skylord

Thanks, Rosa! I'm having a great time out here on Kauai. But I want to jump. Care to take my place?? Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Aw, shucks! Well, I'm stuck here in Kauai on business and can't get to Elsinore to jump. Darcy, my heartiest congratulations on your most recent accomplishments. You are a true AFF studstress in my book. I'm hoping to do AFF-6 again this weekend, although (this is no joke) I really hurt my left arm playing golf today. That is one dangerous sport, if you ask me. Good job on the recounting of your jumps, and I'm glad you enjoy reading my adventures. I much more enjoy reading yours! We'll do a jump sometime together, I'm sure! Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Or maybe I'll need it... Hee hee! Darcy, he took a shot at you. Fire back! Bob the skydancer Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Darcy, Doug is excellent. He has around 13,000 jumps but treated me like I was his first student. Have a great time this weekend! Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Yes, I leave tomorrow morning for Kauai on business until next Friday. I wish I could find someone to take my place..... Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

I actually had this ready to post last night, but when I hit "Post" I got a strange error message and lost the whole thing. Oh, well. Doug was my JM for Level 6, too. It is a blessing to get someone like him who loves skydiving and instruction. We spent about a half hour between the Level 5 and 6 jumps going over pattern work. He advises me this will be a solo floating exit. We go over the dive, get into the plane, and off we go. I felt good on the ride up. At jump altitude, we take our turn spotting the DZ. Got it, there it is. Thumbs up from Doug, and out into the slipstream. I don't know why, but I was apprehensive this time. I got six out of seven exits rated good or great, and one OK, so I should have this down. Doug is ready, I'm a bit tense, but I figure it will clear up in freefall. For whatever reason, I looked down at my leg during the exit count. Out I go, head down. Shit! This is a bad exit! I thought, "Oh oh, I'm headed into uncharted freestyle territory!", and there I went. Front loop, back loop, turns, barrel rolls, the hokey pokey, funky chicken, everything you could imagine. I had completely destablilized. I think I met, inadvertently, all the technical learning objectives for AFF- 7, 8, and some levels that haven't been invented yet. The new objective for this jump was "Let's Figure This Out Now". I had thought if this happened to me I'd be a quivering blob of panicked protoplasm. Now I'm on my back. My training kicked in. Freefall was not foreign to me. I flailed for a second or two, and then thought I can get out of this. Believe it or not, I was relatively calm. Arch hard, and like magic, the sky returned to its rightful place, along with earth. Stable, on heading, no idea where my JM is, but I'm doing good. Continue the skydive. Doug had told me if there was a problem, just to get stable, he would find me, I didn't have to go looking for him. Now I start to think how pissed Doug is at me for screwing this up. He'll probably come down, give me the "take up bowling" sign, pull for me, speedbag my head under canopy, and then finish kicking my ass on the ground afterwards for scaring him. Doug comes into view right in front of me. Dammit, he makes it look so easy! To my surprise, he is smiling at me. I smiled back, after my little extra curricular trip. I check altitude, and I'm at about 10,500. I thought my improv routine lasted longer than that. Anyway, we lock eyes, and he gives me the turn sign. Wow, we're going through with this. I turned right 360 degrees. Roll out. Left turn sign. A little faster than I wanted, but I stopped on heading. Relax sign from Doug, but no legs out. I feel my body relax into a more stable arch. At 6,000 I note the altitude and remind myself to maintain my arch through the pull. 5,000, wave off, good stable pull, and canopy check. I came down and landed within 50M of the target, but I was disappointed in my performance on this jump. Doug was really upbeat, which surprised me, and he pointed out the improvements I made from my AFF-5 jump. Then we talked about the exit. He commented I made a good recovery, and that I did exactly what I was supposed to do. But he wants to see a cleaner exit, and more relaxation in the turns. So AFF-6 will be a repeat, but that's fine by me. I remember thinking under the canopy that probably no student ever screwed an exit up like that before. Doug really put it in perspective for me in the debrief, and told me if I re-did this level, 7 and 8 would be a snap. He's got one bajillion jumps so I trust his judgment. I didn't scare him, and I didn't hurt him, so by all rights it was a good jump. What did I learn? I learned that no matter how unstable you get, you can recover. I can't say I "enjoyed" the experience, but the training I got from the beginning enabled me to fix a problem exit. I learned how IMPORTANT it is to relax, get your chin up, and arch hard on exiting the airplane. Physics will keep everything else as expected. I also learned that for me, personally, I probably need time to "digest" each of these early training jumps. In other words, probably one a day for me works better. To Javier and Darcy, all my best this weekend! Best of luck with the jumps. Arch hard! Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Up to Elsinore again for more A-F squared. Hooked up with Doug, who was the tandem master for my first skydive. He has over one bajillion jumps, and has spent more time in the air than on earth. AFF-5 is the same exit as AFF-4 but now we will, well not we since Doug is already pretty good at it, I will demonstrate 90 degree turns in opposite directions. Into the plane, up to altitude, and its skydive time! Over to the door, spot, looks good, and take position. I figured out the leg thing. Check, ready, set, arch..... Good clean exit, as the Otter I've taken off in several times now and in which I've never landed, recedes into the distance. It doesn't seem like we are even off the hill when Doug appears. He gives me the nod to start my turn toward him. I stick it, although the East German judge gave me a low score. Cool. Doug gives me the legs out sign, nods, and I go back off to the left. Stuck it again. Check right, Doug gives me the legs out sign, nods, and again. I've got to work on that. Six turns done, check altitude, I don't have to lock on anymore at 6,000, I just note it, hold my heading, check, and at 5,000 I wave off. As I go to pull my head drops, I de arch a bit, making it harder to get the PC, and I start a pretty good turn to the left. I got the handle, threw it out, but had a sneaking suspicion my canopy would not look like it had on all my previous jumps. I should start one of those "900" number fortune telling services for skydivers. Call me up, give me your credit card number, tell me you were turning during deployment, and I will predict line twists. Sure enough, I got slapped by the risers I think, and looked up to see about three twists. The chute was fine, and I got to see how stupid I look in the air trying to do the Nutcracker ballet. The training worked and I had it all sorted out in a jiffy. I flew the canopy, did rear riser turns, a stall, and released the brakes. I was so concerned about flying a "proper" pattern, that I ran out of altitude to make the X. I should have flown straight toward my touchdown point, and flopped the pattern around. I would have made it then. The landing was unassisted, but for the first time I flared high just a bit, and dropped in from about three feet. Ouch, but not bad. Doug debriefed me, cleared me to Level 6, and asked if I was going to do another jump that day. Sure, why not! See the next installment. Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

See? She's going through a painful divorce after her drunken weekend in Las Vegas and you can't even find my contact info. Are we talking about the same Brittnay? I'm a sexy, sexy student, sky diving bitch! Bob the sexy sky diving student bitch Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

I took it up at 45, and did my first skydive (tandem) at Elsinore last May. Frankly, I thought there is no way I'll ever do this again. But I kept thinking about it, and kept thinking about it, and kept thinking about it. I did my AFF-1 dive at the end of November, and did my AFF-4 dive today. Check it out in Safety and Training. It is a discipline, believe me, but the sense of accomplishment and camaraderie from the beginning is like nothing I've ever experienced. Relax, have fun, listen to your jumpmasters, don't give them your expensive wristwatch , and SKYDIVE!! Bob Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Went up to Elsinore today to look AFF-4 in the eye and kick its ass. Actually, that isn't what it initially felt like at first. It had been eight days since my last jump, and on the drive north to the DZ I had the jitters a bit. Nothing major, just the "Why am I doing this?" "Boy, did I have fun last time!" internal argument. I got to the DZ, paid for the AFF jump, and had to wait around awhile since it was such a slow day. That didn't help the nerves much. Shark hooked up with me and did the ground preparation for my jump. Today, was a new exit and a new challenge: one instructor only going out the door. Yo Yo was going to be my jumpmaster, and now I am being given more and more responsibility for the jump and my equipment. I selected the parachute, did the pre-checks, and adjusted the harnesses, too. I thought it was a bit overwhelming but I followed the flow I learned earlier and remembered to check everything. Suit up, (oops, I have my watch on, I'll leave it with Shark for safekeeping) and into the airplane. We had quite a bit more room, so it was easier to check outside the window at what the various altitudes looked like. 2,500. This is my hard deck. 5,000 is my pull altitude. Door opens for a hop 'n pop. Anxiety wells up like a Tammy Faye Bakker teardrop. Relax, take it easy. I dab the teardrop of anxiety away but it has mascara on it. Yo Yo has me envision the skydive in my mind and I do, but sometimes the thought of going out of the airplane with just one jumpmaster bothers me. He has me go through the dive flow again, slowly and deliberately. That helped tremendously. Woooo. Not as bad as my second jump but I'm definitely a little tense right now. Jump altitude, door open! The blast of cold air hits us, but it's ok.....relax, enjoy the dive. Everyone gives me the secret skydive handshake which I've now nailed to the point that I am reasonably certain I won't get arrested on the ground. Out goes all the others, now it's our turn. Yo Yo has me spot prior to climb out. I have to hold the rail with my right hand and look out underneath the airplane. I point out my target, and get the thumbs up, and it's time to go. I cross my hands on the rail, and do a pirouette into position. Wow, it feels like I'm already in free fall! 45 degrees left shoulder out, left foot dangling, check JM, OK, (no one else to look at, it is time to skydive!) Ready! Set! Shit! I started my leg count OPPOSITE to what I was doing, so "Arch" was my leg against the bottom of the doorway. Maybe no one saw it. Improvise, quick. Think of a word, Shit works. So the exit went Ready, Set, Shit, Arch! This was the first time I could see the jump ship the whole time until we came off the hill. Wow! First COA, at 11,500, thumbs up! PRCT, slow and deliberate just like Yo Yo told me, bingo, nailed it. Second COA, about 10,000, thumbs up!! I pick out my heading on the horizon. It is a beautiful view, with the Pacific Ocean in the distance, blue, reflecting the afternoon sun. Ahhh. Heading is solid. Suddenly a jumpmaster appears between me and the Pacific Ocean. Jesusmaryandjoseph it's Yo Yo!! I do the math. One jumpmaster minus one equals zero. I am falling on my own. Sometimes you just get into a different kind of conciousness in a skydive, do you know what I mean? I had a strong emotional flashback on learning to ride a bike, and watching my dad let go of me. Of course, I had more than 4 and a half minutes to learn that skill. In any event, Yo Yo had an ear to ear grin on his face. I was a little anxious. I started a small turn to the right, and corrected. I got the relax sign from Yo Yo (these guys are good). It fixed it. Then I started to get a little buffet, which kind of surprised me. Yo Yo gave me the legs out sign. I did that, but apparently I wasn't paying enough attention to leg position and I started a pretty good left turn. This was obviously evil spirits pushing me around since I thought everything position wise was great. I stopped the turn at 180 degrees and got the legs out sign from Yo Yo who somehow managed to be waiting for me at the end of my little carousel ride. Laughing now. That was when I felt my legs moving all over the place. I was at 8,000 ft and in a tango competition from all the foot movement I was making. Concentrate, but don't obsess on the problem. Relax, chill. Feel the pressure on the legs and toes. Yo Yo drifts over to my left, a bit away, 6,000, lock on, I decided to wave and pull at 5,500 instead of 5,000. I just wanted the extra couple seconds to find the PC. This is MY jump. Oops, forgot to wave off, forget it, I'm already on the handle, got it, pull!!! I feel the increasingly familiar sensation of the bag coming off my back and the risers coming up. I look over to my left and see Yo Yo, still smiling, turn left and track off. Swee......BAMMO! That was kind of a hard opening. Not bad, but harder than in any other AFF jump I've done. No problems, check canopy, it is good. Shark, who has without a doubt by now hocked my watch, told me about rear riser turns, and flat turns. Time to experiment, and let's see what this baby can do. Thumbs down and pull, ugh, on the left riser, same with the right. Hmmm. Much more sluggish, but it works. I told Shark and Yo Yo that once I did my controllability checks I was going to do some tight turns one way, roll out level, and go the other way. I didn't want to spook someone into thinking something was wrong. Left tight 360, toggle ALL the way down. Man, you really spiral down, even under a 260 sq. ft. canopy! Same to the right......Yo Yo comes on the radio and tells me it was a good skydive (really?), and that he had bought my watch from Shark. He tells me this landing will be on my own, unless I'm late in the flare, and then he should get the watch for free. I entered my pattern, a bit high and tight at the X, extend a bit, oops, I'm coming down steeper than I thought, Yo Yo tells me legs together, I do, for a couple seconds, wait, wait, shoulders, and down.....tiptoe landing! Yes! I raise my hands in triumph and ecstasy as my chute reinflates behind me from the wind and I start to get pulled backward. Hey, Bumpkis, the skydive isn't over yet! I collapse the chute, and Mark heads out to pick me up in the cart. "Great landing, man!" "Can I have my watch back?" "How'd it go?" "I think it went fine, where's my watch?" "Looked good from down here!" "Great, sign my logbook for me then, where's my watch?" Yo Yo debriefed me afterwards. He prefaced what came next with "It was a good skydive, you did great". He then recounted in detail our whole skydive and what I did wrong. That was great, and is exactly what I need to hear. He made it clear from the beginning that I passed, but this was what I needed to work on for the next level. He told me the buffet is something all students have to work through, and he could tell from my corrections I was doing the right thing. He did not have to redock on me. So, I had fun today, sorry for the long post. I learned that there are no demons up there pushing you around, it is all an issue of learning to fly your body. We have powerful control surfaces that operate most optimally under relaxed conditions. I learned that while it isn't extremely difficult, it is not as easy as many, many of you make it look. I was lock on solid for about 15 seconds, and the next I'm turning. I figured it out thanks to training, relaxation, and JMs who smile at you through the whole skydive. I just need to figure out how to get my watch back.... Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

OK. First of all, I was disappointed you didn't use what is arguably the greatest skydive music of all time. The Bay City Rollers' "Saturday Night". Really, I enjoyed the video, but since I only have 5 jumps I watched the exits intensely. Will you do my AFF-7 for me? I thought the full repeats of the same dive a bit repetitive, aside from the technical aspects of watching the count and exit from a new jumper's perspective. I loved the pop ups throughout, and especially the opening sequence on the drive to Perris. Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Some of you need to get together and write a book. This stuff is great reading! Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Exactly. This happens far more often than you can imagine. I spent a weekend up at Elsinore and watched over a dozen airplanes fly right through the dropzone. In one case, a twin flew through right after they had their 60 way at an altitude at about 3,500 feet. From a controller's standpoint, a pilot who will fly through a NOTAM'd drop zone will also sometimes fail to turn their transponder on. What that means to us is we only see an intermittent primary target, but if I see it twice with lateral displacement (meaning it isn't ground returns) I call it as traffic to the jump pilot. What the pilot does is up to him/her. The thread creeped a bit, but to bring us all back, this is what I have discovered about what billvon and other moderators do in general: [deleted by billvon] So there you have it. A most comprehensive expose on the wrongdoings of ALL the dropzone.com moderators with associated links to the video/audio files, and criminal records. I may be new, but I am glad to help out. Bob ps: the ATC stuff was serious, the part about moderators was a gag. Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Good Lord everyone. I'm so sorry to read all of this. U2 wrote a song related to the suicide of INXS lead singer Michael Hutchence, called Stuck in a Moment. "I was unconcious, half asleep, the water is warm 'til you discover how deep...... "I wasn't jumping, for me it was a fall it's a long way down to nothing at all!" Some people think this refers to a joint suicide pact that Bono decided to back out of when he really thought about it. My. I don't even know what to say, aside from the fact I cannot relate to the desperation that would drive someone to such a point. Life is all we have, everything else is a long fall to nothing at all. When it comes to that, you're going to have to push me out that door, and my exit will suck. All of my thoughts, prayers, condolences, and hopes for her friends, loved ones, and to her on this New Year's Eve....... Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

NO! NOOOO! Compared to Shark??? AHHHHHH!, I'm done!!!! Thanks for the congrats. Mark is a GREAT AFF-I. He just makes you feel comfortable. I was very relaxed in the door with he and Tom on my AFF-1 jump. I have jumped with different instructors every single flight so far. I think that is good. He and Tom and me are why I'm doing well now, although I've got to keep earning it at every level. I realize that. Mark and Tom taught the base level survival stuff (relax, arch, pull the ripcord not your main JM's altimeter you dumb ass), and even when I thought the dive didn't go so well, Mark pointed out to me what I did right, and the fact I only had 50 seconds of free fall. I LOVE this sport, and thanks again, Ed, for the support!! Bob, future AFF-I, I can feel it! Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Nightingale, Have the DZ set up a dummy camera on the windsock. Problem solved, my work here is done Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Mark, I left right around noon. I guess the storm missed us, if the weather looks good I may head up for AFF-4, maybe 5 tomorrow. Thanks, it was a fun jump for me! Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Darcy, It was a hoot! I loved it. Looking forward to seeing you up at Elsinore as well. I have to travel the weekend you'll be wrapping up AFF, so save me a beer and be sure to let us all know how it went! Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

I jumped in my car today, with a list of to-dos and some gifts to be returned/exchanged. I had hoped to get out to Elsinore, but alas, it appeared that would not happen. Look at all the work I could get done. I jump on the 78 freeway, going east. (I used jump twice in the same paragraph, that should clue you in on what happened next) The 78 intersects the 15 Freeway. South takes me to work. North takes me to Elsinore. Decision time. Work, or jump......hmmmm. Screw it! It's supposed to rain tomorrow, can't jump then but I can work! I'm going skydiving! I sign up for AFF-3, and Lob takes me over to the manifest area. I meet one of my instructors, Marie, a mere wisp of a woman. The only way she and I will fall at the same rate is in a vacuum. She starts me through the briefing for our jump. She takes me out to the Creepers of Torture (that isn't a negative outlook, that's exactly what they are.) In this country you can't have the rack, or stockades anymore, but every dropzone has these instruments of pain by the dozens. I digress. We go through the dive flow, she compliments me on my ground arch. We go through unusual circumstances, including losing my JMs and if I end up on my back. I learned how to do a half barrel roll if the hard arch doesn't work, and the five second rule. I then learned, too, that IF I am comfortable, stable, and altitude aware to continue the skydive. Wh-wh-wh-what? She asked me about my landings, and I tell her I've landed all three stand up. She asked me if I'd like to downsize to a smaller chute. She suggests a Stiletto 120. Just kidding. She asked if I'd want to move to a 260, from the 280. I said, sure but what is the difference? She thoroughly briefed me on what to expect with the change, which was not much, but the ground may come up a little faster. I'm ok with that..... We hook up with Jake, go through the dirt dive, and its time to suit up. Jake told me I had to smile during this jump, at both he and Marie. I did most of the gear check and Marie helped out. I think she is from England because she has such strange names for things, like "nobbin". That's the little ball at the end of the reserve cable. I called it exactly that, and she called it a "nobbin". See why we split off from them over 227 years ago? I digress. We run through the dive one more time, and into the plane we go. We had two tandems going behind us. The ride up was GREAT. I relaxed, talked to people, and Marie interrupted just once to ask me our altitude. Awareness of altitude is important on the way up, too. Some of you wrote me about my negative outlook, and so I took the advice. I watched the hop 'n pop go. Excellent! Up some more, and now it's jump time. The door opens, and I feel good about it! Out goes the first groups, and we step to the door, I'm anxious, on edge, but I don't feel dread. I am really, truly, ready to skydive!!! Out goes Marie, the reserve side, as I step toward the door. I had both hands on the bar to get into position when the Otter makes a left bank. We broke off the jump run. I'm looking straight down at the ground through the door. It is a solid, coordinated 1G turn, but I push up on the bar to keep my feet even more solidly on the floor of the airplane as Marie climbs back in. But even then, I knew if somehow I fell out I'd be OK. Just arch. Marie closes the door, and I sit down next to Jake. Breathe, relax, envision the dive......... I see me in freefall in my mind, relaxed, arched. This will be the best dive ever for me. The door opens, Jake asks me if I'm ready to skydive, and I reply YES!!!. Into the door, relax, breathe, I've been here before and there is a kind of draw, a beckoning, now, to the jump. I love it. Ready, set, arch! The first thing I register is one foot left the door late and we rolled a bit to the left. Contrast this with the fact I basically didn't regain conciousness on my tandem until near pull time. I relaxed immediately. We stabilize, and the first COA is two thumbs up. Wow! We're only just under 12,000 ft! PRCT is nailed the first time. I smiled at both Jake and Marie. Second COA gets a thumbs down from Marie, great call by the way, and a thumbs up. Time to pick out a heading and fly. Ooops, just a bit of a turn right. I correct. Looks good, and a bit of a left turn starts, fixed. Check altitude. 7,000. I relaxed even more, and just enjoyed the view, the fall, and my company. Yes, I smiled at them the whole way down, too! 6,000 lock on! 5,500 wave off, and pulled right at 5,000! Wow, this kicked ass!!!!! Canopy is good, control checks good. Although this is a very slightly smaller chute, I can tell it responds faster. Left tight 360, right tight 360, full stall, I love this!!!! Jake comes on, and tells me what a great skydive we had. My confidence shoots way up. Time to head toward the DZ, not just the DZ but my landing point. I misread the winds at altitude a bit, and if I was going to use a standard landing pattern, I'd be off by a few hundred feet. And I missed by 200 meters. I noticed it took a bit more physical effort to land this smaller chute. I took a knee on this one, but was pretty happy since this landing was all mine. Marie was scheduled to teach a class, but she came up to me and told me I had a great skydive. Jake handled the debrief and asked me how it went. I told him I hung one foot on the exit, we rolled, we recovered, I smiled, did the COA, PRCT, and COA. I felt the turns we had to make, and assumed they never released me. Jake dropped me in my tracks and told me I flew the entire jump on my own. I had to ask him again, did you let go of me? Yes. From the beginning. That was shocking. He told me he didn't have to do anything. Wow! I just hung around at the DZ after that. One of the tandems that went out after me had my exit on her DVD. I had to watch. There I am, with Marie and Jake. Look in, look out, and arch!! Their whole family screamed when I exited. I told them, "That's me!" They IMMEDIATELY started asking questions, "Wowhowdidyoudoitthat'sscary,whydoyoudoithow come?areyouanexpert" Right? I did my best, but what I am is: I'm a student. I'm a student skydiver. I'm a learner. And if anyone gives this sport the same chance I give, you will be hooked. That is it on to AFF-4 for me. Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

I just got a PM from Lew on this, and learned how to read replies. No problem, sorry I misinterpreted the question, but am glad to add whatever I can to a cogent discourse. Bob, the increasingly competent dropzone.com guy Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

I'm not sure if this was for me, but it is a great question and I apologize for not making my background more clear. Sorry! Yes, I'm commercially licensed, instrument and multi engine rated. I have been an air traffic controller at both Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center and later at Southern California TRACON since 1988. I have no time as a bus driver, but my step father has. I jumped for the first time in May, 2003, signed up for AFF and am at Level 3 as of tonight. Those are my qualifications, and thanks for the question. It's a good one. Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Thanks for the comments Jessica. And yes, I will! I love writing real time stuff like this. The real sensation is like being tossed into water for the first time in your life. It is a different environment, you just have to get used to it. And I am. Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

It is a great experience, glad I made you laugh, too! Thanks for the kudos, and look for more later on. Make the jump is the best advice I can give! Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Phillbo, Thanks, I'm going to try and do just that tomorrow. I appreciate the info, and I'm sure you're right. I'll let you know how it goes! Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Jimoke, Thanks for the reply. I try to write a stream of conciousness kind of post that shows what I'm actually thinking. It is typically negative, as you pointed out. That is my gut, visceral, real life reaction. There is something to that, since one is doing something that is so deeply hard wired against. The friends comment came from a quote both JMs made about the AFF-2 jump. I realize that simply because they're friends doesn't mean I can't get hurt. Friends don't let friends land off site on their 4th jump either, but shit does happen, through no one's fault. The point they were making was relax and look at us in freefall. So we smiled, laughed, (I screamed ) on the jump. You absolutely hit the big nail on the head, this is a positive experience, it really truly is. Every jump I've made I've loved. The relaxation techniques I talked about that Lou gave me helped greatly on the ride up, but he did point out I was tensed up in the door and didn't take my time to relax prior to the exit count. I plan on jumping tomorrow, twice, and I'll take your advice to heart. My training is second to none, Elsinore has the greatest instructors on earth (see Talk Back please) and I look forward not to falling but flying. I promise I'll always stay safe! Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman