fruce insists i share... :)

[Kelly 0]

hey guys. nice thread about the thrill seekers you guys have got going there... good to see things a bit more 'normal'.
anywhoo, fruce insisted that i post the story about our day of jumping. (like i wouldnt anyway?!?)
Im jumping a Spectre 170 now. before today i only had one jump on it and i flared WAY to high. When i realized this i honestly thought i was going to break a bone or two dozen.
so today i get to the dz and after some minor rigging (thanks Krusey!) to my main im ready to jump. I do a solo from 13'5, a belly jump. I had a radio on me cause i was determined to learn how to safely and painlessly land this canopy. The pattern was good. not a perfect right hand pattern but i adjusted nicely. I started to freak at like 2,200 feet cause the winds shifted and i couldnt figure out what my pattern should be. So i started yelling at myself. "kelly, calm down. you know the winds shifted. stop freaking out and figure out where your holding area is." so i listened to myself and figured it out. landed a little crosswind but i made sure that I A) stayed in full flight B) landed in the determined pattern set by lower jumpers and C) finished my flare. The radio really helped me do a good standup landing.
TIme for the second jump. this one is the 4 Way belly dive that I did with fruce, Georgie and our friend Dave. It was soo sweet of fruce to get back to his belly for me. The jump was memorable and I will be buying a tighter suit and buying fruce a much baggier RW suit :) our average speed was 109 MPH. What a riot. We ended up turning 3 points and fruce was able to make it back up into the formation. Oh yeah, thanks fruce for the big ass bruise and cut from your nails on my left ankle. Last time i let you dock on me! LOL. But in all seriousness, this was the NOT SECOND time i jumped with three other people and did a linked exit. If it wasnt for all their high levels of experience i wouldnt have been comfortable doing the jump. But i was. I trusted them and in doing so i trusted myself to be able to handle the situation. I owe a big part of that to frucey. And lemme just say, this wasnt what i would refer to as a 'planned' skydive. We funneled the exit and ended up on our backs twice. Once we all lost grips but then we were able to make it back and turn 2 more points. The wave off and track away, along with the deployment all went smoothly. Good tracks, nice seperation. I was on radio for that jump too. Winds died down a lot and I did the same landing as before. Full flight, followed pattern, finished flare. but this time i had to run it out. damned, i forgot that in my younger days i was a track star :) .... it's all coming back to me. lol.
Time for the third jump. we got up to 10,000 FT before we had to go back down due to a big ass cloud. Planned on doing a sit fly jump but ended up getting out at 7 grand and just flying on my belly. Nice wave off and deployment. winds shifted again. adjusted pattern again. This time I WAS NOT on radio! I had felt comfortable enough and felt that i could safely land this canopy myself. And that i did. beautiful stand up landing. just slightly too high. but just slightly.
Lots of lessons learned. I feel like i conquered a big problem today. The whole landing issue....
So that was my day of jumping .how was yours?
kel

[PLFKING 4]

Sounds like you're having a blast ! I'm starting to do a lot more RW also....it's a lot of fun knowing I can swoop down to a formation, and dock softly, without sending everyone else hurling across the sky !

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I feel like i conquered a big problem today. The whole landing issue....

Lucky ass....I'm still working on this....oh, well, I'll try again tomorrow (actually, today).......
Don ( still the PLF King, unfortunately....)

[FallinWoman 1]

Hey don "king"
how many jumps do you have? I have 73 and still don't land on my feet. Maybe I should go by PLF Queen!!!

[PLFKING 4]

Hey Anne (go Cards !)
How embarassing is this ? 53 jumps, will get my "B" later today, and only 8 stand-ups.....I'm beginning to think I shouldn't have picked "PLFKING" when I started posting last summer......it has turned into a CURSE !
Don

[FallinWoman 1]

I have my b, thinking about my c and have only landed on my feet 20 out of 73 times, and there is no consistency!! I think the ground just scares me!!!

[Zennie 0]

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We funneled the exit and ended up on our backs twice.

Only twice? Hey you're doing good then!
--------
Zennie
"I know the pieces fit. 'Cause I watched them fall away..."
--Tool

[Donna 0]

I was never scared to land until after my last jump last weekend. Ouch!!! If we didn't have such a thick sandy landing area I'd be broken right now. (well I think my butt may be broken anyway!) I should be heading out to the dz right now but I keep putting it off because my hubby went golfing this morning instead and I'm really nervous about my next landing so I may wait until tomorrow when we can go together... not that he's going to be able to help my landing... just drive me to the hospital I guess! How do you guys get the courage to try again after biffing it in?
Skies,
D

[Michele 1]

Morning, Donna.
Well, you know, that is *the* question. How we (yes, you too) get back in the air after a scare.
After the mal, it was really tough. But after the downwinder, it was not even a question. What changed? I think that what changed for me was the understanding that the fear is not "out there", an actual thing. It's not a tree, a rock, a building. It is in my head, and because it is part of me, I can change it. I can control it. I get to be in charge. I recall figuring that out about the imagination - it's mine, so why not stop imagining all the bad things, and imagine all the good things, instead?
I also focus on all the incredible things that jumping has given me, and continues to give me: the joy, the freedom, the deepening understanding of myself and of people, and the connection I feel with the world when I am soaring under canopy, cruising over the ground, watching the shadows dance and seeing hawks race the thermals. I try to remember that who I am is more than the fear, bigger than the fear, and that fear is - just a part - and *not all*, of this thing we do.
And while it doesn't make the fear go away, it puts it in context. Then I get on the plane and have my actions follow through with what I believe about myself: that I can handle this, that I want this. And then, out the door, reaching for the sun, and looking for the sky. Under canopy, and then touch down, in a little puff of dirt. My actions are what matter, not my fear. My actions - it's what makes my fear go away. Because fear is not an action. It is a thought, and thoughts can be changed by action.
Just my $.02. Donna, go and jump. It won't go away by itself. Take action to change it. Go jump, sweetie, fly and be happy.
ciels-
Michele
"What of the dreams that never die? Turn to your left at the end of the sky".
~e e cummings~

[Viking 0]

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Our average speed was 109

pfffft SLOW!!!!!! just picking on ya I swear you must have footprints on the back of your helmet

[PhreeZone 20]

Beat ya on the speed... I floated UP to a group that had an average speed of 110. I had to actually arch to get back down to them Do I HAVE to do another raft dive???

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[wingnut 0]

ya trying to confuse me kell??? when did ya change your nick? glad ya are having fun with your jumps now.... when i was down at cross keys it seemed like you were always worried about them going right.... a small present from me to ya....i still have one jump left on my account there...it's yours!!!!

"if dreams are like movies, then memories are like films about ghosts"-counting crows

[Stacy 0]

congrats kel!!!
we had a pretty awesome weekend @ chambersburg... lots of 4 way, some 8 way in there... a dual lineover on one of my jumps which cleared as I was ready to pull the cutaway handle off the velcro... rushed last 2 rounds of the meet, wonderful jetstream-ers saved the day and became our packers...
see ya soon!
Stacy
http://astro.temple.edu/~sweeks