Advice for lvl's 4 and 5!!!!!

[Viking 0]

Ok guys i am going to be doing two lvl's this sunday and since i didn't do so good on my lvl3 i really need all the advice and pointers you can dish out on turns and staying stable any tricks on how to stay calm and relaxed on the climb up (i know about deep breathing) i really need you guys so please don't hold back
Remember when Sex was safe and skydiving was Dangerous?

[rainman 0]

Hi ya Viking,
I am still working on my A-licence myself, so don't take my advice as the final word, but here are some things I found useful during my AFF course:
- During AFF making a turn exactly 90/180/360 degrees is not priority one, the most important thing is that you show your JM that you can start and stop a turn by yourself. The same thing goes for a backloop, the main objective is to become unstable (or at least leave the box position), and become stable again. I've seen people do half a backloop, end up on their back, become stable again, and pass their level without a problem.
- Look before you turn, that way you know where you're going and by turning your head the airflow actually helps you to turn.
- To remain stable all you do is arch (as if you hadn't heard that before). I had a tendency to arch with every muscle in my body, making me so rigid that I adopted the freefall characteristics of a tree trunk. What I'm trying to say is: your arms and legs should be a bit flexible while you thrust your hips forward. (I'm still talking about skydiving here! )
- Since I was rather nervous, even for an AFF student , my JM's told me to take a few deep breaths after exiting and becoming stable. This really helped me focus on the diveflow.
- Remember that every jump is fun! I know it sounds corny and worn out, but once I got past the 'course' or 'school' idea and remembered that I was doing this for fun, I was less tense.
Perhaps the most stimulating thing was that one of my JM's showed me a video of a very good AFF student, so I got to see all AFF jumps in sequence, I saw this student become unstable, she was 'swimming' on her back, and when she remembered to arch she was in a stable belly-to-earth position in no time flat.
Jeez, I thought I had nothing to say about all this, and now I've nearly written a book! I hope this is at least a little bit useful to you!
Have fun this weekend!
Ramon

[ClayFowler 0]

Well....remain calm. Get your JM's to show the EXACT body positions you need to be in for turns, flips, etc. Lay on the floor and get them to put your arms and legs in place. Remember! If you end up on your back, just arch. Dont swim, struggle, or "try" to flip back over. I have seen lord knows how many students have narrow disasters cause they werent doing as they were trained. Listen to the JM's.......they do know what they are talking about. Do what they tell you! I know this sounds simple but I have seen time and time again students not doing the "simple" tasks they were taught. Pat attention like your life depended on it.
"So, just tell me nothins wrong, get undressed and spend the night!"-Eve 6
Clay

[JDBoston 0]

Since my AFF was relatively recent here's my 2 cents:
TURNS
Don't be afraid to turn slowly just to make sure you have more control and it's easier to stop. They told me the biggest mistake people make on turns is starting them too hard and not being able to stop in time - i.e. your 90 degrees turns into 180, etc.
STABILITY
I got "chippy" on a couple AFF jumps (I assume you know what this looks like, if not it means you are seesawing up and down - first your head goes high, then your feet go high, etc.). It comes from being too stiff in your arch and your legs. A quick way to stop it is to 1) RELAX your torso, de-arch a bit and go flatter, and 2) bring your legs back towards your butt a little bit. Just remember that you don't have to be THAT arched to be stable, nor do you have to make an effort to hold every fiber of your body perfectly symmetrical at all times. In fact if you try to do this it will make you less stable - so it comes down to relaxing.
As far as relaxation goes, different things work for different people. Just keep forcing yourself to go up and jump and you will start getting more relaxed. Again I would recommend Dr. John DeRosalia's book Mental Training for Skydiving and Life, endorsed by Arizona Airspeed and others. Or you could try simple home remedies like SMILING (which actually will relax you, believe it or not - just like on Ally McBeal) and joking around with people in the plane.
Good luck! Let us know how it goes -
Joe
A-38502

[Michele 1]

Breathing is good. I forgot how to yesterday, but breathing is very good...
And you know what? Trust. Trust in yourself, that you know what to do. Trust in your JM's that they know what they're doing. Trust that when they let you go, you will able to deal with it. If you start spinning, do what they tell you to do. They do this all day, every day. Talk to your jm before you go up, and really listen to what they say. Then, dude, go do it...
Relax (o.k., this is the other part I don't know about). And then, Aurther, get your butt off the plane and fly. You will be fine, you will do everything you need to do, and everything else is just extra.
(Now, if only I could do all these things....Go fly.
ciel bleu-
Michele

[dove 0]

Something I learned in Skydive U and from Dr. John DeRosalia (he wrote "Mental Training for Skydiving and Life") is to practice, practice, practice on the ground. Lay on the floor and feel the position of your body - where each arm and leg is - the arch in your torso - everything. Mentally rehearse the moves in your mind and mentally rehearse the exhilaration you will feel after doing it RIGHT! Yes - feel the excitement and pride you will feel after doing those turns exactly as planned. Really see yourself, feel the air on your face, the crispness of it. See your JM giving you the thumbs up. Then - and this is key - stop thinking about it!!!! Sounds absurd, but trust that your body knows what to do now. So on the ride up, do your gear check, but take the time to look out the window and look at the scenery. Have fun with the other jumpers and your JM. But don't obsess about what you are about to do. When it is your turn to jump - go out and instead of reverting back to breaking each movement into steps - just think of where you want to go. If you are turning just think, OK, I need to turn to the right and trust your body to take you there instead of thinking right arm down. If you are doing a loop, just think here comes my cool back flip instead of legs up head back or whatever. It may sound a little corny, but I swear it works. Just like when you are driving you trust yourself to take you where you want to go. If you were gonna change lanes, you wouldn't think "right blinker on, check mirrors and over shoulder, turn steering wheel 45 degrees to the right, turn off blinker, etc." You just automatically do all those things by thinking I need to get in the right lane. So trust yourself! And have fun! If you feel tense, SMILE. EVen a phony smile will work cause it will turn into a real one. Sorry for the lengthy reply. But hope it helps!
Elisa

[hottamaly 1]

Everyone is giving great advise on this subject, and since it's been 10 years for me since I've been down that path, they're better able to tell you the up-to-date req's. I'm posting what worked for me on my level 4 when I had to repeat it. I was taking it too seriously and got very pissed off at myself, started cussing at myself and everything (during freefall). When I got on the ground, my instructor saw my greif and simply stated "I thought we were supposed to be having fun up there"! Well, ever since then I have made it a mandatory requirement to make sure to SMILE It helped me pass L-4 and all the rest because it relaxes you. SO GO OUT SMILING AND HAVE F-U-N!!!
SKYDIVING GAVE ME A REASON TO LIVE....