tomate

My Spectre is brand-new. Just got it last December. I will follow your advice and have the full equipment checked by a professional rigger. I have had about three hard openings in my short skydiving history (blame bad body position, unreduced speed from tracking, bad luck...), but believe me, I was truly scared when I heard my neck cracking after the INSTANT opening. I knew my neck didn't break only because I was conscious and I could move my arms and legs... Scary and mysterious things can happen up there in the beautiful blue sky... Thanks for the advice

Last week my parachute exploded and sent me to the clinic with a painful grade 3 sprain in the neck and 3 weeks of a rigid neck collar. This was more than an usual hard opening. It opened instantly with my body facing the Earth and I heard my neck cracking!!! I was sitflying solo (ie no tracking) and opened stable after 1,000 ft of belly-to-Earth. The rig was packed by the one good packer I always use and I personally decollapsed the slider. An experienced skydiver saw afterwards that the rubber bands were OK and the chute was not damaged. I have always had soft openings with my new Spectre 190 and I trust it, but I don't know if it should be professionally checked after this "strange" incident. Or could it just be a poor pack job?

As a student I have not overcome my fears yet, and remain anxious and even afraid. Recently I questionned myself why I had to go through the ordeal of nervousness and fears just for an instant of fun. What kept me going, however, was a message in this forum saying that some only dream of doing things, while others actually do things. It may sound gory, but I'd rather die flying than live dreaming about skydiving. Butterflies: I have them not only when jumping, but all week long -even reading these posts !!!

I wish that we see you around here. Many of us are students or beginners and get a lot from this great site.

Welcome here! It's never late to discover what makes you happy !!

You won't feel at all that you have somebody attached to your back during freefall. Once you open, you'll feel safe and secure, and your tandem master will explain you many details and have fun together maneuvering the canopy. All in all, having the TM behind you is no deal.

From the few jumps I have done, it feels somewhat like the best rollercoaster, but I love that feeling of vertigo and acceleration !! My instructor actually describes the first few seconds as confussing and a bit uncomfortable, but to me the first part is better than afterwards when you reach terminal velocity and don't face anymore the feeling of actually falling. Although my exits have been relatively stable, I very much enjoy the jolt before stabilizing with an arch.

Proficiaat, jongen en welkom van ons allemaal gekke maar geweldige mensen !! Ik wens jij blauwe hemels

Go for the tandem and forget about technicalities and "passing" the level. It will familiarize you with the experience so that AFF 1 seems the natural next step. I am still a student, which means concentrating on tasks and "passing". I still remember my tandem jump as delightful and am lloking forward to do it all on my own once I finish my AFF course.

I am there, too, as I progress on my AFF course. I enjoyed your post because I also feel anxious and have mixed feelings. Level 4 was bad (I'll repeat it) and I questioned myself whether I should be disbursing so much money only to make mistakes. But driving back home I decided that I was going to forget about mistakes and spend my money enjoying the ride. Hopefully that will give me the mental clarity I need. I wish you stay around here!!!

I wish you a fast recovery and a quick return to the skies

37 - 37 (or 36 - 36) My first jump three weeks ago was my birthday gift to myself

Being an AFF student myself, I wonder if my spirits would stay as high as yours after an accident !!! Get well soon and keep this positive attitude !!

Why didn't your jumpmaster allow you to pull a little lower? 5,500 may be much more than safe for a tandem with an expert right behind you. On my first AFF jump, the jumpmaster realized I was aware of altitude (looking regularly at the altimeter) and patiently allowed me to pull almost at 4,000 instead of 4,500 or 5,000 (may seem low for beginners, but our DZ is already 3,500 above sea-level). Anyway, I was sort of scolded for not relaxing and enjoying the ride (which afterwards made me even more tense), I counted to five too fast (to detect malfunction and cut-away), and could not easily find the landing zone. As everybody else suggests, it only gets better. My second AFF jump was better (scolded this time for doing an extra and never-asked-for maneuver instead of relaxing and enjoying the ride, plus I did not count to five this time, but JM does not know since he was already hundreds of feet down when I forgot to count...don't tell him, pls.) Third jump was awesome, delightful, and almost perfect (well, I had to correct my legs twice, correct direction, and the instructor was mad because I did not follow 100% of his instructions on the radio for landing). The most important lesson of all, so far: relax and enjoy as much as you can !!!

Same experience with me two weeks ago!! Except it took me longer (four days) to actually sign-in for my AFF course. Welcome !!