How anal is TOO anal?

[Milo 0]

Hello,
I'm a novice jumper, just over 50 jumps.
Today I jumped for the first time in almost 2 months.
I was jumping different gear, a Tri 190 instead of the PD 210's(and larger) I have jumped in the past.
The wind was from the north. Which happens rarely at my dz. I hate it when the wind comes from the north, the approach for landing takes you over power lines, parking lots, and buildings. It is not a problem for experienced jumpers, it is easy to fly safely over these obstacles and land in the peas.
It gives me the fits, though.
The spot was long, but reachable. I followed 2 experienced jumpers out of the C182 at 10000 feet.
I have read that the glide on the Triathlon isn't as good as that of a 9 cell, so I didn't waste any altitude on my way back.
I opened at 4000 feet and was debating whether I wanted to approach the landing area from the south, into the wind, but then I watched the 2 more experienced jumpers who went before me avoid the above mentioned obstacles and land downwind/crosswind, from the east. I opted for the crosswind landing, also.
I came in and flared too high. A bad habit of mine. I hit the ground with my shins and knees, my legs were together. I bounced and did a somersault through my risers. I gather it was quite a show. When I stopped rolling, I thought "Whoa, that didn't hurt at all!"
I sat up, to show the people watching me that I was unhurt, and started to try to figure out how to best untangle my lines.
One of my jumpmasters from my student days ran up to me, and I said "That didn't hurt near as much as it looked like!"
She looked me over and decided I wasn't broken and we untangled my lines as she pointed out my poor choice for a downwind landing.
In my review of my jump, the only major thing I did wrong was flare too high.
I'd rather take a crosswind or downwind landing in the grass than try to set myself up for a perfect landing into the wind only to find myself short and trying to land between the Hondas and Dodge Rams in the parking lot. Or worse.
But, that's not the reason for this post.
15 minutes after my jump, the first guy out of the plane, the one who made the first crosswind landing came up and asked me if I chose my pattern based on his. "Well, Kinda." I said.
The grief on this guy's face was incredible! He acted like he just killed my dog!
I tried to explain that I made my own decisions and that I didn't hold him responsible for anything I do in the air, but I don't think it did any good. He feels he put my life in danger from his decision.
Safety is important to me. I consider it MY responsibility. I don't feel this guy was guilty of anything.
What do you think, was this guy stressing too much?
Milo

[gale 0]

Well, I think you're right, he's not responsible for decisions you make in the air. We're all responsible for the choices we make, and by just blindly following someone else you've already made a mistake.
That said, I know that some dzs have a rule where you have to land in the same direction as the jumper in front of you. In that case, if an experienced jumper lands downwind, and then a non experience jumper follows him down because of the rule (and maybe lack of experience) then the experienced guy is, I would say, at least somewhat to blame.
My dz actually has that rule and so I followed an experienced jumper down on one of my first dives doing my own ground control and ended up landing downwind because of it. I didn't get hurt, but it did suck though. After that, I talked to the guys while in the plane and politely asked them to land upwind. Of course, no matter what they do, I now know to use other cues as well because you never know when the wind will shift.
So, I guess if I was an experienced jumper and I knew a student was on the same load I might make a special effort to land well, if for no other reason then just to help them out a little.
Gale
Life's not worth living if you can't feel alive

[freeflir29 0]

Quote

was this guy stressing too much?

In the end...probably so....but you have to understand that more senior jumpers tend to take "ownership" of the less experienced. Most like to set a good example and make sure that people follow it. He felt that he led you astray by setting the landing pattern cross wind. Trust me...it's a good thing to have jumpers like this guy around that care. Stick close to him. I'm sure he has a lot of knowledge to pass on.
"It's all about the BOOBIES!"

[bbarnhouse 0]

Additionally, some DZ's will having swooping ponds that only allow for landing in a certain direction. It is generally the rule that you follow the first man down. Downwinders can kill you, but then so can power lines trees and the like.
Sometimes it is better to land off (in an open space) and into the wind if you know the guy in front of you has made an error. I don't know if this is the case in your scenerio. Ultimately, you are responsible for your safety.
I am glad that everything turned out well.
It only takes a little pixie dust......