ScottTX

You mean size REALLY does matter?

TSA is a sore spot with me, I am employed in a business where a large number of our employees must interact with TSA on a daily basis, this includes employees who work behind the scenes in "secure" areas at the airport. Now another bureaucrat who probably has no idea what is happening in the real world sits on his fat ass behind a desk and wants to give the TSA more power to make up more of their useless, hassle filled, window dressing security measures . They must protect the public from those "evil skydivers"! TSA, aka, "Thousands Standing Around", The Shoe Approach", and a few others I wont repeat here.

[reply - Bad public relations from skydivers who run amok in town, streaking nude, driving drunk, etc. - Nearby land owners who call the police every time someone lands off-airport on their property, and consider that a trespass. I prefer to streak drunk and drive nude. At our dz I have not heard of any of the landowners complaining about off airport landings when they happen.

I have talked with a lot of other jumpers about the merits of the wind tunnel and so far everyone, I mean its been completly unanimous across the board, believes the wind tunnel will help esp with instability issues in freefall. I sure hope so

Did you break your ankles skydiving? The tailbone is much better than it was several weeks ago, I would say its about an 80 percent improvement, but there is still a discomfort level although I am a wimp when it comes to pain tolerance I want to get back in the air again also, but it was my choice, after getting input from other jumpers at Spaceland, NOT to jump until I get back from the tunnel. I have NEVER been one to quit when difficulties happen, I cannot stand to fail at anything, its the way I am, but at some point reality has to take over . Sure hope the tunnel helps, because I am to the point that I consider this a last resort, if the tunnel doesnt help, well then it might just be time to get that pair of bowling shoes. I gave serious, very serious consideration to going to another dz, not just the other one that is located near here, but others in the state, my job allows me very flexable travel opportunities. But for now at least I intend to stay here at this dz.

Let me tell you about my jumps and this should cheer you up!. I have 7 jumps at this point, 3 tandems, 4 solos and STILL at level 1 At my dz, student jumps are with 1 instructor, not 2. My first "solo", radio was not working or it was never turned on, so had no assistance from the ground. Flew a crappy pattern, then committed a real dumbass mistake, I made a LOW turn and then to top it off almost landed on the runway itself. "Solo jump 2", definetly better, forgot to do my 2 pht's, never did get my legs in the correct position. "Solo jump 3", I am still paying the price for this one almost 4 months later, definetly my worst jump of all the ones I have made. Never got positioned in the door correctly, dropped my shoulder at pull time, then comes the landing, or should I say the "impact" or the "crash", for whatever reason I never got the toggles past shoulder level (half brakes), then picked my feet up never did a plf, and impacted right on my tailbone, which resulted in said tailbone being badly bruised. It hurt unlike anything I have ever experienced and hope to never experience again and it stayed like this for about 6 weeks before I even began to feel better, even now almost 4 months later it sometimes still bothers me. "Solo jump 4", first jump after the tailbone injury. Upon exiting the plane, I sort of "balled up" and kicked my legs, which resulted in a very UNstable freefall, after about 15 seconds, I got everything together, and the last half of the freefall was great. The landing was the best one I have had yet, but I still ended up landing on my ass, Good thing the landing was much softer . So after 4 "solo" jumps, I am still at level 1, trying to keep from becoming too dejected with myself . I am going to Orlando next week for some tunnel time to see if it might help . I have to get back in the air and jumping again soon, because as more time goes by I am finding it increasingly difficult to keep motivated and easier to say "screw all of this" . As I have said before, my damn pride and ego will not let me quit at this point. This might make me a hypocrite, but keep your head up, try to stay cheerful and motivated. Good luck and keep us informed

I had the honor to meet Jay when he was at my dz about 6 weeks ago, we only spoke for a few moments. He was friendly, but soft spoken. Thank you to my instructor for the introduction.

I'm a way-new jumper, and don't know all the details of your jump/history... but, IMO, an instructor who tells a student on his first jump after coming back from an injury that the next jump is make-or-break is just crazy (especially instability on exit which seems to be a common problem with alot of students). From watching some of the other students at my DZ progress, it has just taken practice and experience to make it all click together... i've seen some that scared the hell out of me and watched the instructors work with them weekend after weekend until it did all did finally click one day, and they are still progressing through the program now. If the instructor is ready to give up on you already, i'd find another instructor or another dropzone if need be. Different teaching methods work for different people. Your current DZ isn't the only game in town, there are others around who also have top-notch instruction, and i'm confident they'd be more than willing to work with you. When we reviewed the video of the jump, you could clearly see that after exiting I began to kick my legs for several seconds, then my legs went almost vertical. It was when I did my 2 pht's that I began to settle down and got in the proper position for the rest of the freefall. The instructor did not say the next jump IS make or break, just that it could be. He has spent a lot of his own personal time working with me over the last few weeks, not getting paid for most of it. A Lot of the other dz employees have also spent time with me and offered advice while encouraging me. If, after the next jump I get the *BOB*(better off bowling) talk, I will look at my options and decide what to do next, because if I ever leave this sport it will be because it is MY CHOICE, not someone else making the choice for me, and that includes the options you mentioned.

One thing for sure, your post dated Oct 7 2005, is a very accurate description of where I am at today. The instructor who has been working with me is patient but he does not mince words, he is direct and to the point, and that is what I want, someone who tells me like it is, and I appreciate him for that. He pointed out the things on this jump that I improved on over the last jump, but made it real clear that the problem with instablity on the first half of this freefall was a serious concern to him. During the 7 weeks that I was not jumping the instructor gave me excersises to do that would help me in arching. I have been hanging out at the dz during the layoff, picking up whatever advice I could get from other instructors and experienced jumpers. In other words I feel that I have been doing everything that I should be doing to overcome being stuck at level 1 and overcoming the jump I was injured on. He made it very clear after our jump (at least the way I interpeted it) that this next jump is "make or break", as far as jumping at this dz is concerned. I wish there were a tunnel somewhere near here, maybe that might help. I live about an hours drive from the dz and last night on the drive home I gave consideration to never going back again, but my damn pride wont let me do it. I have to get one good jump, from exit to landing in, and then I will see how I feel, but I know that I cannot give up, the skydiving bug has infected me and I am definetly addicted to this . If I am told after the next jump that my status at this dz is *BOB* (better off bowling) than I will take some time off again, try to sort thru my feelings and emotions and see what I want to do. Maybe trying another dz at that point?, its possible unless I am somehow blacklisted, there are several dz's within a few hours driving time of here, but In talking with other jumpers and having visited other dz's myself, the dz I am at now is one of the best around, built from the ground up as a skydiving center with instructors and staff that are the best anywhere. I did not say it last night because it did not begin to hit me until the drive home , but right now, yes, I am being harsh on myself, I am totally disgusted and discouraged that so much time has been spent, both on my part and on the employees at the dz who have been encouraging me all along, and I still cant seem to go forward. Once a few days have passed, and I stop being pi*sed off at myself, I am sure I will start to refocus my thoughts and energy into doing what I have to do to get in a good jump. I will overcome!

I do tend to be too self critical, right now I am just disgusted with myself. I was really up for this jump after the long layoff during which the instructor I had today spent a lot of time with me working on the difficulties I have been experiencing and how to correct those. I just feel that I should have done better, esp after getting some of the best training and instruction you could ever want or hope to have. I will NOT give this up until someone at the dz tells me that I am *BOB*, aka "Better off Bowling", and maybe not then

Well, after getting a badly bruised tailbone on my last jump on Sept 30th, I made my first jump since then earlier today. I described in an earlier post about the difficulty I had been having with flaring and judging my flaring altitude. The bad news is that on exiting the aircraft today, I did not arch properly and we were very unstable for the first 20 seconds or so of the freefall. The rest of the freefall and landing was good for the most part, and I was more relaxed than I have ever been on any of my previous jumps. One of these days I am going to get my sh*t in gear and do a good jump from exit to landing. I have no excuse, the instructor I had today is great and the staff at the dz have been very considerate and understanding of the difficulties I continue to have. I am not giving up yet, but there has to be a point when I have to realize that maybe I am not cut out for this. What other reason can there be for someone who has now made 4 solo jumps and is STILL stuck on level 1?

Mike, welcome to the world of skydiving!. As a newbie myself, I can relate to being addicted to this. Right now, I am focusing on getting thru the student training phase. I havent jumped since Sept 30th because of an injury, but I hope to be back in the next couple of weeks and I am looking forward to it

I dont know how many are aware of the following. I remember reading the book that was written about it in high school. Great story, while it was about half the altitude of the man described in the first post. Its amazing how LONG he had to freefall because of the circumstances. The following is a link to a brief article about this. www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,937849,00.html

Thanks everyone, it helps listening to others who have gone thru this. I went out to the dz today, had the opportunity to talk at length with one of the AFF instructors, review my previous jumps, and get some very helpful input on how to improve on my "comeback jump". He demonstated and discussed PLF's and I had the chance to practice several of them. I feel much more confident about the next jump than I did before

Thanks for the idea, I will ask a friend who has a house, I live in a 2nd floor apartment and I am not sure my neighbor would understand my practicing plf's . Thinking back on my prior jumps, plf's were not really covered in any great depth, during the solo transition class the instructor demonstrated a plf, and we watched a video showing a jumper doing a plf, but it was never suggested or required that we practice any plf's. I would like to suggest that the dz makes practicing plf's prior to a student solo,a required part of the jump school course. Being a "newbie" I dont know how seriously they would take the suggestion.

Thanks again to everyone for all the kind words and encouragment

I made my 3rd AFF on September 30th, and although I dont have "wimpy girl arms" , I flew a great pattern according to my instructor, and started the landing flare but never got the toggles past the shoulders. I ended up making a hard landing, right on my tailbone, and bruised it badly. I am hardly the one to give you advice considering I obviously have difficultys with flaring. I believe that the blessings on this landing were that it had just rained the day before, so the field was muddy, but soft, and that I was able to walk away from it. A couple of the instructors at the dz I noticed later were taking some students up to a stairway attached to the hangar. The stairs have markings on it at the 5ft, 10ft and 15ft levels . Its difficult to describe but they have the students stand at the 15 ft mark, have their arms in the full up position, and have them repeatedly go down the stairs , the instructor beside them, calling out at the various marks, "shoulders (#1), chest (#2), and waist (#3), to signify the 1, 2, 3 landing flare. The students that I spoke with later said that it helped them to varying degrees. IF you want to read about the nervousness I am experiencing before my next jump, I just posted in the General discussion thread titled "First jump after an injury", and believe me I am nervous. Heal quickly and have a great jump!

My last jump was on September 30th, I really screwed it up, made a very hard landing, and got a badly bruised tailbone. It is healing well and I feel at this rate I should be able to jump again within the next few weeks. My 1st six jumps I enjoyed, the thing is though, that I am really getting nervous now, maybe even a little bit scared about my first jump after injuring myself, not enough to stop me from jumping, I WILL JUMP AGAIN!. Anyone have a story to tell about their 1st jump after an injury?, maybe I should try not to think about it so much, but I feel that reading about others who may have experienced the same thing would help. Thanks

Thanks Chris

Hi everyone, I am new to the sport, having made 6 jumps, 3tandems/3solos, I am definetly addicted to this!. I wish that I could tell everyone that my 3 solos were perfect, but they were far from it. My 1st, I ended up with a minor ankle sprain, my 3rd I ended up with a severely bruised tailbone because I flared to late and forgot about a thing called the PLF (DUH!) , one of these days I am going to get past level 1! Now waiting for the tailbone to heal enough to allow me to start jumping again, I am determined to succeed at this!. I would be interested in hearing from anyone about their mishaps or mistakes as new students. Thanks