Gato

You are sooooo not alone! You will find there are a lot of folks here who didn't "breeze" through shit - learning to skydive is probably one of the most unnatural (or is it?) things a person can do. You've been skydiving for about 7 minutes, if you think about it. You have been flying under a canopy for about 21 minutes. How many other things have you mastered in so short a time? Don't be too hard on yourself - it will come. Maybe you could try finding a place that does IAD or Static Line training. The jumps tend to be less expensive, and therefore is less painful if you don't hit your TLOs. Or maybe have your instructors put together a dive that has no objective except you watching your altitude, staying stable, and pulling - a low pressure "burn" dive, so to speak. Worked wonders for me! Like others have said, try not to look at it as "failing a jump." EVERY skydive counts, and every skydive is an opportunity to have FUN, FUN, FUN!!! Don't forget to have fun. T.I.N.S.

Thanks, Crash!! Remember, you can't rush perfection - craftsmanship takes time, yes? Besides, it's not like Tom has anything else to do, right? T.I.N.S.

I couldn't agree more - sorry if I came across as "overconfident guy". When I said the thing about training and skills, I was referring to working through the butterflies. I have a loooooong way to go, and obviously, I should think before I post. T.I.N.S.

I think it probably has to do with exposure to the environment, and faith in your training and skills. Every time you put your fears aside and fall from the sky, you build greater confidence. My (major) butterflies went away right after my first clear & pull jump, which I think was jump number 11. I went through the Static Line method and had a couple of lapses/retrains along the way, so I had quite a few practice pull jumps leading up to that. That feeling of confidence will keep getting better and better, and turns into REAL fun. T.I.N.S.

Oh, Plummy - You just don't know..... I humbly direct you to the following thread: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3301026;search_string=Tom%20Dolphin;#3301026 T.I.N.S.

Sorry - I was flashing back to sunday for a moment! T.I.N.S.

(Gato goes down in flames.....) "Mayday - mayday....." T.I.N.S.

Thanks, Lloyd! I'm not sure what to do, but I'm going to get some more RW coaching soon so I won't be such a danger to others - I REALLY don't want to be the guy who kicks people in the face in freefall, you know? I can't wait to get a few more jumps under my belt, then get out of here and meet/jump with some of you all! Take it easy - Gato T.I.N.S.

Stick with it, and don't give up! I couldn't jump at all last summer because of a shoulder injury and work. The cool thing (one of many) is that when I came back to it a few months ago, the anxiety of the plane ride wasn't really there anymore, and I just felt more confident. I'm still not sure why. Unless maybe it's the Wellbutrin. Don't be too hard on yourself, but hold yourself to that higher standard that will keep you determined - you'll have yours in no time! T.I.N.S.

Two weeks, maybe three - or, if you come out to MRVS, next weekend! Thanks, J! T.I.N.S.

When did you get your B license, if I may ask? T.I.N.S.

As of yesterday.

Well, holy shit - it took me almost exactly 2 years to do it, but I finally earned my A license yesterday!! And yes, beer was immediately paid to the appropriate parties, as I was treated to a fraternity-style hazing from my instructors, a few up jumpers, and the honorable DZO! Guys with 3/4 of a beer in their bottle were screaming at me, "I'm fuckin' thirsty, John's lookin' thirsty, Tom's fuckin' thirsty - where's my fuckin' beer?!" Classic. Just.....classic. It is no small honor to me to have Tom Dolphin's signature on the back of my yellow A-card. I feel I got a first-class education from him and his staff. A very special thanks to Tom, Crash, Dorinda, Gary, Mark, Ron, Scott, Ashley, and especially Russ and John for making sure my ego didn't have a chance in hell. Oh, and I can't forget Cutaway - for introducing himself to my wife with class...... And thanks to you, my fellow 'commers, for your encouragement and support, as well as your uncanny abilities to amuse, frighten, educate, inspire, and offend. I salute you all. So many aspects of skydiving that scared me before are now some of my favorite things - funny how that works out, innit? I used to hate sitting by the door - now I love it. The thought of jumping my own packjob was scary until I actually did it (with a spring-loaded pilot chute!) Being the guy in JM position, opening the door, and spotting for the load has to be some of the coolest shit I've ever experienced - I LOVE being able to tell my instructor to, "Get the fuck out of my airplane!!!!!!" Now begins the REAL process of learning to become a great skydiver. I don't really know what I'm going to focus on first, but I know I want to really refine my belly skills and learn my canopy's full range of control before I venture off into some other disciplines. I'll be getting my rig this coming weekend (Talon, PD230, Raven III), and I can't wait to see where this goes in the future. It's almost time to venture out to other DZs and maybe a boogie or two later on. Thanks again, everybody - blue skies. Gato (aka "Chill") (Edited to add a name or two.) T.I.N.S.

Correct, but not THE line - it could have been any line. Almost correct; means that the webbing attaching the reserve pilot chute to the reserve freebag somehow got wrapped around his body during deployment of the reserve. You most likely will not encounter a spinning line-over on your first jumps - not to say it can't happen, but it's not likely. As others have said, don't worry too much about stuff like this right now - just listen to your instructors, and don't read too many incident reports. It's too easy to absorb bad info, or stuff that just doesn't relate to you as a student yet. (I'm up way too damn early to be posting here.) T.I.N.S.

I just bought one, black with grey stripes, and I love it. I've only jumped it 4 times, but it's helped my fallrate even out to almost exactly 120mph. It seems to be a very well made suit - nice stitching, good fit, and it looks pretty damn good in my opinion. I think they've got them on sale right now if you ask about it - good deal! T.I.N.S.

I didn't. Of course you didn't, Kallend - the media knows better than to fuck with you. T.I.N.S.

It was just a joke that didn't have anything to do with her record as governor - it was about how the idea of "abstinence only" didn't really get the job done at home. Teens fuck - that's a fact. Try as we may to deny this fact and hammer abstinence into them (no pun intended) they are going to have sex anyway. If they are not EDUCATED in the matters of sex and reproduction from a relatively early age, can we really be all that surprised when we see teen pregnancy and STD transmission on the rise? I'm glad she funded family clinics and the like, and if she helped some people out, more power to her. Sorry if I offended you - T.I.N.S.

The idea that worked so well in her own home. (Unlike my previous post, this one IS bashing Ms. Palin, just a bit. ) T.I.N.S.

As I recall, almost everyone that ever gets interviewed on national TV has their publicist (if they have one) work with the media to arrange what questions will be asked and what topics to stay away from, etc. My wife used to be a publicist, and I've seen some of these documents that get produced and used for interviews. You'd be surprised how scripted it can get. Not bashing Ms. Palin here - as I said, just about everyone does this, with few exceptions. T.I.N.S.

Quade, haven't you heard? God gave us fossils and carbon dating to test our faith....... T.I.N.S.

Really? What do you suppose would happen to a commercial airliner on collision course with the White House? I suspect that those protocols have been around for a few decades. I agree that probably no one would ever want to give such an order. T.I.N.S.

No lectures - I agree with you, for the most part. T.I.N.S.

I'm all for praying for military men & women, but she scares the absolute shit out of me - NEVER blindy follow someone who claims to know God's plan. T.I.N.S.

(Carefully climbs onto soapbox....) Cops (sorry, SOME cops) stretch that "lawful directives" shit all the time, and there was a well-documented history of police brutality in LA county, an underfunded and understaffed force if ever there was one. However, they do not have the right to beat the hell out of someone just because they're pissed at what he or she did. Police officers DO NOT have the right to punish ANYONE AT ANY TIME. Watch any episode of COPS where there's a chase - adrenaline rules, not cool heads or superior training. Granted, if you throw a punch at a cop, you may deserve what you get, but having 7 officers beat you with clubs and kick you while you're on the ground BECAUSE OF THAT ONE PUNCH is just fucking bullying. This is the same mentality that calls hitting a cop car with your car "attempted murder." One of my former students is a P.O. in a well-known town around here, and he admitted to me that he and a few of his fellow officers regularly break up 2-person bar brawls by knocking the shit out of anyone in the club that doesn't hit the floor when they come in and yell, "Everybody down!!" READ: Even if you're not fighting, if you don't do what they say, they will crack your jaw with a fist, or hamstring you with a nightstick. (I'm not exaggerating any of this, by the way.) Don't get me wrong here - I have bags and bags of respect for anyone who dons a badge in the name of protecting our citizens, but your badge doesn't give you carte blanche to abuse people. As to the possible riots as results of the election, I don't think we have anything to worry about - unless we have a repeat of the 2004 fiasco. Then, we're all fucked. (Carefully climbs down from soapbox....) T.I.N.S.

I've talked to several jumpers who started around the same time I did, where I asked them, "What reserve do you have?" The response from 3 of them: "I don't know." Scary, scary, scary. How can you trust your last chance to an unknown like that? T.I.N.S.