skylord 1 #1 March 17, 2004 Yep, I passed AFF-6. Off to AFF-7. Instability is the key here, and boy did I help that. I suck. I can't help it. Doug put me in the door by myself. Shit. I locked up on the initial exit count. I'm outside the airplane, and for some reason I locked up. Sorry. Out, in, and for the first time I didn't go. Repeat, and relax. Doug is great, and was laughing at me. I re-did the exit count, and tumbled the exit. Damn it to hell. I realized what I did, arched hard, and was back under control above 11,000. Long story short, I passed AFF-7. I bombed the exit. For whatever reason, I have a hard time making a jump without a JM outside with me. I am a wuss. Any advice is appreciated. Grad dive Thursday AM! BobBob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skyyhi 0 #2 March 17, 2004 Ya passed dude. . .you were supposed to be unstable. . .and then recover. You did fine and level 8 will be a cinch. . . You are diving out on level 8 so you are not hanging on the outside of the plane. It is a pretty fun jump and you will love it. . .then you should do a solo before leaving for Hong Kong so you get the chance to see what it is like on your own. . .I am sorry I cannot play hooky on Thursday and come out. . .You will do great.________________________________________ Take risks not to escape life… but to prevent life from escaping. ~ A bumper sticker at the DZ FGF #6 Darcy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
benny 0 #3 March 17, 2004 I thought for sure I had failed my L7... was supposed to be a front flip exit and turned into a front-side-front-side-back flail. But, just like you, got stable, continued the dive and passed. My JM told me to just have fun, getting stable from the unstable is the important part, not doing perfect flips or exits or shit like that, it will all come with time I hope. Sounds like you and I have one of the very same issues though, apprehension at the door... I think mine is starting to go away finally... I guess what I'm trying to say is that the more you jump the more comfortable you become, or so I've found. Never go to a DZ strip show. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crzjp20 0 #4 March 17, 2004 so im not going to give any advice cause i dont think anyone with under 100 jumps really knows what they are talking about. But wanted to congragulate you. let us know how that first solo goes! Congrats!-------------------------------------------------- Fear is not a confession of weakness, it is an oportunity for courage. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skylord 1 #5 March 18, 2004 Thanks, Darcy! I'll do my best to get out there, but we had a bad crash at Santa Monica last night I'm involved in right now. Plane crashed into a house in the fog. Bad news. BobBob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skylord 1 #6 March 18, 2004 Benny, I got stable right away. It was different from my tumbled AFF-6 exit. I just went with it, and popped out of the instability without even knowing exactly what I did. Doug demonstrated a backflip for me, and then I tried. I arched a bit early and ended up head down. Recovered without a problem, but being pointed head down was a new experience. The track went great, although I thought I had my legs out all the way, Doug gave me the legs out signal twice. Shit, that air pushes hard, don't it? It's weird, that door thing. Really, it is getting better for me, and in the air I'm cool as a cucumber, but I fall like one too, initially. It's that first step..... Doug explained to me that it is so important for us newbies to learn stability early in order to have time to perform all the maneuvers with time to spare. If you tumble an exit, you spend valuable time and altitude recovering. Good point. And one that applies to future jumps with other skydivers. Anyway, that's why I'm a student. I'm learning, and I think that will never, ever stop. BobBob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skylord 1 #7 March 18, 2004 Thanks, man! It is only getting better from here! BobBob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kramer 0 #8 March 21, 2004 Dude, my exits suck too. I was flippin around down to 9,000' on my AFF 6 I started trying floating exits once I got on to solos, and they seem to be a little easier to get stable with instead of doing a poised exit or whatever. Try talkin to your Instructor about lettin you try one or something. Shit's a lot more fun after AFF anyway. The FAKE KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMER!!!!!!!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
