2wheeljunkie

One of my whuffo friends has started calling me "wind dummy" I call him road litterer (b/c he's a Harley owner) Don't give me crap about the HD crack. If you're on 2 wheels or in the sky, you're cool in my book. By no means have I conquered fear, but I have knocked the crap out of it.

This might be a repost and may belong in Bonfire, but I found it amusing. http://teamhouse.tni.net/Misc/airborne/mishaps.htm P.S. For those at my DZ who may read this, I haven't walked away. I'll be back real soon (with some money!). By no means have I conquered fear, but I have knocked the crap out of it.

Congratulations. AFF looks like a blast. My first was a tandem. 2,3,4, and 5 static line. 6 was hop-n-pop. Nice landing. I was so excited that I made soft landings on my first 3 solos that I forgot to collapse the canopy and got dragged. And I was warned not to get dragged or the JM's would laugh. Shut up JM's. It's not that funny. Anyway, get some more jumps in. I need to, too. If I don't hurry, they're going to make me do another static line. Missed the last 2 weeks. One due to hangover, one due to wind. Shouldn't have been hung over that first week. It was beautiful. Anyway, good luck and Blue Skies. By no means have I conquered fear, but I have knocked the crap out of it.

I avoided caffeine today and did my last S/L and my first solo freefall today. I think I felt more relaxed. I don't know if the lack of caffeine had anything to do with it. It was a good day. I think I'll continue this trend. By no means have I conquered fear, but I have knocked the crap out of it.

I got a bit of a fat lip from my radio (I think)on my last S/L. I think my leg straps were a bit too loose. I'm only 5'7", though. I'll make damn sure they are tight next time. It felt to me that they were tight when I boarded, but I guess this changes on deployment. By no means have I conquered fear, but I have knocked the crap out of it.

I did my first tandem on 4-4. I'm not fond of the static line either, but I have learned a lot from the 3 that I have done. I'm learning to be a parachutist. I'll have plenty of time for freefall. S/L progression is a LOT cheaper than tandem or AFF. I have one more to go before first solo freefall. Like many others, I'm sure, I've had a little apprehension during the week, but I can't get it out of my head. It's easy to say now, but I don't think I'll ever be able to walk away. By no means have I conquered fear, but I have knocked the crap out of it.

I'm glad I did a tandem first. I was overloaded for the first 10 seconds. Screamed "Oh my God!". Then I settled out and had a marvelous experience. I laughed hysterically most of the way down. Did great at turns and assisting ripcord pull. Stand-up landing. I think the tandem helped me get a better understanding of the landing flare and the initial exit. I'm in a S/L progression now. Get off the line after one more. I've had 2 weeks off from jumping and can't wait to get back. By no means have I conquered fear, but I have knocked the crap out of it.

For anyone else that answers, I'm not questioning my DZ's judgement. I'm just stepping into this sport conservatively and plan to continue at a relative snail's pace. I want to do this frequently! The winds were a little higher than my previous 3 jumps for my last jump. I noticed it and had to limit my canopy experimentation because I was headed to the DZ pretty fast. I was not worried about it, but I'm just interested in some numbers, and some DZ info (do they display AWS). I'm getting off the training wheels (S/L) my next day at the DZ. By no means have I conquered fear, but I have knocked the crap out of it.

Or should I STFU and let them run the show (and my comfort level, whatever that is)? By no means have I conquered fear, but I have knocked the crap out of it.

Yeah, I caught that. Pretty scary. I have no idea what that's like, but it's really eye-opening. How often does that happen...anybody? I really need to stop watching malfunction/cutaway/BASE videos...or do I need to watch more? By no means have I conquered fear, but I have knocked the crap out of it.

Holy Crap dude. Soul Flyers II is unreal.

Thanks all. I know I'm verbose, but I feel the need to vent to understanding minds. I get something out of every reply. John, I'm not switching DZ's. I like where I am, and I'm sticking with it until license or longer. QL StL was dead by the time I got there today (high winds). Got a great 200+ miles in on the bike, though. Static line ends in 1 day at the DZ By no means have I conquered fear, but I have knocked the crap out of it.

I did PRCP 3 & 4 yesterday. I was really confident on the first jump. It felt really good. I felt stable. I did a good PRCP, stowed my cord, however, the following jumpers said they saw feet. My arch was decent, but I put my head down. My instructor told me to focus on the wing on the next jump. Well, I had good focus on the wing, but my arms were forward, and I apparently kicked a foot forward and did a back-flip. Must have faith in the arch. I was pissed for a few seconds. I actually got to see the line twist this time and compensate for it with the risers. Also got to manually move the slider down. Good experience. I remembered to do the PCRP, but it was waaaay late. My hands were already in the toggles. The wind had started to pick up on my second jump, and I had to limit my turns because I was moving toward the DZ fast. Both of my landings were soft, but with a pull down. Have to let go of ONE toggle. Oh, and take that step forward. The day was a good dose of confidence followed by a good dose of humility. Today I'm going to take a nice, relaxing m/c ride through some major twisties to the other DZ in the area and check it out. By no means have I conquered fear, but I have knocked the crap out of it.

Not a tandem. Talked to Gary and Kari and decided to do a S/L progression. More jumps - less money. See my general post for a description. Post reads "A little shook up" Hope to see ya at the DZ. By no means have I conquered fear, but I have knocked the crap out of it.

Thanks for the comments, everyone. They helped a lot. I'm a lot better this morning. (Sweet, sweet beer) And I realized that I've got a weekend between on-call and my fishing trip. I'm going to spend this weekend away from the DZ and do some riding. I have to remember to close my blinds or my neighbors will think I'm crazy if they see me doing PRCP's and arches. Thanks everyone. Blue Skies By no means have I conquered fear, but I have knocked the crap out of it.

Thanks, Ira. I'm still settling out. It was a very different experience from tandem. Were you there today. Are you the tall guy with the hardtail (40 lbs in the rear tire for the wife)? I wish I got to do another jump today. I had to do the family thing. It'll probably be May 7th before I get back. I'm on-call next weekend and fishing tournament the following. I'm going to try to get a day of on-call covered. I'm still stoked. I'll be back. By no means have I conquered fear, but I have knocked the crap out of it.

I took first jump school today and made my first static line jump. I did a tandem last week. I was less than satisfied with my arch. During my tandem, I had some door hesitation. Today I didn't, but I think I was focusing too much on not having door hesitation and not on my arch. I took a tumble because of poor arch. The chute deployed OK. It had a little twist. No big deal. My landing was soft, but I didn't collapse the chute fully and got dragged a bit. I know. Chuckles from the jumpmasters. I was OK after the jump, but after watching my exit video, I am a little discouraged and kind of mad. I jumped from a C-208 Caravan. The DZ is getting their C-182 back from overhaul in a week or so, so I'll be able to do a hanging exit. Will this help since you are pretty well arched on release? Advice, experiences please. By no means have I conquered fear, but I have knocked the crap out of it.

N/A

From St. Louis. Obviously newbie. Still high. 5 days and counting. Hoping for 2nd tandem Sunday morning. In BIG trouble. Must...Not...Take...Equity...Loan... By no means have I conquered fear, but I have knocked the crap out of it.

That explains a lot. I remember my hands being cold, but when I think about it, it WAS after the canopy opening. Jump or no, I'll be at the DZ early. I've been blabbing about skydiving all week to all of my friends who have never jumped. I keep telling them to tell me to shut up. I'm sure they will soon. On the way home, I was calling people and telling them that motorcycling is officially boring and that I was selling my bike to buy a rig. I won't do this because I still love to ride, but no corner entry or exit wheelie compares to what I felt exiting that Caravan. I AM selling my guitar and amp. Don't play them anyway. The memory of those freefall turns is never out of mind for long. I can't even imagine what the loops feel like. I'll shut up now. At least you guys understand. By no means have I conquered fear, but I have knocked the crap out of it.

I made my first tandem on 4-4-2004. My instructor noted that I had "great awareness during freefall". I wonder about that. I think I was looking for ground rush which of course does not happen. I just remember brain meltdown. I have been remembering flashes all week, particularly the freefall turns. By far, the greatest experience I have ever had. After a couple of beers, I have found myself going into fits of laughter thinking about it all. I'm not usually like that - pretty serious and contemplative. The temperature at the drop zone is expected to be around 45F on Sunday. It was probably close to 60 for my first jump. Will I be distracted by the cold to the extent that I will not get as much from the Heading and Altitude awareness training? I know that this is an individual thing, but I'm looking for a little insight. I'm on-call the following week and on a fishing trip the week after that. I don't think I can wait that long for another jump. By no means have I conquered fear, but I have knocked the crap out of it.

I made my first tandem on 4-4-2004. While my experience was different from yours, I too, have some blackout. My instructor noted that I had "great awareness during freefall". I think most of the blackout, of course, was at exit. I think I was looking for ground rush which of course does not happen. I just remember brain meltdown. I have been remembering flashes all week, particularly the freefall turns. After a couple of beers, I have found myself going into fits of laughter thinking about it all. I'm not usually like that - pretty serious and contemplative. I recommend another jump yesterday. I'm shooting for Sunday, 4-11-04. By no means have I conquered fear, but I have knocked the crap out of it.