lintern

One of the people setting it up is called Brian who works at Hinton. I don't know who else is involved yet. The plans have to get cleared by the STC in December but apparently there should be no problems. Although students probably won't be allowed to jump there for the first year.

Has anyone heard about a new DZ that is planned to open in the UK in Stratford - just off junction 15 of the M40 ? It is suppose to be opening in March 2005. There are no altitude restrictions and the aircraft at first will be a Turbo Cessna 206 or and Islander. Presumably this will change if the DZ is successful. The DZ will be open 7 days a week. I just wondered if anyone else had heard about this ? As I live in the Midlands this is great news because there are no DZ's in the Midlands area. Except from Tilstock that is, but.... - Tilstock is only open on a Saturday (and Fridays in the Summer). - It is restricted to 10,000 ft (although you never get that, the plane struggles to get that high!). - The jump tickets are expensive at £20 (or £18 members). - Membership is expensive at £25. - It is a tandem money making factory, so tandems come before everyone else. - The aircraft is and always will be one Cessna 206 - There always seem to be running problems, such as no aircraft fuel, no pilots, aircraft breakdown or even crashed aircraft !! The only other alternative for skydivers in the Midlands is to drive 100 miles up the country to Langar (where half the route is country lanes - its a long horrible journey) or 100 miles down the country to Hinton ! Let's hope this new DZ does well ! The midlands needs it !

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Obelixtim, Let me shake your hand on your comments about instrcutors. I know Ruskin and know all about her skydiving very well. We both started on static line RAPS about the same time and went to the same DZ using the same instructors. We both struggled with similar problems - I only ever got to 3 sec delays because on exit I had sensory overload (and still do to some extent!) so I always pulled on my back. Myself, Ruskin and a few others then went to do AFF and I sailed through it with no problems and no repeats. I couldn't beleive I actually did it after I had struggled so much on RAPS. I have offered alot of advice and tried to encourage Ruskin to not give up. But what you picked up on with instructors is true. I know exactly who Ruskin is talking about as I had the same instructor and the same grief and discouragement. In fact, I was talking to this instructor just before I went to do AFF and this person said to me... "You won't even pass level 1 because you will de-arch on exit, go on your back, the secondary will let go, the primary will pull your handle and you'll have a canopy ride from 10,000 ft" As well as comments like "You will never be a skydiver" and "Why are you even doing this sport". I've not long found out far worse things about this instructor which I will not go into. But of course, when I qualified without even repeating any levels (using the same AFF instructor as Ruskin) that just proved how wrong that instructor was. I admit I'm not the best skydiver, I've done alot of jumps (65 on RAPS, 138 in total) and I'm still only at Cat 8. My exits are still bad - I go on my back for a few seconds but after those few seconds I flip belly to earth and the rest of my skydive and canopy ride go well. I'm even flying and landing a higher performance, semi elliptical 145sq ft. canopy ! Just think how bad that instructor looks now !

Thanks everyone for your input - it's made things clearer for me. Just one other question I thought of: 4 - Are reserve canopy's designed to open at sub terminal ? If so, what would happen if you had a total mal and therefore had to open your reserve whilst at terminal ? I realise that in a life or death situation you would have no choice but to use your reserve! I just wondered what would happen ? I read on dropzone.com about someone who had to use their reserve whilst still in freefall i.e. at terminal. Apparnetly they had a very hard opening which caused either fractures or broken bones. The instructor said this was due to the very hard opening she had because the reserve opened whilst still in freefall at terminal.

I have some concerns about my reserve drills that I would like to clear up.... 1 - I've watched the Breakaway video on how to deal with mals. It showed a skydiver doing a dummy cutaway and reserve pull whilst in freefall - just to show he could locate his handles. He put his right hand on the cutaway pad, then went back to an arch. Then he put his left hand on the reserve handle, then went back to an arch. I thought this was a good idea and tried it for myself. But when I tried it I quickly started to loose stability and nearly went over on my side - this made me think how I would do it for real. Say if you had a total mal - as soon as you bring both hands in and place them on your handles (like I have been taught - 1 hand on each handle) you loose stability ! So how would you do it ? 2 - If you had a total mal: would you cut-away or just pull your reserve? Because with a total mal there may not be enough or any drag to pull the main and risers off you. 3 - If you had a slow mal and spiralling: would you cut away, then arch and go back into freefall, then pull your reserve ? Or would you put a hand on each handle, pull the cut-away pad followed by the reserve handle ? Is there not a risk of the reserve pilot chute going into the main by doing this though? It's easy to turn a blind eye to things like this, but if the event ever happened I would regret not clearing it up ! Thanks

I have recently purchased a used Wings container with an Icarus Safire 2 145 main canopy. It is my first rig and although I bought it second hand, it was (and still is) virtually brand new - with the exception of the Cypress it only had about 20 jumps on it . And I've only put about another 20 jumps on it. ....which is nice.... apart from when I'm trying to learn to PRO pack the bloody thing ! I've been taught how to PRO pack and I am fairly sure how to do it now - although it does take me a long time and it normally always goes wrong when I'm trying to get the canopy in the bag ... especially as the canopy is almost new ! So firstly..... I overheard someone at the DZ today say to colour code the 4 sets of line groups (A, B, C and D lines) with a pen. It takes me a long time to find the line groups and even then I'm still not sure I have the right ones. Having looked at my canopy I could mark the little bit of tab material where the line joins to my canopy - this seems a great idea . Although there is not a spare piece of tab on the stabilizer lines so I would have to mark the actual line or not mark the stabilizer lines at all (see attached picture - lines_tabs.JPG). But I was wondering if this is OK to do ? I mean, is it a problem if I mark the little bit of tab with a marker pen? Or is there a possibility that the ink could weaken the material or the lines or cause any other problems? I would only need to mark the A lines and the C lines - just so I can distinguish between the A and B lines that go through one slider grommet, and then distinguish between the C and D lines that go through the other slider grommet. Secondly.... can anyone give me some advice on getting the canopy in the bag Unfortunately I quickly loose my patientce and I end up throwing the whole pack job across the floor - then someone else ends up packing for me But that won't always happen so I need to learn to pack mself !

I have been jumping for 2 years now and I have done 110 jumps, 65 of those were on RAPS where I never got further than 3 sec delays. Then I did AFF without any difficulties or repeats. Not long after finishing my consolidation jumps I started downsizing from the student 280 canopies to 235, 210, and 190 canopies. Then I bought my own rig which is a 145 Icarus Safire 2. I asked many people for advice before I bought my rig and as I've found out with skydiving, there was no consistency in the advice, but the majority of people said I would be fine on a 145. The fact that I am only 5'6" and 10 stone (140 lb) is the reason most people said I would be fine on a 145 because with an estimated 20 pounds added to my body weight to get my exit weight, my wing loading works out at 1.1 (160 pounds / 145 square foot). Now I am trying to learn to PRO pack the bloody thing and with it being almost new (about 30 jumps) and zero P it is a nightmare ! Having packed the whole thing by myself for the first time I nervously went to jump it ! When it opened I had twists which were slowly working their way up towards the canopy so I had to kick VERY AGGRESIVELY just to stop them getting worse. Only then I was able to concentrate on kicking to get the twists out. So my dilemma now is... 1) Was it my packing that caused the twists ? or 2) Was it my body position on the pull ? But as far as I can tell I stayed on heading when I pulled. I have put about 15 to 20 jumps on my new rig and I have NEVER had twists. But to complicate the matter, when I jumped my friends Merit 150 a few months ago I had really bad twists and I almost came close to chopping it - luckily I managed to stop the twists going too far up towards the canopy. The person who had packed it is highly experienced and people suggested that I may have turned slightly on the pull causing the bag to twist. It was from this point on that I focused even more to stay on heading when I pull and for the moment I have even stopped doing the wave off (I only jump solo at the moment) thinking this may help. I have NEVER had twists on freefall before, only occasionally on RAPS. How can I find out whether it was body position or packing ? When I had packed my rig for the first time by myself I double stowed a bungee on one side - could this have caused the twists ? People have told me that if you double stow one side you should double stow the other side too, to keep everything even and symmetrical. I also had difficulties getting the canopy in the bag and it may not have gone in very symmetrical - could this have caused the twists ? I need to know what caused these twists as it is starting to concern me, especially as I don't know whether its my body position or my packing. Twists on the larger canopies were just a nuisance but on the smaller canopy they wind up alot faster and like I said, I had to kick very aggressively just to stop the twists getting worse.

I have just bought a used Wings container which has a soft pad reserve handle. Some people are advising me to get it changed to a metal D handle whilst others say don't bother. Does anyone have an opinion or advice on these soft pad reserve handles? I have actually had a malfunction (on static line RAPS - a lineover) and went through my reserve drills. However, the procedure I used was not the procedure I had been taught and practiced. I was originally taught to use 2 hands on each handle but when I cutaway for real I actually used 1 hand on each handle. Even so, my cutaway procedure did not go by the book.... probably due to the adrenalin etc. I forgot to peel the cutaway pad and just pulled it instead. Because of this the cutaway pad and cable only came so far out and I lost grip of the pad. I then had to go back and grab the pad to finish the cutaway. As I now have two pads to peel and punch (the cutaway AND now the reserve) I am a little concerned I may fumble with the peel and punch like I did when I had a mal. I know the soft pad reserve handles are suppose to be safer when freeflying but I have only just finished AFF so I won't be freeflying for a while !

I have just purchased a used Wings as my first rig. Does anyone have advice on insuring it? I live in the UK and I was wondering if there are any company's that will insure it and how much it would cost? I paid £1700 for it - with the exception of the Cypress (which is 10 years old) the rig is virtually brand new. It only has about 20 to 30 jumps on it. But it is still alot of money and I would not feel comfortable to leave it lying around a DZ ! So many other people do though, yet anybody could walk off with one. But then is it because these people have their rigs insured? What about insurance against damage, as well as theft?

I have just bought a second hand complete rig - the container is a Wings but when I test jumped it I fell over on landing! The container is virtually new (20 jumps or less) but it is now covered in grass and mud stains, because I fell over! What is the best way to clean things like grass and mud stains off a container ? Is there a special cleaner I should use or will anything do? Is there anything I should not use ?

I am in the process of purchasing my first rig and would like some advice. The container is a Wings and is practically new - its only done around 10 to 20 jumps. The main is an Icarus Safire 2 size 145 and is practically new with around 30 jumps. The reserve is a Techno 155, 2 years old I think? I don’t think its been used? The cypress is 10 years old so only has 2 years left on it. I am a small/medium build at 5 foot 6 inches. I weigh 10 stone (65kg, 140 pounds). I have been jumping for 2 years now. For the first 18 months I did 68 RAPS jumps but struggled to get past 3 second delays (very long story!). This year I changed to AFF which I successfully passed so I now have my A licence. To date I have done 106 jumps being made up of: - 68 RAPS jumps (10 of those were 3 second delays) - 9 AFF jumps (1 extra refresher level) - 10 consolidation jumps - 19 solo freefall jumps The student rigs on both RAPS and AFF were mainly a Skymaster or Manta 280. Since gaining my A licence I have downsized to a 235, a 210, a 190 and just lately jumped a 150 Merit and the 145 Safire. Having spent so long on RAPS I have been doing very good stand up landings for some time now and lately I have also been getting more and more accurate, even on the 190, 210 and 235 canopy's. With an estimated 20 pounds added to my body weight to get my exit weight, my wing loading works out at 1.1 (160 pounds / 145 square foot). My questions are: 1) Will I be OK on this size of canopy? I fell over with quite a hard, fast landing on the 145 Safire and also turned slightly right when flaring. I jumped a friends 150 Merit and also had a hard, fast landing and fell over. 2) When I jumped my friends Merit 150 I had really bad twists and I almost came close to chopping it - luckily I managed to stop the twists going too far up towards the canopy. The person who had packed it is highly experienced and people suggested that I may have turned slightly on the pull causing the bag to twist - but I thought I stayed on heading when I pulled? I have NEVER had twists on freefall before, only occasionally on RAPS. But now I’m worried that if it was me that caused the twists I may have got away with it on the bigger canopy’s but not this smaller 150 canopy. I didn’t get twists on the 145 Safire when I test jumped it, nor on any other of the canopy’s I downsized to. Could it have been me or the packing? Its not likely to happen on this rig I am buying will it? 3) Would it be possible to put a 170 main in the Wings container? Even though it currently has a 145 Safire ZP canopy in it? Is there a way I can find out if a 170 will fit in the container? Or is it just the case of trying a 170 to see if it fits?

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I am in the process of purchasing my first rig and would like some advice. The container is a Wings and is practically new - its only done around 10 to 20 jumps. The main is an Icarus Safire 2 size 145 and is practically new with around 30 jumps. The reserve is a Techno 155, 2 years old I think? I don’t think its been used? The cypress is 10 years old so only has 2 years left on it. I am a small/medium build at 5 foot 6 inches. I weigh 10 stone (65kg, 140 pounds). I have been jumping for 2 years now. For the first 18 months I did 68 RAPS jumps but struggled to get past 3 second delays (very long story!). This year I changed to AFF which I successfully passed so I now have my A licence. To date I have done 106 jumps being made up of: - 68 RAPS jumps (10 of those were 3 second delays) - 9 AFF jumps (1 extra refresher level) - 10 consolidation jumps - 19 solo freefall jumps The student rigs on both RAPS and AFF were mainly a Skymaster or Manta 280. Since gaining my A licence I have downsized to a 235, a 210, a 190 and just lately a 150 and 145. Having spent so long on RAPS I have been doing good stand up landings for some time now and lately I have also been getting more and more accurate, even on the 190, 210 and 235 canopy's. With an estimated 20 pounds added to my body weight to get my exit weight, my wing loading works out at 1.1 (160 pounds / 145 square foot). My questions are: 1) Will I be OK on this size of canopy? I had a hard, fast landing on the 145 Safire and turned slightly right into the ground when flaring. I jumped a friends 150 Merit and also had a hard, fast landing. Yet I have jumped a 135 Sabre (unknowingly - I won't go into details!) and did a good stand up landing. 2) Can the reserve soft pad be changed to a D handle? I would prefer this, especially since it took me 2 attempts to cutaway when I had my first mal on RAPS because I forgot to peel the cut away pad ! 3) When I jumped my friends Merit 150 I had really bad twists and I almost came close to chopping it - luckily I managed to stop the twists going too far up towards the canopy. The person who had packed it is highly experienced and people suggested that I may have turned slightly on the pull causing the bag to twist - but I thought I stayed on heading when I pulled? I've never had twists on freefall before, only occasionally on RAPS. But now I’m worried that if it was me that caused the twists I may have got away with it on the bigger canopy’s but not this smaller 150 canopy. I didn’t get twists on the 145 Safire when I test jumped it, nor on any other of the canopy’s I downsized to. Could it have been me or the packing? Its not likely to happen on this rig I am buying will it?

I have been jumping for 2 years now, for the first 18 months I did 60 RAPS jumps but struggled to get past 3 second delays (very long story!). This year I changed to AFF which I passed with flying colours and I now have my A licence. Including my consolidation jumps I have done 20 solo freefall jumps bringing my total number of jumps to 96 (including RAPS). The cost of AFF has hit me really hard in the pocket but it has become obvious that I need to get my own rig instead of wasting money on kit hire, especially as the kit for hire is very limited in quantity and choice anyway. I know of someone selling the following (pictures attached): Talon Container 500 jumps max. 12 years old (1992) £550 ($1008) + £140 ($256) for cypress service = £690 ($1264) Performance Design 170ft main (F1-11) Raven 150ft reserve 4 years left on cypress The trouble is I don’t like it! The container is green and mustard yellow ! So its alot of money for something I don’t like which I find very frustrating! Also, I wont be able to sell it on as it will be worth next to nothing by the time I come to sell it. Does anyone know how much a new, complete rig would depreciate by? If I buy this second hand rig which I don’t like (but for that sort of money I cant be picky) as I wont be able to sell it on I will loose £690 ($1264). If I were to buy a brand new rig costing £3000 ($5500), how much would it depreciate by in say a years time? I would obviously look after it - like the saying goes, look after your kit and it will look after you! As an example, if it depreciated by £500 ($916) after a year then in terms of the amount of money I would loose I would be no worse off buying a new rig then this second hand rig. Also, some people say don’t bother with a cypress. Once I get my B licence (which wont be too far off) as the rules currently stand I do not need to jump with a cypress. Someone once said to me "A cypress is only needed if there is a risk you could get knocked unconscious - what is going to knock you unconscious in freefall? Only tandem jumps have that risk" They also implied that a cypress can be a bad thing because it increases the chance of having 2 canopies out, should it inadvertently fire when under your main. What do I do !!!! ????

Having done 60 RAPS jumps and only ever getting as far as 3 second delays I made the choice to bite the bullet and get into more financial debt by doing AFF! The problems I was having on RAPS was mainly due to sensory overload and worrying about having another mal. This caused me to have a poor body position on exit (dearching and pulling whilst on my back). I had my first reserve ride on my 25th RAPS jump when the main had a line over caused by poor packing (not by me!). I have done the first 5 levels of AFF and passed each level without doing any repeats - which Im very pleased about especially as I was always told I would never get past level 1! My confidence on RAPS got to an all time low but now I am slowly getting it back. I now look back at RAPS with a negative view but thats another story. However, I am starting to get concerned about the gap between my level 5 jump and the next level 6 jump I have to do. The gap has been caused by bad weather. I spent 1 week in Spain (Empuriabrava) when I started AFF but for the first 4 days I didnt jump because of bad weather. Over the last 3 days I successfully passed levels 1 to 5. Then the plan was to finish my AFF back at home in the UK (at Langar). But since I got back from Spain 4 weeks ago the weather has been terrible. So as the gap got longer and longer, although my finances were not up to it I ended up going back to Spain over easter hoping to pass level 8. This was a very bad idea because everyday over easter the wind was too strong and no one jumped for the 4 days I was there - not even the experienced. I am totally gutted especially as it has cost me so much money to go back to spain at a busy (and therefore expensive) time of year. Depending on the weather for the coming weekend and the availablity of my instructor (who lives in Scotland) it will be a minimum of 5 weeks between my level 5 and level 6 jump. And level 6 is the first solo exit and the dreaded backloop, so this concerns me as well as the gap between jumping. Is this likely to be a problem ? Should I repeat level 5 again or will I be OK? Some people have told me that its like riding a bike - once you've done it you never forget. But I dont want to do level 6 and have a bad, scary jump, as this could seriously knock my confidence much like the malfunction I had. The thing that bugs me the most is the solo exit and whether I will be OK at getting stable by myself, as well as having to get stable again after the backloop. Any advice would be much appreciated. My accelerated freefall is starting to feel more like decelerated freefall because its taking so long !

I have recently done 5 AFF jumps at Empuriabrava in Spain. After each jump my ears always popped and continued to do so hours afterwards. My hearing was also reduced. I tried equalising (as scuba divers do) both on the ride up to altitude and after the jump. On return to the UK my ears were still popping and I noticed that my left ear had gone 'deaf'. About 6 years ago I had a bad cold and an ear infection in my left ear. It turned out that my ear drum was perforated but I was told it would heal itself over time. Because of this I thought I should get it checked out by the doctor. The doctor said it was still perforated and slightly infected so I am now on antibiotics for a week. He said that a perforated ear "shouldn't" be a problem when skydiving because the hole in my ear drum would just mean that theres no pressure difference. I was just wondering if anyone else has had similar problems and if it could be a permanent problem when I'm skydiving? I am going back to Empuriabrava to finish off my AFF (the weather in the UK has been sh*t!). I always seem to suffer more than most people with my ears when flying on passenger jets or when I've done beginner scuba diving courses. I really hope it is not going to be a problem with my skydiving ?

I've been jumping for 18 months now and I am struggling to progress onto freefall because I keep going unstable on 3 sec delays. For more details refer to the following links I posted about my problems with 3 sec delays... www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=725804;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=740298;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread Anyway, as I really dont want to give up I am considering AFF and was also thinking of better ways I can practice my exit, arch, pull and recovery. I've been thinking of getting a parachute training harness that I can hook up to some sort of frame in such a way that I can do a student sill exit (for example off a table top) and be able to hang in the harness to complete the pull and recovery. This way it will make me more aware of my legs as I will be hanging in the harness instead of landing on the ground feet first. In practice my legs sometimes stay in the same position they are when sitting in the door - its as if Im unaware of them. Does anyone know where I can get a harness of some sort that will allow me to put something together so I can practice my exit, arch, pull and recovery more realistically? (i.e. suspended in the air, NOT standing upright on the ground!) Ideally something like a parachute training harness used when students practice malfunction cut aways. Or a harness like that used in theater work to give the illusion of an actor flying. This type of harness might be better as I think they are suspended from the hips rather than the shoulders.

Can anyone recommend any good DVD's which would be good for me - a student with 60 RAPS jumps but stuck on 3s delays - and where I could get it from. The sort of DVD I'm after is something that shows skydiving as a beginner (e.g. maybe on static line) progressing through to Cat 8, as well as the theory of jumping, how to pack, tips and tricks, dealing with mals etc. As RAPS is not working out for me I'm thinking of doing AFF (I keep going unstable and end up dearched with my belly to the sky on 3s delays) Its just that I can't afford it at the moment and I'm not sure when and where to do it. There don't seen to be many DVD's about skydiving. The few that exist are quite expensive and I've no idea which ones are good or bad. Any help would be appreciated. P.S. I live in the UK so ideally I would like to purchase a DVD from the UK, especially for DVD compatibility reasons.

I have just updated my profile.

Some more thoughts to my current situation (see "Struggling student stuck on 3s delays")...... I think that at the end of the day any physically abled body can skydive. I mean, how hard is it to look up, push your hips out, point your toes and hold your arms out level with your ears! Its not! Which is why when practicing on the ground it is not a problem to achieve a good, stable position. Doing it for real on exiting an aircraft thousands of feet up in the air doing 80mph is a completely different ball game, simply because of how the mind interprets the situation. From this respect, the vast majority of people cannot skydive or even consider the thought of jumping from a perfectly good aircraft. And so the basics of skydiving seems to be more of a mind game than a physical skill. I think this is where my problem lies. Having thought more about why I am not able to do such a simple thing as arch - which is not a physically difficult thing to do - I have come up with the following to further explain the main reason I think I am having so much difficulty. This sensory overload I get on exit when the adrenalin is really pumping, has two very negative effects on me. Firstly I am almost unaware as to what is happening - the exit is a 'blur'. From the point of exit to the point of having an almost open canopy I only remember snap shots of what actually happens. This is why when people advise me to 'just arch' their advice is of no help. This is because I am unable to consciously tell myself what to do due to this sensory overload. Secondly, an analogy to how I feel upon exit is similar I suppose to when a rabbit runs out in front of an on coming vehicle and freezes in the headlights. The rabbit behaves as if it were paralysed and is unable to make its body move safely out of the way. Much like me when I exit, I feel as if I have no control of my body, as if I am 'scared stiff'. I am nervous on exit, but alot of people feel the same at some point when jumping dont they? Especially in the early days of jumping and if there have been problems and mals etc. Both of these negative effects probably sound extremely dangerous for someone to experience when skydiving. BUT.... from my tandem experience I had the same experience for the first several seconds. After that my brain caught up and I was surprised at how relaxed and aware I actually became when falling stable in freefall. So the reason I continue jumping is because I am hoping that even though the first few seconds maybe a blur, once I get stable in freefall my brain will catch up and I will be OK. In addition to this the other important thing I have been successful at doing every time is to find and pull the ripcord. Some people suggest trying a longer delay like 10 seconds to allow me more time to correct my body position. My worry here is if I remain unstable or even worse become more unstable (like spinning) to the point where I freak out and can't even pull. What makes it so difficult to deal with all this is the fact that I do not want to quit. It would be so easy to just stop jumping but I think that would piss me off even more than the problems I am having now. PS. I did a 3 sec delay last Saturday and pulled on my back and at one point I was actually head first towards the ground. My instructor was not very happy because the pilot chute and bag came out between my legs nearly causing an entanglement. Because of this I have been put back onto the rope again. My instructor said I could try freefall every now and again but he is more concerned now about me doing freefall.

Some more thoughts to my current situation...... I think that at the end of the day any physically abled body can skydive. I mean, how hard is it to look up, push your hips out, point your toes and hold your arms out level with your ears! Its not! Which is why when practicing on the ground it is not a problem to achieve a good, stable position. Doing it for real on exiting an aircraft thousands of feet up in the air doing 80mph is a completely different ball game, simply because of how the mind interprets the situation. From this respect, the vast majority of people cannot skydive or even consider the thought of jumping from a perfectly good aircraft. And so the basics of skydiving seems to be more of a mind game than a physical skill. I think this is where my problem lies. Having thought more about why I am not able to do such a simple thing as arch - which is not a physically difficult thing to do - I have come up with the following to further explain the main reason I think I am having so much difficulty. This sensory overload I get on exit when the adrenalin is really pumping, has two very negative effects on me. Firstly I am almost unaware as to what is happening - the exit is a 'blur'. From the point of exit to the point of having an almost open canopy I only remember snap shots of what actually happens. This is why when people advise me to 'just arch' their advice is of no help. This is because I am unable to consciously tell myself what to do due to this sensory overload. Secondly, an analogy to how I feel upon exit is similar I suppose to when a rabbit runs out in front of an on coming vehicle and freezes in the headlights. The rabbit behaves as if it were paralysed and is unable to make its body move safely out of the way. Much like me when I exit, I feel as if I have no control of my body, as if I am 'scared stiff'. I am nervous on exit, but alot of people feel the same at some point when jumping dont they? Especially in the early days of jumping and if there have been problems and mals etc. Both of these negative effects probably sound extremely dangerous for someone to experience when skydiving. BUT.... from my tandem experience I had the same experience for the first several seconds. After that my brain caught up and I was surprised at how relaxed and aware I actually became when falling stable in freefall. So the reason I continue jumping is because I am hoping that even though the first few seconds maybe a blur, once I get stable in freefall my brain will catch up and I will be OK. In addition to this the other important thing I have been successful at doing every time is to find and pull the ripcord. Some people suggest trying a longer delay like 10 seconds to allow me more time to correct my body position. My worry here is if I remain unstable or even worse become more unstable (like spinning) to the point where I freak out and can't even pull. What makes it so difficult to deal with all this is the fact that I do not want to quit. It would be so easy to just stop jumping but I think that would piss me off even more than the problems I am having now. PS. I did a 3 sec delay last Saturday and pulled on my back and at one point I was actually head first towards the ground. My instructor was not very happy because the pilot chute and bag came out between my legs nearly causing an entanglement. Because of this I have been put back onto the rope again. My instructor said I could try freefall every now and again but he is more concerned now about me doing freefall.

Could you please explain what a "float exit" is and whether it can be done from a Cessna 206, cargo door exit? Thanks.

This is something I have seriously considered for some time now. Even after doing a tandem jump back in July, I felt alot more relaxed and confident about jumping for a short time, and it also made me more enthusiastic about getting onto solo freefall myself. Ive asked at my DZ about doing just AFF level 1 but there is a big problem. They will not let me do one level of AFF and then go back to RAPS without doing the RAPS training course again. This does seem ridiculous considering I have done 60 RAPS jumps, but apparently these are the rules set out by the BPA (British Parachute Association). Years ago this was often done with success. A student struggling on RAPS could do a level or two of AFF and then continue with the RAPS. My CCI also said that he witnessed a student die from alternating from AFF to RAPS. He said that this was due to the fact that on AFF level 1 the student practiced 3 dummy pulls whilst in freefall, but when the student went back to RAPS they continued practicing 3 dummy pulls in freefall because the intense AFF training hammered this into him - this led to the students death. I don't feel this would be the case with me although I cant say for definite as I havent done AFF. But I do feel that having the experience of AFF level 1 would either help relax me and give me freefall experience or if unsuccessful show me that freefall is not for me. But unfortunately I am not allowed to do this.

The cessna 206 is a cargo door exit, it is not possible to do a hanging exit from this plane. I have attached a sketch of the exit position I use. The only difference is the fact that the door is on the opposite side of the plane (i.e. right hand exit).