My Instructors and I Survive AFF-1

[skylord 1]

Hey Everyone,

I am going to be writing about my experiences on AFF, and posting them here. They are long, but hopefully you'll find them interesting. For the experienced jumpers, maybe a chance to get a newbie point of view, and for new skydivers or those thinking about it, some encouragement. I hope you enjoy them.

Bob

I finally merged finance and time into actually doing the FJC and my AFF-1 dive this past Saturday at Elsinore. Robert taught the First Jump Course, and did an excellent job. I had no idea you could cram that amount of information into a brain in so short a time.

Let’s fast forward to the jump. We finished up with all the required paperwork, and got on the manifest, which I learned comes from the latin, “manifestus”, and translates into roughly, “Get on a list to do something every cell in your body rebels against”.

There was the twenty minute call for our “load” (latin for “actually getting into the vehicle to do something I, your body, will not allow you to do since the mind is a slacker and not doing its job you dumb ass”). I bet you didn’t know Latin was so expressive and efficient in word usage, did you? We climbed into our gear, including the goggles Darcy suggested I buy beforehand (great call, by the way), and met up with my jumpmasters, Mark and Tom.

I got to know Mark on the internet. Now wait a second, that isn’t what I meant. He is a frequent poster on dropzone.com, and after I posted my experiences from the tandem jump back in May, he sent me an email, and we have corresponded back and forth since then. Mark would be my main jumpmaster, and Tom reserve side. That really reassured me. We rehearsed the jump, got ready, and there’s the airplane pulling up.

This is all a baby step process, by the way, for me. I got on by rationalizing I could ride back down if I really didn’t feel like jumping. We climbed into a very full Twin Otter, buckled up, ran the safety checks, and off we went.

“Just say no” said the body. “Hey, you’re trained, healthy, and able, you can do it!” replied the mind. The body said, “You’re 45 years old with a bit of a gut!” “The better to arch with” replied the mind, stealing a line from the wolf in Red Riding Hood. “You’ve just dropped over $350 into this” said my checking account. I’m not sure how it got into this conversation but that’s a different matter. The body replied, “Ride the plane back down. End of negotiation, and I’ll loosen your bowels if you keep arguing with me.” “ Have you seen the shit the pilot does after everyone is out? There’s a reason why they land before you”. “OK, point taken”, says the body, “I’ll get back to you”. The anxiety subsides.

I watched the DVD of my prep and the jump afterward. I was surprised how tense I appeared on the ground, and more surprised how relaxed I was in the plane after a few minutes.

I pointed out the pull altitude on the way up, shrewdly deducing that we were going the wrong direction (up), in the wrong place (the airplane) and I didn’t pull. “See, that’s why I’m here” says the mind. “We aren’t in the Doorway of Death” replies the body. We reviewed the dive again on the way up. I adjust my goggles, remembering I had not even tried them on before getting on the airplane, and Tom helped me get them adjusted. Thanks!

Closer to jump altitude, my instructors have me observe the landing area, and help orient me. One JM for another student jokingly tells me he's lost. I reply, just follow me. He laughs, and says no thanks. That’s why he is a JM.

Altitude is 12,500. Door open, says someone. I can’t help it. There is no way I can do this. Out goes the first jumper. I can’t. I’m sorry, and I hate to be anti-climatic. I decide to ride back down. Out goes my AFF classmate. I remember saying, “Holy shit”. I’m up. The next four words were the most penetrating, relevant words for this whole day in Elsinore Wonderland. Mark heard me say that, and told me, “You can do this.”

That ends the PG portion of my jump. My body tried the old “This is Fucked Up Shit, Stupid” (FUSS). While the body was raising a FUSS, the mind dutifully stepped toward the exit. I got into position, and put my head into the slipstream, and knelt. Robert told us to take our time in the door, and not to look at our JMs until we were ready. I took a little longer than the others by just a couple seconds. On the DVD I stopped in the poised position, took a noticeably deep breath, and made my decision. I am going to jump.

Get ready. Look in to Mark, in the eyes, “Ready?” “OK!” He always says that shit quoth the body. He probably makes in the high six figures talking people into this total bullshit. Fuck off, says the mind, you’ve seen his car! Look out. Tom made a big point on the ground about his check, and like Mark’s check, I am confident they will keep me safe. I’ve decided, you guys will keep me safe even if I screw up completely.

Ready.

Let’s do it.

Set.

These guys are counting on me to get this exit right, I’m the man……

Arch.

I’m falling, yet in control. I don’t know what happened, but the second we jumped, I get an almost intolerable wind whistle in my left ear. It distracts me a bit, but I know it will be over in 50 seconds. That is my strongest distraction. It is painful. Watching the DVD, it is clear we had a great exit, and quite frankly the skydive went far better than I thought. I relaxed about halfway through, and like a great putt, you know an arch when you make it. The video is invaluable. During the practice pulls in freefall, I notice it is a bit different from the ground. I tended to grab my main JMs hand altimeter instead of the student ripcord.

The chute is deployed, and the wind is calm. The radio comes alive, and to my surprise I am absolutely dead calm about steering the chute. I’ve read all about this stuff here. I run through the canopy review and brake release. Control check. Left 180, Right 180. Wheeee! Flare, release at altitude. Solid. My radio guy Dan talked me down to a stand up landing, to boot.

For those of you who know the reference, I did not “Lutz” the jump. I didn’t pull my cutaway handle thinking it was the ripcord, I didn’t let the chute fly me into powerlines, and I did not get on TV and blame everyone else.

Some observations:

-relaxing is the most important thing to do.
-pulling your main side JM’s altimeter will NOT deploy the chute
-I bought the beer in accordance with the Official Beer Rules and am well loved

I had a great time, and it is on to Level 2 tomorrow.

Seriously, is there a reason why JMs can't wear their altimeters on the right hand? I kept feeling for plastic, found it, and assumed it was the handle.

Bob

Bob 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

[JeffD 0]

Congratulations. And they just keep getting better and better.

I believe that anyone would not want an altimeter on the hand that will deploy the parachute because you dont want anything getting snagged at 120mph.

picture this- You go to deploy your throw out Pilot chute and all of a sudden your bridal gets looped around your hand, so you take up to 3 seconds to slide the bridle off your hand and you get it off.

Now, imagine you have an altimeter on that hand, and when the bridal loops around your hand it also loops around your altimeter, Theres no way in hell your going to get that thing off/around your alti in 15 seconds (assuming you pull at 4000) then you are praying that your AAD will work(or pull your reserve), I think I'll opt for keeping the alti on the left hand.

and soon you'll have this to look forward to. My graduation

[cruzit 0]

First...congratulations on your successful skydive. Second...relax! While most jumpers wear their altimeters on their non-dominant wrist (kind of like a watch) I've seen altimeters on wrists, chest straps, leg straps, etc. When I skydive as a JM flying mainside, I wear altimeters on both wrists. It allows me to see my altimeter or show it to you if need be. But I personally still like the altimeter on my left wrist because that's where I learned to look and in a crunch that would be my first go to.

I bet if you look closely at your DVD you'll see the instructor moving your hand away from the altimeter to the ripcord. Believe me, on level 1s if a student feels something even remotely ripcord like...that's where they'll reach every time.

Did you pull successfully and pass the level?? If so, you're doin fine. Keep up the good work and keep us posted.

[Hazarrd 1]

Not to mention the fact that you probably want to maintain altitude awareness in the case you are experiencing a hard pull.

.-.

[JeffD 0]

True I hadn't thought of that. If your altimeter is behind you, how do you know where you are, accurately?

[ACMESkydiver 0]

What a flair for story-telling; I wish I could relate my first static line jump that eloquently! I was laughing all the way through it... thanks for sharing that!

~Jaye
Do not believe that possibly you can escape the reward of your action.

[skylord 1]

I bet if you look closely at your DVD you'll see the instructor moving your hand away from the altimeter to the ripcord. Believe me, on level 1s if a student feels something even remotely ripcord like...that's where they'll reach every time.

Did you pull successfully and pass the level?? If so, you're doin fine. Keep up the good work and keep us posted.

[skylord 1]

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What a flair for story-telling; I wish I could relate my first static line jump that eloquently! I was laughing all the way through it... thanks for sharing that!

Jaye,

Thanks. I'll keep you all posted as I stumble/fall through my AFF progression.

Bob

Bob 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

[skylord 1]

Jeff,

Thanks for that! I needed it after today's jump. Congrats!

Bob

Bob 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

[Shark 0]

Dude,

Great story and nice detail! It was like I was there!

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The next four words were the most penetrating, relevant words for this whole day in Elsinore Wonderland. Mark heard me say that, and told me, “You can do this.”

I was hypoxic.

Anyway, we had a great skydive! You need to post some pics, now. Keep up the good work!

[696GrocuttT 0]

Congrats!!!!!

Reading your story made me remember the fear and turmoil I went through during my AFF jumps, On so many jumps I really wanted to be back on the ground, so I kept saying to myself "The quickest way down is out". Worked for me

I almost miss the paralysing fear I had as a student, it certainly made me feel alive!!!

Keep it up, and let us know how the rest of your jumps go

[bsoder 0]

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...instructor moving your hand away from the altimeter to the ripcord...

I did the exact same thing on my AFF1 jump.

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[bodypilot1 0]

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He probably makes in the high six figures talking people into this total bullshit. Fuck off, says the mind,
you’ve seen his car!
***

Get a new car Mark!
Your making us "high six fugure" income Instructors look bad?

www.WestCoastWingsuits.com
www.PrecisionSkydiving.com

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[Nightingale 0]

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I tended to grab my main JMs hand altimeter instead of the student ripcord.

-pulling your main side JM’s altimeter will NOT deploy the chute

hehe... I did the same thing on my AFF1

[freeflygoddess 0]

Nice level one! I have to admit that when I read the title I was thinking that you were going to be writting something simular to my first AFF where I had lost both instructors and was on my back, and without thinking I arched and pulled at 10000ft! Which was what I was told to do if I had no jms. I must say that was the longest canopy ride ever! However, yours seemed awesome and congrats to you...they just keep getting better and better!

[SkymonkeyONE 4]

Unless something has changed, Mark doesn't need a new car, Ed. He already sports a pretty pimp ride.

[bodypilot1 0]

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He already sports a pretty pimp ride.

Then he is making that six figure Instructor income!

www.WestCoastWingsuits.com
www.PrecisionSkydiving.com

[Shark 0]

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He already sports a pretty pimp ride.

Then he is making that six figure Instructor income!

Okay, news flash to some... I cutaway, to become a professional skydiver, remember? Try a 3 figure income, twice monthly. I do, however, need to find a daytime job again as I am having trouble overcoming greed and material needs. Otherwise I may have to give the Sharkmobile back to the bank. (Said sharkmobile purchased well before first skydive, and subsequent move into the crackhouse.)

[labrys 0]

What a great post, thanks for taking the time to share. I was so good at "pulling" my JM's altimeter on my first 3 AFF's that I earned the privilege of floundering around on the packing room floor with a rig on learning where my hackey really was before I was allowed to progress. And I loved your body vs. mind debate on getting into the door for the first time. I remember being really comfortable with the idea, but my AFF1 video shows me trying to become one with the Otters's bulkhead 10 feet away from the door while my JM practices the "please could you just relax" hand signal for no reason.

Owned by Remi #?

[skylord 1]

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I was hypoxic.

Anyway, we had a great skydive! You need to post some pics, now. Keep up the good work!

[skyyhi 0]

Hey Bob, thanks for the mention. . .you described EXACTLY how I was feeling on my first jump. . .I love the "doorway of death" comment. . .my feelings exactly. I still call it a death march to the door. . .

What a great post. . .talk to you soon!

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

[Nightingale 0]

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Ha! You're a funny man! We had a great dive, and I'll get some pics up when I get the film developed and scanned. The sunset video was AWESOME!

Bob

get kodak processing and just order the photo CD. its only a couple of bucks more and well worth it.

[VanillaSkyGirl 6]

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I still call it a death march to the door. . .

I used to call it the "walk of death", myself!

[skyyhi 0]

The funny thing is that after AFF Level 4 (floating exit), I now don't feel so intimidated by the door. That exit was SO MUCH easier to contend with than the crouched one. . .

When I finish and get my A license, I am going to MJ's class just so I can be the outside floater. . .he always seems to be short of people wanting to be outside floaters. . .LOL

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

[jahk 0]

Thanks so much for this!

As I ponder starting AFF after 2 tandems, I am relieved to know I'm not the only one who feels both fear and eagerness.

Imelda Marcos just wanted some cute shoes that didn't make her feet hurt. Why's that so hard to understand?