bluetwo

Did you land it without any help at all? I actually like that we students get talked down where I go. It was a little windy today and I probably would've missed the landing area. _______________________________________

That's awesome man! Skydiving just totally get into your blood doesn't it? Glad you're going for it. _______________________________________

I don't know about your DZ but at the one I go to it costs the same for a tandem or for the instruction to start the static line progression (they don't do AFF). For that reason I would suggest not doing more than one tandem and also because I think it's more fun to go right into solo skydives. Basically I don't know how it is at the DZ you're going to but I don't see much point in waiting to get started on solo progression. Hope that helps a little. _______________________________________

That's cool!! ....I'm actually kind of the opposite of you. I started on static line so the canopy ride was really the highlight of my first few jumps and now free fall is a whole NEW thrill. It was strange going out at higher than 3500 feet for me the first free fall but they say that if a free fall student jumps at 3500 feet it feels way too low for them. Ha ha... _______________________________________

Hell, my first 10-15 jumps I fell out... and IIRC... those damn AFFIs pushed me for most of them! Damn! I've always kind of thought it would be a trip to fall or get pushed out unexpectedly then have to react, I never really thought it would happen though. _______________________________________

Happy Birthday!! _______________________________________

Sucks that the poor girl has to learn lessons about life. (sarcasm) _______________________________________

I say absolutely, go for it! It's a great opportunity to do things that will be mutually beneficial. Obviously there's no promise it will work but that's life. It'll work if you really want it to. My grandparents on my step-moms side have 8 acres and my uncle has been living with them and building a house on their land for several years now and it works out great for everybody. _______________________________________

I got nauseous my first jump, a tandem also. Every jump after that has been completely nausea free and it's just getting more and more fun with every jump! Welcome!! _______________________________________

I have decided to engrave my altimeter. I have a lunch box that I usually put my misc. items in but I might try to find something lockable now. I might get some strange looks if I walk into the hanger with a brief case though. _______________________________________

Damn.... driving is way too dangerous! _______________________________________

Body wash at home for sure, for traveling soap is fine. Years ago I never would've thought I would use any foo-foo stuff! ha ha... I guess the times are changin. _______________________________________

I was really hoping we could give examples of crazy landings... of course there might already be a thread for that. The OP wanted to know about landings though right? I know in only 8 jumps I've had some near perfect soft landings and I've slid in on my ass and knees. I've really got to stop looking at the ground... _______________________________________

You're welcome DROPdiva. Doesn't everybody like talking about themselves? I'm glad to share my experiences and I like to see what kind of feedback I can get. I'm not at all ashamed of the fact that I'm taking my progression slowly either because this sport is something I want to live to do as often as possible. I'm not saying I want to keep repeating steps but I've had to already and it's not that bad! In other words, even if you have to repeat something, don't beat yourself up about it and just keep jumping no matter what. _______________________________________

Modern canopies are not designed to fly backwards in 0 winds.. I am quite sure that you were landing into wind greater than 0. ETA: While they are a necessary tool, PLF's are over-rated.

I actually landed backwards the other day (and I get it, I'm not the only one to do it) with 0 ground speed until I flared then right before I touched down I started to go backwards a little bit which threw me off, and I was so ready to have a nice stand up landing. I just felt like sharing that to continue the talk about how unexpected things can happen. At least if there is a next time for 0 ground speed I'll know to anticipate going in reverse. By the way I'm about 190 out the plane on a 260 canopy. _______________________________________

I just got a new logbook recently and today I decided to write all the pertinent info I could think of in the front cover. And yeah, that might be overkill but it's better to have it and not need it in my opinion. Blue skies _______________________________________

Yeah, you're going to be nervous about jumping out of a plane into the open air but as most people keep telling me, if you're not a little hesitant about skydiving you probably shouldn't be doing it. I mean one would have to be a little off to not be a little apprehensive in the beginning. Sure there are some experienced skydivers who never even think twice before they jump any more but I know several experienced people who say they still get a little nervous right before the jump. As for questioning your skills, you probably should just a little bit because that will keep you on your toes. I mean that to say that you should probably consider what you will do if a malfunction happens because that needs to be second nature, not requiring any time spent thinking about your reaction. In only 8 jumps I've had 3 line twists and yesterday my pilot chute decided to go under my canopy but the line twists were extremely easy to get out of and I just had to stop doing hard turns when the pilot chute got misplaced. And I remember thinking "please don't let me have a malfunction" when I did my first couple of jumps. Little things happen though and you just have to act accordingly. I'm sure once you do one or two more you'll relax more and just have fun with it. Enjoy! _______________________________________

Ok cool, I see. At Walterboro we start with static line progression and we do 2 easy static line jumps then move to 3 PRCP's, practice ripcord pulls, before we start doing 5 second free falls. We basically do the same drill with the 5 second free falls where we arch, reach and pull and show good form for a second or two. I can't wait to move to 10 second free fall jumps next! _______________________________________

I completely agree! The lousy people who let exotic animals go in our delicate eco systems are probably the same ones that dump burnt oil on the ground because they're too lazy to properly recycle it when they do an oil change. _______________________________________

I don't know what you guys mean by D-1 and D-2 but I just got my first free fall yesterday too. Accidentaly de-arched and went onto my back but as soon as I realized what happened I went through my 1-2-3, arch, reach and pull routine and ended up doing a perfect back flip then deploying without even meaning to. I wish I had that on video.... _______________________________________

It's so much fun right! ...but as a new student like us it's like we're regularly doing something new in order to move on to the next level so that might add a little bit of apprehension. Of course they say if you don't have a little bit of hesitation about jumping out a plane anyway you probably shouldn't be doing it. I just started free fall yesterday and not only am I more stoked about skydiving than ever but I like the challenges of progression. Welcome to this crazy world! _______________________________________

Welcome back to it. _______________________________________

So basically there's all kinds of silly stuff a student can do and instead of trying to weed out all the little things it's more important to just enjoy the experience? Or is this the part where somebody goes the opposite way of most of the other posts? _______________________________________

A laminated card in your jumpsuit or back pocket for students would be great right? I wear my dog tags because they have my name and blood type on them and that's some pretty good life saving info. I might start jumping with my military ID card too just because that doubles as my insurance card in a hospital. _______________________________________