FallingMarc

What's a "perfectly innocent thread"? Is that like a "perfectly good airplane"? Marc

Hey! Alriiight, another Archway dude! Glad you made it! Oh, and yes, the A license test is now oral instead of written, except Jason still gives the written form. At least he did when I took it on sunday. Just be sure to know the BSRs and numerical stuff like cloud clearance, currency, opening altitudes, etc... It's not that hard really. Looking forward to jumping with ya! Marc

Yeah, I guess you're right. I guess I'll stay in college for a while after all. Marc

Bah, you think you got it bad, they're making me go back to school... Marc

In a tension knot, the lines aren't actually "knotted" per se, but became tangled in the process of several lines being pulled taut next to each other. The tension on the lines keeps the knot from clearing itself, even though the lines are all straight. I'm not sure if there's any way to absolutely prevent this, I think it's in the "shit happens" category... I don't remember going over tension knots in my FJC. Maybe because for a first timer, it's simpler to identify it as simply another spinning malfunction? Marc

Wow, scary situation there. Glad you made it out alright!

0:3:1 for the weekend so far... plus... (drumroll)... I am now an A licensed skydiver! Two jumps yesterday and one today, finishing out the yellow card, took my test tonight, and got my stamp! WOOHOO! I send in the application in the morning... I wonder how much more of a dork I can sound like... how's this: "Gee, I wonder what my license number will be?" Probably A-something... whatever, I'm a dork. But I'm a USPA recognized dork! Haha... The second number is ok, the third number I can still work with, now if I could only work on that great big zero... oh well, I'm just happy to finally get here! Blue skies, Marc A-something

I think what you're referring to is "freeflying", which can be defined as flying in any positions other than belly to earth. Relative workers do pretty much all their stuff on their belly. In freefly posisions such as a sit, stand, or head down, you fall a whole hell of a lot faster than when you're on your belly, and then you can also get into formation freeflying. Freeflying is relatively new in the world of skydiving, that's why there's more relative workers around. AFF has 7 levels(right?), and an AFF student is in solo freefall from the very first jump. By 'solo', I mean that as opposed to tandem--on the first few AFF dives you have a jumpmaster on either side of you, holding on to keep you steady. Then, you go to just one jumpmaster, then after you've passed the 7 levels, you're cleared to solo. I don't think I explained that very clearly. Never mind.

Wow, average 155... I might do 155 head down, hehe... I'm finding out how awkward it is to be a small skydiver! Marc I'm not a midget! Really!

All good advice, but this is something that caused me trouble early on(hah listen to me with all of 30 jumps): it's very good and helpful to visualize your jump when you're preparing. Visualize yourself doing everything right, from climbout to landing. BUT, I tended to fixate on things, and instead of relaxing and thinking of how I should do whatever it is I'm trying to do, the whole ride up I would think "I have to do this right. I MUST get this EXACTLY RIGHT, THIS TIME!" and so on. Then I'd get out and be tense as all hell and screw up. I had a JM advise me after my a couple of failed PRCPs to go through the dive in my mind once or twice, see myself doing it right, then go have lunch and not think about it at all, and when I came back, to just try to relax on the plane and enjoy the ride. It worked. The moral of the story is, every time I fixated on what I had been doing wrong, I just did it wrong again. It's good to visualize the dive going well beforehand, but don't let it get to the point where it makes you too tense. Relaxation is key... Above all, though, be safe and have fun! Everything else just adds to it! Marc

That line just cracked me up! Hehe... Marc P.S. Anne, it doesn't let you know on the main forum screen anymore, but check your private messages..

Congrats dude! Just wait till your 10 second delay... you'll never look back! Marc

By all means! See, then we could all jump together at Archway on Saturday... it all works out! Hehe... Wonko the Sane... I mean, Marc

What strikes me as crazy is that I feel the most sane after a day of jumping. I've always believed that random stupidity from time to time was great for keeping one's sanity(blowing something up just for the hell of it, throwing random objects into a ceiling fan with an unsuspecting friend sitting under it, etc...). But damn, taking an airplane ride, opening the door in flight, and just getting out. You're right, that's hard to beat for wierd logic. Marc

Playing at the Asylum in Springfield (Illinois) at around 8 p.m. Of course you can come, if you feel like driving for a couple of hours...

Well, since you asked...

flyhi- Easy for any true Ghostbusters fan! Who you gonna call... That's two... I could ask one now and it'd just continue a trend that would go on way too long. If all goes well. "Good? Bad? I'm the one with a gun." Now we see who the true cult film geeks are... Marc

Hmm... today I could play bridge... or I could jump out of an airplane... Hmmmmmmmm....... I guess I'm lucky to have a non-whuffo dad.. he only did one jump, and it was back in the 60's, but he still understands and backs me up when my mom freaks out about me skydiving... Marc

Awesome, dude! Sounds like you got all the important stuff done: got out of the airplane, kept yourself alive when the shit hit the fan, and jumped again! Nothing like a good malfunction to get the heart pumping... Marc

Hotter air = less dense air. This makes the airplane's wing as well as the propellers less efficient, because they've got less to work with. Marc

That's great! Man, I wish I could have made it out there... only a couple more blocks to get initialed, then I take my test, and I'm up there with you guys! Looking forward to next weekend... Marc

Congratulations, blue skies, and beer!

Another thing that very well could have happened is that he just slipped off. Most first time jumpers don't expect the relative wind on the step to be nearly as strong as it is... if this is what happened, the only problems I can see it causing would be the student smacking his head on the step or the elevator as he fell, which could be bad, but wouldn't hurt the plane. But I totally agree that it's a good idea for you to find out about anything that could possibly go wrong when flying jumpers and have a specific plan for each problem, and to wear a pilot's rig and know how to use it. I wouldn't ever want to fly SL jumpers without a fast escape route if something went wrong. Marc

Beautiful, just beautiful! I'm really looking forward to reading about your graduation jump... I can't call the exhilaration of skydiving "indescribable" anymore. You've proven that it's possible to put every emotion, every aspect, into words with as much feeling as I know we all experience... thank you for sharing your experiences here! Blue skies, Marc

I know, I was kidding... Actually I've been much much more thorough on my gear checks since the cutaway, especially on the reserve pins and 3-rings... I thought I was thorough before, but now it's become more like a paranoia... I've always believed a little healthy paranoia is a good thing, though... Marc