26/April/2009 - Jumps 42-47 (Canopy Skills Course)

This morning morning didn't start like everyother Sunday morning. This one started on last night as I attended a pre-Beltane festival and ended up with some sort of food poisoning. The pain was unbearable and kept me from sleeping for more than about 3 hours.

So, when the alarm went off at 5am, I was nowhere near ready to get moving. I had to get my ass moving though because the canopy skills class was scheduled to begin at 8:30. I got my shit together and was out of the house by 7am. I stopped for some coffee, but otherwise, headed straight to the DZ. I pulled in to the parking lot a bit after 8am, and as was to be expected, the waiting began.

I think it was around 10 by the time everyone showed up for the class and things got moving. The plan was to do five 5000' hop & pop jumps to practice landing skills and one full altitude (13,000') hop & pop to practice canopy flight skills.

We got ourselves manifested and geared and started our first run. There were eight of us, so we got organized into jump order based on wing loading. As a result, I was third out the door for the first four jumps. I was impressed as I watched the first jumper exit. He seemed to snap into the air and present himself perfectly. On the other hand, I seemed to be all over the place, so rather than try to fight it, I just went with it and enjoyed the brief freefall.

Our landings were being video taped, and after each one we gathered to review what we were doing right and what we were doing wrong. I seem to have new-diveritis. I flare too high which makes the landings a bit harder than they need to be.

My high-pull was a lot of fun, although it was VERY cold. About a quarter of the way into the canopy flight the communication system between Matt and I went dead, so, I couldn't figure out what to do. I was hoping Matt would lead by example, but he kept flying behind me. After a while, I think he understood that I couldn't hear him, so he moved in front of me and showed me what he wanted me to do.  After practicing front and rear riser turns, front riser descents, stalls and glides, Matt maneuvered his canopy right next to mine to where the edges were touching. It was interesting to feel the burble and be flying so close to someone else.

By this point I was FREEZING. My hands weren't working very well, but the view was incredible. It was late in the afternnon, so the sun was turning orange and the ocean was glistening with the sun light. At 2500', the in-air communication system finally started working again, just in time to hear Matt say, "2500', I'm out of here." Unfortunately, by the time I got down the video review was already over and everyone was gearing up to head up again.

I had one more hop & pop after my high pull. After waiting for my rig to be packed, I got mysel f on a load. It was a bit of a disappointment after having so much fun flying for so long, but a jump is a jump and I'd do it all over again.




 

2009-Apr-18 Jumps 37-41

#37
I did a diving exit, and immediately tucked my legs in and grabbed my knees causing me to do flip after flip after flip. It was a blast! After that, I tried to sitfly. I was able to get it for a little bit, but then slipped onto my back and did some barrel rolls.

I downsized to a 210 sq. ft. canopy from the 230, and the time under canopy was noticably shortened. I did do some corkscrews on the way down which was a lot of fun. I also played a bit with the front risers to descend on final when I realized I was going to overshoot my target significantly. I ended up about 30 feet away.

#38
This was my first jump on the Caravan as opposed to the Otter. It's a lot smaller, with no seats--only some beams on the floor that jumpers had to straddle. My buddy Brian F. was sitting in the right-hand seat, next to the pilot because he's been hired as a pilot. It was fun to see someone I knew in the cockpit. I also had the opportunity to chat with a guy, who was trying a new wingsuit, about what it's like to fly a wingsuit. I am now more thrilled about getting to the point where I can try one myself.

I was the second to last person out of the plane, with the wingsuit jumper the only one left after me. Again, on this jump, I did a diving exit with tuck. Lots of flips again, and I was able to keep myself from tipping over on my side like on the previous jump. The flips were very fun.

I had forgotten to tighten my sunglass keeper, and so my glasses were moving all over my face. It was very uncomfortable, not to mention distracting. So, even though I had plenty of time to do other things, I ended up just arching and enjoying as much of the fall as possible.

I didn't do much under canopy. Again, with the 210, the canopy ride felt too short for me. I guess I'll have to start braking more to extend the ride.

During the landing I went into half brakes a bit to high, so there wasn't much lift to be had when I went to full brakes. As a result, the landing was a bit hard.

#39
I did a diving exit again, but this time I wanted to get stable immediately. Everything worked just right so I decided to ditch some of the stability to try out other things. I put my hand or arm into various positions to see what would happen. It was fun to get flipped and spun around. I went into a sit for a little bit, but quicly lost it and went onto other things. All in all, this jump was sit, spin and rock! Super sweet jump.

#40
Back on the Caravan again for this jump, and this time, I was the last one out of the plane. I went back to the diving exit with tuck because it was so much fun. Flips, turns, and fall rate were what I worked on. The canopy ride was fun and I had a great landing, 5' away from the target.

#41 - A License Checkout Jump
When I first arrived at the DZ, I told Blake I wanted to do my A-License checkout jump. I had really wanted to get it done on my second jump so I could have the rest of the day to play. Unfortunately, there were a gazillion tandems scheduled, so he couldn't do it until late in the day. That sucked, but I figured I'd just have to jump all day long, maybe getting to do a bandit with Rocco or a simulated checkout jump with Donald. Things just didn't work out that way though. Donald was busy filming Pack'D all day and Rocco and I either were on a flight full of instructors or he had arranged to jump with someone else. After four jumps I was getting a bit tired, so I tracked down Blake to see if we could get it done. Finally, he gave the thumbs up, and I set the manifest team into action. The moment of truth had arrived after a day of jumping.

At first Blake started by asking me to tell him everything I knew about the parachute rig I was going to use. I wasn't exactly certain what he wanted me to tell him, so I just started babbling about this and that. I guess I was giving him all the information he needed, so after a few minutes he said to get my rig on and meet him over by the packing barn.

He came out in his rig and asked me if I knew what all the different aspects to the pre-jump and jump that I needed to accomplish to get my license. I threw out a few things, at which point he interrupted me and told me all the things I needed to do, and the criteria by which I needed to pass. Of course, in typical Blake style, (or is that lack of style) he bluntly stated that if I fucked up A, B, or C, that I'd fail even if I did everything else perfectly. We finished going over the skills I needed to demonstrate and then we started in earnest.

The first order of business was a gear check on him. Of course, I knew that he was going to try to trip me up, but there's not much to a gear check that I'd miss. So, the first thing I noticed was that his chest strap was just looped through the buckle, but not properly. So, I pointed that out and continued with the check.

His rig was significantly different than any of the student gear, plus, I normally would have done the gear check of the back first and then the front, from top to bottom both times. However, now I was doing things backwards, so I was a bit disjointed, skipping from here to there. I covered everything, but it wasn't smooth. He mentioned to not just check all the things that are there, but all the things that weren't too. That was a bit tough, because I had never encountered a rig that didn't look like all the student rigs. He doesn't jump with an AAD or an RSL. I assumed that because there wasn't the window showing the AAD, that there wasn't one. But the RSL I completely didn't think about. The disjointed order probably was the cause of my lack of recognition, but the fact that the rig was already on him rather than sitting on the ground in front of me could have had an impact too. In any event, I finished the gear check and we headed out to get on the plane. We were joined by Candice, who was shooting video of my jump.

On the ride to altitude, I tried to calm myself and make it seem like I wasn't nervous by asking Blake about any mountain biking he's been doing recently. After a terse statement about a ride done early in the week, and a lack of any interest in anything about me, I just looked out the window and enjoyed the ride.

We were the last to leave the plane. Candice climbed out onto the camera step. Blake got into a rear floating position, and gave the count. I dived out after them, but somehow, I completely flubbed the exit and spun around. Recognizing that, I did a fast flip and got stable. Then, I descended to where they were and came up to Blake. When I was a few feet in front of him, I did my front and back flips. Then I docked for a second, let go and did a 360 to the left, docked again and did a 360 to the right. I was just about to dock again when he waved me off. We were still above 6000', so I'm not certain why he waved me off, but I turned, tracked and pulled by 4000'.

The canopy ride was nice, but nothing spectactular. I did a few corkscrews and then I was at 1000' and ready to get into the landing pattern. The wind had completely died, and I turned a bit soon into final, so I knew I was going to be long. I grabbed the front-risers to lose some altitude, but I was a bit scared to drop too much. I got to about 20' and went to half-brakes. Unforunately, that was way too high, but I held it until just at the ground. Of course, because I slowed down so much, I didn't have the speed I needed when I went to a full flare and had to PLF.

We went into the office and Candice put the video on the big screen. We watched the whole thing and then he asked me how I thought I did. I had done everything I was supposed to do, even if it wasn't as smooth as I'm capable of doing, so I knew I didn't have any problems. He gave me a few pointers on how to do some things better (like my tracking), but told me I had passed.

So, now I've got my A-License. I figure in a few weeks time I'll get my B-License, since I already have 41 jumps. So, I'm not even going to send it in until I finish the B-License (plus that way I don't have to pay for the A-License).

2009-Apr-12 Jumps 33-36, A-License Written Exam

I had not planned on jumping today. I had other things to do, but poor weather yesterday threw a monkey wrench into the mix. I had called the DZ several times yesterday to see if conditions there were amenable to jumping, but the clouds never cleared. In Leucadia there was scattered rain showers and gloomy, gray, low-hanging clouds. So, mountain biking wasn't really an option

Jump 33
Bandit 3-way attempt with Rocco and Mitch. It was planned that they would jump out and I would follow immediately afterwards. We were to be the first out of the plane, and I was sitting at the end of the bench, facing backward so I wouldn't be noticed by any of the instructors on the plane. Rocco and Mitch jumped, and wanting to make it appear like I wasn't jumping with them, I waited too long to jump. I did a diving exit, and got stable, but that slowed me down a bit too much. I tracked down to them, slowed down and then tried to get into position. Unfortunately, in trying to get into position, my fall rate increased too much and I descended below them. I slowed my fall rate and waited for Rocco and Mitch to come down to me, but then they dropped too quickly, so I ended up above them again. I tried to glide into the dock, but was moving forward before moving down. I misjudged what I needed to do to get to them and ended up going over the center of them, my food hitting someone as I glided past. At that point I turned, waved off since we were at about 7000 feet and there was little reason to keep trying at that point.  We tracked west. Just after I pulled, I see someone fall right in front of me, maybe 30 feet away, and pull. Kind of scary! I was really long on the landing.

Jump 34
Solo jump. Diving exit. Stable immediately. Donald asked me later what my intent was with the exit, and when I said to get stable, he said I was perfect. Did front and back flips and barrel rolls. The canopy ride was fun. Landed 10 feet from my target.

Jump 35
Solo jump. Diving exit with fall rate drills and 360s. Nice canopy spins.

Jump 36
Donald asked me about my plan for the jump. I didn't have one, so he suggested I work on instability. He told me to grab my knees as soon as I jumped out and to allow several flips before becoming stable and then going into several barrel rolls.

On exit, I grabbed my knees and went through 5 flips before opening up to get stable. It was a lot of fun, so I immediately went into barrel rolls, going through 4 of those before then getting stable again. Did some fast 360s and fall rate drills.

The canopy ride was lots of fun, with some great spins with the toggle as far down as I could hold it.

On final, I used some front riser to improve accuracy and ended up about 5 feet from my target.

A-License Written Test
After my last jump, I decided I'd try my hand at the A-License written test. Blake gave me the answer sheet and exam before he headed off to do a jump. I sat down and started to answer the questions. It was pretty easy, especially after reading sections 3 and 5 of the Skydiver's Information Manual. I ended up missing 3 out of 50 questions, so with that passed, now all I have left is my check jump, which I will do on Sunday the 19th.

2009-Apr-05 -- Canopy Skills Course with Matt Lewis

I was up early again because I needed to be at SDSD by 8:30 for a Canopy Skills course with Matt Lewis. It was a beautiful day a with clear sky at the coast. That gave me some concern because the forcast had called for winds out of the East, and that means Santa Ana conditions. Sure enough, as I rolled into the DZ the winds were causing the windsock to dance around with radical changes in direction. Yep; the Santa Ana conditions were strong so I didn't have much expectation that we would be jumping.

Matt rounded us all up, and informed us that we'd do the classroom portion today and if conditions changed, which he didn't expect, we'd jump. Otherwise, we'd do the practical portion on another date. We crowded into a small room and Matt started his lecture. He covered so many different things, and it was incredibly informative.

After the classroom portion ended, I found Donald, and we went over the A-License skills completion card and he signed off almost everything. At this point, the only things I have left to do is take the written test and the checkout jump. Donald said he'd go on two practice checkout jumps with me next week!  Then I'll be licensed and ready to do jumps with other people!!! Yeah.

I have to say that I really appreciate people like Donald and Rocco who even with thousands or hundreds of jumps respectively, they are willing to jump with newbies like myself, as well as provide feedback and tips and techniques that the paid instructors don't bother to pass along or don't have the time or focus to do so unless they're getting paid.

While Donald and I were going over the A-License skills card, some of the instructors started playing with a canopy in the wind. When they were unable to get much lift, someone had the bright idea to get the lawnmower out and tie a rope from the back of it to the harness. Soon, Matt Lewis was soaring about 20 feet above the ground, with a constant stuggle to keep the canopy overhead and himself from crashing to the ground. After a little while the canopy was somehow released and the people who were holding the rope were getting rope burns, so the canopy ended up in a tree. Then, a Chinese Fire Drill ensued as people were climbing the tree, on top of the building, pulling, falling, etc. Then Oliver, the helicopter pilot came up with the idea of using the helicopter to lift the canopy out of the tree. But there was concern that the building was too close to the tree so they started to harness up someone who would repel from the helicopter. Thankfully, intelligence prevailed and using the helicopter in the high winds was deemed a poor idea. After several more minutes, the canopy was finally pulled free from the tree.

I stayed around for a little while longer, and then decided to head home.

2009/April/04 - Jumps 28-32

I rolled into SDSD at around 11:20; much later than I had ever intended. On the other hand, I had a handfull of errands that have needed to be dealt with for several weeks, so it was worthwhile to get those out of the way.

As I walked into the DZ, I saw Donald H's smiling face, which instantly lit me up. The first thing he asked was "what happened to 9am?" Yeah, yeah, at least I got those damn errands done! He pulled me off to the side and we discussed the next jump--a coach jump with him. The plan was for me to do a diving exit, dock with him, do some 360s and fall rate drills.

Jump #28
The ride to altitude seemed to take quite a while. I was sitting on the jump seat at the back of the plane, next to the door, which allowed me to see the ground as it slowly became more and more distant. When it was time to open the door, and the cold air rushed in, I was instantly brought back to the present. After a few groups of divers left the plane, Donald went out to the camera step. I got myself into the doorway and Donald gave the count. On "go" I was out the door, following him down, but I didn't kick my but enough and ended up flipping. I very quickly regained stability and Donald was right there with me. I came to him and we docked as planned. After a few seconds, he let go of me, I backed up a bit, did a 360 to the right and then docked again. Then, I backed up again, did a 360 to the left and then we went into some fall rate drills. He instantly slowed his fall rate, and I was pretty good, but I needed to slow myself down significantly more to achieve horizontal parity with him. After a few seconds, he dropped down to where I was and we docked again. At that point, he very visually adjusted his body position in such a way that it caused us to start turning. Noticing what he had done, I did the same thing, resulting in the speed of our "propeller" increasing very rapidly. After about 4-5 revolutions the centrifugal force of our spin was very strong. When he let go of me, I was flung though the air, but I quickly recovered stability. What FUN!!!

At that point, my audible altimeter was reminding me that we had reached 6000 feet, so I waved off, and tracked away, finally waiving off again and pulling at just under 4000 feet.

The canopy ride was fun with me corkscrewing almost all the way to 1000 feet. I got into the landing pattern, and as I came into land, my speed was pretty quick. I realized I was going to be a bit short of my intended target, so I went into a braked approach, and just as I did the final flare, a gust of wind did something weird with the canopy and I was jerked off to the left. I landed a bit hard but went into a PLF.

Jump #29
After dropping my canopy off at the packing barn and reviewing the video Donald had shot, I got myself another rig and manifested for the next load. I only have 5 minutes to gear check and get myself ready, so I moved quickly. Another solo jump, but I was excited to just be getting air time. I did a floating exit and pulled it off cleanly and was instantly solid and stable.

I did some 360s, flips and barrel rolls, staying on heading, finally pulling at 4000 feet.

Again, I corkscrewed downward under canopy, enjoying the ride. The landing on this canopy was smooth and soft, and I looked forward rather than down at the ground.

Jump #30
On the next jump I again did a diving exit and was stable quickly. No flip this time as I kicked myself in the butt and threw my arms out, doing a slight paddling to make certain I didn't flip.

I did some fall rate drills on the way down, but nothing much else. The canopy ride was nice and fun and the landing was smooth, soft and withing 10 feet from my target, although I had to use the brakes to get closer to the target.

Jump #31
The next jump was my Hop & Pop coached jump with Katie H. Around 5000 feet, we opened the door and after Katie spotted, I got into the doorway and got ready to jump. By the time we were out the door, we'd reached almost 6000 feet. Unfortunately, I had been holding the internal floater bar, so when I jumped, the contortion in my body made me turn and flip. But, I was very quickly stable and threw the pilot chute by 4 seconds. The canopy was open by 5400 feet, and I added a whopping 8 seconds of freefall to my time.

I had a decent landing, about 20 feet from my target.

Jump #32
I wanted to do a sunset jump, but the number of jumpers at the dropzone was getting sparce, so I switched my jump to the next load, about 30 minutes before the sun would have been in the spot where I wanted it. I was jumping the old crappy rig that I had used on the first jump. I look forward to having my own rig so that I don't have to deal with the rental crap any more.

On the way to the plane and on the trip to Altitude, I got to chat with Vanessa. It was interesting because she was telling me her story of independence in such a way that it seemed to me like she was trying to impress me.

The load was filled with instructors; I was the only non-staff jumper. As such, I was the last one out of the plane. I watched Vanessa and Chad and a few others in their fall and spotted to make certain that we were still over the DZ. I then did a diving exit, kicked my butt, swam a little and remained stable. Even though I saw the bottom of the plane, I managed to prevent myself from flipping.

On this jump, I just did some fall rate drills, and according to my computer, I managed to get my descent rate down to a solid 90mph.

I pulled at 4000 feet. Once the canopy was open and I did a control check, I tried to stall the canopy. I couldn't get it to stall no matter what I did. I just figured it was because of the size of the canopy. I went into some corkscrew turns, first to the left and then to the right. I entered into the landing pattern as expected, and upon final approach I went to half brakes to glide a bit further toward the target I set. I didn't notice much of a change in the projected landing spot though. When I was just above the ground, I flared, but got a very minimal amount of lift, and that made the last landing of the day another PLF! Damn!

In all, I had a great day of jumping, and enjoyed my interactions with Donald, Jake, Rocco, Vanessa and a few others.