Very little separation on opening

[rainman 0]

Hi all,
First of all, I am a newbie jumper with 29 jumps, hoping to get my A-licence with five FS instruction jumps.
On Tuesday I made two jumps where there was nowhere near enough separation on opening.
On my first jump of the day I did some frontloops, backloops and turns, bellyflying only. I tried to do some turns by tilting my legs sideways instead of using my arms and my upper body. I did not do any tracking, and at pull-time I saw some canopies open almost directly below me, fortunately I open high, at 3.5k. I waited at least 5 secs. before I exited, and did a (planned On my second jump of the day, I did a very similar dive, only to find myself opening between two instructors who had been doing an AFF-1 jump. Again, I didn't do any intentional horizontal movements, and according to these two instructors (who were very calm about it) there was no way I could've closed the gap (they jumped at least five seconds after me with their AFF student) without tracking most if not all of the time after exit. I wasn't being accused of anything, but seeing someone open very close and grabbing a handful of risers for dear life was not exactly my idea of fun.
I have a feeling I tend to extend my legs too much (overcompensating from my AFF-course....), and I was wearing a very slick RW suit instead of the very baggy twinzipper I have been wearing before. It seemed to me like I was falling much faster, which would not explain the second jump IMHO. By the way, I am 6'2" and 220 lbs (including gear).
Does anyone have any suggestions on possible causes for this separation? I am a bit spooked by experiencing this twice in a row.
I think on my next jump I will ask an experienced FS jumper to act as my personal 'base' so that I have an idea of my horizontal movement.
Any advice or suggestion is welcome!
Ramon

[ClayFowler 0]

Backsliding is a common problem with students. I will tell you that 5 sec isnt a huge seperation. I quite often go for 7 on calm days and as much as 12 if the winds are really honking at altitude. There are many debates on exit order! Check the "Order, Order" post on talk back. The bottom line is really this. If you pull at 3.5 then stop your dive at 4 or 4.5. Barrel roll and clear your airspace in all 3 dimensions. Especially when jumping by yourself there isnt much excuse for not having time to be safe. Yes on a big way you have to clear your space while tracking but when alone, take the time!

[wildblue 4]

what kind of aircraft?
what were the winds like?
On the first jump: the people you opened above, did they leave the plane before or after you?
On the second jump: You opened between them? Or they opened on either side of you?

[rainman 0]

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what kind of aircraft?

Cessna Grand Caravan

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what were the winds like?

Winds were rather light. I think 5 knots at 5000, maybe a little more at 10000.

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On the first jump: the people you opened above, did they leave the plane before or after you?

They left the plane before me.

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On the second jump: You opened between them? Or they opened on either side of you?

I'm not really sure what you mean here, but we opened at the same altitude, I was open first since I pull higher. Since both of these people are very experienced AFF/I's and T/M's I feel that it was most likely something I did, it's hard to imagine that both of them would track in my direction.
Ramon