djsynne

Awww...thats way too soon for me...off to Edinburgh tonight for a few days... Shan x

I appreciate what you`re saying - but I just don`t feel quite ready yet...mentally more than physically - my level 4 in Florida back in November turned into a scary reserve ride and this month has been chaotic due to family stuff so I just don`t trust `my head` atm:) I was so unaware of what my legs were doing during AFF levels 1-4 and practiced that in the wind tunnel and felt I had improved but spinning when tunring i`m not quite ready to go through again without a bit more work:) So when and where exactly is this boogie? Shan x

Thx again to everyone who offered advice on my aff problems:) Just got back from a weekend in paris and some wind tunnel time where it became clear I`m not quite ready to try my AFF again just yet (spinning on turns and still needing to relax although I am getting better). So I have had to make the painful decision of pulling out of my planned trip to Lillo Madrid this Friday - what I would like to do is at least transfer my flights to an event such as a european boogie or competition so that instead of losing the flights, I can still enjoy the atmopshere at a drop zone and take my friend who has just gained his AFF. I didn`t find much on the forums and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions:) Failing that anyone interested in easyjet flights to Madrid from London flights £130 each leaving this Fri 25th March back Sunday April 3rd? (Currently £271 on easyjet for same flights over same dates). Email me @ [email protected] or call 07765000564. Any help/thoughts etc appreciated:) You are all lucky lucky people getting to fly over the coming sunny months:) Looks like it may have to be next year for me while I try and gain more tunnel time and save for the course too! Shan x

Wow!! Well done!!! :)

I had three seperate trips to the wind tunnel and yep, my instructor was with me:) I was definately getting the hang of it by session three and it helped my confidence immensely after my scary level four but I guess I need to master being able to transfer that to the sky without freaking out and trying to stay relaxed:) Shan x

I believe you!! i`ve added a supple stength class to my programme but Im so impatient - i hate waiting to see the results:) Shan x

>About the arching, I had the same problem when I started, it's was a little embarissing flying around with my butt sticking up in the air. Ha ha!! Tell me about it:) My friend told me about how my second instructor, upon landing after one of mylevels, was heard shouting across the field, you`re right, she does fly with her butt in the air! *mortified* Shan x

Hi Krisanne :) Wow...your post was great - you pinpointed so much of what i`ve been feeling about exits and how I feel about skydiving - thx for that:) I have never been so drawn or focused towards anything as much as this and you`re right about the stubborness and inquistiveness - i never knew I had it in me:) That AFF trip was not only an adventure of a lifetime but a journey of discovery too:) Lets hope I get the hang of it this time:) Thx again honey:) Shan x

>It took me 11 jumps to finally finsh my AFF course and the key to it all was relaxing. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience Randy!! It`s extremly apprciated and I shall definately be thinking of the pin prick to the bum to get that pelvis out:) Shan x

Sounds good to me!!:) Although I can`t imagine jumping in this cold weather atm...it`s *freezing* :) You`d think I`d be used to it having moved down from Edinburgh just under a year ago, but no:) Shan x

Hmmm...I was at lakes Wales in November too - one of Rod`s AFF students...did we meet? Shan x

Hey...I was at lakes Wales in November too!:) One`s of Rod`s AFF students:) I also live in London:) Shan x

QuoteWelcome to the forums!

Quotesure, you can check their webpage http://www.aerokart.fr/ The tunnel is only open a few days in the week but if you were to email or ring for info Are they open at weekends? Thinking of going over one weekend in March:) Shan x

Hi again Any skydivers who meet up in London? I had a fantastic time at the drop zone in Florida where I felt so at home and at peace watching canopies coming down all day, attempting my AFF levels and really enjoyed meeting so many lovely people and listening to their skydiving experiences:) I miss being on a drop zone madly:) Shan x

N/A

Hi I`m new to the forums, name is Shana and I live in London. UK. I did my first jump about 8/9 years ago in Scotland - a static line where my instructor shoved me out of the plane before I was ready and I broke my leg and shattered the bones in my ankle on landing. It was truly a grim time as as I was falling through the sky I knew that this was for me but getting hurt put on end to the thought of jumping again for a long time. But a few months ago I finally decided to try the AFF course and get myself back in the air. I`ve always had a fascination with falling and flying and facing fears:) Below is my AFF experience in Nov 04 at a drop zone in Florida with a UK instructor who issues BPA licences which might fill you in as to the problem I had over there - I would appreciate any feedback and advice as I want more than anything to overcome these problems and try the AFF course again. So a few months ago, I travelled to a DZ in Florida where a british instructor put three of us through the course. I had problems leaving the plane on my first jump - I really didn`t want to go, my legs were jelly and my mouth so dry I coudln`t swallow. I figured I might have problems leaving seeing as my first exit years ago was forced but as the plane circled around I dug deep inside and found myself in the door thinking if I didn`t try it now then I would probably never do so again. So I jumped:) (And guess who will never freeze in the door again?! Circling around in the plane is just pure torture:)) I managed to get through the drills and alti checks ok and pulled my own chute - wasn`t great at noticing the instructors signals but that fact I managed to get through the drills left me feeling ecstatic and knowing that I wanted to go up in the plane and jump again:) I also felt if I could do that on my very first level then hopefully anything after that was achievable too. Level one went better than my level 2 and 3 which were a bit wobbly and I lost alti awareness and the time seemed to rush by even more so than on my level one but I was still pulling my own chute on all levels. I was so disappointed that I seemed to be getting worse. Level 4 went very wrong - went up with one instructor where he released me and flew way out in front of me (that was a scary moment realising I was flying completely on my own) ... I managed to turn left ok and turn back but couldn`t stop my right turn even tho I thought I was moving my arm correctly (bit of a Zoolander moment - I cant turn right!). I panicked, my bum went up - I lost my arch, flipped onto my back and didn`t have a clue what was happening. My instructor tracked across the sky and had to pull my reserve at 2000ft. As I was upside down when the chute opened the chest strap hit me quite hard across my neck and crushed my wind pipe. Unfortunately it soon became apparent I wasn`t going to land anywhere near the drop zone (wind conditions had been very random all day) and no one was on radio (not surprising as my instrcutor would have pulled lower than me) so I had to find a safe place to land and firgure out when to flare too. All I could see below me was alligator infested waters but I managed to get lucky and scrape past a dense forest and land safely amongst a bunch of cows. I had to laugh as they backed away from me but in reality the whole thing was not a plesant experience. I had to think long and hard about whether to continue and found myself going back up in the plane the next day, again knowing if I stopped at this stage i may never have the guts to go back up again. The jump showed me that my confidence had been knocked more than I thought - i was so tense that I wasn`t very stable and I was quite scared. I had to have a serious think on the ground as to whether to keep trying or stop jumping for now. When I looked at my aff training vids saw that i was concentrating so hard on my arms and turning that I didn`t have leg awareness at all and they were just wobbling about in the wind. No wonder I was so shaky in the air. I was also having problems relaxing. In the end I felt as though I just didn`t have the strength and flexibility in my arms and legs to hold my arch for 45 secs of freefall and thought it was best I stop for now and work on that as well as getting used to the arch. It just doesn`t seem to be very comfortable to me at all. When I lie on the floor and try arching it hurts to lift the tops of my thighs off the floor and hold my arms back. I am working out atm and am hoping there will be quite a bit of difference by March. I`ve been doing some reading on the forums and have since realised that I really also need to work on my body awareness a lot. Would swimming or trampolining (where you can do tucks and flips) help with this? Am currently working out in the gym and doing several exercise classes to improve fitness. Had some wind tunnel time on three occasions while in Florida - and in the video I saw how I wasn`t arching properly - I kept arching with my bum in the air - something I am still having problems with! Although I did have one last session in the wind tunnel after the doomed level four and felt I improved quite a lot and it also helped my confidence immensely - well enough to stop me thinking that maybe it was something I just wasn`t cut out for and to give me the drive to try and improve as many areas as possible before starting the course from scratch again at the end of March at Lillo Drop Zone in Madrid. Look forward to any advice:) Shan x