exit on my next jump if the weather is warmer in march!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chutem 0 #2 February 12, 2005 Gets better as you go, although I admit it still starts getting to me sometimes. I almost see it as part of the fun. Visuallising the dive on the way up seems to help some. James Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bch7773 0 #3 February 13, 2005 it took me nearly 50 jumps to get rid of the door fear. MB 3528, RB 1182 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bodypilot1 0 #4 February 13, 2005 Getting over the butterflies takes some time, but the simple answer to getting over your fear is KNOW YOUR GEAR, and trust yourself that you know how to use it. Be safe Edwww.WestCoastWingsuits.com www.PrecisionSkydiving.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firstime 0 #5 February 13, 2005 Yup, door fear is real, it keeps me on top of my game, it makes me put my entire skydive into perfect perspective. As for the exits, I tumbled my first 30 jumps until Kip Lohmiller said" what's written on the bottom of the plane"??? In one jump my CONFIDENCE level went from 0 to 100%. Sometimes it takes one little minor thing that an instructor says to ring that bell. Hang in there brother because it gets better & better as your confidence level goes up. More important is that I have and will continue to have the UTMOST respect for a sport that gives me a tremendous amount of fun, but can send me home with one stupid mistake. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
op5e 0 #6 February 13, 2005 I had door fear up till I started doing dive exits and finished my instructor lessons. Mind you after 27 jumps I would still argue its there just not as strong. Minimising the things that I was worried about meant I could just enjoy the dive and I wanted to get on and do it. I think I will get door fear again when I jump after 5 months off, but if I was not scared I think I would quit. There are heaps of threads on door fear like the one below. As mentioned about think of what you are scared about then talk to someone about it. If it is gear, try to understand it more etc.. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1338164 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tdog 0 #7 February 13, 2005 QuoteI need some tips to get this fear thing out of my system My favorite place in the plane is right next to the door on the ride up (unless it is cold). I love being the first to open the door and put my head out for 30 seconds. If I could, I would sit in the door with my feet dangling out for the entire ride up… It is a fun place for me… I am kind of like the dog that likes putting his head out the car window. For anyone new to the sport with a (negative) fear of the door – I would advocate being close to it on the ride up and just looking out it and enjoying the view – as the simple act of operating the door and being near it makes it more familiar. This is how I very quickly went from door fear to door respect. (If you don’t respect the door, you better pick up bowling.) And, yes, I was scared to death of the door – this was something I overcame like most other skydivers had to. I overcame it with the confidence that I could save my own life once I fell out of it, even if I fell out prematurely -- combined with operating it and sitting next to it -- knowing what to expect. Botching exits… I still “botch” some… Ok, I “botch a lot”… It has nothing to do with door fear – because I love the door and have lost all negative fear of it… For me, it has to do with the fact I am not 100% concentrating on flying the exit, instead I am concentrating on separation and knowing where I am when I leave and where the person before me left (the spot)… When I stop for a millisecond after my brain says, “it is ok to jump now” and think, “this is how I want to fly this exit” – I nail it. When I don’t take that millisecond and just jump, who knows what I will do… Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cre8dCute 0 #8 February 14, 2005 Thanks for all the comments. I actually refused to go out on my 6th jump and rode the plane down. I just remember this oh so paranoid worse than usual feeling, so I didn't jump. I was so upset with myself that I went back the very next day and did 2 jumps. It is just reassuring to hear that it does pass and that perhaps a little more familiarization with the gear may help. I will do this and also review my emergency procedures before my next jump. I have to say that the door is not the place for me yet. I am terrified of spotting!! It actually makes me more nervous when they make me practice spotting. :-) I appreciate everyone's input! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tustinr 1 #9 February 14, 2005 Don't be too hard on yourself - it improves with time and experience. Like everything the more you do it the easier it becomes. Good on you for going back the day after and doing 2 jumps. Try visualisation on the ride up - and take deep slow breaths while doing so - visualise the door opening , the climbout the exit, the fear. Control it in your mind and half the battle is won. And practice your emergency procedures regularly. The more familiar you are with them the more relaxing it feels on the ride up (safe in the knowledge you can do them). Half the battle is won. Keep plugging at it. Cheers Rich --------------------------------------- Everything that happens to you in life is your teacher. The secret is to learn to sit at the feet of your life and be taught. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bob.dino 0 #10 February 14, 2005 Quotea little more familiarization with the gear may help. Yup. Did for me, at least. Learn everything you can about your gear - then you're more confident in the fact that it'll work . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Travman 6 #11 February 14, 2005 I was fine with the door until stage 5. Then I started getting a bit more familiar with skydiving, had a better idea what could go wrong. I never hesitated or anything, but I was more nervous. Once I finished my AFF I got more comfortable, and now I am pretty confident going out the door. I did my first running dive exit out of the skyvan on my last jump. I was still wearing student gear, and there was a student going out straight after me on his first solo exit. He said it was very reassuring watching me go out first. Once you complete your AFF and can do some solo's you'll probably get more comfortable. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skr 1 #12 February 14, 2005 > I need some tips to get this fear thing out of my system I'm not sure you can do that in any once and for all sense. I remember on my second jump I was so scared on the ride up that had I been able to talk I think I would have said take me down. Last year, 40 odd years later, I got a new canopy, and spent about 60 jumps working my way through assorted scary openings. I found myself riding up with a mixture of fear, dread, reluctance, determination, and what not. One thing that really helps me is what I focus on. My mind is like a magnifying glass and whatever I focus on looms large while other, equally true, stuff recedes into the background. There is plenty of perfectly reasonable stuff to be afraid of: you can get hurt, get killed, go broke, lose relationships, make social blunders, say stupid stuff, and so on. And if you let your mind focus on that, then the fear and dread of it is what you experience. My mind goes there easily, but I'm wise to it now, and one thing I sometimes do is take it by the scruff of the neck and say: Right, thanks for sharing that, now let's go over here and focus equally on how I know my gear is right, I know how to be stable, and pull, and on this jump I'm going to go like this, and then like that and ... Sometimes all that sports psychology stuff doesn't quite do it and I will do a physical thing that puts my energy state in a more taking care of business mode. My version is to squeeze/contract a sequence of muscle groups: left foot, right foot, left calf, right calf, thigh, thigh, butt, butt, stomach, chest, forearms, upper arms, neck. I go through that sequence several times. Maybe a better question is not how to get rid of the fear, a negative formulation, but how to be in the best possible state when you go out the door, so that if any of that scary stuff actually does happen you're in the best position to deal with it. Skr Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
feuergnom 22 #13 February 14, 2005 Quote Maybe a better question is not how to get rid of the fear, a negative formulation, but how to be in the best possible state when you go out the door, so that if any of that scary stuff actually does happen you're in the best position to deal with it. wise words from a wise man guess thats the best way to deal with a lot of obstacles that we come across in our livesThe universal aptitude for ineptitude makes any human accomplishment an incredible miracle dudeist skydiver # 666 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rasmack 0 #14 February 14, 2005 Quote... It actually makes me more nervous when they make me practice spotting. :-) Interesting. Are you nervous because you are sitting in the door, or because you're afraid you will "fail"? The reason that I ask is that when I took my spot test to go solo, I thought everything went wrong. It felt like we had to fly over that landing strip a thousand times. It was not until I came down they told me that the pilot had been instructed to obstruct my job as much as possible. My point is that I was nervous and I felt ridiculous, but this was mostly because of the test-like situation, the pressure of being evaluated, and not because of the open door. I passed by the way HF #682, Team Dirty Sanchez #227 “I simply hate, detest, loathe, despise, and abhor redundancy.” - Not quite Oscar Wilde... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Squeak 17 #15 February 15, 2005 If i go more than a few weeks without jumping I get very nervous on the ride to height. It's only when I'm out the door that things settle down.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? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bob.dino 0 #16 February 16, 2005 Ditto. That's why I do 4-way - to keep my mind off just how stupid I am . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Candy 0 #17 February 17, 2005 It gets easier, really. I still get nervous on the ride out to the DZ but on jump run I'm like....Open The Door Man!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LawnDart21 0 #18 February 17, 2005 Max Cohn has a great quote on the back page ad of Parachutist for Mirage: "The last thing I want on my mind during a jump is my rig" (paraphrased") -- My other ride is a RESERVE. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
