5 Second Delays, Dammit.

[Gato 0]

I have read only a few threads regarding this stage of the Static Line progression, and maybe you all have some suggestions for me - bearing in mind that I can't get to a tunnel for a while, and I want to continue in the SL program.

I had two more jumps yesterday, 5-second delays from 4000'. To say the least, it was an interesting day:

I get geared up around 11:30am, and I'm issued my first freefall rig, a big-ass Javelin with a PD300, much more comfortable than the student Racers I used for SL. This is also the first time I rode in a position other than 1st out, right by the door. I think I prefer the door seat. I understand why most jumpers at C-182 DZs are not of the larger variety. Moving 230 pounds (exit weight) around in that little cabin is a neat trick.

Anyway, I'm on a load with my instructor, an up-jumper with a vid helmet, and his little brother, who is going for his first jump. He goes out without incident, and we switch positions after the door closes, and I'm now in position to go, and my instructor is going to film my exit/deployment. At 4 grand, he opens the door and tells me to get out, which I do with no problem. When I let go of the strut, I started counting and noticed I was kicking my legs, searching for a floor that isn't anywhere near me. Just as I noticed this, I remembered, "Oh yeah, I need to PULL NOW!" I pull, and immediately snap into a hard arch, which felt great. Deployment went well, very stable and comfortable.

The wierd thing is, even though I was kicking, I was stable. I know it's because I was in sluggish air, and if I keep doing that, it could cause major problems on longer delays. So a little later, I did another (you have to do 2) 5 second delay, and I did exactly the same thing, though I was more sensitive to the count and pull time. A bit of a stumble on the first landing, and a beautiful stand-up on the second.

My instructors both praised me for altitude awareness and great pulls. It was agreed between the two of them that I could move on to 10 second delays if I want, but all three of us agreed that it would be better for me in the long run if I fix this problem before I move on. So next week, I'm going back to try another one, and I'll be practicing and visualizing in the mean time.

Here's what I learned on these jumps:

- Seeing yourself on video is invaluable, as well as completely surreal.
- How I perform has little to do with who my Jumpmaster or Intructor is. I'm not on a ride anymore.
- The mind must overcome the body's natural desire to stop the fall; there is no floor nearby, and I have plenty of altitude to work with.
- I need a smaller harness; the chest strap up against my chin made it very difficult to read my altimeter, and almost impossible to lean forward in the harness for landing. I'll be on a Manta with a smaller Javelin next jump anyway, and hopefully this will feel better.
- Skydivers tend to love Mexican food. I found this out later, after we were all done jumping.

I also saw a cutaway, a static line student doing his 2nd PRCP. I had just gotten out my binoculars to watch the students' exits from the strut, and I heard the cut of the engine just as I had raised the binocs to my eyes. I watched the (50-ish) student climb onto the step and out onto the strut to hang. As he let go, I saw him draw both arms in to pull, his canopy came out of the bag, inflated partially, and then collapsed completely as it broke away from him. Then I saw the pretty light blue ROUND reserve inflate with his RSL. I thought, "How did he know his canopy was bad so soon?" Then I realized that he had pulled a Lutz on a static line jump, having pulled the red pillow instead of the orange handle. He landed hard, without doing a PLF. It was obvious he was hurt, though he did walk back to the hangar. He said he compressed his spine, and that he was done. He turned in his PRCP handle, got his 10 bucks back, and left with his wife and kid. I felt sorry for him, not just for the pain he endured, but from the embarassment and disappointment he must have felt, as well. He's an impatient guy, walking around for most of the day pissed off he wasn't able to jump yet, and sharing his feelings with everybody, including his fellow students. There were two other students on the load with him, who were shaken up after his cutaway, but they both did very well.

The other things I learned that day:

- Don't be impatient, take each jump as it comes, and don't be in a hurry to get anywhere in this sport.
- Practice, practice, practice the damn PLF - it might keep me from having a hospital or chiropractor visit. Plus, you have to do it for your A license.
- Leave the binoculars at home; every time I bring them, something bad happens at the DZ, and I'm the first one to see it (I was the first one to see a drogue separate from a tandem canopy a few weeks ago). Maybe it's superstitious, but I'm going with my gut on this.

Thanks again for reading - stay safe, my peeps.
Gato

PS: Oh, as soon as I get it, I'll post the video of my exit.

T.I.N.S.

[dragon2 0]

I never had the kicking problem myself, and I'm no instructor, but I'd think 10 secs might be a good idea because it gives you more time to RELAX, provided your instructors say you can go of course. That, or keep doing the 5 secs until you fix this. Maybe more freefall would help, a tandem, AFF1 jump or a few minutes of tunneltime? Or just keep at it, you'll get it

I had an exit problem where I would blank out (sensory overload), and "wake up" under canopy. My exits were sorta stable but not great. Did a tandem after 3 SL jumps, the tandemjump was not related to the problem, just because we had a jump-in at another DZ and otherwise i couldn't go, but after that jump I was over it

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[lippy 773]

Don't decide to take any advice offered here without first talking to your instructors about it. One thing that helped me in the SL progression was to take an extra second out on the strut. When you start to hang, just take a minute to clear your brain and go through your release, good arch (with no kicking)count sequence and pull. Maybe focussing on the task just before you leave the plane will help set you straight.

Good luck, be safe!

Edit: Take it easy with the Mexican food before jumping. This might help you keep friends in the plane

I got nuthin

[AllisonH 0]

I also had success with taking an extra second on the strut. It's different at every DZ so definitely check with your instructor, but what I did was after my instructor gave me permission to go, I took a second to look back up at the wing above me, take a deep breath, and think about my arch before letting go.

Whatever solution you work out with your instructors, I wish you the best of luck!

[AnKaLi 0]

I had a huge kicking problem during IAD progression (similar to SL). It never made me unstable though, I usually did it while holding a perfect arch. Its something that I eventually stopped the more freefall time I got. With the 5 second delays I would realize I was kicking, but never had the time to make the correction. I think by my 10 second delay they were gone.
I made a few AFF jumps in between there, and I always had time to correct the kicking, so it might be a time thing. But its something you have to discuss with your instructor.
I tend to kick when I'm a bit overwhelmed, its something in my subconscious that I'm not able to stop. I did a new dive off the step yesterday and ended up on my back, and I kicked and swam for a bit before I arched, got stable and then pulled.

[yellowgt 0]

I had a problem with kicking too. Taking that extra second or 2 on the strut helps.

PS. Dont get on the first load of the day after a night of mexican food and brews.

[gravitywhore 0]

I found the extra time on the strut helpful too. Hang, breathe ,arch first then release .. thats what has worked for me anyway ..and tunnel time

[airdvr 198]

Nice post. I'm impressed with your situational awareness.

There really isn't enough information in here about SL progression. Are you cleared for 10 seconds now?

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[Gato 0]

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I'm impressed with your situational awareness.

Thank you, sir.
I suppose if I wanted to go ahead and move on to 10 seconds, I'd be allowed, but I'm training to do one more 5 second delay.

I've had a couple of teachers (one of them an AFFI) tell me that you must repeat any physical action at least 24 times to affect muscle-memory. So I'm concentrating on snapping into an arch on the word "go," while keeping it relatively relaxed. I'm doing it on the floor, simulating the count and pull sequence for the 5s.

Just in case anyone else is curious, the audible sequence for a 5 second delay (at MRVS) is:

Dot
Go
Arch thousand
Two thousand
Three thousand
Reach thousand
Pull thousand

(I wanted to know what it was before I did it, and I thought maybe someone else might be wondering about it.)

Gato

T.I.N.S.

[AnKaLi 0]

I also had another coach tell me to yell off the step (with a big yipee!) so that I'm pushing the energy out of my mouth and not with my feet/legs. I never remembered to do this off the step, but it might be something worth trying, good luck!

[sd-slider 0]

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Moving 230 pounds (exit weight) around in that little cabin is a neat trick.

ONLY 230? I understand your "position" in the 182...I'm forced to ride the door slot myself and the "RED" lever is touching my cheek the whole way...



Great job on the awareness.

Anvil Brother #69

Sidelined with a 5mm C5-C6 herniated disk...
Back2Back slammers and 40yr old fat guys don't mix!

[nigel99 144]

I really struggled on static line progression with the shorter delays. One of my instructors decided to go against convention and let me go up to 8k for a ~10 second delay. Our DZ didn't have cypresses and kit was good old fashioned T-10's. I found it very stressful and having the extra "time" to make mistakes really relaxed me it just mean't that I was under canopy at ~6-7k which I enjoyed. If you're allowed it might be an option and it also gives you much more time under canopy which is alot of fun.

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

[Gato 0]

Quote

I'm forced to ride the door slot myself and the "RED" lever is touching my cheek the whole way...

Exactly which cheek are we talking about, here?

T.I.N.S.

[jimmytavino 16]

i'd say that doing a 10 second delay is prefferable to a 5.... BUT exit at a higher altitude to do it...
You pretty much De-Accelerate... when stepping off a plane on jump run,,,,for the first few seconds...
then re-accelerate, as gravity gets a hold of you...
it's not so easy to stay, 'motionless' in your arch when you are sub-terminal...hence the 'kicking'...
Might be better to get some airspeed going, in order to have some relative wind against which to arch normally.. It also would help the efficiency of the deployment.....

try not to get 'hung up' at 5 seconds,,
so ask your instructors to give you another 1,000 feet or so, and start falling..... It seems they have already cleared you for 10 secs...

5 second Hop and pops are more easily mastered after you have learned how to place your body in a good freefall position, and a good way to learn that, is to simply FREEFALL. something which builds very slowly when you are trained by the Static Line method,,,,as i was..... but that's the way it was done then,,,,,

check with the staff,,, where you jump....
good luck...have fun

jmy

[steve1 5]

I think the big thing is don't get discouraged and learn from every jump. Developing a good strong arch is really important. You might want to practice on a bed, it's softer. Do it over and over until it is automatic...Strong arch and motionless legs. Then do it in the air.

Try to focus on your legs when you let loose of the strut. Muscle memory from all you practice should kick in. Keeping your arms and legs symmetrical is vital if you don't want to start spinning. Don't give up....you'll get it!

[flyhi 24]

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I felt sorry for him, not just for the pain he endured, but from the embarassment and disappointment he must have felt, as well. He's an impatient guy, walking around for most of the day pissed off he wasn't able to jump yet, and sharing his feelings with everybody, including his fellow students.

You think he's bad now, you wouldn't have believed him if he had made it to 100 jumps.

Shit happens. And it usually happens because of physics.

[ksjumper 0]

FYI- 5 second delays are no longer part of USPA's training progression in the ISP but each dropzone still has the option to tailor make their training program I imagine. Good luck on your future skydives!

JM

[yellowgt 0]

Quote

Quote

Moving 230 pounds (exit weight) around in that little cabin is a neat trick.

ONLY 230? I understand your "position" in the 182...I'm forced to ride the door slot myself and the "RED" lever is touching my cheek the whole way...

Quote

I also feel your pain. Im 230, and in 17 jumps have not been at the door 2 or 3 times. It certainly is interesting watching others exit though.

[Gato 0]

I'd have to agree, I did find it interesting to watch two other students go out on the rope, especially since I'm done with that part.

I never thought I'd say I prefer being by the door, but I have a new appreciation for it now.

T.I.N.S.