Avion 0 #1 March 8, 2005 Wow! Where do I begin? I been tunnel training for a year. I been itching to start AFF. It was a beautiful day. I was in Cocoa looking at a house for sale and figured, hey, while I'm out here, I should go and and watch them come down in Titusville for a while. Well, little did I realize that I would run into two people I know from the tunnel at the dropzone, and of course they asked me,"Are you going to jump today?" When I said that I had just came out to watch, they looked disappointed. I thought about it for a while, and concluded, It is a beatuiful day... I am ready... Uh... Hmm... Uh... OK... Let's do this thang! So, while I am going through all the formalities, I'm thinking to myself,"Gee, I hope I make it through this alright. I still have other things I want to do." Through my years I have had fun up, down and sideways in a number of ways. I knew, that I could get out of the plane well enough, if I had decided to do a jump. But, whenever I tried to tell someone that, I always got a stare of disbelief. To me, it was a matter of whether I would regret jumping out of a plane rather than a matter of if I could do it. Actually, I guess I still have yet to jump, because this time I was strapped to someone else when they jumped out of a plane, and I just went along for the ride to check out what it's all about That plane they got at Titusville is something else, 7 minutes to 15K. I had time to feel a few waves of anxiety, make some small talk with the person in front of me, "Hey dude, how's that neptune work for you?" look around at the scenery, Oh look, it's the Kenndy space center... Practice a little stress management: OK, relax, breath deep, in through the nose, hold, out through the mouth, hold, in through the nose... Tap, tap, tap, on my shoulder. It's my tandem instructer, "We're at thirteen thousand feet. One more minute and we'll be there." Uh... OK. A minute later, somebody opens the door. People start jumping out. We move to the door. I look down. I think to myself, "Wow, the ground looks closer than I thougth it would." My instructor says,"OK, cross your arms now." I cross my arms. He starts rocking back and forth in the door once or twice. I think to myself,"Hey, he said he'd count. He said he'd count to three, and then we'd go on four. Oh well, I just relax and go with it." I relax. We roll out the door. "Oh yea, I suppose to arch now," I arch hard. We may have done a back flip. My vision went dark for a moment. I may have closed my eyes. Poof... Ah, that must be the drogue. Tap, tap, tap on my shoulder again. I can open up now, into a 'Lazy W.' My instructor shows me his altimeter. The hand is pointing to the 1 o'clock position. I'm clueless. He pulls his hand away. Oh, cool! I notice we're in the air... Whooooooosh..... The wind sounds different than in the tunnel, quieter, more raspy. Whooooooosh..... I have a sensation of speed. In the tunnel I have the sensation of floating. THIS, is different. I feel like I am, MOVIN! I have done triple digit speeds in cars and on bikes, and I have got that feeling of going, FAST!!! My instructor starts doing some spins. Wow, that's a hard spin, round and round we go. I feel blood rushing into my head, I feel a pull on my arms and legs. My vision starts bluring into solid pastel pink and purple and blue and green bands. I realize, this could really trip somebody out, and in that moment I comprehend, why some people go in durning a fast spin without pulling their reserve, because they get disorientated from this and their mind goes somewhere else. I'm uncomfortable. I brake the spin by appling input in the opposite direction. My instructor stops spinning in that direction and starts spinning in the other direction.... Here we go AGAIN... He says,"OK you can do some stuff now" I told him I have 4 hous in the tunnel. I do a 180 one way. I do a 180 the other way. I do a 360 one way. I do a 360 the other way. I get the impression that he's bored with my baby steps. I'm happy though, just to be scorching through the air. Whoooooooosh... Wow, cool, this stuff works. My turns are a little slow, but they work, even with the instructor on my back. My instructor shows me his altimeter again. The hand is pointing to the 5 o'clock position. I have another clueless moment. Poof... He must've pulled. I feel the snatch force, a slight weight in the harness, then... Thump. What happened? My instructor says,"OK, we're under canopy now." I look up and see the canopy, "Wow, Awesome!" I realize that I am hanging from the canopy, and only the clips of my harness are keeping me from falling to the ground. I have some waves of anxiety and vertigo... After few moments, my instructor shows me how to tell which way the uppers are blowing by watching how the gound moves relative to my feet. Then he says,"OK, here's the toggles," and hands me the toggles. I told him I wanted to get some canopy practice. He says,"OK, pull on the right toggle." I pull on the right toggle. He says,"Na, pull it all the way down," and grabs the control line above me and pulls it all the way down. Wow! It seems like we are level with the canopy, straight out sideways from it. I feel heavy in the harness. He says,"Look at the canopy, notice how its distorting." I see that it's kinda flexing out of rectangular shape. We're in a right hand turn, and I see the front left corner of the canopy sort of moving out in front of us. The harness keeps my head from moving back far enough to see the whole picture. I'm a little concerned about going into line twists He lets go, and says,"OK, do some turns." I pull on the right toggle a little, maybe 1/3 of the way. I feel an moderely light, steady resistance. We do a slow, gentle 90 to the right. I let up on the toggle, and the canopy stops turning. Neat! I turn left 90, I turn right 180, I turn left 180... I am as just as happy as can be, too happy to do much else as a matter of fact He takes the toggles and starts flying the landing pattern. I have a long clueless period. I understand that were flying a left hand pattern. The question in my mind is how far past the landing area should we go before starting the downwind leg. This is just the part I wanted to get familar with before I tried to land a canopy myself. The wind was very light this day, practically still. As it turns out, we flew about six blocks. On the crosswind leg, he starts doing some s-turns, I've seen this from the ground before, its a bit of a roller coaster ride: Swing to the right, swing to the left, swing to the right... I AM RELAXED. I TRUST MY INSTRUCTOR. Wee, this is fun! He says,"OK, get ready to land. We might stand this up. Keep you legs up until I say to put them down." I Say,"ALL-RIGHT!" I'm suprised, I'm actually comfortable with the ground rush. Seemed like we came in a little steeper than 45 degrees on the final. I am relaxed, I trust my instructor. I feel us plane out, and we start flying level with the gound, about a foot above it for 10-20 feet maybe. My instuctor says,"OK, we're gonna stand it up!" I look down, we pop up a foot or so, then stop moving forward, and the ground comes up to meet us. I put my feet down flat, a little less than shoulder width apart, ouchy, that was a little harder than expected. WE DID IT! WE STOOD IT UP! YES! I am juiced. I got that clear, strong, and warm sense of well being. I realize, I am making very little sense when I speak. I also can feel a grin on my face from ear to ear that is just impossible to hold back. Everybody's asking me,"How'd you like it? What did you think?" That was, uh... That was, uh... Uh... Well, ladies and gentlemen, I think it would be truthfull to say,"That peged my fun meter several times." And yes, I will be back for more, just as soon as I can stop smiling Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
linny 0 #2 March 8, 2005 wow I can't believe you actually REMEMBER all that from your first jump! Way to go! Sounds like you had fun. Now go do AFF already and start REALLY flying Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tdog 0 #3 March 8, 2005 QuoteWow, cool, this stuff works. My turns are a little slow, but they work, even with the instructor on my back. Dude... Once you get that instructor off your back you will find turning to be as responsive as the tunnel.. As long as you keep altitude aware and canopy aware, your AFF will be real easy. Just this weekend I flew with a friend who had about half the jumps as me – and no tunnel time. So I was, believe it or not, the “experienced one.” We exited with him holding onto my chest strap. I grabbed his hands on the hill and the plan was to let go and do some RW… I could feel he was pulling hard. So I gave him the “more legs” signal… To do that I had to let go of one hand. We entered a fast spin, he was pulling me that hard. We were having so much fun we both decided to forget the RW work. I let him go and we flew apart like a sling shot. Then we came back together and finished some of the original plan. Try doing that in a tunnel! You would hit the wall at deadly speed. The point of my story, you are gonna love skydiving if you love the tunnel. The tunnel has to be precise and accurate. The sky is free and wide. I learned a lot in the tunnel (and am gonna learn more this week) but, the saying “the sky’s the limit” is really true. If you got 4 hours of tunnel time, once you get off AFF, I want to fly with ya. You could teach me a thing or two! Go get that AFF done! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NeedToJump 0 #4 March 8, 2005 QuoteWell, little did I realize that I would run into two people I know from the tunnel at the dropzone Don't forget about from dz.com too, congratulations and welcome to the sky! The visuals are a bit more interesting than the tunnel... Quotelook around at the scenery, Oh look, it's the Kenndy space center... Pretty cool, huh? Good luck with the AFF, see you at the tunnel! Wind Tunnel and Skydiving Coach http://www.ariperelman.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Superman32 0 #5 March 8, 2005 Quote I been tunnel training for a year What took you so long? Congratulations Inveniam Viam aut Faciam I'm back biatches! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Orchid 0 #6 March 8, 2005 Congratulations...........you're definitely hooked! Question: AFF : most likely likely not likely or already ordering your gear?"Love is doing small things with great love." Lacrosse: Legally beating men with sticks since 1492 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mattjw916 2 #7 March 8, 2005 lol, it's about time you jumped... NSCR-2376, SCR-15080 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Avion 0 #8 March 8, 2005 Quote wow I can't believe you actually REMEMBER all that from your first jump! I've practiced memory exercises and medatation, off and on, for decades now. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Avion 0 #9 March 8, 2005 Thanks Ari, for everything, you know what I mean I guess I owe you Beer Oh uh, that smile's back again... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Avion 0 #10 March 8, 2005 QuoteWhat took you so long? I got hooked on the tunnel. I originally planned to learn just enough to be stable and confident for AFF. Then, I found out it's a lot of fun. When I start last year about this time, some of the best teams in the world were training there, it was a lot of fun just watching them. Then, I got to thinking about it, it's cheaper, and you can stay in longer. So, you can learn stuff faster than by jumping. I can back fly now and am starting to learn how to sit fly. I guess learning head down will have to wait till after AFF... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Avion 0 #11 March 8, 2005 QuoteQuestion: AFF : most likely likely not likely or already ordering your gear? AFF: Most likely! I already own my own gear Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Avion 0 #12 March 8, 2005 Quotelol, it's about time you jumped... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Orchid 0 #13 March 8, 2005 .....LMAO......that's awesome! Welcome to the sport........respect all safety rules and remember to pull! Blue skies"Love is doing small things with great love." Lacrosse: Legally beating men with sticks since 1492 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites usedtajump 1 #14 March 9, 2005 Damn Avion, with that debrief, you need to think about going straight into an AFF Instructor Certification Course. :-)) I've heard a lot less detailed debriefs from IEs. Keep goin', you've just begun this adventure.The older I get the less I care who I piss off. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites kai2k1 0 #15 March 9, 2005 QuoteActually, I guess I still have yet to jump, because this time I was strapped to someone else when they jumped out of a plane, and I just went along for the ride to check out what it's all about If you went out of the plane and a parachute opened you jumped!! Welcome to the skies brother There's no truer sense of flying than sky diving," Scott Cowan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Paige 0 #16 March 10, 2005 QuoteOh uh, that smile's back again... Told ya Tunnel Pink Mafia Delegate www.TunnelPinkMafia.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites digitalamnesia 0 #17 March 10, 2005 first of all congrats on your first jump secondly you recalled that so good i felt like i was there with you lol ------------------------------------------------------- if you wanna see the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites windcatcher 0 #18 March 11, 2005 wow, just reading about your tandem experience got me all worked up for my next jump. Congrats on making your first jump, I hope you return to the skies for many years to come.Are you going to take an AFF class soon? Sarah Mother to the cutest little thing in the world... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Fast 0 #19 March 11, 2005 Thats pretty cool.. I know 3 people who have had an hour or more of tunnel before AFF and they rocked it.~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Avion 0 #20 March 13, 2005 I just wanted to let you all know, I did ground school today. I'm goining to be back in the air soon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Bdog 0 #21 March 13, 2005 WOW! two thumbs up. great job. just wait until the next level, it gets even better. fun, that is what it is all about. did somebody already mention total recall? today i didn't do all that great on my level 3 but did pretty good on level 4. can't wait for next weekend. i probably won't sleep this week._________________________________________ ---Future Darwin Award recipient- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Reply to this topic... × Pasted as rich text. Paste as plain text instead Only 75 emoji are allowed. × Your link has been automatically embedded. Display as a link instead × Your previous content has been restored. Clear editor × You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL. Insert image from URL × Desktop Tablet Phone Submit Reply 0
Orchid 0 #13 March 8, 2005 .....LMAO......that's awesome! Welcome to the sport........respect all safety rules and remember to pull! Blue skies"Love is doing small things with great love." Lacrosse: Legally beating men with sticks since 1492 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
usedtajump 1 #14 March 9, 2005 Damn Avion, with that debrief, you need to think about going straight into an AFF Instructor Certification Course. :-)) I've heard a lot less detailed debriefs from IEs. Keep goin', you've just begun this adventure.The older I get the less I care who I piss off. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kai2k1 0 #15 March 9, 2005 QuoteActually, I guess I still have yet to jump, because this time I was strapped to someone else when they jumped out of a plane, and I just went along for the ride to check out what it's all about If you went out of the plane and a parachute opened you jumped!! Welcome to the skies brother There's no truer sense of flying than sky diving," Scott Cowan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paige 0 #16 March 10, 2005 QuoteOh uh, that smile's back again... Told ya Tunnel Pink Mafia Delegate www.TunnelPinkMafia.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
digitalamnesia 0 #17 March 10, 2005 first of all congrats on your first jump secondly you recalled that so good i felt like i was there with you lol ------------------------------------------------------- if you wanna see the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
windcatcher 0 #18 March 11, 2005 wow, just reading about your tandem experience got me all worked up for my next jump. Congrats on making your first jump, I hope you return to the skies for many years to come.Are you going to take an AFF class soon? Sarah Mother to the cutest little thing in the world... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fast 0 #19 March 11, 2005 Thats pretty cool.. I know 3 people who have had an hour or more of tunnel before AFF and they rocked it.~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Avion 0 #20 March 13, 2005 I just wanted to let you all know, I did ground school today. I'm goining to be back in the air soon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bdog 0 #21 March 13, 2005 WOW! two thumbs up. great job. just wait until the next level, it gets even better. fun, that is what it is all about. did somebody already mention total recall? today i didn't do all that great on my level 3 but did pretty good on level 4. can't wait for next weekend. i probably won't sleep this week._________________________________________ ---Future Darwin Award recipient- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
