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maestrabella67

AFF #1--whoo hoo I did it!!

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Yippee!!! It's been about 15 hours since I got back on the ground, and I can't get the grin off my face for longer than 5 seconds! It was GREAT!

I went to the DZ yesterday not sure if I would actually do it, I didn't feel ready, not really scared, just not ready. It wasn't a very nice day being chilly and gray. But then we went out to the plane, and practiced the dive flow bunches and bunches until it was burned into my brain. My two instructors are more than patient, they answered any question I had, right down to the most trivial or silly.

Then it was time to board the plane. I didn't feel really nervous, I'd been in that plane before on my 2 tandems, I knew what 11,000 feet was going to look like, so I just tried to enjoy the ride up while going over everything mentally. I also remember praying "God, if I'm going to bounce, please don't let it hurt too much!"

I had forgotten how the wind rushes by--when I got my right foot out on the step and grabbed the strut while getting my other leg out I really had to hang on! I vaguely recall thinking "I can't believe I'm doing this".

I did my hotel check, then off we went! I was so amazed to find myself belly flying--the arch really does work!! Yes, you skydive veterans can laugh at that comment. It's all just so amazing to me still! My instructors gave me hand signals, I tried to do them, they had to whack my legs because I didn't have them positioned properly, as AFFI 2 wrote in my log "dropped knees a little low, tapped legs, she pulled them up some, I would like to see them a little higher". Got my 3 practice pulls done, although the first time I couldn't find the handle--it moved!

6,000 ft came super-quick; I did my wave off at 5,500, then pulled the handle. The pilot chute came out... and the bag didn't. AFFI 1 had to pull my bridle to get it out since we were in a burble... lucky me... both instructors told me that as a solo jumper burbles don't happen like that, but with the 3 of us together they sometimes appeared. Then, as the main came out, I was jerked upward, thinking at the time "Okay, now I'm on my own".

When I looked up at the main, it was all in one big twist, however, as I started to separate my risers, as if by magic it untwisted, righted itself, and as soon as that happened, down came the slider. Then I heard one of the coaches on the ground talking to me, telling me to finish my opening checks, and if I could hear him, make a right turn. By then AFFI 1 was back on the ground, and he then took over the radio. AFFI 2, who had been on the reserve side, ended up off the airport in a field (hehe, two times in row, both with students!)

It was incredible!!! The canopy ride seemed to last forever, it was a bit frightening under canopy when I realized "hey, I am the person flying this thing!" yet everything went smoothly. AFFI 1 on the ground gave me good instructions, and I had a nice,soft stand-up landing. One of the regular jumpers was there to meet me, he had my camera, took some pictures, and helped me corral the parachute--after I landed it, it was like I got overwhelmed and when I was told to pick one toggle and pull it, it sort of didn't register and I almost got bowled over by the chute.

I hope to do the next jump this coming weekend; it depends on what's on the DZ schedule, as well as the weather. Indiana is more than temperamental this time of year. All in all, #1 was a blast!!! I still have a long way to go to that A license, but I've taken the first step!! :)

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Way to go! B|B| It is great, isn't it. It sounds like you had a great jump. It just gets better and better. I finally got up in the air again after almost two months and I've had that same perma-grim you have. Woo hoo!!!!B|B|

"safety first... and What the hell.....
safety second, Too!!! " ~~jmy

POPS #10490

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the arch really does work!!



Yep ;) Wait till you spin and tumble like hell on exit, you arch and in 5 seconds viola B|
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The canopy ride seemed to last forever

Holy hell it does... I'm 130lbs exit weight under a 270 canopy, it takes me like 10 minutes flying a conservative pattern, my thighs are black and blue after a day of jumping.

/can't wait till I can pull at 2500ft and spiral down quickly

What plane was it BTW? A Cessna 182?
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as AFFI 2 wrote in my log "dropped knees a little low, tapped legs, she pulled them up some, I would like to see them a little higher".


Don't worry about that, every single AFF1 I've seen that's gone through has a less then perfect (albeit stable) body position... it will "click" eventually when you relax in the later stages.

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Wow!!! Congrats! You have inspired me! Tomorrow I will do my first class...depending on how that goes I may do my second...then I'll see if I'm ready for my first solo...which I am sooo glad you posted about. THAT seems unreal! After two tandems, (really?), I can jump alone? Land alone? I am having trouble wrapping my brain around that! BUT I am sooo looking forward to it....Ultimate exhileration!! I guess at some point I'll get to know the lingo...but what is a "burble"? And I wonder if anyone knows how common it would be that the lines would be tangled or in need of straightening out??? YIKES! My heart sank!

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The burble is the area above you as you fall. The air around you rushes to fill the space you were just occupying, which can cause the air there to behave in an odd way. Kinda like the turbulence right behind a big rig as you drive down the highway. Giving your pilot chute a nice strong pitch away from your body when it's time to open can help keep your pilot chute from getting caught up in your or your instructor's burble.
Also, if I'm reading her post right, maestrabella had line twists, which isn't really the same thing as "tangled". Think about sitting on a swing and twisting in circles so the chains get all twisted up. Same thing except now the chains are the parachute lines. It's common enough that there's a decent chance it'll happen while you're a student. As long as you pay attention in the FJC, you'll know how to deal with it. If I had to guess, I'd bet maestrabella's chute got twisted while her pilot chute was jumping around in her burble.

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That's awesome! Congrats! I can't wait to start AFF. I'm so freakin nervous about flying that canopy by myself. I just dont want to forget the pattern. Is it hard to do it by yourself?
Take risks not to to escape life, but to prevent life from escaping.


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That's awesome! Congrats! I can't wait to start AFF. I'm so freakin nervous about flying that canopy by myself. I just dont want to forget the pattern. Is it hard to do it by yourself?


Yeah I was anticipating the canopy flight a lot more than the freefall as well. I had a bit of problem because we jumped on a fairly cloudy day and I couldn't ID the dropzone through the clouds. At about 3000 feet I finally got through them and noticed it a ways behind me, but I still managed to get to my holding area with time to spare. Stand up landing on target (thanks to his instruction no doubt) and can't wait for #2. It's pretty easy, you should be fine! Enjoy.

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I had a bit of problem because we jumped on a fairly cloudy day and I couldn't ID the dropzone through the clouds.



Oooh, clouds would not help my nerves any.
Take risks not to to escape life, but to prevent life from escaping.


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