skydivebaby

There is only one word to describe Da'Kine Rags ... PERFECTION! Chuck put his loving heart and soul into his creations. When you slip into his clothing gear you'll feel his amazing energy! If you're fortunate to grab yourself a pair ... DO IT! :-)

I'll have to second the reviews about needing a small head. It only comes in 2 sizes and I bought the S/M. I was concerned it would be a little too big because on Sky Systems sizing chart a Sm is 21.5" - 22" and a Med is 22.1" - 22.5". My head measurement above eyebrow is 21.5". I used the tightening feature ... didn't really need to but played around with it a bit and it helped the fit just a tad. It fits me like a glove! :-)

I'll have to second the reviews about needing a small head. It only comes in 2 sizes and I bought the S/M. I was concerned it would be a little too big because on Sky Systems sizing chart a Sm is 21.5" - 22" and a Med is 22.1" - 22.5". My head measurement above eyebrow is 21.5". I used the tightening feature ... didn't really need to but played around with it a bit and it helped the fit just a tad. It fits me like a glove! :-)

I love Skydive Hawaii http://www.hawaiiskydiving.com/. I'm doing AFF at SDH and have been treated so wonderfully by the owners, TM's, Instructors and ALL of their staff. Truly a kind and caring skydiving company

CONGRATS ... SOOOOOO AWESOME! (hands clapping for ya in the middle of the pacific ocean)

Funny you mention a helicopter because on Friday at the DZ I was saying my nickname should be helicoptergirl ... LOL ... then someone said spinner ... which oddly enough I like and have in my profile It never crossed my mind that I'd have a problem FF and Arching. It's freaking me out ... well I'm freaking myself out. Yeah, when I find the "hover button" I'll cry with glee and laugh at myself ... I was freaked because of what? LOL! And I'll definitely post when I fall like a feather Thanks again for your support and words of encouragement!

I find it interesting (don't know what word to use) during AFF that a person does well in either FF/Arch or CC/Landing. I know some students nail it all right off the bat. I have to stop watching YouTube AFF videos. It's not helping my self-confidence. An old-timer skydiver on Friday told me that woman usually do well in FF/Arch but not in CC/Landing. If this is true, leave it to me to be on the other side of the fence ... LOL! The funny thing is that my concern before my 1st solo was CC and Landing, and here I was able to land safely on my 2nd solo with no radio. It never occured to me that FF in a stable arch would be so dam difficult! Those tandems gives a false sense of what's going on with my body. And I'm soooooo frustrated I can't control my body in the air. My mind knows what to do, but my body is not cooperating. I hope ... or should I say "I know", in time I'll be singing a different tune

I meant to reply to you ... sorry it took me a while. Errr, not sure similar log books in this case is a good thing ... LOL! I like reading your post. It totally puts a smile on my face and helps me to feel better with what I'm going through. Yeah, landing and walking away safely is a great great thing for this gal!

Thank you for sharing this with me. Helps me to not feel so alone. It will be interesting to see how many repeats of Level 3 I'll do until I nail this. I appreciate your support!

I know unstable whip spin ... LOL! You've had quiet a skydiving journey! Amazing! Re: smiling ... maybe I should look at my Instructor and smile before he releases me ... that might help. I'll talk to him about this ... sure can't make things worse than it is

Actually you had me laughing ... thanks I needed it! I told my Instructor about this and he laughed too. So you made 2 people laugh ... nice! And once again it was HORRIBLE & GREAT ... LOL BTW, I'm not only one of them slipperry little suckers, you can add manic and spastic to the mix ... LOL! Thanks for your support and everything you wrote. Much appreciated!

I'm still reading your log, but sounds like me ... LOL. I've got the CC down, but dam my arch! You give me hope!

How many times will I have to redo this Level? LOL! I have to laugh because I'm so over crying! I told my Instructor Sasha (got permission to use his name on the net) before we started anything yesterday morning where my head was at and what my goal was for Solo #3. I wanted to concentrate on FF and a stable arch. I told him I know it's not enough to pass this level but that's okay. I need to FF stable before working on to turning. Sasha is so wonderfully supportive and said, "FF stable in a good arch without turning is a success in itself". We did more ground work, and of course on the ground my arch is perfect. Dam, when is it gonna be perfect in the air! GRRR! We wait for the 1st load to go up because of the cloud and wind situation. Sasha needed to make sure it was okay for me to jump. We're good to go for 2nd load. So we're in the plane and I'm more scared than I have ever felt. I was crying off and on ... sigh. Sasha hit my helmet trying to snap me out of it ... which worked ... temporarily ... LOL. Once we're ready to get to the door and exit I'm feeling much better. Nervous yet calm. I'm focused on the task at hand. Here's how it went ... ~ Exit good. ~ COA ... wait for OK hand signal. ~ 1 PCP At this point I knew Sasha was going to release me. In my head I was thinking about FF stable in a good arch. And if I started spinning to ARCH because that should stop the spin. ~ Instructor release. Fell a few seconds okay. Then started spinning. I arched as best I could but it wasn't helping. I started spinning faster. In my head I could hear, "What the hell am I doing wrong?! I'm arching! But I'm making it worse!". ~ Instructor flies in to catch me by jumpsuit leg. Now I'm stable. ~ Waive off at 5,500'. When I go to Pull I can't find it! Sasha had to grab my hand to help me ... sigh! ~ Canopy opens good. Release brakes. Look around for other canopies. Steerability check. At this point I know my Instructor is talking on the radio but I can't understand him, it sounded like static. I keep focused on the task at hand and I know if I can't hear him throughout this I'll have to land by myself. ~ Winds are picking up. I look at the 1st check point where I'm suppose to be at 3,000' but I'm at 4,000'. I park myself, making small corrections to keep myself inline. ~ At the 3rd check point I'm at 1,500', but I'm suppose to be at 1,000'. Now I hear my Instructor on the radio saying, "If you can hear me do a 360 right turn.". I do it and all is good. ~ Instructor guides me into the DZ. I flare. And I LAND ON MY FEET! WAAHOO!

Let me start by saying that stating Level 6 is kind of misleading. The AFF program I'm doing consists of 8 Levels; 3 Tandems & 5 Solos. Depending on one's perception, my 3rd solo could be considered Level 6 (which is what my program calls it) or Level 3 (because it's literally my 3rd solo). Anyway ... I'm on the island of Oahu. DZ is on the north shore and wind can kick up pretty good out here. Fortunately winds are pretty light in the morning, for the most part, but it's not always the case as it can pick up quiet fast. Jan.18,2008 - 1st solo (I don't owe beer do I? LOL) went smooth, considering I had a linetwist ... which I got myself out of with ease ... relief! Basic program (non-release) with one instructor (who btw is absolutely amazing!). Landed in DZ, no problem ... well took a few steps then fell forward but I was on the ground safe! Barely no wind that morning ... whew! Jan.22, 2008 - 2nd solo. This is why I'm frightened and nervous. Exit good, COA, 1 PCP, Instructor release followed. I was suppose to FF, then do a Right Turn, then Left Turn. Well, I started turning without trying. I know I tensed up immediately ... easy to say I'll be relaxed when on the ground. I tried to counter the turn but was unable to, and I ended up making the situation worse. I started turning even faster. It felt fast during FF, but watching the video it really wasn't that fast. In the video my arch during the spin was horrible and I did not check my Alt. I'm embarrassed to say this but it is what it is. Instructor gave me time to stable myself, which I was unable to and kept spinning faster, so he flew in to catch my arm and stable me. In the video you can see my body somewhat relax and arms come into a closer 45 degree angle rather than somewhat extended forward. Waive Off at 5,500'. Canopy opened no problem. Released brakes. Looked around for other canopies. Steerability check. Then I realize the radio was NOT turned on. At the time I couldn't figure out where the radio was and was focusing on the task at hand ... getting myself SAFELY to the DZ. The wind started to pick up so I turned into the wind ... back facing DZ. I made a newbie mistake by doing S-Turns to try to slow myself rather than Parking myself ... which btw no one had ever told me about Parking until afterwards. I turned forward into the wind on the Down Wind so I could see where I was going. At the Base Leg I was too high, 1,000', so I had no choice but to continue down wind. By this time I'm lined up with the runway! Turned into Base Leg, now I'm over the runway and a plane is below me at the end. I look to my right, then left, and decide left is better because there is more grass. No problem getting to grass area. Had to make small corrections, but landed safely doing a roll to my left when my feet touched the ground. FYI ... I weigh 115 lbs using a student canopy 220 Navigator. Okay, so my 2nd solo was horrible and great. Horrible because I could not get myself out of spinning like a helicopter blade. Great because I landed safely without radio assistance ... pretty good for a newbie if I do say so myself Tomorrow is my 3rd solo ... weather permitting. I hope I can sleep tonight because my stomach is in knots and here I am posting for the first time on this board. It's cathartic. I need to get this out of me. Set my pride aside and say to the world ... I'M SCARED AS ALL HELL! All I want for this jump is to FF stable with a good arch, and of course land safely! I know this won't be enough to pass this level and I'll have to repay and retake this, but that's okay. I need to get back into the air ... get back on that horse that threw me off of him ... so to speak. I know spinning is common for students but I'm so dam scared this will happen again and I won't be able to stop. So many skydivers (Tandem Masters, Instructors, etc.) gave me the most wonderful support after my 2nd solo ... even the owner sat with me and talked trying to sooth me ... wow so wonderful! If anyone else has had a similar experience during AFF I would love to hear your story. I know my post is kind of long. Thanks so much for taking the time to read