Three more to go...

[Nightingale 0]

Some WONDERFUL friends and relatives gave me some jump money for christmas.

I did seven skydives this weekend.

with ONE stand up landing. sigh.... I am gonna be HURTING tomorrow. I can already feel it. note to self: must start landing instead of crashing. crashing is bad.

Three jumps yesterday. I made the mistake of trying to pack for myself on the first jump, and it took me two hours. If I hadn't wasted time packing, I could've jumped at least once, probably twice more. I will work on packing... AFTER I get my A. right now, jump numbers are more important. After the first jump, I found Will over at the pro pack tent to pack for me. Beautiful openings! YAY WILL!!!

I had a bit of a hard pull on my third jump. I reached back to do my practice touch, and I felt the hackey pretty deep in there. uh oh. this is gonna be a rough pull, I thought. so, since I was last out anyway, I decided to go for it at 6000, figuring it might take me a bit to get a good pull. I made a decision at this time that if I heard the second warning on the protrack, which was set at 4500, I was gonna go for handles, because if I didn't get the main in 1500 feet of trying, I wasn't gonna get it. I tugged at it a few times, managed to remain stable, and finally, the pilot chute came out just as I heard the protrack beeping 4500, and I had a nice opening. I'm really glad I didn't have to use my reserve, because square 1 repacks are EXPENSIVE, especially if you lose something. I would've used it if I'd heard that protrack before I was able to pull, but I'm glad I didn't have to. (and YES, for those of you wondering, I did do several practice grabs on the ground, and the hackey seemed fine. the plane was packed pretty tight, so I think it might've gotten pushed in a bit in flight).

Otherwise, I had a nice three skydives on the 27th.

I went down to a 210 today. It was so much easier to flare that I found myself flaring too early. My first two landings royally sucked. the third one I had just a bit too much momentum and landed on my knees, and the last one, I probably could've stood, but I was doing so much falling down that I was kinda expecting to fall down. I landed on one knee. I think if I'd had time to do one more jump, it would've been a stand up.

so, four skydives today, and one jump ticket sitting in the audible pocket on my helmet. lol. that's a handy place to put stuff. two pockets, one audible... hmm, what can I use the other pocket for?

No jumping for me next weekend, I'm getting dragged up to the parents' condo in Brian Head, Utah. Yes, dragged. I do ski, but badly. I ski about as well as I land a canopy. More falling than skiing. I get along well with my parents in small doses, but four days in a two bedroom condo might be a bit much. we shall see. I am looking forward to escaping civilization and finding the time to read a good book, though.

so, I'll probably be back at Perris in two weeks to finish up my A requirements. All I need are the hop and pop, gear checking another skydiver, and cloud visibility, and, of course, three more skydives. I love jumping at Elsinore, but Perris is a bit cheaper at the moment, and I like the landing area a bit better. its softer!

[MNskyjumper 0]

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(and YES, for those of you wondering, I did do several practice grabs on the ground, and the hackey seemed fine.

I may over do it, but I check my hackey several times on the way up to altitude, after I put on my helmet and gloves (I always wear gloves), and as I'm moving toward the door. Just to make sure it's where it should be.
Jump safe,
Jump often,

Kevin W.

[msmithd8769 0]

Sounds like a productive weekend Nightingale. Keep at it. My wife is having some difficulties in landing too; she has just recently gotten back into the sport after 17 years and this is her first experience with ZP canopies; she's jumping a Spectre 190 and has about 85 jumps. It just takes getting the timing down and becoming comfortable with how the canopy flies. ZPs handle and land differently than F111 which is what her experience was with. Take care and have fun in Utah.....

_____________________________
"And when the prophet shall arise who appeareth as a bird then the time of the Lord draweth nigh and the flock shall rule the earth."

[Nightingale 0]

I think its the 7 cell vs. 9 cell thing that's throwing me. the seven cell seems to have a shorter glide for the altitude it loses. I'm getting better at it, though.

[champu 1]

I'm going to get in line with the many people I'm sure have told you this, it's always good to do the "big three" check about a minute before exit

3 buckles - legs and chest, routed properly, excess stowed and secure
3 rings - left and right side, both assembled properly
3 handles - main throw out secure, but not tucked too far into the BOC pouch, cutaway (and soft reserve) handle not folded under the MLW

just one of those many good habits to get into

[Nightingale 0]

I did reach back and touch it before exit, but more to reassure myself that I knew where it was...I guess it was more of a pat than a grab. I'm going to take more time with that from now on, now that I know this can be a problem.

[TheJesus 0]

Hard pulls suck! There good to help keep you on your toes..but thats bout it!

I only have 12 jumps, but on my 8th, I had a hard pull, took me 3 times to get it!!
I'm not sure what really happened, 2 pulls, and nothing. I was at about 2500 bu then, so I (being the new jumper that I was) wasn't going to sit there and try to fix it.
I brought my right hand up to go for the handles, and BAM... I apparently forgot to let go of the hackey, and the adrenalin must have kicked in...cause there was my PC in my hand. I tossed and all went well....but still got the ole heart pumpin for a few!

Cheers and blue skys!

Greater love hath no man
than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

[Antithesis 0]

Congrats for the good weekend .. better luck on the landings. Was your BOC spandex or that cordura? I've never had trouble with spandex.. in any way, I hope you get a good swift consistant throw.

I travel the land, Work in the ocean, Play in the sky

[Nightingale 0]

spandex. the hackey was just shoved about halfway inside it, so I couldn't get a real good grip. Pretty sure it happened in the plane, cause it wasn't that way when I did my gear check.

[SkydiveNFlorida 0]

You'll get landings soon, it takes longer for some than others. Are your instructors giving you feedback? Sometimes watching a landing on video will help, so if you know anyone with a video camera that wouldn't mind videoing your landing, that'd be cool. They probably pull lower and land first anyhow, so they'd already be on the landing zone:) I took a canopy control class at 25 jumps and it was so cool to see my landings, I had been reaching a bit on landing which made them not quite the softest landings.

Also, it is a good idea to check yourself on the plane. I thought that b4 you got your A license instructors still did gear checks for you always? Guess not? People move around on planes, and things get caught and stuff. So, I always check my hackey and make sure my pilot is tucked in, and then check my main & reserve pillows b4 exit. I also make sure my main flap is closed, my reserve flap is closed, and my riser covers are tucked. It took me a while to get these habits, but now I always do them. A while back on a jump I made in z-hills, I did not check my handles. I almost exited and was pulled back in by Asaf who showed me that my reserve handle (borrowed gear, metal reserve handle) was almost hanging out. Checks are important.

Congrads on your progress. Keep it up!
Angela.

[Nightingale 0]

there were no instructors on this load to do a gear check. I did get checked twice by instructors on the ground, and nobody found any problems.

I have had folks video my landings... and every single freakin' time I have someone video my landing, its tiptoe perfect. and as soon as the camera goes away, I'm going splat again. LOL.

[skylord 1]

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I have had folks video my landings... and every single freakin' time I have someone video my landing, its tiptoe perfect. and as soon as the camera goes away, I'm going splat again. LOL.

Nightingale,

Have the DZ set up a dummy camera on the windsock. Problem solved, my work here is done

Bob

Bob Marks

"-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

[mattmais 0]

Mike,
You mean your not going to make Dana fly your worn out malfunctioning old porous F111 anymore??

[adamsr 0]

[reply
I may over do it, but I check my hackey several times on the way up to altitude, after I put on my helmet and gloves (I always wear gloves), and as I'm moving toward the door. Just to make sure it's where it should be.