Jaria007

(although your pix are on the internet already). LOL! Man, those damn videographers are sneaky! You know, once you put it that way, you sure are right! Failing only happens when you quit permanently. Now, speak to me again when I am on my 40th jump and still AFF2-I might have a different story the only good thing that came out of the snot mishap is that my nose cleared up. Guess the sky was like one giant tissue. Gross! *shrugs*

Yea, I think camera work is going to be right up my ally. That is, if I ever remember to pull, lol.

I know. It's so true. My jumps are 150 a pop. Once I pass level 9, its only 45 (including rental and repack). Cant wait! However, moreso than repeat costs, I hate feeling like I failed. I HATE IT!!

I dont think any of the prep methods can truly simulate the real thing. The nerves, the wind, the gravity, the rig. Your form in a tunnel or on the ground just cant compare to that. Of course, this is just a newbie talking to a newbie. I might be completely wrong

I shall beat that record! Lucky 39 baby!

That would be pretty funny hitchhiking back to your DZ, parachute in hand.

He was a very talented and gifted writer that will be sorely missed.

LOL!! I can't imagine landing in the trees! Luckily, the only thing I can land in at my DZ is a tomato field or the like. Hmmm...the everglades are pretty near though...gators..oh no. What do you do if you land somewhere else? Smoke signals? Thanks for the glossary link. EXTREMELY HELPFUL. I really felt discouraged today. Randy wasn't as chipper as last time, so I felt I contributed to that in some way by completely bombing the jump. He did say that I could work on a lot of my issues on the ground. Man, i need to win the lottery soon to pay for all this training and retraining!

LOL...that's great! I was SUPER concentrated on the altimeter. If only I could find that pesky pull

Relax? Ha!!! The difference between my first jump and second one was drastic. The first one, I couldnt stop smiling and laughing. This one, I looked like a sick puppy. I wasnt even afraid of the normal things...I was just afraid that I would forget something and fail. Like I would let my coach down! Looking up at the plane sounds awesome except I'm so disoriented, i wouldnt find the plane till it was too late!

I defintely want to get into the road trips. The wind tunnel is in Orlando, which is about 4 hours from here. I think it would be extremely helpful. I guess I dont know what it feels like to properly arch in freefall, so I dont know when I'm doing it wrong. I pretty much remembered all my steps but did them all in the wrong form lol. Maybe I could play the potato chip butt in the air dive as a new form of free flying?

Yet I still find myself envious because you have made it to level 5 in 5 jumps! I think I'm stuck at two. My training has 3 tandem jumps in the first 3 levels, so i cant imagine how scary the level4 solo will be. Everything looks the same from up in the air. I'll probably land in some tomato field lol. I think that it's awesome you didn't panic when you figured out you pulled late (I know I would have) and that you managed to land safely. What a surprise it must have been for someone to find you in their back yard! What is backitis? PLFd?? What you said is so true...once you've done something wrong, you wont repeat it again (hopefully). However, I didnt forget to pull, I just couldnt find the damn thing!! I defintiely kept my eye on the altimeter because on my first jump I forgot it completely. I just felt like I let my instructor down by not pulling, not to mention how I am still mortified of my sinus mishap (inserts head in dark hole). I'm wondering how I can improve the arch and pulling scenario. On the ground, I arch fine (at least that is what I was told). I thought I was doing it in the air, but apparently I was a human bridge! Same goes for the pull, I pulled and tossed many times in the training room, but when I was attached to my instructor, I couldnt figure out for the life of me, where that little sucker was!

LOL, yea I seem to have underestimated the sport. The funny thing is that now that the jump is over, I remember all the steps just fine. It was just a lot to do in 1 minute. I had no freaking clue where the pull was. Today really gave me a high level of repect for all skydivers. I can't imagine how challenging RW and Freeflying must be or being an instructor that jumps over and over again. Before my first jump, I thought it was going to be like space... weightlessness and freedom to move, when really its the exact opposite. I think I would have been happier had I pulled the cord. I couldnt find it the first time and I told myself that checking the altimeter and pulling was the most important lesson I wanted to get down today. Maybe the third time is the charm! As for me doing enough right not to get hurt..I think Randy is to thank for that. I was told that I would be dead had I been alone, lol. I was like oops...glad I wasn't alone then! I also saw that my post got moved from the intro and greets to the bonfire. Sorry about that! I dont know where to post. There should be a "Newbie" Forum for all the new people questions, lol.

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Hey! I'm new too, and having the exact same problems. I thought I was doing fine until my instructor told me my butt was in the air. My arch is fine on the ground, but all that air pressure makes the real thing completely different. I think I concentrate too much on remembering what step to do next " find header, check the altimeter, practice throw, check the altimeter, practice throw, check the altimeter, right turn, foward motion, get stable, etc..) that finding form was just impossible. We just need to keep practicing I'm told!