Seems like you already got some good advice here, but I'll throw in my 2 eurocents anyway. Note that I'm not a very experienced skydiver, let alone an instructor. If you take what I say serious, please please please talk with your instructor(s) about it! When I did AFF, I had a huge problem with turns too. In fact, it took me 16 jumps to pass AFF (8 levels though, rather than the usual 7) and almost all repeats were due to heading control problems. Of course, flying the wind tunnel is probably a very good thing to do. One of my instructors at Perris recommended that I went to the tunnel in Vegas. However, at the day I planned to go there, I had no means of transportation due to some mix-up. Being "stuck" on the DZ anyway, I finally decided to give that fscking (sic) level V another go, this time with a JM I had never jumped with before. At that time, I still had what I like to call "plane anxiety" (i.e. getting really scared during the plane ride). To make things worse, at 10,000 ft. he (the JM) found that my chest strap was routed incorrectly (despite 2 gear checks on the ground). And to make things even worse, the winds picked up. So, there I was, sitting in the plane just before jumprun. A gear problem had been fixed. My JM looking worried, giving the hand-across-the-neck signal and shouting things like "Hey X, tell Y not to jump!" "Make sure he doesn't jump!" "The tandems are good" and such. He told me that the winds were too strong and that everybody except the tandems were riding the plane down. I should feel disappointed, but I felt relieved instead. Later that day, when wind conditions had improved, we went up again. When I put my goggles on, they almost fell apart. The JM gave me his and asked if it was okay with me if he wore his sunglasses instead of goggles. Sure, what do I care? And surprise surprise... he jump went ok. I managed to keep a heading for a change!!! Whoohoo! So I finally passed that level V and I didn't even need the wind tunnel after all. I still plan on visiting one, because I've been told it teaches you a lot about flying your body in a tight space. And maybe I'll finally get rid of that slight but steady backslide that's still bugging me as I write this. All in all, it was a great jump. I got over my plane anxiety and I finally got the hang of heading/turn control. I can't thank the JM (Grayson Hoffman) enough. Anyway, after this long story, here's some pointers for you: - 1 - Some people want the same JM for all of their jumps. But if you get stuck at some point, it might help to change JMs. The different approach, behaviour, attitude and teaching of another JM can sometimes be very refreshing. Not that it will work miracles, but it might help. - 2 - Relax. It's very important to relax. If you're tense, your body gets so rigid that even the slightest asymmetry will cause a turn. Just put your "I don't give a damn" hat on, relax, smile at your JM like your life depends on it and let your arms and legs blow back. It's kinda like a car suspension. With a very stiff suspension, like a ChampCar, even the smallest bump on the track surface is passed to the driver, which makes these cars (relatively) very nervous and thus extremely difficult to handle. That's why you and I aren't ChampCar drivers. Your average road car however, has a far looser suspension. As a result, your road car will not make you feel the difference between driving over a quarter with the heads or tail side up. The tenser you are, the stiffer your body becomes, making it more difficult to fly. It is my experience that skydiving is much like piloting a sailplane (I hope that's the proper English word for it). You need to relax and use smooth, small inputs with the controls. If you whack the stick around like F16 pilots (pretend to) do in the movies, you're not a good pilot. - 3 - As some people already pointed out, your JM can (should be able to) give you some body position awareness exercises like tapping your toes. Take the time to inspect your body position (but mind the altitude please). Maybe you have a tendency to lower a certain limb or stick one out or something. If you're wearing a wrist mounted altimeter, don't move anything but your head when looking at it. Don't try to pull your arm in or something. - 4 - Point your toes. It helps, really. - 5 - If you do start to turn unintentionally, try to ignore it and just turn the other way. If you're spinning, arching alone won't help. That will merely stop you from spinning even faster. To stop spinning, you really need to counteract the spin by turning in the opposite direction. - 6 - If all else fails, you can try do "delta" out of a spin. But please talk to your instructor before planning to use this manouver. In fact, some JM won't let you. I'm not an instructor, but I can imagine that it may be quite difficult to chase a student all over the sky, especially if you start tracking in circles On the other hand, an AFF JM is supposed to be able to do so, I'd think. - 7 - I remember a story about a year ago on flame-dot about a guy who did level IV 28 times or something. Then he tried the delta trick and suddenly it all "clicked". I have no idea if it is true, but it illustrates one thing: you may have one jump on which it suddenly just works. From that jump on you'll be kicking yourself, thinking "why for god's sake was that all so difficult???" or "what was I so scared of?". I think it's quite possible that one thing will lead to another. Once you're able to hold a heading, your confidence is likely to get a significant boost. For me, the level V jump I told you about and the level VI jump that followed it, were key points. After that level V jump, I knew I was able to freefall without spinning like a top all across the sky. This boosted my confidence. Level VI featured an unstable exit (getting shoved out of the plane by your JM), sending you tumbling across the sky. You're then supposed to regain stability. And guess what: it really works. It made me realize that if I were ever to fall out of the plane, screw up the exit of mess up some kind of freestyle manouver or something, I'm able to (re)gain stability. Thus, although I may screw up the plan, I'll still be safe. It may take a while, but eventually the pieces should all start fitting together. - 8 - Try to find out when you perform best. Early in the morning or late in the afternoon? On your first jump of the day or on the second one? If it makes you feel better, wear your lucky shoes, pants or whatever. Get your own goggles and/or jumpsuit and/or helmet and/or altimeter and ask if you can jump with those. It may make you feel better. So might getting a permanent logbook. - 9 - This may sound a bit harsh, but it's really for your own good. There's always the possibility that skydiving is not the sport for you. Of course, I hope that's not the case. But make an honest assessment of your safety. When I was struggling through AFF, I hung in there because I knew I was safe. I may have failed this level (again), but at least I maintained altitude awareness, pulled on time and flew my canopy back to the DZ for a safe landing. As long as you can do exactly that, feel free to keep on trying. But if you constantly put yourself in significant danger by pulling low, landing off the DZ or in power lines, in trees, on the runway or that sort of thing, I think you'd better quit before the DZO, chief instructor, an injury or the grim reaper makes you. Maybe take a break for a while and try again later. Again, I hope this is not the case (and it probably isn't), but it would be foolish not to consider the possibility. Good luck, Alphons http://www.liacs.nl/~avwerven
