anthonymcgrath

hey everyone I'm never really on this forum (sorry) but I just thought i'd update my thread here lol Well I've been jumping virtually EVERY wkend since passing my course. I now have 62 jumps, my A cert, I have my packing certificate and I'm 3 declared landings from my B cert. I dont have my FS1 yet as I'm midway through a safeflight school canopy course in the uk which I'm really loving as my main interest is defiinitely canopy piloting - would love to learn to do high speed landings and swoops down the line but wanna do it safely and slowly I've been out to EmpuriaBrava twice this year and hope to get out to California in mid march 08. I've got a sabre2 210 on order with a javellin odyssey container and all the rest of the gubbins that go with it hehe! Cant wait to get it now as I've finally downsized to a 210 and really enjoy flying it... its horrid when I have to go back up to lumbering sizes at dz's because they dont have the kit size I'm on now :( anyhow thats where I'm standing now with my progression - hopefully I'll get my B cert and FS1 soon ....and some nice weather - bloody UK is terrible

I just read TomBuch's post and the others above and I think I've learnt something important here - that its down to YOURSELF in how comfortable you feel with the equipment, the situation your putting yourself in and yourself as a person in a stressful situation like skydiving and I want to apologise to Zagor if my first reply didn't sound too sensitive or caring. I just put myself mentally in your shoes in that situation and when I think about it I probably would have done exactly the same on AFF Level1. however I want to point out that I was jumping my own pack jobs right after level8 (not sure if they do that outside the uk) and I think its like was mentioned you have to put your faith in it - the kits want to open. If your still not confident then get in the training harness and DRILL that reserve procedure into your head till its a reaction to any situation - do it standing up arched, do it on a pile o beanbags - do it with gloves and full pack on - get comfy in that kit but please dont give up mate - skydiving is amazing fun and I know it'll be the best thing you ever do in your life - it is for me :) go for it pal!

eyup mate sad tale but you've only let yourself down there I'm afraid and you know it. I've spent the last week doing my AFF course and 4 of my ten console jumps and I can only tell you that it gets soooooooo much better it really does. falling through clouds an mist and feeling it rattle off your skin or popping your canopy and turning around to see the sun cast your shadow on a cloud surrounding you with a stunningly colourful lens flare. These are just a couple of things that I've experienced and I'll never see them anywhere else except up in the skies. Granted it might have give you a fright with a rig that had a missing secondary handle but at the end of the day those things want to open and you just need to put your faith in it. If it doesn't thats what your reserve is for. If you bottle it midway through trying to go through your reserve drills your AAF is designed to fire at around 1500feet too. my first console jump done on the wednesday just gone RIGHT AFTER my aff level8 was packed by MYSELF having never packed a canopy till then... opened sweetly. did console jumps 2 3 and 4 having packed it myself too. The guy doing the rest of the packing was occasionally like 'yeah that'll do' each time I asked for his check and assistance. I've watched an older guy stuff the canopy into the container with his foot and still come down safely. when your up there next time just get out into the skies - the instructors will be at your side making sure your canopy opens but you have to put your trust in your equipment and most importantly yourself. Yes its scary - my first AFF was terrifying... now I pile out the plane backwards spin about like a loon and love every wonderful second of freefall. If you'd have told me on saturday 7th July2007 that I would be gleefully doing all of this on my own I'd have laughed in your face. As for instructor care and attention believe me they are from the climb up to the ground but at some point they have to cut the umbilical or you'll never do it yourself. A week ago instructors were considering me the most important person on that dropzone... now we hit 11,000 feet and they're like "right ant... get out there you ladyboy" and I love it hahahahaha! ...to sum up mate - YOUR MISSING OUT!!!! - skydiving is the single best thing I've EVER done with my comically dire life - get out there and enjoy it mate its literally life changing. DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT!! PLEASE!!!!

awesome stuff mate - glad to hear you got some progress done this weekend - I got a let down on thurs, friday and saturday due to crap weather and blustery winds on saturday. Sunday made up for it though - got console 3 & 4 out the way and will be heading back up the wkend coming to get my consoles finished up. Even pro-packing my own canopies now too and jumped on them :D cool that you have a wind tunnel to get some practise in though - wish I had that lol! my consoles are a right laff though now - good time to practise stuff but you also start to feel really aware of where you are, what your doing, your ability to sort yourself out in the sky and land. Its ALL good :D

Well - finished my level 8 yesterday and did my first 2consolidation jumps and they were ABSOLUTELY AMAZING FUN!! The first one I just piled out the plane at 10k - went unstable an recovered, did a couple of turns 360 and tried a track but lost the track a little (legs.. remember the legs!). Landed just outside the circle but safely and on my own :D loved every second! 2nd one - OH MY DAYS that was serious fun again! I piled out the plane (little cessna 182 at 10k feet) and into a front spin with my hands tucked around my knees hahahaha - I then did a really nice couple of turns really precisely right in front of my instructor then a solid delta track but my arms were a little too far in and I lost a bit of balance in it. I deployed just below 4500feet and was greeted with a stunning site - my shadow surrounded by a corona of sunlight on a light cloud surface - my jaw hit my feet. I landed perfectly in the circle on the dropzone with no radio assistance in this one either hurrah!!. I think those spills into the field of horses and the runway have taught me how the wind can change things dramatically lol! I've been learning to pack my own canopy today - its a great big 280foot navigator thing - which considering I'm 16st10lbs is bloody handy lol! If the weather is good tomorrow (yeah right!) It'll be the first canopy I'VE packed and jumped on - I think everyone prob has that fear!! :p I'll be looking to get my own pack asap and have the cash waiting lol! I'm so impressed with the AFF course though in its simple ability to get you out the plane, on your own and pulling your own ripcord. If you'd have told me on saturday that I'll be literally piling out the plane and smiling about it I'd have laughed in yer face but now I'm smiling all the way up ...and down Skydiving is the single best thing I've ever done with my life. I know you've all been there (or are getting there lol!) but I just cant find words to describe how amazing it feels - I'm literally on cloud9

well I've gone successfully through level7 about 3 hours ago and I AM BUZZING!!! I started saturday morning so got there pretty quick. Level8 tomorrow which is an exit from 5500feet and a 3 second delay before pulling. Basically emergency exit which I'm a little apprehensive about but not nearly as much as I would have been if they'd have chucked that at me first go!! my god SurferdOOd you wont believe how quickly you progress it is just such a cool course and I know I'm a million miles away from being even remotely good but I am loving every second of it. I've so far gone into insane spins right from exit but recovered, plummeted so fast the instructors and camera guy could barely keep up... surfed the back of one of the instructors ...tracked at stupidly fast speeds ...landed in a field of horses (brings a whole new meaning to the term HORSE JUMPING!!)... landed on the runway... had my tee shirt flit up around my reserve handle and a dozen other crazy things. Dont know if you've gone through a good batch of cloud yet but MAN is that a rush!!! The one I went through on level2 was a rain cloud and was amazing!! dont worry too much it is intense but as everyone says here think blue skies, arch, relax and be altitude aware but also ENJOY IT!! you KNOW when you get on the ground safely you'll be absolutely buzzing!! I'm booking my next 10 console jumps tomorrow HOOOOOOTTT!!!! blooooooooooooo skieeeeeessss

I know what you mean I did my tandem and a static line jump and I just felt so alive that day going home and every time I shut my eyes for the next week I had a solid vision of falling - it was amazing. I had the window in the car wound down on the way back and my hand out the window to feel the air between my fingers hehehe! I still do that now a year later and I'm selling a very very quick sports car so I can do more of it as its just not the same feeling at all (no shit!). It truly is life changing.

thanks Burner - I'm really buzzing now... went and got myself a comfy pair of trainers as all my others would just end up soaking wet lol. Got my cash sorted out and plenty of spare money too for extra jumps. am hoping to get a few more in alongside my AFF jumps and get a couple of bits like some goggles and gloves too lol! must remember the arch bit lol! :)

my first static line was proper scary - its such a random sight seeing a perfectly comfy instructor sit in the safety of the plane giving you the thumbs up to let go of the wing strut when your stood outside a plane with the wind blistering in yer face lol! however I felt alot safer doing that than doing a tandem strangely. I felt more 'attached' to the canopy than I did in a tandem. My aff starts on friday - cant wait :) know what you mean about the bloody uk weather though - I wont be surprised if it spoils my aff week completely :(

I'm sooo jealous - my AFF starts saturday morning coming - cant wait :D

oh wow I cant believe its the week leading up to my AFF course already - heading up to peterborough friday evening - do wish the bloody weather would cheer up tho or I wont be doing owt I guess - we're forecast a week of rain but possible clearing up on the wkend - heres hoping. got lots of spare cash to do extra jumps. got a buyer coming to look at my skyline gtr too this week so hopefully he'll be happy with that, buy it and leave me with some pennies to do more hopping from planes lol!

I started my static line last year but didn't get very far with it at all - I went up sat morning, did all my paperwork n groundwork and it was good fun. weather prevented my getting a tandem jump that day though :( I went back on the sunday which was a nice sunny day and did my first tandem jump and bloody loved it. We landed I jumped up and down and said get me up there to start my static line asap please. so - 1 hour later, I'm back on the plane. I only had to do a first static line release from 3.5k feet - a doddle I thought... we climb the height and as we get higher and higher I'm thinking "I have to jump out of this plane on my own"... thats was a scary moment and I nearly didn't go any further but I thought "I'm up here I may as well get down the way I wanted or I'll just be annoyed at myself later on" lol! I step out onto the wheel/brace thing as instructed in my ground tutoring... outside the plane at 60knots and the wind feels like ice shards on my fingers. I'm holding onto the support strut of the plane wing, stood with one leg hanging out in the pre-let go pose (sorry I dont know the jargon yet lol!)... I look left and I can see the tutor sat on his knees in the safety of the plane with his thumb up urging me to let go. fortunately I didn't really think or panic and just did as I was told assuming that hips-pushed-forward pose as best I could and did my count. my canopy opens but I look up and see twisted lines and a high riser. I got a fright and remember hearing myself going "oh shit oh shit" yet at the same time I distinctly remember auto-kicking outward in circular motions (again - as instructed on ground) and the lines unravelled and my riser came down too hurrah! After that it was check around for other jumpers and then enjoy the view, which was an awesome contrast to what had just happened, before coming to landing time I did the approach correctly but flared a little too high and ended up in a heap but fortunately not damaged - I was tought some kind of roll on the ground which I employed as soon as I contacted the ground - forgot the name now though. so once I were on the ground it occured to me what had happened up there. I got back to the hangar and told the guys about my twisted lines 'ah it happens all the time' I got back!!! !?!! cheers chaps! of course they're never gonna tell you that on the ground as you'd get a fright before even getting up there and thats why you do all the groundwork in prep for things like that happening. It then hit me later on that my first static line jump hadn't really gone all that smoothly BUT I had got a chance to test out all my tutoring and that gave me a great buzz that I hadn't really panicked and just auto-resolved the problems in possibly the most extreme situation I've ever put myself in! I'm due to start my AFF course on the 7th july and I have about six hundred quid on top of that for extra jumps during the rest of the week - a year later, barely any skydiving and Its still imprinted in my mind - I want that 14,000 feet jump to be MINE - not attached to a tandem instructor and by jiminy I'm gonna go get it :D ant

hey kell I have my aff commencing on the saturday 7th july myself - a full week of skydiving woohoo! - I've saved a handfull of cash and i'm itching to get there and jump lol! have a great time saturday and remember to put some notes up on this thread :)

aaarrrghghghghh all these ppl getting their aff done sooner than I can lol! hope it goes well for you man and hope you have a great week of weather for it too! ant

well done mate :D Got mine on 7th July - did a tandem last year and started static line course but selling a house took over. Now I'm getting my AFF done before owt else!! Cant wait!