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Man are you getting service or what??? Your JMs are online w/you. Don't sweat the line twists too much. They are caused for a variety of reasons. With a student canopy, line twists usually don't cause a big problem. While your canopy may be uncontrollable as your kicking out of the twists, it usually is not turning violently like loaded elliptical canopies will under the same circumstances. While you should always be mindful of your hard deck, line twists under the circumstances you describe are neither difficult to kick out of nor are they very scary. As to your flare...during your first couple of jumps it isn't uncommon at all for you to stare straight down at the ground. This is a bad idea as you will experience a phenomena known as groundrush which usually will cause you to flare too early. My advise is to pick out an object on the ground prior to your jump (windsock and hangers are good ones) which are roughly the same height as your expected flare. As you come in on final, pick up your object either in your periphial vision or by looking out towards the object (never look straight down) and flare as you perceive your feet being at the same height as the object. Don't reach for the ground and always be prepared for a hard landing by being ready to PLF. Hey have a good time, Rome wasn't built in a day and learning to skydive takes more than the minute of freefall you have experienced so far. Good luck and let us know how you are doing.

Woo Hoo...you saved your own life and you didn't hurt the jumpmaster (some of my biggest criteria for a successful student jump). Be patient with yourself. I mean put it in perspective...if someone asked you to learn how to ride a bike, then only gave you two minutes to do it...would you be proficient???? Sounds like you did great. You were altitude aware and could tell your JMs what went on in the skydive. Good luck on your level 3. Let us know how it goes.

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.

You can also try Skydive Airtight. Either way...you'll be in good hands. Both Dale and Lloyd run nice, friendly DZs. Don't wait too long though...it's getting cold in them thar hills.

I know some skydivers who log every single jump...and some who log none. It's pretty important to keep accurate logs at least until you have 500 jumps or so. Especially if you are considering becoming a coach or instructor. Additionally, you will need proof of freefall time to receive your freefall badges, etc.

1500+:2 Jump #82 Premature deployment/horseshoe mal #900 something tension knot on a Stilleto (WooHoo)

We named our female German Shepard "Schwesters Sunset Load" But we just call her "Sissy" Named our male Doberman "Raptor's Freefall Express" We call him Raptor (because they bite!!).

Another great book on mental training is , Rock Warriors Way . While this book is targeted at rock climbers...it is an outstanding book on how to deal with the mental aspects of fear. Helpful not just in rock climbing, but also skydiving and life.

Take a deep breath..... Try this on your first solo free fall...plan on exiting in whatever exit you are most comfortable with. After you get stable...do at least three or four practice touches of your hackey. What I am betting is after you get out there and find out you can maintain stability and find your main hackey...you'll have a blast. Relax...it's all downhill from here.

I got a "Hi Mom" Are you kidding, I have trouble remembering yesterday...let alone the 80s Final score: 44

If not still on radio, you may want to have an instructor watch you as you are landing to see if they can pinpoint a problem. Most new jumpers flare higher than normal when they start landing themselves. A lot of times it is because they are looking straight down, instead of up a little toward the horizon as they are getting ready to flare. Since every parachute will descend at a different speed on any given day depending on a whole bunch of different factors, it is impossible for anyone to give one "right" answer to fix your problem. Practice flaring up high to get a feel for the canopy you are under...see where the canopy actually flares out, and where it will stall. It is very important to know the limitations of your canopy. If you do flare to high, don't panic, ease your brakes up about half-way, the ease back into the flare gently. Don't reach for the ground with your feet and keep your feet and knees together and prepare to PLF. Hang in there

Generally speaking, on S/L you don't have an instructor with you during the lower altitude jumps. The only instructors USPA allows to exit linked with you are AFF JM/Is. You may have a S/L JM with you once you go to the top.

2 S/L, 3 PRCPs...6th jump on my own. Wish I had been as good on my 10 second delays...I think I did 6 of those alone

I have to agree with Quade...disorientation for the first few seconds is perfectly normal in a new skydiver. Personally, I was never so excited in my life as I was the first time I actually "saw" the plane as I was exiting (jump #30 or so). As your instructors have indicated you are not having real specific problems on exit (your muscle memory is kicking in), I think it becomes important to focus on a specific task at the moment of exit. Talk with your coaches. They may suggest you focus on maintaining eye contact with them throughout the exit...or perhaps it may be more helpful for you to focus on seeing the plane. Either way...hang in there. Learning to skydive well takes a little time. And remember, if it were easy...everyone would do it

Here's a scenario for you...you're cold you decide to pull lower to "shorten" your canopy time. You reach into pull, but because your fingers are a little cold...you miss the pud. Just sounds like an incident report doesn't it???? No thanks. I'm with you, I'll stick with pulling no lower than the 2,000' allowed for my D license.

Woo hoo indeed. The good thing about your first AFF is you spend the whole day in the first jump course which helps to settle some of the jitters. Let us know how you do and what you liked best. Jackie

I just hate to admit I'm old enough to register.

***I think that at the end of the day any physically abled body can skydive*** Absolutely. The key to success in skydiving is directly related to a persons ability in mastering their fear. I've been skydiving for 11 years...and believe me, I was one of the worlds worst students. Brain locked, on my back, spinning out of control...you name I did it. Until I conquered my fear (in my case it was a fear of being unable to react quickly enough to save myself) I was unable to progress very much. Eventually, the initial fear of death is replaced by fear of failure to perform (something which is mentally much easier to handle) But it takes time. A couple of years ago, I took up rock climbing (much, much scarier than skydiving...believe me) It is another one of those edge sports where your belief (mental) in yourself is imperative to success. I have had a lot of trouble in certain aspects of the sport because I had not been willing to push past my fear. This summer, I read the book, Rock Warriors Way. While the book is about rock climbing, it is one of the best books I have ever read about how to effectively deal with your fears...not just in rock climbing, but in skydiving and in life. If you get a chance to read it, I think you will agree. In the meantime...hang in there. I eventually learned to skydive and now am an instructor.

Congrats

Try this great no contact drill dive. Go up with a buddy who lays base for you. Staying in close proximity, start out head to head. Move to a side body position, then cat, then other side, then back around head to head. You can switch off with your partner, or you can go back around the opposite direction. My husband and I used this drill dive a lot when I was learning to skydive. It really sharpens up your orbiting skills.

You know, the hardest thing to do is to say "NO" and mean it. All of my kids have paid for their own vehicles. They know that if they miss one...yes that's right...one payment...I will sell the car. Driving is a privilege, not a right. If your daughter is cutting school, drop by the school unannounced a couple of times. If her grades have dropped, take away her phone, tv, and computer privileges until they improve. To be honest...for the most part you are not going to be your daughter's buddy for the next couple of years. It will come...but you must stand your ground. Teenagers need someone to set limits. Unfortunately, this will not make you a popular person. Hang in there...it'll get better.

I'm with you...I tried HTML this morning before I figured out this site has it own code. When you are typing in a post...look below to the "code" button. It gives you all the scoop. Happy posting.

I agree that you should add weights gradually. This will give you plenty of time to adjust to the added speed. A couple of years ago I was in the base of an all womens way. Several of us had to add weight to keep the formation moving. I ended up adding 25 or so pounds....WoooHooo!! Had some of the best swoops ever...but it got my attention. I definitely would start slow.

Closest turbine DZ 315 miles. Which at one time I drove to every weekend. Put 100,000 miles on a 2 1/2 year old car that way. Closest Cessna DZ 45 miles, 80 miles, and 110 miles respectively.

In July, my 4-year old Pro-Dytter died a horrible painful death - just stopped working . When I got home from the DZ on Sunday...I e-mailed Larsen and Brusgaard and asked if they had a list of authorized dealers who might be able to assist me in a repair of my dytter. I received an e-mail back almost instantly. Mads asked me to ship it to them and he said they would see what they could do. Since I knew I wouldn't be jumping for a couple of weeks, I packaged it up and shipped it to them. To make a long story short, after a couple of mail foul-ups...go figure. I received a brand-new Pro-Dytter in the mail compliments of Mads. Hey...they even threw in an extra set of batteries. Now that's service