How many days did you go to the dz as a student and never get to jump?

[lewmonst 0]

For one reason or another, sometimes students don't get up in the air. Lately I've been hearing a lot of complaints about not jumping or waiting around a few hours due to factors beyond anyone's control. Back when I was a student, I remember sitting on the ground for entire days because of winds, clouds, or not enough people to get the plane up...
I also remember having to wait a couple hours because they were short instructors. Some days I'd show up and jump right away, some days I'd show up and never jump. Of course it was frustrating, but it was part of being a student and being patient.

What I find really frightening is that students want to ignore the 14mph wind limit because they're so anxious to get in the air. It just goes to show that they really don't understand the winds and how it can affect them under canopy. Or even worse, after seeing a few dust-devils toss people around, keep asking if they can jump now...

I guess my point to students is this: Be patient. You might have to wait around a few hours, but it's a lot better than sitting around for a few months because you're recovering from an injury. Don't give up. If you go home a couple hours before sunset because you sat around all day, that's your choice, as sunset is usually the best time of day to jump. On the flip side, don't show up at 4pm and expect to jump right away or even at all. If you are going to be a real skydiver, then will accept that sitting and waiting is part of paying dues... If your expectations are that you can jump any moment you want, you will be dissapointed.

peace
lew

http://www.exitshot.com

[Fast 0]

I think it happend for me a few times.

I didn't look at it as a bad thing though. I took the time to get to know more people on the DZ and talk with other experienced jumpers who had also choosen to/were forced to stay on the ground and learn something.

~D
Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me.
Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

[ChrisL 2]

Hell, it still happens.
Only difference is that now I ground MYSELF when its too windy for my comfort

__

My mighty steed

[PhreeZone 20]

For us in the midwest still its called winter. A self imposed 5 month grounding followed by 2 months of high winds and rain, a month of sun, a month that is so hot and humid that you can't stand to pack, another month of rain, then 2 months of wind and rain.

Part of being a smart jumper is sitting on the ground watching the 100 jump wonders run off to the plane in high winds and get blown backwards under canopy.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[Reginald 0]

Um why do you only go up to 9+ days on the scale? Hell I probably spent 20, 30 or more days at the DZ siting and waiting. I was there on days when the instructors thought I was crazy because the weather was soooo bad it didn’t look like anyone was going to jump all day, high winds and thunderstorms combined with low clouds. Of course some of those days there was a few hour window of good weather. ;-)

My favorite quote from an instructor was, “I can’t guarantee you the weather will be good enough for you to jump today, but I can guarantee that if you aren’t here that you will NOT be able to jump”.

Ron (who skydiving has taught to be patient with the weather)

"We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

[Nightingale 0]

When I was a student, I got stuck on the ground six or seven times due to rotten weather. I finished AFF in november, and was doing my solos through december/january.

I never minded, though. The instructors were pretty much grounded too, since they couldn't take AFF or tandems up in high winds or rain, so they sat on the ground with the students and talked about safety, how canopies work, gave packing lessons, and stuff like that. I was encouraged to go to square1 and get a rig to pack up (rig rental was free, so long as you didn't jump it and were just using it to practice packing), and Jimmy and Doreen must have spent at least three days total with me on packing.

Although I got weathered out a lot just because of the timing of my student status, I never felt like I was wasting time just sitting around, which was really cool.

[skyyhi 0]

Hey Lew. . .As a student at Elsinore, I sat out due to rain, wind, lack of instructors for the moment, etc. I never minded the delay. I would even stay overnight just so I could try again the next day. I didn't care. What I gained was a WHOLE bunch of great knowledge and wisdom from the instructors there and a bunch of really great friends.

________________________________________
Take risks not to escape life… but to prevent life from escaping. ~ A bumper sticker at the DZ
FGF #6
Darcy

[CanuckInUSA 0]

As a student jumper in the true darkside this last weekend out in ID, I and my peers had to be grounded due to high winds for much of the weekend. It's just something that happens. Patience is very important if we want to jump another day. I know that the wing loading on my skydiving canopy allows me to jump in 25 mph winds. But that doesn't mean I'm being smart. In fact now that I need to build some jump evaluation discipline for the real darkside, maybe I should also show similar judgement in the skydiving world. Grounding myself when the winds pick up.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[rickjump1 0]

After I got my training it seemed like I had to wait one or two weekends because of winds and round parachutes.

Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

[slug 1]

Hi Lew

But but I made my reservations I have a busy schedual, appointments with Hair, nail, massage, tanning booth, and most important personnel trainer.

Oh I almost forgot I got to P.U. the kids from somewhere. Where's my cellphone.

Lew you must have already seen and heard it allDon't like the tandem photo got my wrong side etc.
Any good ones you want to share?

R.I.P.

[skipro101 0]

At the dz that I used to jump at,back when i was a student, they would send up just about anyone before me. I would go there at 9am and load after load of the wuffo----- just want to make one tandem jump--- people went up over and over gain. Happened every time I was there. Also happened to anohter aff student who was training with me at the time.

I think I made the mistake of not checking out the dz reviews before I went and also I paid for the entire training up front...therefore they had no immediate incentive to send me up when they had new customers to charge.

Of course they lost out in the long run since Ive spent about 1.2k in jump ticket money at my new dropzone and am about to put another 1k on it (and ive only been at the new dropzone for a few months). Ive also steered a handfull of people away from there.


Id even go two or three days in a row of being out there around 8hrs and not get a single jump even though they sent load after load of tandems and funjumpers up.

[TribalTalon 0]

man i spent quite a few days sittin on the ground all winter. I was SO glad to finally get off student status. I'll jump in high winds, but i watch a couple of people that i really respect, if they wont jump i'm not goin nowhere.

[kai2k1 0]

lets see, I finished AFF on Nov 30, didnt get to jump all of december and january due to winds. I didnt mind, If I see one of my instructors grounding himself, im not jumping either.

There's no truer sense of flying than sky diving," Scott Cowan

[Lindsey 0]

Being a static line student in the South in the springtime....I probably spent more days NOT jumping due to wind or rain than jumping, but I still jumped a helluva lot because I was ALWAYS there, whenever the dz was open, and sometimes I coerced the dzo to open so a few of us could jump on an occasional uncloudy weekday afternoon .

Peace~
Lindsey

--
A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

[Squeak 17]

Over the school christmas break last year I spent 6 weeks at the DZ and only got to jump six times
Wind was the main culpret that kept me grounded.
I sucked watching everyone else jump and me sitting there waiting for winds to be less than 15knots

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[GravityGirl 0]

Zero! I learned in Perris and did many loads per day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peace and Blue Skies!
Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

[AndyMan 7]

Clearly, as a student, I did not understand the effects on winds.

Why would I? Everyone else was able to jump, just not me. The DZ I was at only had one student at the time... Me.

When my instructors told me I couldn't jump because of the wind, I was sure it was a personality conflict - I was taking it personally. I couldn't jump because my instructor didn't like me.

Students do not understand the effects of wind. Why does this suprise us? Respect of turbulent winds is largely only learned through hindsight, or in the few that posess it - foresight.

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[nael 0]

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What I find really frightening is that students want to ignore the 14mph wind limit because they're so anxious to get in the air. It just goes to show that they really don't understand the winds and how it can affect them under canopy. Or even worse, after seeing a few dust-devils toss people around, keep asking if they can jump now...

I'm happy not to jump when the winds are too high. I only finished AFF 2 weeks ago, but I got it finished in 6 weeks and of that time I was at the dz but not able to jump about 3 times. I was pretty lucky.

Now when the winds are picking up I always question them. I have been told I'm being paranoid, but when I see experienced jumpers frapping in due to the winds I dont want to jump! I'd rather be paranoid than broken.

It frustrates me when experienced jumpers hassle me for not wanting to jump in winds they consider fine. Seems some people forget how much there is to learn when you're looking at this sport from a students view.

www.TerminalSports.com.auAustralia's largest skydive gear store

[lewmonst 0]

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It frustrates me when experienced jumpers hassle me for not wanting to jump in winds they consider fine. Seems some people forget how much there is to learn when you're looking at this sport from a students view.

Yes, the flip side to the story... Are these experience jumpers who are pressuring you instructors? If so, that would be very dissapointing. If not, ignore them. You are obviously heads up and know your limits. I would tell them your reasoning for not choosing to jump, of course, and how uncool it is for them to pressure you. Then I'd probably say something to the effect of "even if I did jump I wouldn't want to jump with you because you're scary..." or something like that. But I can be a smartass sometimes.
Seriously though, tell them just what you said, about how much there is still for you to learn as a student and how you'd just rather be safe. They have to respect that.

peace
lew

http://www.exitshot.com

[nael 0]

For the most part its my boyfriend who hassles me for not jumping. Hes pretty experienced and has instructor ratings, but isnt one of my instructors. For the most part hes pretty heads up about my limits, except lately hes been telling me that i'm getting "scared of leaving the plane" because i dont want to jump in winds that look too much for me.

I tell him exactly what I think about him saying stuff like that, I wont hold back. This is one thing in my life I am doing slowly, the consequences of taking it too fast are just too great. But still, hes really frustrating sometimes!

www.TerminalSports.com.auAustralia's largest skydive gear store

[flyangel2 2]

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Lately I've been hearing a lot of complaints about not jumping or waiting around a few hours due to factors beyond anyone's control

It's because the world has changed to allow people to be selfish and expect instant gratification.

I learned on T-10s. Talk about days and days of waiting around.

I've worked as an office manager at a DZ, and I know how tight the schedule can be. Once you have to go on a weather hold, it backs up the whole day. People coming out to do a "joy-ride" tandem don't understand. They think it's Disneyland, and they want their jump now

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey

[Squeak 17]

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It frustrates me when experienced jumpers hassle me for not wanting to jump in winds they consider fine. Seems some people forget how much there is to learn when you're looking at this sport from a students view.

Yes, the flip side to the story... Are these experience jumpers who are pressuring you instructors? peace
lew

On the Flip Flip side are they instructors asking you to go up in winds they belieive you'll be fine for, and trying to improve your canopy skills by putting you in the air more often than you do yourself? (just a thought)

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[BASE813 0]

try learning in the UK! wind rain and cloud is our weather - if as a student you dont expect or accept going to the DZ every weekend and perhaps not jumping for months - then stay at home and take up computer games............... when i first started i did 19 jumps in 8 months and that was going to the DZ every weekend!! it sucked........... but you learn alot and get to know many many people........... if you dont take the time and effort then why whould people take the time and effort with you.....................

just my 2 bored shitless pieces.........

[Squeak 17]

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........ if you dont take the time and effort then why whould people take the time and effort with you.....................

just my 2 bored shitless pieces.........

For the MONEY Honey

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[BASE813 0]

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For the MONEY Honey***


well yeah there is that!!! some DZ's dont give a shit about anything but!!

but sitting around doing fuck all on a shitty weather day.......... you wanna learn to pack.......... you are never around after hours or waiting in the bad weather laughing and joking ........... who the fuck will want to teach you............ par for the course i think is being at the DZ on shit weather days............. this is the time to learn............ that was kinda my point............

ah well - 3 weeks into recovery and still fucking bored!!!

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