First Solo nerves....

[kelel01 1]

You know, there was something nice about doing that first solo, and I will not hesitate to tell you that I was the MOST NERVOUS AFF student you've ever seen.

My nervousness was actually part of the reason I failed my last AFF level-- my JM said that I should have been much more comfortable with it by that point in time. But I think a lot of my nerves were also based on "performance anxiety", which is not a factor on a solo.

Just know that you have the skills to take care of yourself, and you can jump with no pressure. Now my first two-way off student status, THAT was scary. Weird, I know. Just go out there and have fun!!!

Kelly

[FrogNog 1]

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Before I went up my instructors told me to go for an unstable exit and fix it and fly which helped a bit for some strange reason. Good luck

My instructors have never told me to do that. Maybe it's because they saw I tended to do it naturally.

-=-=-=-=-
Pull.

[canopycandy 0]

I'm really glad my DZ required 10 coach dives after finishing AFF. At the time, it seemed like an enormous amount of work, and I never thought I would finish. Now I realize how much I learned during those jumps.

After I finished all those coach dives, I started learning to freefly with some really good skydivers. I didn't do my first real solo until jump 40 or so.

Regardless, it was a little scary going out there by myself. I didn't know how I should exit. I worried that I would somehow fly directly into another group of jumpers. And I wondered what would happen if I had a terrible emergency, and nobody else was around to witness my horrifying death and tell the police all about it.

So I took extra care spotting. I did some flips out of the plane. Then I hung out in a sit for a while. Then went belly. Then did some back flips. Belly. Tracked a little. Belly. Tracked some more. Belly. Pull.

Frankly, it was boring. And it felt pointless. I wasn't working on anything specific. I wasn't trying anything new. Most of all, I wasn't having any fun with other jumpers. It was just dull, dull, dull. And it seemed to last FOREVER.

You'll see. It seems like it'll be much more frightening than it really is.

[Vallerina 2]

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is being this freaked out normal?

Yes, it's very normal.

For so many jumps I sat there in the plane thinking, "What the heck am I doing this for? I'm insane! I should be on the ground! Why am I doing this???" It would drive me even more insane to see Bret and Anna be so calm about everything, and they had about the same number of jumps that I had.

I loved freefall, though! That was one of the main reasons that everyone at my old home dz called me Smiley. I hated the plane ride up. It took so long, and I had nothing better to do than to worry about all of the worst case scenarios. I still worried about it in freefall, but at least freefall is enjoyable! The canopy part is where my nerves went way up again.

So, yes, your kind of nerves are normal. It took me longer than most to get over those kinds of nerves, but it eventually happened (I went to Quincy and jumped a bunch compared to how much I had been jumping, learned a ton, and I didn't die! )

There's a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning

[Tilion 0]

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And it seemed to last FOREVER.

Lovely! Can't wait to do my first solo .

[Phillbo 11]

I'm doing my first solo tomorrow. I hope to be able to relax and do a few turns and backloops without the pressure of a specific dive flow. AFF jumps are busy and I have had very little time to just enjoy.

Tomorrow I just enjoy !!!

[ZoneRat 0]

Remember how nervous you were for your first jump? But you did it. And what did that get ya? Joy.

You were strong enough to do AFF.
You're strong enough for this too.

Beating the fear is part of the fun.

And when you push through it and do the solo... what'll that get ya?

Hey... Stand tall. You're good for it.

“There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies.”