dthames

It is expensive, in terms of weight, to slow and land with 100% rocket power. The air is too thin to slow enough for a soft landing with a reasonable size parachute. So, this is not a joke, it is building on the success the past 4 Mars landings. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Okay, introduce yourself. Tough crowd, but we are still waiting. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

MRUBIN commented on getting your AFF out of the way first. Good advice. The work toward the A license will vary with the type of student. I was told, Don't do a lot of solos, learn bad habits, and have to be broke of those. Also, coached jumps cost more so you don't want to plan them wisely. This is typical of something I might say to an instructor while planning a solo jump. "I see in Category F I will be tracking. I would like a chance to see what that is like before I try it on a coached jump. Can you tell me the best way I can practice that?" Then listen, learn, go try it, come back, decide when you want to get a coached jump on Category F. One thing I did was to work on the canopy requirements on almost every jump, even just a solo fun jump. You are expected to jump with some instructor involvement/planning during this phase. So asking for some direction and help is expected. Be polite and pick a time to ask when they are not tied up with a student jump. Practice that canopy work! Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

When you are work in the office and keep looking at the back of your left wrist, like something there has changed in the past 10 seconds. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

About the motion sickness under canopy, I have been prone to motion sickness all of my life. I have a problem under canopy. Starting with jump 3 I have used a prescription patch that is worn behind the ear. It has some side effects and I hate to use it, but it allows me to jump. I have been using half a patch since jump 10 and it works well most of the time. It depends on how radical I am under canopy if I feel bad or not. But even if I get to feeling bad, it goes away faster with the patch in place. Some of the required canopy drills make me feel bad and I save those for the last jump of the day. PM me if you want more details. That kicking of the feet, or what some called swimming is something you need to just force yourself not to do. As you get more jumps it should go away if you focus on good form. Good luck with your efforts. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

I have figured out how you can flunk it. You hold your breath and swim free. They they tell you that that you must come up under the faberic and get a breath or you really didn't learn anything. That is your luck, right? I have acutally been thinking about that. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Congradulations. Sounds like you are settling in nicely. Keep it up. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Way to go lady! Dan Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

PD information videos, including packing http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL45E3B7998E49283E&feature=plcp Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

I watched the videos described already. I read the packing instructions from more than one canopy manufaturer. I got help learning at the DZ. Then I went home and repacked several times. I took my packed rig to the DZ and had someone unpack it and look for any mistakes. I repacked it again and jumped it. That was not the first one of mine that I had jumped but the first without anyone watching over me. The following weeks, I would repack at home 2 or 3 times during the week for practice. I am still slow and it is still a challange to keep the S fold together, but one pack job at a time, I am getting it done. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

I am trying to map out my plan as well. You might consider starting on the Canopy Control card, which is required for your B license. Put those practice jumps to good use. Also, look at the other B license requirements and start thinking about how you will address them. Your falling speed seems to be a real issue. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Once you get to solo status 2 jumps per trip and 2 trips to the DZ per month should keep you progressing and current. Less than that (at least for me) you will be getting rusty between trips. Also, after you miss a couple of weeks, the first jump is often a bit rough as you get your wings back. As I got closer to getting my A license, I got to where I didn't want to miss a single weekend, for fear of losing ground. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Someone asked me a similar question after I transitioned to my own rig. I just told them, “This rig and I now have a history”. I made everyone happy Saturday by grilling pork loin and serving dinner to all that would eat. (small DZ), and provided refreshments. It didn't take me long to learn the "F" word actually has 5 letters. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

A licensed jumper now! "Endeavor to persevere" 7+ months of weather, being unstable, being in my 50s, motion sick under canopy, and a strong desire to be a skydiver. For those struggling students, don't give up if you still want it. Dan Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

On another thread some 2 o 3 montha ago an instructor posted what they thought was the best training mix, that included a tandem, some AFF, some SL jumps. A friend with about 9 AFF jumps is dreading the first solo jump. Solo is such a part of SL, it is hard to grasp the concerns of the jumper. Different students need different things from AFF, SL, and tandem. I think some tailoring to the student and current situation would be good. My 2 cents. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Sit on the ground and knit then. He isn't the first student who panicked on a clear and pull, dearched and lost stability, and then did a rushed pitch. He won't be the last one to do it either. He didn't have his hand on his hackey on the step, he just rushed to pull when he should of focused on arching. Practically every S/L student on their first freefall I've ever seen leaves the step immediately reaching to pull. It's the natural lizard-brain reaction to not being hooked-up for the first time. It's the arch that's everything. If you think back to the jumps right before, when you do have to pull the practice device, if you don't go for it pretty fast, you will be snatched by the opening and miss the pull. So, it has been trained in, to hurry. I thought I did fair. maybe a bit quick still... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBH1Znjew6A Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Static line jumps are reasonable in cost. One you get a few of them behind you and get into the free fall part of the static line progresion you can do one jump ever 2 or 3 weeks, stay current and you should be able to slowly progress. If you could find someone that might give you a ride to the DZ, you might be able to make a deal where you do a large amount of work to pay for a jump, making it a sweet deal for the DZ owner......if you want to jump bad enough. Cut grass, carry garbage, etc. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

So for 2 meter accuracy you would not be running very many of those out, or taking mighty small steps. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

I am finishing up my A license requirement for landing accuracy and slightly overflew my landing target. I touched down and ran it out. Then I thought, where do I measure from? I guess it would be where you touched down. Is that the general consensus? Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

40 years ago it was a "bottle and a cork costs a dollar and a dime........" Times they are a changing. The most interesting lesson I recall was on the first day of a high school science class. The teacher opened the class saying this, “Listen carefully as I define what sound is. It is an audible disturbance in a medium like air. Now, if a tree falls in the wood and there is no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?” After allowing the class to talk about it, for most everyone to have a say, he started over by saying, “Listen carefully as I define what sound is. It is a disturbance in a medium like air. Now, if a tree falls in the wood and there is no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?” Note he omitted the “audible” word time and again allowed the class to discuss the question. At the end of the class period on the SECOND day, many in the class still wanted to argue things like, If I put tape recorder out there I can promise you…..yada, yada, yada. I am sure the teacher was looking around the room measuring the size of his job for the next nine months. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Maybe I should have said I've never not been able to get back in control when it was time to do so. I've had an unstable solo exit that put me on my back unexpectedly. I've also been unstable a few times as I attempted to sitfly after AFF. Spun around this way and that, ended up heads down a few times. But in the end when I said to myself "enough playing", I always went back to stable belly without issue. I have no doubts I can always do it, as long as I'm concious and uninjured. I know the SIM says I shouldn't be trying to sitfly yet. I hadn't seen that section at the time. I must have misunderstood what you were saying at first. Sorry. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

I would suggest you do get out of control and test yourself to get back in control (as a continuing part of your student training). It is great to practice that. I don't mean just doing the required flips, which often do not cause loss of control. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Some DZs still use WDIs. I got a chance to jump at one of them and observe. Dropped the WDI right over the field at the height the tethered SL students would exit. Then saw the offset of where it landed, and made the offset to the jump run so the students would drift right to the landing area. Low tech, but effective. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

I am sorry to hear you are having such problems. I have had some problems as well and when you want to do it and something is holding you back, it sucks. Others have mentioned that after some early jumps many start learning more fear. Sounds like you just kept going right to the max. One skydive T-shirt says, “Mind over splatter”. I think that sums it up well. Consider how you would feel if you take an airline flight today. Would you be fearful like you are on a jump plane? If not….what if you road the jump plane as an observer, strapped in and not going to jump? Would you be afraid while doing that? Now, imagine the day when you are in the jump plane and you would rather get out and jump, than to ride it back down. In the end the people that jump out are those that would rather be jumping than riding the plane down. It is pretty much that simple, from the way I see it. I have never felt the fear to jump/exit, but the “Why” on the way to the DZ and the “Bad idea?” waiting on the plane, those feelings were there after the first few jumps. Being packed in a C-182 like sardines and the waiting to get to the top are still not pleasant for me. But when the door opens, a relief is there, because we get to GO. I would be afraid to bungee jump. I am not afraid to skydive because I feel like I have reasonable control of the situation. Two handles, two parachutes and knowledge of using them are my tools. Maybe if you can figure out exactly what is bothering you, some training or conditioning might help. Look back at what happened between the time it was fun and the time you started having problems. Maybe there is a clue there to the source of what is bugging you. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

The video shown could have been an AFF trained student on a hop and pop as easily as it could be a SL student on their first clear and pull. If you fail to do what you are taught, you will have bad form. i dearched on my first AFF jumps when I pulled, and I dearched on a SL practice pull. It you do it in SL, you are not at "terminal" which might make it a little less violent. AFF has some benifit that SL does not and the other way around is also true. Someone has previously stated a mix might be the best and I agree. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”