lookoutbelow

We were allowed to pack our student/rental gear when we were the ones about to jump it. The pack job after our last jump that day had to be performed by the packers so that the next person to use the gear wouldn't be jumping our pack job. That said, I didn't start to packing my own until I had my own rig. With a busy schedule, it was easier to practice over and over and over at home.

One more thing to keep in mind... I'm not sure how frequently it rains or the winds are too high to jump where you live, but those variables might mean you can't jump on days you have free to jump. That bites me once in a while. The only recurrency jump I've had to make so far was primarily due to weather not honoring my schedule.

I don't have my A license yet, but have completed AFF. I'm also very busy and can only make the trip to the DZ once a month on average. Still worth it, to me. I do live in the south though and can jump comfortably year round. Until you get your A license (minimum of 25 jumps), you'll need to jump at least every 30 days, or else you'll need to make a recurrency jump with an instructor. Not a big deal, but an additional cost. Your gear should be provided for you during AFF. After that, you'll either have to rent it from the DZ or buy your own. I bought my own rig (used) just for convenience, but lots of folks at my level rent. Whatever works for your situation.

That happened to me a few jumps back. Looked down and saw someone right below me. Freaked me out for a few seconds, then realized it was my own shadow. Phew!

No worries.

Maybe I should have said I've never not been able to get back in control when it was time to do so. I've had an unstable solo exit that put me on my back unexpectedly. I've also been unstable a few times as I attempted to sitfly after AFF. Spun around this way and that, ended up heads down a few times. But in the end when I said to myself "enough playing", I always went back to stable belly without issue. I have no doubts I can always do it, as long as I'm concious and uninjured. I know the SIM says I shouldn't be trying to sitfly yet. I hadn't seen that section at the time.

Every successful AFF jump is one that gets you closer to jumping out of that plane without anyone to save you. Could it be that is why it is getting worse as you progress? It might not be, but when I can pinpoint the cause of my own fears, it is easier to find a solution. I haven't experienced extreme fear from skydiving (I'm new myself), but nerves for sure. The two things that worried me were malfunctions upon open, and what if after AFF, I completely lose stability during freefall and can't regain it. I overcame my concerns about malfunctions by finding as many videos of malfunctions as I could and watching them over and over. Then visualizing them happening to me. And reading up on emergency procedures related to what I was watching. While I am certainly not looking forward to a malfunction, knowledge and expectation have greatly minimized their effect on my level of nervousness. My stability fears I managed to minimize because I know I've never gone out of control and I know my body knows how to get back to calm belly. Like riding a bicycle to some extent. I trust my muscle memory. It really sunk in once I botched an exit, flipped, and fixed it. I have faith that I won't mysteriously unlearn to ride that bicycle.

I'm a noob myself, but I think I've read that a little front riser might help when trying to get back from a long spot and flying into the wind. I've never tried it and I make no claims of this actually working. :) And, what I really want to know, because I keep thinking what am I going to do if/when that happens to me, is how did you get back to the DZ? Did you have a cellphone and called for a pickup? Hiked it back? Hitched? :)

This is how I made my first hop and pop exit a few jumps back. I was worried about what exit to use. My normal head first exit is fine, but never felt like I was ready to immediately open. After watching enough videos of clean hop and pops, the jump to the side, facing forward (being sure to not throw myself backwards), and arms down, with a slight arch in hip and legs seemed to always be clean and quick. I made two test exits like that and 13.5 and both were amazingly clean. Several seconds into it, you either pull the chute, if a hop and pop, or transition your arms to standard belly position if an altitude exit. Worked for me.

What is the freefly mod? Is it the bungy across the leg straps, or something else?

All I'm going to say is, the first time you stand in the door of a plane at 13,500 feet with your toes at the edge, looking down at the world below, you will never forget it. There is a momentary switch you flip in the back of your mind, then it is out the door for the experience that will forever keep you looking up into the sky.

I haven't really paid attention to my legs during the opening. I try to maintain good belly form after the toss, but once I start to get put into the harness, what happens just happens. Don't know if my legs are together or not. I'll try and make sure they are now.

That sounds like a fun situation to find yourself in. Maybe too fun.

Roger that. Thanks. I did play with steering by harness input while flying around last time. I could get it to turn, but it certainly wasn't quick about it. My current WL is around 0.96.

During one of my last openings, I felt the risers cross to the right. I was expecting it to go into twists, but it stopped at just a 90 and whipped me into position without further drama. Is if it is a good idea or a bad idea to apply rear riser input in the opposite direction if I feel the risers start to cross like that again?

I would use a different term. I would go with when did I feel confident in the air. The answer to that was after my first AFF jump without the instructor holding on to me during exit. I botched it a little and ended up falling back down. I instantly and without difficulty flipped myself. After that I had no worries as I knew I could always get into deployment position.

It is free with a USPA membership. http://parachutistonline.com/

I'm new enough to not have forgotten yet, if it is something you just get used to and just stop noticing, and I can say that I've never felt that feeling jumping from a plane. Don't know whether it is just the brain overloaded with other things to process, or the physics involved.

I'm a newb myself, so take my answers for what they are worth. I bought my own rig immediately, and I am glad I did. I don't have to worry about someone renting out the rig I would have used. No time wasted hunting down gear, etc. I can show up and jump. Plus you will learn to maintain the gear and inspect it from the start (assuming you weren't taught that already). With regards to an altimeter, I would get an analog for your wrist and an audible for your helmet. And if you get an audible that also signals altitudes under canopy, it might make learning to judge your landing patterns by eye easier/faster. Before I had my audible I spent too much time glancing at my wrist rather than watching the ground and target. With the audible I spend most of the time learning to eyeball it, with the audible signalling altitude thresholds. With the hot weather here, I've started wearing jump pants and not my full jump suit. I like that the pants still protect my knees a little, compared to shorts. I haven't rolled any of my recent landings, but... :)

I did 10 minutes in the tunnel after my third AFF level. Not so much because I felt I had to have it. It was just a little insurance towards passing level 4. Knowing for a fact I could start and stop my own turns with good control before having to do it for real was nice. I probably would have been fine without it.

Another vote to skip the tandem. If your goal is to get licensed, you don't need a tandem. Unless maybe you are completely scared out of your wits at the thought of your first jump. Which you aren't. I did an AFF level 1 jump first, then did a tandem after that because a friend wanted to go, but didn't want to go AFF. So I figured a tandem might be a fun co-experience. Completely different experiences. AFF 1 jump wasn't "fun". The tandem was. The difference simply being having the time to smell the roses and look around and not worry about procedures. Not saying it wasn't a great AFF 1 jump, because it was. But it is an all work jump.

I didn't pay for a class, but my local DZ does offer one. One of my instructors was kind enough to get me started free of charge during a moment of downtime and I also paid the DZ packers a little extra a few times to let me shadow them. That and a lot of personal practice in between. That being said, I would have gladly paid for the course they offer. Everyone deserves to make a living.

You've already made your first leap and you want more, so I doubt you'll be too scared to make your first AFF jump. What I was most scared of was not the actual jump from the plane, but the opening. Would I be able to deal with a malfunction when all my sense were already on overload. That's where you just have to believe in the gear, and in yourself. And, honestly, you have so many tasks to remember and perform during your first AFF jump, you don't have time to be afraid. The entire fall is scripted.

The headache may have been from adrenaline/stress, and maybe some related motion sickness. There is a good chance that won't happen again, or at least it will get better, then eventually stop after you become more comfortable and relaxed. That was my experience. Being two hours away is what would make me think twice. Will you have the time to go, and stay current?

Aye, makes sense. Thanks. I guess what I was primarily concerned with though was not so much that the locking stows were more than the others, but whether being over the recommended 12 pound maximum would be an issue when it came time for the pilot chute to yank the lines out. I am not too worried really as I assumed that the 12 pounds value might be a little conservative for safety, but I had no idea how much force a standard size pilot chute would exert. Ultimately I guess I just wanted some consensus that 14 pounds on those two stows wasn't pushing the edge beyond reasonable safety.