Help AFF stage 8 hang up

[edd 0]

I have just spent a week at a drop zone and have left being stuck on stage 8, and the only thing I have'nt been able to do on stage 8 is a good exit and to hold it, which I know is a must for stage 9 the drop & pop because of the low altitude. But I think my problem may have started when I did my first solo exit, up until then I have had people around me which has made me feel safe. I just could'nt read my chest altimeter on my first solo easily which did'nt help either and after acouple more jumps wore a wrist one which I've found better, but looking at the videos I'm rocking back and fourth during freefall, I've been told to relax more, but jumping out of a plane at twelve grand on your own, it's easier said than done. I do so much want to carry on, can anyone advise.
Thanks Eddy.

[RichM 0]

Keep at it Edd. It's perfectly normal to be scared shitless jumping out of a plane, we all were at the beginning, and it takes a little time to get used to it - some do it faster than others. Gently rocking back and forth is not normally a problem, and it happens to everyone. If you're rocking more than gently then relaxing will help. Try taking a big breath and a long sigh in the door before you go, it worked for me.
Rich M

[LawnDart21 0]

we call that rocking back and forth "potato chipping", and it happens to just about everyone in the beginning. The reason for it (in addition to being a bit tense/nervous) is that your fighting the relative wind when you leave the door. When I have students with "potato chipping" problems, I tell them the easiest way to cure the problem is to watch the plane fly away on exit. If you force yourself to look up at the plane, it will present your chest to the relative wind, and if you have a good stable arch out the door, your exits will be stable. It may take a couple of tries, but force yourslef to watch the plane for the first 5 seconds of yoru jump (from 12000ft) and your instability problem will go away. Good luck.
"I live to EFS"
Tom

[mattwhoo 0]

Well being a noob myself and just doing this exact jump last weekend I will offer what little advice i can. I was having the problem of leaving the plane completely unstable usually flipping and all kinds of other stuff. taking about 2k to get into a stable position. Anyway the key for me was to keep looking at the plane on exit. Every time I messed up the exit I was looking down at the ground. On my hop and pop my instructor said she was going to give me a hand signal when I left the plane and i had to tell her what it was. So basely forced me to look at plane on exit and it worked. I was also very cool watching the plane as i fell away from it and then watching my instructor jump out. after i pulled i was able to watch her until the time she pulled. I looked like she was about 10 feet from the ground at pull time but was really only about 1000 feet lower then me. Was very cool. Ohh yeah and i almost forgot Relax!! (was one of my bigest problems as well)
Matt

[TEB6363 0]

Breathe, relax, enjoy the jump. Some problems come from performance anxiety, others are just fear.
Take a deep breath, step out of the plane and enjoy. The stability will come with some experience.
:::OK, Canopy is Open, No Traffic Around, .. Why are these "Extra" Lines Draping Down??, Damn!

[rendezvous 0]

edd, the looking at the plane advice being given out here is a good one. It helps a lot so do try it out. And don't worry you'll get it. In my case the exit on my first solo was a good stable one because I was so shit scared that I forced myself to do everything in the right sequence. After that I was so happy that on my second jump I practically threw myself about. Got a shock of my life when the spinning and tumbling just went on and on. Then in all that mess I did exactly what everone here is advicing, relaxed, arched and let the wind grab me. Withen a moment I had a stable body position. Basically what happened earlier was that just out of the plane I was trying to force myself to get belly to earth. In the process my body was totally dearched and asymmetrical causing the wind to throw me around. Point is, on exit, look up at the plane, relax your arms, legs and body, throw in a tight arch and then just hold that position and wait.

[Michele 1]

Smile. This shit is fun!
Like has been said, relaxing, watching the plane fly away, and arching really hard is excellent advice. But the best piece of advice I ever got was "smile as you leave the plane, no matter how scared and tense you are, just smile anyway"; it really does work.
Don't give up - I know I quit a few times during AFF, always to come back another day and play in the sky.
You'll be fine, just get back there and keep at it.
Ciels and Pinks-
Michele
If you really want to, you can seize the day; if you really want to, you can fly away...
~enya~

[skip 0]

Hey I went through the same exit problems over the past few weeks. It took me like 6 exits to get it right. some tips I recieved that seamed to have helped.
ARCH ( I guess youve allready heard this)
Look up at the plane as you fall away
TRUST your arch (put your dick to the durt and keep it there)
If you start kicking it's all over
I guess it was a mental thing with me becuase when I finally rode the hill down I just stuck to my arch without kicking. I have verry few jumps so I barley know what I'm talking about but leaving the plane is an extreem airgasm with forces pulling and pushing at diffrent directions and it just takes a little practice to learn to ride it out into stable falling teritory.
hope this helps..
.:skip

[dayle 0]

There is alot of good advice here for you. RELAX and LOOK at the plane. This should solve your problem. last but not least don't give up!!! You've come this far your almost there.
How are your diving exits?? When I did my hop & pop, I did a diving exit. Some of the people on the plane thought I was insane but it was a hell of alot of fun!!
Dayle

[skybytch 259]

What everybody else said.
You can also do a lot to make it easy to relax on the skydive while you're still in the plane. Visualize yourself in freefall, in a relaxed arch and smiling. See yourself doing the entire dive in a relaxed state. And try to stay physically and mentally relaxed on the climb to altitude. All of the above will help put you in a relaxed state of mind as you leave the plane which will translate into a relaxed skydive.
At least I think that's how it works pull & flare,
lisa
[subliminal msg]My website Go Now[/subliminal msg]

[gale 0]

Well, I'm a newbie but I'll tell you my limited experience. On my first freefall I was very scared and pushed away from the plane (a BIG no-no) so I landed on my back straight off the plane losing my camera-man and one instructor. It took 4,000 feet to get stable and I remember looking up at the sky thinking "that shouldn't be there. Oh yeah, I'm supposed to do something, aaarrrccchhh". And then I was stable for a very short time before the lost instructor tried to dock on me and sent us tumbling. (Oh, my instructor pulled, everything was OK.)
So, as you can see, I have some experience with a bad exit and instability.
The best thing for me was visualizing the motion from standing on the step, to gently floating in the path of an arch until my belly was towards the earth. In my head this motion seems calm and relaxing, like stepping off onto a cloud or something.
Corny - maybe. But my next exit was perfect. Stable right away. Thinking about it that way make calm on the step, which is the best time to be calm! (If you ask me.) Then I've found my training takes over in freefall.
That's just my two cents.
Life's not worth living if you can't feel alive

[quade 3]

Quote

I've been told to relax more, but jumping out of a plane at twelve grand on your own, it's easier said than done.

There are several little techniques that you can use to help yourself relax, Probably the more important thing you can do is focus a bit on your breathing. Just try to take nice regular breaths all the way down letting your belly expand. Nice and regular. Nice and even.
While you're breathing, smile.
I kind of like to think of the Cheshire Cat. A nice, big, wide smile.
Sometimes people have commented I look like I'm thinking about something and I am. I'm thinking about breathing and smiling and having a good time. I'm thinking about taking my place in the door, watching the exit and coming off the plane exactly like I intended to. I'm breathing and smiling and thinking of exactly what I'm supposed to be doing at each part of the skydive. Each part is going exactly as I wanted it to.
All of this puts me in a great mind set. It relaxes me and when I'm in freefall it seems like it's just a replay of something that's already happened. If it's already happened, then I can certainly do it again.
Just breathe and smile and do what you know you can already do.
quade
http://futurecam.com

[edd 0]

Thanks for all your help, I have had a great instructor and he's told me everything I've got to do, sometimes there's only been two of us jumping so we've had lots of room in the plane, keep watching the plane and me as I follow you , one of my dive exits I managed to hold stable on, the other yes more leg kicking, but I know on my poised exit I have to present my arch to the prop blast, thats just it I know what i've got to do, I 've had four goes so far, but I won't be beaten. My poor instructor just sits there scratching his head when we get down. Eddy

[RichM 0]

Good on yer mate. Stick at it and you'll get it soon enough :)
Rich M