AFF LEVEL II JUMP
On Saturday, June 24th, we found out there was going to be an engine show at the Airport, so the DZ would be allowed to use the bowl for a landing area that day and that meant STUDENTS COULD JUMP! My younger son's soccer team had made the state tournament and had their first game at noon that day but we figured if we got there early we could each get a jump in before then. We brought 2 cars just in case.
We woke up to a bright, sunny, perfect for skydiving day!! I immediately felt like I was going throw up! Damn!! I was hoping that feeling would start to go away! The whole time we were getting ready to go I felt sick to my stomach and even got the shakes. I kept thinking, "Why do I put myself through this????"
But after I got in the car and was actually on my way I started calming down. I started mentally going through my dive to prepare myself. For the past 3 weeks while waiting for the chance to jump again Boomer and I had been physically preparing ourselves. Often times you would walk into a room to see us standing there in arch position running through the sequence of our jump. The night before we were out on our picnic table running thru it with altimeter on and taking turns with each other and our kids as jumpmasters. My 2 younger kids thought this was great fun and jumped at the chance to help out. Our oldest son, Derek, at 14, was totally embarrassed by us. He cringed as we'd yell out our altitude while laying on the picnic table spread eagle. He was worried about what the neighbors were going to think. He said other kids parents didn't do things like that! Why did his have to??
We arrived at the DZ shortly after 8:00 and people were just beginning to stir. They did have a first load up on the board and they immediately put our names up on the student board. Boomer was going to let me go first this time but then J2 came out and told him he was on load #2. I told him to just go first. I was still feeling a bit edgy and figured that would buy me a little more time!
We had all of our kids with us for the first time (well they had come out and watched one of my tandems last fall) so we brought them around to the side where the small landing area next to manifest is to watch the first load come down. They all really liked it... even Derek! He loved watching them spiral and he loved the fast, swoop landings of a few of the experienced divers. He suddenly does a 180 on his views of skydiving and is already asking what places will allow him to skydive at 16 so he only has to wait 2 more years! YIKES! I think I liked his other view better!
Soon they called Boomer in to get ready. Again, (we had come on Father's Day and Boomer got as far as getting a ride in the plane but the clouds had come in and they only got to 8,000 ft so he didn't jump)they just let Boomer get himself all dressed. They did check him out after, of course. I didn't get to stay and see him off as I had to run my son, Conor, down the road a bit to meet his coach so he could catch a ride to the soccer tournament. He had to be there early to check in.
I got back to the DZ just in time to see Boomer coming down. We had missed going out to the landing area though. But he was all smiles when he came back on the truck and he said he thought things had gone well! And he was really excited because he almost stood up the landing!!
They wrote in his logbook, " Good climbout, swimming a bit on exit, good COA, responded - legs out, 2 PRCPs, 2nd COA OK, Rt. turn good, weak forward mot., left turn 45 degrees - stiff but good altitude awareness, wave off @ 5500, & pull @ 4500. Cleared for Level III."
Oh, one more thing on his jump. Boomer didn't think he tighten his leg straps tight enough and on deployment he got nailed. Luckily they didn't catch the real important stuff but he had some good rasberries on his upper thighs and he said it was extremely uncomfortable during the whole canopy ride. That's why he was extra glad he had a good landing. He said it would have killed to get in a PLF position!
Now it was my turn and I felt a little pressure since Boomer had done so well. I was feeling much less nervous about jumping though. Jay and I went out and rehearsed the King Air exit and went over the dive. Everything went well except he said he wanted me to wave my hands twice for wave off so in case someday someone above me wasn't looking when I did the first one they might see the second one. Then we went in and he showed me what they are looking for on a gear check. He stressed that if anyone ever interupted me during one that I should always start again at the beginning. It was something that didn't take long to do and it was just too important to miss something. Sounded smart to me.
Then he helped me get my gear on. I made sure my leg straps were nice and snug. I talked to him about the chest strap...my paranoia! lol He very nicely explained about knowing it was correct by seeing metal on top (which Bob had also told me). He said during a gear check I should check for metal on both chest and waist strap. Then he even checked my shoelaces!! I was quite impressed and told him my worry about laces, too. I told him how I completely checked out all the fatalities on this page on the web and he said there was a lot you could learn from that.
Jay left for a minute and Chris, my other JM, came in as I was practicing my dive one final time. I tell him how I'm trying to get the double wave off in my head as I hadn't been practicing it that way. He says it's not a big deal. Don't worry about it. Then he starts going over the exit and stressing how important it is to all be in sync. He tells me if I'm going to hesitate to do it before the Out, In, Out. That after I start that count, I should be deliberate and not stop. I remember him going over this a lot with Boomer on Father's Day.
We headed out to the plane and I had forgotten how heavy the pack was! This time the harness felt much bigger on my shoulders. I know last time it was a bit big, too, but this time I almost felt as if I could squish my arms together and slip right out. I think part of it is I'm just a little over the weight limit for the smaller parachute but that's OK with me as I'd rather have one a little big! This time the bottom of the container seemed to hit me right on the tailbone as I walked and that was a bit uncomfortable.
As I started to walk across to the plane, my daughter, Colleen, yelled out for me and I had to go back and kiss her. That made me have some quivers in my stomach. Almost felt like I was kissing her goodbye forever. And I knew that was a possibility... a remote one, but one just the same.
I climbed into the plane and checked it out. It was my first time in their new King Air. We climbed way up the front and sat on the floor behind the pilot. It was hot in the plane and I started feeling a little nervous again. I think Chris noticed and he started talking to me a bit. I did fine on the plane ride up though occasionally I'd think... "I'm not gonna jump. I'm just not going to do this. I don't want to. I'm just going to tell them I'm not going." It bothered me that I was thinking like that because for my first AFF jump I had felt real calm in the plane for the most part. Sitting on the floor in the KA made it hard to see out so I didn't have a lot to take my mind off it. Then Chris had me go thru the dive and that made me relax a bit. Jay made some small talk and then another jumper opened the door and I felt the wind and fresh air and could see out and I started getting psyched. I WANTED to do this!
Before I knew it the other jumpers were disappearing out the door. By this point I'm usually not afraid any more. I'm just busy doing what I'm suppose to be doing. Chris slipped out around the corner of the door and Jay got a grip on me and headed towards the other side with me following right behind him. I had no trouble finding the little bar above the door and pulling myself up and out. I looked towards Chris and yelled, "Check in". He nodded. I looked towards Jay and yelled, "Check out!" He looked down for a bit then looked up and nodded. Out! In! Out! Arch! Arch! Arch! I see the plane for my very first time and I am so psyched!! Awesome!! It looks incredible as it flies away from us! Wow!!
Next thing I know we are tumbling all over the place. I'm thinking, "Shit!! What am I doing wrong??" We rock and bump and tumble and I think, "FUCK! I'm doing worse than those kids on the Road Rules/Real World Challenge!" It seems to be going on forever and I'm pretty sure we go completely over at one point. I'm thinking Chris is going to be so disappointed in me! ARCH! Arch! Arch!! I'm arching as hard as I can. Suddenly we even out. Whew!
OK... back to business. I immediately start my COA thinking we must have lost a lot of altitude. I think the altimeter said between 11,000 and 11,500 so that's not bad. Do my 2 PRCPs and another COA. Try a right turn. Seems to work! Cool! Check altimeter. I don't remember it now but I know I was VERY altitude aware because I wanted to make that ripcord pull so bad after missing it last time. I try forward movement... pull my arms back and stick my feet out straight. I immediately feel my head go lower and I'm glad they told me I should feel that because it scared me a bit. I didn't think it would be that noticeable. Hold 3 seconds... maybe a bit shorter because I was worried about running out of time. I resume my normal position and check my altimeter. It says 7,000. I'm trying to quickly decide if I should start a left turn (we can as long as it's above 6,000). But I don't want to miss the pull so maybe I should just wait for 5500. Then I feel Chris shake me a bit. I'm kind of already looking that way anyway since my next move was the left turn. I'm looking at Chris's face trying to figure out what's going on when I see his hand move but don't quite see what it does. I whip around to look at Jay only to find him tracking away and down from me!!! For a split second I think something has gone wrong... then I think... correctly... OH NO!! He just pulled my ripcord!!!!!!!!!!!
Whoooooooosh!! My canopy opens up before I can even start to worry about it. It looks great. I'm devastated. What went wrong??? I peel off the toggles. How could I have managed not to pull again??? I pull the toggles all the way down and unstow the brakes. How could I have fucked up so bad???? I don't see the airport so I do a slow right turn. Geezus... if I can't even pull the damn ripcord maybe I should get out of this sport! Ahhhhh, there's that nice familiar triangular site. DAMN IT! I want to pull my ripcord! I do a small left turn just to complete my canopy check.
I'm so down thinking about my horrible exit and then not pulling. Then I realize where I am and how incredibly beautiful it is up here. I shake off all bad feelings and take a deep breath. I decide since the other part was such a mess...o O (though it WAS kind of fun tumbling like that.... and the turning and the forward movement went well I think...) I will just make the most of the canopy ride. I look all around and check out the view. Man, this countryside sure is pretty!!
Just then I hear the radio crackle and hear Jeff's voice. Wow... I wasn't even worried about the radio this time! Good thing because I find out later that I had opened and they hadn't even started out to the bowl yet. Boomer told me about the mad drive out there in the truck with Jeff hanging out the window with the radio talking to me!! LOL The way Boomer described it was so funny! Jeff tells me to just keep heading straight towards the airport for a while and enjoy the view, which I'm already doing. Before starting AFF I had felt like the canopy was just a way to get down the rest of the way after freefall. I'm surprised to find out how much I enjoy it now. I just love it! Maybe it's because after the fast-actioned pace of freefall with so much to think about, the canopy ride offers me a peaceful chance to regroup and collect my thoughts.
I finally make it over the airport and Jeff tells me to pull the right toggle all the way down and do a 360. I pull it part of the way down and do a slow 360. He is telling me to pull it right down. Go ahead! I pull it down a speck more. I make a complete 360... just slowly... my way. He then tells me to do it to the left now. I start a slow left turn. He tells me this is my time to have fun and play and that I can pull it all the way down hard and do a fast turn.... if it's my thing. Boomer is chuckling down on the ground because he knows I won't but he doesn't say anything to Jeff. lol
OK. Time to get ready for landing. I listen to Jeff's instructions and am very pleased when I find myself thinking things like... I think it's time for a right turn here and hear him say 2 seconds later... take a right turn! Time to flare... 3, 2, 1, ... I don't jump the count this time. I listen carefully and wait to actually hear Flare!... He says, "Wait... wait... wait..." Gee I'm going fast..... "Flare!" I flare. I decide I'm going a little too fast. I am in PLF position with my ankles and knees tight together but instead of PLFing I kind of let my right heel touch down first and slide and come in on my right calf and hip... kind of like sliding into base... only I do a little tumble at the end. Didn't hurt a bit.
Little Jay comes running over like last time and shuts off my AAD and asks me for my ripcord and I'm so ashamed to tell him I didn't pull AGAIN! Boomer, Derek and Colleen come running over and I tell them how awful I did... but that it was fun anyway. We get my parachute bundled up in my arms and head back in the truck. I get really nervous thinking everyone will know how awful I did. But back at the DZ everyone just smiles at me and asks how it went. I tell them it was a big mess... but fun. I see Jay and he asks if I had fun. I say yes but I know I did awful. He tells me the exit was his fault not mine and not to worry about anything yet. He said he was going to pack and would meet me out front to go over the dive.
A few minutes later as I was heading outside I walked by Jay as he was packing. He asked me if I had seen any hand signals or anyone tapping on my goggles. I said, "No." He asked, "Not at all?" I said just Chris shaking me a bit and maybe his hand might have been giving me some signal but I couldn't see what it was and then I looked at him (Jay) and he was diving away. He said, "OK, see you out front."
I headed out front to await my fate. I was sure they were both going to be thoroughly disappointed with my dive. Even though Jay had said the exit was his fault I was sure I had let Chris down. I felt totally humiliated that I hadn't pulled a second time. Chris came and sat down at the picnic table with me and asked me if I had had fun. I said even though I knew I did awful that I had had fun. He said we'd wait for Jay to come out to talk about it and then started talking about other stuff. He was so nice.
Finally Jay came out and Chris asked him if he had had fun. Jay said he had. Then Chris said he had had fun, too. And he pointed out that I had had fun so it must have been a success. Then they asked me to tell what I remembered of the jump. I went thru it as I remembered. After I finished they said it sounded pretty accurate. Then they went on to tell their side. They said the climbout and exit went real well. Then Jay said he went in to grip the upper part of me and ended up going under and that got us unstable and started us flipping all around. He said that I had been doing fine and he should have just let it go as was a little longer. They asked me what I did then and I told them I tried to arch real hard and they said that that was exactly what I did and that I did a good job and that was what enabled us to get stable again. They seemed pleased and I was surprised and happy to hear that.
They said they thought my right turn was good and that my forward motion was too! Then they said they both decided we were kind of far out and that it was time to end the dive so they would be sure I could make it back to the DZ. I guess Jay was pointing his finger in front of my face and even tapped my goggles but I was looking at Chris and didn't even realize he was doing that. Chris said that he, too, gave the pull signal but he realized that Jay had already pulled by then as he saw the main start to deploy. That was when I had finally looked in Jay's direction only to see him diving away. They said if they had given me a few moments to figure out what they wanted it would have defeated the whole purpose which was to pull high. We would have lost that precious altitude so he really felt he needed to pull for me.
Then they asked me if given the choice (But that was not to say I'd get what I asked for) would I want to go on to level III. I thought about it for a few minutes and told them if I had pulled on level I that I'd feel comfortable going on to Lev III but that I was a little concerned about not having a pull on AFF yet. They said that was understandable. They asked me again what I wanted to do. I was madly sitting there trying to weigh all options and pros and cons of each. I wanted to move on but wanted to make sure I was doing it for the right reasons... not because of $$ or to keep up with Boomer or because I felt I should. Learning to skydive is not something I want to hurry through. I didn't want to push myself too fast. I wanted to feel confident about my abilities.
I said I would like to hear their thoughts on it since they were the instructors and I thought their opinions should count in my decision. Chris told me he thought I could do Lev III. He said that I fell really stable and he had no concerns about my body position and that I turned well etc and that he thought I would get the pull next time. He also said he was happy with my altitude awareness. Jay said he agreed and that if it made me feel better that I could plan to pull a little high next time. I could tell them I wanted to wave off at 6000 and then pull. He did say they would be letting go (as long as I was stable) and that I should be completely prepared to make the pull. We ended up leaving it that I was cleared to Lev III if I wanted to do it. If I decided I wanted to do Lev II again then I just had to say so. Whichever dive I do hopefully I'll be able to get it in next Sunday, July 2nd! Come on blue skies!
This is what they wrote in my logbook: Good climbout - hotel - exit. PJM got under, once over tumble. Donna arched excellent, COA, 2 PRCPs, Exc Rt. turn, short COA, Exc forward, long spot, gave pull signal while student looking at other JM. Pulled by JM Good C/C (Canopy control) Cleared to Lev III if Donna wants. Briefed on III and emergency procedures.
