jumpgump

Here's what I have on my iPod "Skydiving" playlist: Song - Artist Fanfare for the Common Man - Aaron Copland Main Title Theme - Mission Impossible; Artie Kane As the Rush Comes - Motorcycle Moving Into Light (Freemasons Vocal Mix) - Black Fras Fly Away - Lenny Kravitz Above the Clouds - Paul Weller Blink and You'll Miss It - Paul Weller Dreamscape - 009 Sound System Fall to Pieces - Velvet Revolver This is the Life - Amy Macdonald Safe and Sound - Capital Cities Clubbed to Death - Rob Dougan Sandstorm - Darude Blow Me Away - Breaking Benjamin Powerslave - Testament I Am Machine - Three Days Grace I'm a Man - Spencer Davis Group Where Eagles Dare - Iron Maiden

Yeah, I think that would do it and not take five jumps!

Background: I'm a former Army military static line jumper (1985-1996). One thing that is still fresh in my mind as it was in my active duty Army years was doing PLFs with those old T-10s and -1Bs rounds pounding into the ground upon landing with gear day or night. PLF training and practice was pounded into all of our minds not only for safety but also because of the mission and obeying orders. Doing PLFs sometimes by the hundreds in training from elevated positions was the norm. Needless to say, I can do military style PLFs very well. There was never even the thought of standing up on a landing. It was an impossible thought. Any who dared to try it was given an Article 15 summary court martial. I saw enough serious injuries even when PLFs were performed correctly. Thankfully, I walked away from every military jump I did. Others didn't fare so well. Current: I've obtained my A license in my somewhat old age. It's definitely a new world in sport skydiving with these RAM canopies. During student training all of my landings were done PLF. I didn't even attempt to do a stand-up. I didn't want to...didn't want to even try it (as stated above). I still don't, but I know that I must/should. I barely squeaked out a partial stand-up to get my license. My coach gave it to me because I could PLF so well. Trying to retrain the brain to not automatically go into PLF when coming into contact with the ground is proving difficult. I need to learn this mental re-training from an automatic-PLF to stand up. I have my own rig now and the last thing I want to do is tear up the container doing PLFs on every landing. My rig was very expensive to be out there slamming into the ground. I'm guessing there may be some other former military jumpers like myself or other jumpers with a similar background with sport rounds back in the day here who had the same problem. Will this just come in time with more practice or something else or both? Thanks!

Great information - thank you!

My home DZ has highly qualified and experienced load organizers available almost every day of the week. I recently got my A license and plan to take advantage of this opportunity and start jumping with them. The LOs say their service is free. Is it really? I don't see how. All my training up to this point has cost me quite a bit of money. AFF and coaches got tips. Don't the LOs? If so, what is customary per jump? The LOs are crucial for me to be able to jump with other people and actually learn something instead of doing solos by myself. The last thing I want to do is start off on the wrong foot and piss them off by not tipping if I should out of newbie ignorance.

Is it okay/acceptable to ask the load organizer or someone in manifest to sign my logbook?

Thanks for writing and posting this article. I'd like to know the video and book by Brian Germain that you studied. Thanks!

Yeah, I'd be a little concerned if my wife placed the value of my life at 1,000,000 "likes" on FB. The current exchange rate for FB likes in the United States is probably the same in Australia. FB 1,000,000 = $0 It took me four months to get my wife's blessings and approval to get back in the sky again after I had a small tear to my left shoulder rotator cuff from an AFF jump. I think anything more serious (such as your mate) than that would have gotten me banned for life by the wife.

If you think 4000 is a low hop n' pop, check this one out at 1500 feet. I didn't think our safety man was going to jump behind us since we were doing a static line jump and he was wearing a freefall rig. I wonder how low it can go. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZJZfoiWswY&list=

I paid a packer $25 to pack an SF-10A rig (military round canopy). When I picked my rig up that afternoon I said, "Thank you." She laughed and replied, "I hope it opens!" I didn't think it was very funny, and I certainly didn't have a good feeling about the next jump.

I wonder if this freefall jumper was nervous doing a hop n' pop at 1500 feet (last jumper to leave the plane). I was one of the static line jumpers on this jump. I thought he was on the plane as a safety and to pull the static lines back in after the other jumpers exited the aircraft. I didn't think a hop n' pop could be done this low...frickin' crazy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZJZfoiWswY