undercanopy

Congrats! My first jump was on September 10. It was a static-line from 4,500 feet out of a C182. I have 11 jumps now, and have one more 10 second delay to do, then I move to the 20 second. I can't wait. Hopefully the weather will be good enough to jump on Sunday. It's supposed to be windy on Saturday. I sort of remember the plane going past me in slow motion after I let go. What I was feeling was something between exhilaration and terror, but in a good way. I can't wait for jump #12!

Meh, attempted humor. Just working from your post title. Since skydiving is a sport for the living, doing it after death isn't really a possibility.

I think this belongs in the "Things That Are Mutually Exclusive" forum. But no, I started skydiving my first time around.

That's why you date gymnasts.

Actually, they're across the street from each other, but connected by a skywalk provided by the Ministry of Silly Walks.

I especially liked the voice-over guy's reference to both a rifle and a shotgun. Being a gun nut, I pick up on the little things.

I just now got that.

I believe a PLF would be in order. A Plastered Landing Fall.

Pardon me, as I'm new, but... You, and others, were in freefall whilst sitting in a couch? Did the couch have a parachute? That's no way for a couch to die.

A friend shared this with me for some bizarre reason. Clearly there's a "minor" mistake. Since BillyVance posts his images here, I figured this would be the place. Via http://twitpic.com/74kulk.

This is a little weird. I'm not afraid of heights, but if I look at pictures taken from heights, or there are scenes in a movie where things are high up, or sometimes when I'm talking about heights, my palms will get sweaty. They'll get that way a bit in the plane, but I think it's more anxiety or apprehension. I can climb out and hang on the wing strut with no problem. I hate doing it, though. I think that's mostly because it's so unnatural. And windy.

Today was a great day! For why? Two jumps with a five second delay! That. Was. AWESOME! Not only that, they were back to back. I landed, dropped my rig, got into another one, and got back on the plane. I was the third jumper for two loads of first time students. Everything went great. I had a good arch and a good pull. I have a little problem with rotating left a bit on the yaw axis, so I need to figure that one out, but other than that, I was stable. About time I started to lie horizontal it was time to pull the ripcord. Yeah, the subject of this thread is correct. I'm addicted.

Roger that! Altitude it is. And the post has been updated. Thanks for the advice.

I just completed my third PRCP and my clear and pull this past Saturday. I had to do a couple extra PRCPs because I screwed them up. I totally rushed one, and broke my arch on another. Wendy is right, there is a lot to remember and it puts pressure on you. Let go of the plane, arch, reach (but stay arched), pull (but stay arched), arch... One guy kept telling me to relax. That of course is easier said than done when you're hanging from a plane. When I got the go from my JM, I looked up for a bit, relaxed, then let go. And things worked out. I know first hand the desire to rush things, but I made myself consciously aware of time and refused to rush. I'm just a noob student myself, but it seems to me your body and mind know what to do. You've rehearsed it, you've gone through the motions. You just need to trust that you know what you're doing. It just might take a few extra jumps before everything comes together. That's my experience, anyway. Congrats on the jump, though!

Update! This past Saturday I had my clear and pull! Yay! I had to do a couple extra PRCPs, so I'm at eight jumps now. When I landed, everyone was like, "That was a pretty long delay." I made the decision that I wasn't going to rush, because then you mess up (and have to do extra jumps). I let go of the plane, had a good arch and counted two seconds before the reach and pull. And we were at 4,200 feet vs 3,500, so I had altitude. It was awesome. Sadly, I didn't stand the landing. I did stand my landing on one of the PRCPs that day, though. My first. They're still talking me in, so I do what they say when they say. It would appear that flaring too late reduces your chances of standing a landing. Hopefully the weather will be good this coming weekend.

Oh, it gets worse. They're doing another American Pie movie as well. American Reunion.

Well, it could be the Russian mob. As long as the one reporter guy is in it, and he gets kicked around, it should be alright.

Hey Yossarian, Gato and kkeenan, I mentioned in my post in the Introductions forum how I have some issues with rushing things. I figured I'd do a search and see how others dealt with this. You're right that timings seem rushed. It's annoying. My second PRCP I did alright. I had a good count and kept my eyes on the plane the whole time. My JM said he had the same problem. When I practice, everything is fine, but everything changes when you let go of the wing strut, and there's no practice scenario that can simulate that. I might give kkeenan's count a try next time.

I'm not sure who Bogey is. The only two I know are Hack and Wally. I've got four completed jumps. Well, a fifth, too, but I totally messed that one up. I need one more PRCP and then the clear and pull. Hopefully the weather will be nice enough so I can get those two done before the end of the year. My first PRCP was rushed. The second one was a lot better. The third one I rushed things again. That resulted in a line twist right above the risers. I tried to turn my head up to check the canopy and had to squeeze through, and I was like, oh, that explains that. Went yesterday, but the wind was too strong. Should have went back today but didn't. It wasn't supposed to be nearly as windy.

Did jump #2 today. Time for some PRCPs now.

So I guess this is where we introduce ourselves. I did my first jump (static-line) at Skydive Kansas City on September 10. Wow. The moment I let go of the wing strut of that Cessna I forgot pretty much everything I learned in class. I guess the feeling was somewhere between exhilaration and terror. I was confident everything was going to work, but leaving a plane at 3,500 feet messes with your brain, apparently. I had a line twist, but other than that, everything was perfect (well, my form was horrid). And I executed a lovely PLF. I tried taking pics after the jump but found my hands were shaking a bit to much for the shutter on my phone. I had one of the packers take the one of parachute. I've posted the pics over on Flickr. I was hoping to get a second jump in last Saturday, but the weather wasn't cooperative. I hung around and started learning how to pack. This weekend is looking good, though, and I can't wait. I say I'm a thrillseeker with regard to roller coasters. I've loved them since I was a kid and have ridden a fair number, but I'm not keeping count. Of course, with coasters you're still (somewhat) firmly attached to the Earth through track, wheels and restraints. Plus I've ridden some of the tallest and fastest ones on the planet. Jumping out of perfectly good airplanes is really the next logical step. As far as my user name, I was debating what to use for a while. I really figured someone probably already had undercanopy (or maybe it's too obvious?). I thought about going with overcanopy, but opted to be sensible. Of course, it didn't have to be skydiving related, but I hate choosing user names, and I try not to use the same one too much, so I went with something easy to pick. Other than that, I'm looking forward to my next jump and working toward my A license.