So there I was...Jump #17 last week. I knew that the winds at altitude were higher than normal but the winds on the ground were well within student limits. I jumped out and was concentrating on practicing some flips and tracking. During freefall I thought that maybe I should track toward the runway since it looked pretty far away, but I have been told that you should track perpendicular to the runway. I guess I just assumed I would be able to make it back. My next big error was that I only gave myself 500 feet to track, look, wave off and pull at 4K and by the time I was under a fully functional canopy, it was around 2500 ft. I quickly realized that I wouldn't be able to make the landing area. So I picked a field just next to the airport. I then quickly realized that I could not make that either... So I found the third option, a small field enclosed by a fence with a road and power lines in between me and a safe landing. I actually had to raise my legs to avoid the power lines, then I landed just fine. So as I see it, here are my errors: 1. Trying to hurry up on exit without getting a full picture of where I was. Everyone in the plane wanted to get out quickly because of the winds but I should have taken more time. 2. Not noticing that I was so far out. My only question is do you put more importance on tracking perpendicular to the jump run so as not to hit anyone else or getting back to the field? 3. Losing altitude awareness at a pretty critical time and pulling just a bit too low. Barely missing the power lines was a bit scary, but after all my mistakes, I think I did a pretty decent job choosing a landing site from what I had to work with and landing safely. Right after I got back, I went and bought my beer and then spoke to an instructor about my adventure. Blue Skies, Anthony I can't think of anything funny to put in my signature line...
