dthames

Great story and great effort. Thanks for sharing. I was on a load Saturday that had a student that also pitched right after exit (3500) and got all sideways. Bad form and he knew it. May threads have the comments about "no need to rush it". But still it is something that normally has to be learned by practice. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Brian's book, yes. Decide now, if staying healthy and active in the sport is your top priority in the sport or not. (most people would say Yes to this question but their actions make them out to be a lier) If it is, two things I would suggest. 1. Stay "under" your canopy below 1000 feet. 2. Learn to take sound advice even when you feel it does not really apply to you. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

You have proven you can handle the responsibility. Consider getting an RSL. I cut away under a stable but unsteerable canopy and was fully inflated AND slowed back down under my reserve in 330 feet. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Even tracking I learned to roll my shoulders and put my palms to the sky. One main reason is that my arms are a bit weird, in that my elbows will not allow my arms to be all the way straight. With elbows locked, my arm looks a bit dog-legged, with a bend of 10 degrees or a bit more. Tracking with my palms to Earth, I can't get my forearms right against my sides. But palms to the sky, I can get my arms behind me. Wingsuiting, I am very much compelled to be palms to the sky just to not distort the leading edge with a concave crook. The different is huge for me. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Looks like it is working well. Good view of the student's body form. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Sorry, but now every time I see something new I can't help but think, "Is this the greatest wingsuit stunt ever"? Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

I don't know enough to tell you how but I use a Flysight audible GPS unit and listen to it as I fly. It is very easy to determine what works better and what does not. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

I think there is a wide range of the way people act and feel about skydiving. I don't know if a person can change their natural way of reacting or feelings about jumping. But if that was possible, maybe, just maybe you oculd change your approach or reaction. Someone has already suggested just do it and don't think about the nature of what you are doing too much. I don' t know how to tell you to do that but I would agree that is a positive step. I was a little suprised on my first jump that as I started to get up to move toward the door, my heart started pounding for a few seconds and then calmed down. I recall thinking, "That was it! That was the big excitement?" But on the way to the DZ or waiting for the plane, I often had that, "What am I doing here thought". Taking a power nap, sort of zoning out while waiting was like a reset button and when I brought my attention back to the real world, I felt much better. The higher number of jumps that someone suggested in a short period should be a help. If you have consistant fair to good performance from both yourself and good performance from the equipment, you should learn some trust and be able to relax a bit more. If you can't learn to relax a bit when you have had a series of good experiences, you might look to see why you are not learning you can trust yourself and the gear. I knew when I first jumped I would have to trust the equipment to jump. Being a bit on the mature adult side, I felt I could trust myself. So, I could reason my way out of being apprensensive. Or I am just kidding myself, who knows. But it should get better by itself and if it don't just smile and pretend all is well. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

If you really want to jump, going to other DZs as a student certainly is an option. As a student I jumped at two DZs while in trips, one DZ because my home DZ had aircraft issues, and my "home" DZ was not the DZ where I did my first jumps. In all, 5 different DZs while a student. Make sure they are USPA DZs, you keep a good log, you stay very current, and are willing to do evaluation type jumps if it is your first jump at a given DZ. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

I think a student's knowledge of flight will come into play a great deal when you focus on the question, "How quickly did you notice improvement?" Imagine 2 students. #1 knows nothing about a pattern, nothing about how the wing works, nothing about now to stay under the wing, and nothing about the energy that is in the system can be used to flare for a landing. With zero knowledge they might really suck and "improvement" come rapidly. #2 knows some about what was mentioned above but has no experience. However, he/she does pretty well the first time and the next few times after that. As experience builds, the jumper improves. Even jumper 1, if they do what was taught in the class will do pretty well. You might find it interesting to visit the DZ on a day where several student do their first jump. Often you will see a wide range of skills from the first jump students. A friend of mine took his 3 kids and a family friend for the 5 of them to do a first jump SL jump. 2 PLFs, 2 stand ups, 1 twisted ankle from not flaring. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

What I recall from reading this when it was first posted is that the study did not, monitor jumpers from first jump and onward. What happens to a given person as they progress? I think there was no data on that. Listen to what some jumpers write on threads about being scared. Some say they still get scared or excited after some hundreds of jumps. But others will tell a different story. I would almost bet money that a study of a number of people over the first 100 or 200 jumps would show that some would have a reduced stress level, not just how they feel. Maybe I am wrong. It would be interesting to find out. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

I think it is great that you are very interested in learning. I was trying to think of some practical way to use it if I were back at "day one". Having it available as you practice a dive flow might have some value. I opened the page with my Iphone and the image is so large that I could not get to the Start button. So that was a bust. Maybe I just don't know enough about the phone based browser, but I could not zoom out nor pan. If you had it so it would work on a phone, you could lay it beside you will you flopped around on the floor. :) I used an altimeter trainer in FFC that was a timer with a dial like an alitmeter. So, your basic idea is valid. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

The reason for my very first skydive was so that I could fly a wingsuit someday. I was also very eager to learn things what would better prepare me for flying a wingsuit. I got much the same advice that has been given on this thread. Because of where I jumped, it was not uncommon for me to have to jump solo. When I jumped solo, I would often track. Note, don’t run out and do 150 tracking dives. But if and when you do any solo tracking dives you can practice determining what your flight route/path will be to return you to a good deployment point both upwind of the DZ and safely away from other jumpers. Being practiced at flight path planning and navigation was a skill that did help me when I started wingsuiting. Would it be worth dropping some group jumps to focus on navigation? Most likely not. I just did it because it was an opportune time, as I made some solo jumps. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

You will find (most of the time) each DZ has some special thing that you will come to like about it. Maybe it is about the way the place is ran. Maybe it is some of the jumpers or staff there. If you have a couple of days to burn, go to each of them talk to the staff and the regular jumpers and let them know your plans to become licensed. Watch, listen, learn. While waiting is a fact in skydiving, waiting 5 hours for tandems to be done before you can do one student jump really stinks. Listen to other students with several jumps about issues they have and what might be problems for them. Smaller DZs tend to be more personal. Larger DZs tend to be more business, but they are still full of people and many of them can be just as helpful as at a smaller place. It really varies a lot. No matter where you end up, seek out the help you need. If they don’t know what you are trying to accomplish and they are busy, you might feel neglected. As a student, when I showed up I would find an instructor and tell them my goals for the day. Most often they could help make them happen. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Some people say, "Don't learn to skydive on the Internet". Or maybe, "Get off the Internet and listen to your instructors". In many cases that might be the best advice. But DZ.com is what I consider part of my peer group. Over and over we see where people make bac choices like you are concerned with. I had about 50 seconds to work a low speed malfunction. I never really thought about cutting away until I went under 2500. I kept working it and at 2000, I said thought, "rats, I don't want to do this but I am going to".....and I did my EPs. I didn't want to because it was just line twists. Line twists that I had not been able to resolve. The repeated low cutaways and bad decisions primed me to do exactly what my careful mind would say to do. All emotions aside, just do what you are trained to do. Maybe that is just too simple. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

I doubt there is a “once size fits all” good answer. I have had the bridal against my arm and my leg a few times but never around it. It happened most often when I was jumping in shorts and a tee-shirt (not my usual suit), and when I was in a hurry or not paying good attention. Learn to get stable, be stable, stay stable, and be ready to pitch when it is time to pitch, so you will have no reason to hurry. I know you are in your training where you are not sure what might happen and want to be ready, just in case. Your “recovery from instability” jumps should help you, but continue to work to be able to snap into a stable deployment position quickly and you will be ahead of the game. Prevention. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Winter trip to Florida, always good advice! Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

It would be a "descent" only if you also had a way to perform an "ascent", but since you have only one option and it is to go down, all you can do is slow your fall to level where it becomes safe, technically speaking, yep, it is falling. It can be slow or fast, but I would use the word "descent", which is a very contextualized word, only if there was the relative option to control it and going back up. At least, my 2c. :) By your point of view the Space Shuttle landing, hang gliding, sail planes, and parachute flight would all be “falling”. A planned, controlled decent and falling are two different things. They certainly have an different effect on a person’s emotional state, at least most of the time. Consider a sailplane flight and landing. Consider a light aircraft losing power and landing. You might enjoy the sailplane but might be freaked out should the C-182 loose power at 5,000 feet over the field. But a planned engine off landing in the same plane, under planned conditions might/should have a totally different effect on the same person. We wear some very carefully designed gear and we make a planned decent. We have not instinct to be afraid of descending with control. But if a scare ride is what you want, okay you are falling. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

How good are you at waiting? After I decided to start, the 2 months until my FJC were difficult. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

I have never considered diving off of a 3 meter board "falling". I have not considered jumping from a plane with two parachutes "falling" either. Both are planned decents. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Get a DZ briefing, even if you have to ask for one. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

I like to make short notes on things that, I learned I need to remember to pay more attention to (not to again) I odd happening that are interesting I don't write a lot, but enough to recall what the note is about. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

understood. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

DSE, you lost me with "head-up towards the door" unless you mean, "watch the plane" as you fall away. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

I had stand up landings as a student and some that I could not understand why I needed to PLF. Near the end of my student jumps, I got to thinking, maybe I should get the exact same rig every time. #1 I could stand up. #2 seemed to be more picky. I noticed my skills greatly improved when I could do more than one or two jumps in one day. If you can do lower cost Hop and Pops, you might try to do several in one day and get some good practice in. A proper flare is dynamic and not the same every time. Like when you stop at a red light, the rate you stop is very often different based on a lot of factors. You just have to learn to read what is going on and react in time for your reaction to deliver for you. Many student canopies are a bit sluggish as well. I did a lot better once I got my own gear. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”