skylord

Hey Everyone, I am going to be writing about my experiences on AFF, and posting them here. They are long, but hopefully you'll find them interesting. For the experienced jumpers, maybe a chance to get a newbie point of view, and for new skydivers or those thinking about it, some encouragement. I hope you enjoy them. Bob I finally merged finance and time into actually doing the FJC and my AFF-1 dive this past Saturday at Elsinore. Robert taught the First Jump Course, and did an excellent job. I had no idea you could cram that amount of information into a brain in so short a time. Let’s fast forward to the jump. We finished up with all the required paperwork, and got on the manifest, which I learned comes from the latin, “manifestus”, and translates into roughly, “Get on a list to do something every cell in your body rebels against”. There was the twenty minute call for our “load” (latin for “actually getting into the vehicle to do something I, your body, will not allow you to do since the mind is a slacker and not doing its job you dumb ass”). I bet you didn’t know Latin was so expressive and efficient in word usage, did you? We climbed into our gear, including the goggles Darcy suggested I buy beforehand (great call, by the way), and met up with my jumpmasters, Mark and Tom. I got to know Mark on the internet. Now wait a second, that isn’t what I meant. He is a frequent poster on dropzone.com, and after I posted my experiences from the tandem jump back in May, he sent me an email, and we have corresponded back and forth since then. Mark would be my main jumpmaster, and Tom reserve side. That really reassured me. We rehearsed the jump, got ready, and there’s the airplane pulling up. This is all a baby step process, by the way, for me. I got on by rationalizing I could ride back down if I really didn’t feel like jumping. We climbed into a very full Twin Otter, buckled up, ran the safety checks, and off we went. “Just say no” said the body. “Hey, you’re trained, healthy, and able, you can do it!” replied the mind. The body said, “You’re 45 years old with a bit of a gut!” “The better to arch with” replied the mind, stealing a line from the wolf in Red Riding Hood. “You’ve just dropped over $350 into this” said my checking account. I’m not sure how it got into this conversation but that’s a different matter. The body replied, “Ride the plane back down. End of negotiation, and I’ll loosen your bowels if you keep arguing with me.” “ Have you seen the shit the pilot does after everyone is out? There’s a reason why they land before you”. “OK, point taken”, says the body, “I’ll get back to you”. The anxiety subsides. I watched the DVD of my prep and the jump afterward. I was surprised how tense I appeared on the ground, and more surprised how relaxed I was in the plane after a few minutes. I pointed out the pull altitude on the way up, shrewdly deducing that we were going the wrong direction (up), in the wrong place (the airplane) and I didn’t pull. “See, that’s why I’m here” says the mind. “We aren’t in the Doorway of Death” replies the body. We reviewed the dive again on the way up. I adjust my goggles, remembering I had not even tried them on before getting on the airplane, and Tom helped me get them adjusted. Thanks! Closer to jump altitude, my instructors have me observe the landing area, and help orient me. One JM for another student jokingly tells me he's lost. I reply, just follow me. He laughs, and says no thanks. That’s why he is a JM. Altitude is 12,500. Door open, says someone. I can’t help it. There is no way I can do this. Out goes the first jumper. I can’t. I’m sorry, and I hate to be anti-climatic. I decide to ride back down. Out goes my AFF classmate. I remember saying, “Holy shit”. I’m up. The next four words were the most penetrating, relevant words for this whole day in Elsinore Wonderland. Mark heard me say that, and told me, “You can do this.” That ends the PG portion of my jump. My body tried the old “This is Fucked Up Shit, Stupid” (FUSS). While the body was raising a FUSS, the mind dutifully stepped toward the exit. I got into position, and put my head into the slipstream, and knelt. Robert told us to take our time in the door, and not to look at our JMs until we were ready. I took a little longer than the others by just a couple seconds. On the DVD I stopped in the poised position, took a noticeably deep breath, and made my decision. I am going to jump. Get ready. Look in to Mark, in the eyes, “Ready?” “OK!” He always says that shit quoth the body. He probably makes in the high six figures talking people into this total bullshit. Fuck off, says the mind, you’ve seen his car! Look out. Tom made a big point on the ground about his check, and like Mark’s check, I am confident they will keep me safe. I’ve decided, you guys will keep me safe even if I screw up completely. Ready. Let’s do it. Set. These guys are counting on me to get this exit right, I’m the man…… Arch. I’m falling, yet in control. I don’t know what happened, but the second we jumped, I get an almost intolerable wind whistle in my left ear. It distracts me a bit, but I know it will be over in 50 seconds. That is my strongest distraction. It is painful. Watching the DVD, it is clear we had a great exit, and quite frankly the skydive went far better than I thought. I relaxed about halfway through, and like a great putt, you know an arch when you make it. The video is invaluable. During the practice pulls in freefall, I notice it is a bit different from the ground. I tended to grab my main JMs hand altimeter instead of the student ripcord. The chute is deployed, and the wind is calm. The radio comes alive, and to my surprise I am absolutely dead calm about steering the chute. I’ve read all about this stuff here. I run through the canopy review and brake release. Control check. Left 180, Right 180. Wheeee! Flare, release at altitude. Solid. My radio guy Dan talked me down to a stand up landing, to boot. For those of you who know the reference, I did not “Lutz” the jump. I didn’t pull my cutaway handle thinking it was the ripcord, I didn’t let the chute fly me into powerlines, and I did not get on TV and blame everyone else. Some observations: -relaxing is the most important thing to do. -pulling your main side JM’s altimeter will NOT deploy the chute -I bought the beer in accordance with the Official Beer Rules and am well loved I had a great time, and it is on to Level 2 tomorrow. Seriously, is there a reason why JMs can't wear their altimeters on the right hand? I kept feeling for plastic, found it, and assumed it was the handle. 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'm posting this here, after reading the forum rules. It is in regards to Christian Penz, who was badly hurt in a landing accident. I live about 45 minutes north of Mercy Hospital. If there is anything I can do, let me know. My thoughts and prayers are already there. If the family needs any help, I can take a day or two off work on short/no notice. I will probably stop by tomorrow just to say hi, and offer support. 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

QuoteSkydive Elsinore is where I am doing my AFF. . .I love that place. . . I'm starting AFF there next Saturday. I love the website animations. 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

Congratulations! What a beautiful baby.... How come she hasn't jumped yet? 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

Well, it has hit here in DC. I'm going outside to practice arching while dodging flying taxis No sleep in this weather..... 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 travelled from San Diego to DC on business this past week, now I'm stuck here with a big-ass hurricane coming right in over my head. Duck and cover time is tonight about midnight!! 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

Here's a couple: “Don’t be A Lutz Putz”. “Thus Sayeth the Lord thy God, Look not upon a dropzone with Lutz in thine heart.” Sparky Says: “If you are close enough to power lines to hear them crackling, do nothing. It’s your JMs fault anyway” “At pull time, get a head start on the inevitable cutaway. Pull that handle first.” Any more? 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

QuoteHey everyone! I'm a new poster as well as a guy who's never gone skydiving before in his life, Wowoah, Relax and enjoy. By now you should have had your skydive. How did it go? With me, I was very thankful to do the tandem jump first. I was so busy thinking about the jump in the door, I was glad to have a big tandem master push me out. Once in the air, I thought "Arch!!" and did. It was a great jump. I'm signing up for AFF, and will probably take my first training jump this Sunday. 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

SIM: Section 5, Page 106 reads as follows: Reserve Parachute 1) All sky divers should use a steerable reserve canopy there is a lot more to follow. but "steerable" is the "key" word in the SIM regarding a reserve parachute, With all respect, the key word is NOT "steerable" but "should". That makes it non-mandatory. "Shall", "Must", are the words the FAA uses to make things mandatory in a regulatory environment. In any event, I'd never pilot an airplane without knowing what kind of wings were on it, or how it glided in the event of an emergency. I am assuming the SIM reflects any FARs that may be out there governing any requirement on reserve chutes. I'm very thankful to hear of the successful handling of this malfunction!! 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

How does that work? Do you exit back to earth? No. I got the same advice, you keep looking up and to the right in my case. It automatically helps us new people with arching. Of course then the jump plane goes 90 degrees nose down and you think "Oh shit, what happened to them?". 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

[Interestingly enough, the last time RealTV had this playing, "Sparky" actually -did- admit his guilt in pulling the cutaway handle and gave credit to his AFFI's for being there, with him, and doing their job. My jaw almost hit the ground when I saw this confession, for the time before when I'd seen RealTV's version, he denied his culpability. Amazing... I wonder if this was this after his lawsuit against the instructors/DZ got thrown out. Sparky Super Lutz, my hero. And I love the shirt idea. 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 thought I saw the pull sign, the JM grabbing his hand, putting it on the bottom of the container, and then a half nelson from the instructor who plunged head down to try and keep the wayward person from doing something he should not have done. I'm a one jump newbie, and really have no ground to speak. But I will say again that this video inspired me as to the AFF program and the skydiving community. Good work from my perspective, and I don't want to be a Lutz. Or a super-Lutz! 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

One handle left... pull! Maybe a super-Lutz could even screw that situation up though, like maybe disconnect the leg and chest straps and fall out of the harness, because he thought they were deployment handles. Hrm... I wonder if the emtpy rig would have a Cypress fire? It'd be shame to get a good rig beat up for a Lutz. Good Lord, I can't stop laughing at this! A "super-Lutz?" I want to hear the lies straight from his mouth and give him a chance to fix them before I murder him. I'm so smart. Good plan! I checked the California State Bar site, and found a Gordon Scott Lutz who was admitted to the bar in 1989 and practices in San Diego. This guy looked too young on the video. Here comes another wave of laughter.....I better sign off super-Lutz undoing the straps Please don't let me be a Lutz! 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 deployed the chute..." WHAT??? That segment made it sound like he did things right... idiot pulled the cut-away!! I noticed that too, but it also made it sound like the jumpmasters did nothing but "watching him go bye-bye." I saw one jumpmaster go all the way down with him, the student's reserve went out, I couldn't tell how it was deployed, but I did notice that the jumpmaster's chute was not out when our hero's chute opened. That kind of stuff really inspires me, quite frankly. It helps me feel safe with AFF, that no matter what I do or happens, someone is there to try and keep me alive. Cheers to my future AFF instructors! I will do my best not to be stupid. Bob ps: if someone knows who that jumpmaster was, PM me and I'll send beer. I was that impressed. 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 haven't started AFF yet, but I heard that skydivers don't drink alcohol. They actually get offended if you bring them premium imported devil juice. They will cast you out as profane from their tight knit dry community. Like Prohibition, however, there are some exceptions. I have heard that an under the table, occasional, bottle of Thunderbird is welcome, preferably the well received and reviewed August, 2003 vintage. You have to provide the straws. Boone's Farm Ripple is another favorite, but you only have to provide half the straws. Welcome to the forum, and I'm glad to give you a little rookie guidance! 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 people have morals and pricipals. I am one of them. Lots of sports have clothing optional activities. Skiing, running, etc..... I agree that any innocent civilians should be warned in advance and all steps taken to prevent people from being inadvertently offended. But to imply that those who participate in those activities are without morals and principles? I'd agree with you if you had stated some of us have different morals and principles, but simply doing something without clothes doesn't mean the participants are hedonistic cretins. Two cents worth from a one jump (so far) wonder. 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. I can see it now: "I smell dive on your breath..." 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

Hi all, I've got some questions I'm trying to figure out. I have done the best I can online, but I am a little confused. What is the difference between brakes, toggles, and risers? I am confused about their difference, technically, but I read here about using risers to flare if something happens with the toggles. If some of you more experienced divers could share some info, I'd sincerely appreciate it. Sorry if this is repetitive or obvious.....I'm planning on starting AFF in the next week or two at Elsinore. 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

Excellent, my stats: 45/45 You're never old unless you think so. 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

What is a "trash" pack? Sorry for the question, but I'm new and when I hear the term I envision cramming the chute into the bag willy-nilly and getting on the next airplane. This doesn't sound like a good idea to me. Aren't there standards in packing? 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

This is a great thread for me. I did the "Fantasy Tandem" once, was scared shitless for about two thirds of the freefall, but even during that time was aware enough to arch right out of the airplane. The camera guy said I did a good job, and they didn't have to dub over any plaintive screams for Mommy with macho sounding music. Once I got used to the sensation, it was great. My videographer was flying around us like he was a helicopter. I thought to look around for airplanes and jumpers, pulled at the right altitude, and my tandem master told me what to look for with the chute deployed. Of course, I was so happy to be alive that I missed a couple collapsed cells, which he fixed by stalling the chute. Anyway, I'll do one more tandem jump before signing up for AFF. The reason is physical, since I had sinus problems after the jump. If it happens again, I can talk to a doctor about it before going forward. I don't view that as hand holding. In the meantime it gets me up in the air again as fast as possible. I am truly looking forward to this, and from my cheap seat in the right field bleachers, I think AFF is a great program. I really want to fly on my own, overcome the initial fear I assume we all have, and I'll know for certain if I'm cut from the same nylon as the rest of you!! 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

QuoteI just did my level 7 this past Sunday (I posted my level 8 grad dive at http://www.580fifth.com/skydive not that anyone cares, but I AM EXCITED) I sure was interested, since I haven't even started yet. It looked great! Congratulations! I watch all the video I can, and it was suggested that if the wallet allows, to have all the AFF jumps through 8 videoed when I start. 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

1:0, but I'm still happy about it!! I thought the ratio was 1 in every 700 jumps, and that was posted somewhere here in the last week or so. 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

This situation is a big no no for us controllers. That 757 never should have been there. We don't run aircraft into hot dropzones. Chris posted the link for the 1993 accident with the Cherokee Warrior. There is another source, too. It's the NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System Database. Here is the link to the Aircraft/Parachutist Conflict section: http://asrs.arc.nasa.gov/report_sets/parachute.pdf Knowledge is power. 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

Perky, Yes, I did a tandem jump at the end of May. It was a great experience, and now I plan my weekends with a visit to the Elsinore DZ if I can. 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