Jen1129

Oh no... I didn't know there was evidence!!!!!

Thanks Bob! Good to meet you too. Yeah, I got a lot of comments about that landing! Didn't mean to impose on your domain as an air traffic controller... but Mark did do a great job directing me to the center of the peas!

That is entirely possible... I wish I could play it back in slow motion because it all happened so fast! Yes, I originally learned the 2-hand method and that is what I did automatically. My vague memory is that the spin was to the left, but my sense of direction is really bad and it could have been the other way. Thanks... I never even thought about body position being a factor!

LOL, I saw the people! They were everywhere! The distractions may have been why my flare was... well... a little low, and I did that cool baseball slide across the peas. Oh, and you keep trying to get me to say the "f" word... but yeah, I suppose I do owe beer...

Thanks Darcy! BTW, good job on your standup landings! Yep, I'm a wuss, it was hard to make myself go back up, but I'm glad I did... had a couple of good jumps and pulled a little higher on both of them. The hit-n-chug was fun! I had a little help with the accuracy, thanks to Mark directing me from the ground. He could get a second job as one of those guys who directs airplanes to the gate...

It's possible, since it happened so fast, but I don't think so. I remember it felt like the beginnings of a normal opening but then it just sort of stayed there above my head in a "ball of crap." Also, the alarm going off in my head of "something is not normal" didn't happen until around 4 seconds... I think it would have happened sooner if nothing had come out. I am entirely aware that my perception of what happened and what actually happened could have been different. Would have been nice to have it on video, but I'm obviously not jumping with a camera yet since I only have 60 jumps...

Thanks... that is a great point and something I didn't do. I will keep that in mind if it happens again. I am happy that my hand just knew where to go... I don't remember any thought process such as "okay, hand, time to reach and grab the cutaway handle"... I just remember the feel of the handle in my hand.

Hi... I am a 60-jump wonder who had a scary opening and near-cutaway on Saturday. I have gone over it many times in my mind but I am wondering if there is anything else I can learn from it. The canopy was a Sabre2 190 loaded at about 0.8 or 0.9. I have only jumped this canopy about 10 times, so I am still getting used to it. I pulled between 3500 and 4000, counted to 4 and looked up and saw... well, a ball of crap that didn't appear to be doing anything except fluttering around. I have had soft openings before but this was different... it did not feel like it was opening or slowing me down at all. I grabbed for my cutaway handle and right then it opened, but very violently with some kind of spinning dive, and end cells closed. Grabbed my toggles and yanked hard, and the end cells opened and it settled down to normal flight. I had a good canopy by 2500 ft. In telling the story I had a couple people tell me I did the right thing (going for my cutaway handle) but a couple people also told me something like "duh, it was a soft opening, you should like those, don't freak out." My question is, with my limited experience, how should I have known that? I looked up and saw something that was NOT going to land me safely, did not appear to be turning into a good canopy anytime soon, and went to my cutaway handle. If it happens again, how long do I wait... decision altitude? If nothing else, I did learn that I can find my cutaway handle quickly if necessary. I'm glad to know that at least!

My plane doesn't get in till 5 pm Thursday. Have fun and don't use up all the good weather!

I'm flying into Philly Thursday, and Kevin (your head down buddy) and I are planning to jump Friday or Saturday if the weather doesn't suck too bad... we'll see if this California girl can deal with jumping in the cold!

Yay! Thanks to everyone who is putting this on... I can't wait. Hey, can we do the hit and chug if we're not yet qualified to land in the grass? (No B-license yet...) Maybe have a second target with beers in the student landing area or off to the right of the grass?

Since I have no depth perception to begin with (really), I'm not too worried about that. I suppose it could even be fun to land in snow. Yep, that sounded... interesting. I think I'm glad I didn't see it...

I told him to quit that... :) Heh, you are the wrong one to ask then. To me, anything below 70 is cold. It will definitely be an experience... never landed in snow before...

I'll let him know that it never happened and that he was mistaken. So exactly how cold is it jumping out there? I'll be there in a week and a half, but this California girl is afraid of the cold...

Was the other jumper named Kevin? My boyfriend told me about a jump he had yesterday at Cross Keys that sounds very much exactly like what you are describing... small world I guess. Guess I'll have to watch out for going head down next time I jump with him.

Nice... my mom is planning to come and register (I think she's impressed that the instructors put up with me in the first place), and she was happy to hear that there are non-jumper prizes too!

I always wanted to FLY (not in a plane.) So when I was 12 or so, I wanted to be an astronaut so I could fly...

Who Will Be There VanillaSkyGirl Nightingale GaryC24 CurtismelanieJ Westcoastchica GiaK (w/ jello shots! ) Shark Lewmonst Cajones RJF98 Skyyhi Casurf1978 RippedCord Skylord (aka "slab of beef") Jen1129 Maybe Zenister Cannot go...sending love/hugs...perhaps donations? Flyangel2 Michele Mgskyflyer DaGimp?

Hey! I was there! That's ok, since I hardly ever post, nobody knows me on here. But if you were on any of the loads with me, I was the chick yelling about the COLD. Mark, thanks for convincing me to try the Sabre2. I LOVED it.

I'll be there Saturday... Jen

That is so cool. I just love all the things people are doing to help out. If you don't mind jumping with a 50-jump wonder, I'd be happy to jump with you... Jen

Yeah, I know what you mean... wish I didn't have to work this week so I could have been around and helped with stuff. Stupid real jobs suck. I will be there, hoping to jump but not expecting anything... it will depend on gear. I have rented from GroundZero before but didn't like the Spectre (yeah, I'm a wuss, but I'm used to 9-cells and it just seemed jittery to me.)

I will definitely be there... I have been renting student gear, but don't want to take student gear away from actual students if there is a limited amount of gear. Maybe I can rent from GroundZero, or even just help clean up. But I can't imagine how anyone could stay away this weekend... That is so wonderful about the manufacturers who are replacing gear for free or low cost. Jen

Exactly what I am thinking. Every single one of you instructors has taken care of me since my first jump at Elsinore. I wish I could buy you all new rigs! I am so glad it sounds like you will all be back in the sky soon.

Oh my God... I cannot believe this... I jumped one of those student rigs YESTERDAY. But way more important than that, every single instructor at Elsinore has patiently answered my questions, always been willing to help with anything whether I've jumped with them or not. I will send some money and I wish I could do more...