AFF7 Passed

I couldn't sleep for much of the night. I kept thinking about yesterday's poorly executed back flips and front flips, being stuck on my back falling at 144mph/230kph, and how the whole thing was caused by a complete lack of kinesthetic awareness. I was beating myself up all night for not doing what I had been trained to do. Then, I was beating myself up for not letting go of the stress and getting some good sleep so that I'd be well rested and prepared to today's jumps. So, around 5:30, I finally decided that the best thing I could do was get out of bed and get myself ready to go.

I looked out the window of my kitchen and it looked gray. The weather forecast had been suggesting around 50% cloud cover, but here in Leucadia, it was a lot more than that. On the other hand, it was still before sunrise, and Leucadia is often cloudy when other nearby locations are bright and sunny. So, I headed off to the office to check the computer. The forecast hadn't changed, but the report said it was clear and cold in Jamul.

At 8am, I called Skydive San Diego to find out if they were jumping, and I got an affirmative. I called Patrick J. and Divya R., two coworkers, to tell them that the jump was on. Patrick was excited and said he'd meet me there at 10. Divya, unfortunately, told me her husband was sick, and that she didn't want to go without him, so I wished her a good weekend and healing for her husband, and got off the phone.

I managed to get to Skydive San Diego just after 10. Steve, my CMG buddy, was also supposed to be there, as he was taking his AFF2 class, and Patrick was waiting by the office. I didn't find Steve anywhere, so I got Patrick all registered up, and got myself registered to retake AFF7. I decided I'd wait for my class until two loads after Patrick had done his jump so that I could take some pictures of him as he was landing. I had forgotten my camera in my computer bag which I had brought with me yesterday, but he had his iPhone, so he gave that to me and I went about clicking pictures. Then I saw Steve, who told me he had already done his jump, and had failed (sounds familiar...) I tried to encourage him to jump again, but he was worried about finances, so we just chatted while we waited for Patrick to return to the ground.

I had asked his instructor about the color of the chute, so I as soon as I saw the chutes in the sky, I started taking pictures. As Patrick landed, I noticed he was looking a little green, but he seemed ok. After talking with him, it turns out he was fine during freefall, but the carving corkscrew turns under canopy had made his stomach complain.

Patrick and Steve bid their fairwells, and soon after I was called by the instructor for my jump. We went over what I had done wrong on the previous AFF7 jump and on what I needed to do to have a successful jump. I felt confident that I would be able to do the flips without issue, and tracking and turns wouldn't be a problem for me. We went over the gear check, with me doing everything required without prompting. I suited up and put my rig on and waited for the call.

The ride up to 13,000'/4000m was uneventful. I got the usual quiz on hand signals and I watched as my altimeter rode its way upward. I'm trying to get an idea of what the gound looks like at different altitudes, but it's difficult when I'm in the plane because there's no good way to see outside. It will probably be better in the summer when I'll have the opportunity to be near or in the back and able to see out the door from a relatively close position. When we reached the spot, a group of four jumpers who had requested an early gree light went out the door together. They were followed by several others in smaller groups. Finally, it was my turn. I stuck my head out of the plane to spot that we were in a good jump location, and then got in position for the floating exit.

This time I was on the side of the door closest to the pilot, so I wasn't cramped for space as I had been on yesterday's attempt. I signaled OK then went through the step move and voila, I was out of the plane. I quickly got stable and then went into a front flip. For some reason I don't think I threw myself into it enough because I ended up on my back again. This time, I arched, and flipped right over. I then went to the backflip, which I nailed. It felt really good, and I nailed the restabilization too which felt awsome. I then did a turn to get into a northern direction for the track. Once I was stable in that direction, I started my track. I tracked for several seconds and then the instructor dropped down and called me forward. I kept tracking as he backed up. Then when we were done he went into a sit-flying position and transitioned to a higher position relative to me. I tried the move I learned while in the tunnel, but just as I did that I realized we were at 6000ft and I locked on and then pulled at 5000ft.

The canopy ride down was great. I had been informed to move to a specific location for my holding area to make room for an AFF 3 student. So, I flew the canopy south east from the normal holding area and hung out there checking out the different terrain and view. When the time came, I moved into position for the downwind leg of the landing pattern. At 500 ft. I did the base leg and then at 200 ft I went upwind and had a nice soft 3 step landing.

Everything about this jump felt awesome. I wish I had been able to do a forward flip, but I got myself out of it without any problem, so that was still OK. Really, the only thing that didn't feel good about the jum was that having to pay again for the class meant I didn't have the money for 3 C8 (solo) jumps. I guess it just means I have to deal with delayed gratification as I wait until the next influx of money.

The instructor's comments were all positive about the jump, so I passed. Now, though I have an added expense: I owe beer.

2009-01-31 Belated Birthday Skydive Party - AFF3 & AFF4

I hit up the Pannikin for some tea and a sweet and then headed over to pick up Peregrine. While I was there, various discussions happened, and it was soon determined that it was best for him to drive on his own so that neither of us were hung up on the other's alternate schedule. It was silly on a fuel consumption basis, but it made a lot of sense on a logistical basis since I was planning on doing two jumps which I estimated would have be leaving around 2pm.

So, we jumped in our respective cars and drove to Skydive San Diego in Jamul. Along the way, I received a text message from Hanh to tell me that she was running a bit late and would be there around 10.  When I arrived, at just about 9, I was greeted by my buddy Steve. Peregrine was already getting registered for his jump and after a few moments of greetings with Steve, I headed in to get registered for AFF3.

There's a certain level of chaos that goes on at Skydive San Diego. Everything seems to work fairly smoothly, but it seems like there are things that fall through the cracks. In any event, for the first jump of the day, this time, the chaos was managed well.

Since Steve had arrived earlier than the rest of us, he had already gotten himself signed up and was manifested on the second load. Perigrine and I got manifested on load three, and Hanh, who arrived just about 10, got manifested on load four. It worked out nicely because it allowed pictures to be taken of everyone.

While I was registering for my jump, I encountered the DZ owner, Brent, and mentioned to him that I had spent time in the tunnel at Perris. He immediately started to badmouth the operation there, saying that they didn't turn the wind speed up to real conditions. Therefore, he speculated that I had wasted my money and time, and should have gone to the tunnel in Hollywood.


I had a few minutes to talk with Steve before his instructors called him away. He seemed to be very much at ease. He said he had gone through the jump about a million times in his head over the past week since he took his ground school. We bid him good luck and watched him head out with his two flight instructors to the plane.

When he finally came back to earth, it was just about time for me to head out to the plane, so I didn't really get a chance to talk to him about his jump. Even though his landing was a bit hard, he had a big smile and had that look of "I want to do that again!"

I was suited up and ready to go at that point, and Hanh grabbed the camera and started to snap some pictures before I was escorted to the plane by my instructors. I was feeling very confident that I would do well while at the same time uncertain of myself because of the comments made by Brent regarding the tunnel. In any event, I demonstrated to my instructors what I was going to do on the jump and after some initial confusion as to who was going to be my jump instructors, I headed out to the plane. Peregrine was on this load as well, so he was in the group, but as seems to be the case this early in my jumping career, I was so focused on my jump that I hardly noticed him. I'm sure it was the same for him, but he seemed to be fairly stress free.

The climb to 13000 feet seemed to take forever, but when we got there, I was really ready to go. When it was my turn, I got into position in the doorway with my instructors holding on to either side of me. I did my checks with the instructors, and then just recited and acted "prop, down, arch".

This was the first time that no one shook me to relax, so I felt good about that. I performed my altitude check and practice handle touch. In no time at all, I noticed out of my peripheral vision that the instructors had let go of me and I was flying on my own. At some point I noticed that I was turning, so I refixed my heading and stuck to it. I continued to perform altitude checks and at 6000' I locked onto my altimeter and at 5500', I waved off and threw my pilot chute.

The canopy flight was pleasant and smooth right up until the very end. Because there was almost no wind, my upwind section was at a much steeper angle than I had ever experienced before. As a result, I flared a bit too late and had a somewhat hard landing, sliding on my butt.

After I landed, Hanh headed out to the plane and before I knew it, she was gone. Peregrine, Steve and I chatted for a while about our jumps. Peregrine then bid us farewell and Steve and I continued to chat. Before long, Hanh was back on the ground, all smiles about her jump. We all chatted for a bit and then the two of them also left, and I went to register for my AFF4 jump.

While I was waiting to find out which load I was going to be on for AFF4, I stopped by the Gravity Gear store, and purchased a helmet, analog altimeter, sun glasses and an audible altimeter/digital logbook. After a bunch of time, I headed back to check on which load I was on, but I couldn't find myself on any manifest. So, I went to inquire at the manifest window about what was happening.

It appears this was one of those places where things, in this case, me, fell through the cracks. After getting everything squared away, and giving myself enough time to figure out how to use my new audible altimeter, I finally met my AFF4 instructor: A fellow by the name of Nix White. He was an affable man, who just today had officially retired from the Marine Corps. He'd been jumping for 14 years. We shot the breeze for a while, went over the jump and then I learned that I wouldn't be able to use my own helmet because it didn't have a way to connect the radio. So, I grabbed my audible altimeter from the ear pad, stuck it in my pocket and stored the helmet in my car. We then proceeded to the practice area where I showed him my turns and then we got the call to head to the plane.

I was in the third group to leave the plane at 13,200'. The first group of two were fun jumpers. The second group was a fellow doing a coached jump for his A license, and then came Nix and I. I went to the door, got into position, checked in with Nix, and then jumped.

I immediately felt stable in the wind and after an altitude check and a practice handle touch Nix let go and moved out in front of me. I then proceeded to perform 90 degree turns. First to the left and then back to the right. I felt really good, and at one point I wanted to just do a 360! (but I knew that would probably get me a fail, so I just did the 90-degree turns.

7000' seemed to take quite a while to reach as I was somewhat bored with just doing turns, but when it did, I stopped my turns. Then as usual, I locked on to my altimeter at 6000' and at 5500' I waved off and pulled. I felt really good about the freefall, and while I was under the canopy, I let out a hoot of excitement.

The canopy ride was pleasant, and thanks to some wind out of the west, the upwind approach was much more gradual. As I came in, I flared at just the right moment and landed softly on my feet.

I ended up being on an adrenaline high for the rest of the day, and wished that I had enough money to just do the rest of my AFF jumps. But, those will come in short order, hopefully by the 21st of Feb.

25/January/2009 - The Birthday Skydive Party That Wasn't

As the calendar advanced through the week, I kept checking the weather forecasts. I usually don't bother because there's generally not much of a reason to worry about the weather ahead of time. But this time, I wanted everything to be perfect for my Birthday Skydive Party today and as we progressed closer and closer towards today, I kept getting more and more worried.

It started with the days getting a bit colder and more overcast. Then there was the forecast of rain. Then there were the "partially cloudy" forecasts which turned into chances of rain, which turned into small windows of opportunities where it might be clear enough to jump. Finally, a phone call to Sky Dive San Diego at around 8am cleared up any possibilites of misrepresentation of the weather: It was much too cloudy to jump. BUT, things could change, so I was encouraged to wait an hour and call back.

Around 8:30, Peregrine showed up at my house, and we went off for coffee to wait out the remainder of the hour. As the clock rolled over to 9:20am, I called back to Sky Dive San Diego, but instead of getting better, apparently, it was getting worse. So, it was now settled that the jump was off--phone calls were made to let everyone know, and it was decided to reschedule for Saturday the 31st.

Peregrine and I finished our coffee and had a wonderful chat followed by my decision to find out about getting into the wind tunnel at Perris Valley Skydiving, in Riverside County. I made an appointment for 3pm and then went off to Dance Church to dance and see some friends and get a cardio workout. As soon as Dance Church was over, I jumped in the car and headed on my way up to Perris.

The drive wasn't too bad. It was mostly clear except for highway 76 from Oceanside to highway I-15. But, even without going over 60mph the whole way, I was arrived right on time. There's not much of interest to see along the way. Mt. San Jacinto off to the north east was ever present, but it wasn't very impressive in the clouds and moisture laiden air. What was impressive was being able to see the wind tunnel from the road and knowing that I was soon to be experiencing prolonged flight.

I parked my car and entered the office. The entry to the building seemed intended to emulate the experience of entering a ride like Space Mountain at Disneyland. I walked in to find that things weren't as high-tech as the futuristic conceptulizations implied. The schedule for the wind tunnel was pencil on paper, the computer system looked fairly old but the woman behind the counter was friendly and effective.

I was quickly registered and given some paperwork and a blank DVD and forwarded through the double doors to the launch pad. I climbed the stairs and entered the room, expecting, as I had been advised, that I would be approached by the instructor/coach once I got up top. However, I sat down and watched briefly why a young child was in the tunnel. When that was over, I noticed that someone walked behind the tunnel and there I noticed a desk. I proceeded to that area where I was greeted by Ivan, an older gentleman dressed in a jump suit, who I had just seen helping the child in the wind tunnel. He too had a schedule written on paper, but it was slightly different than the one I had seen at the front desk. Phone calls were being made to iron out what exactly was happening. In the end, everything was worked out.

I was suited up in a jump suit and given some ear plugs and a helmet and lead into the tunnel with the other flyer; a woman from Russia with 60 jumps from a few years back. A loud continuously ringing bell signals that the door to the wind tunnel is closing and gives it that 'lockdown' feeling. The Russian woman was first to go. We alternated back and forth, she had 2.5 minutes and I had 2 for five cycles. It started out very rocky for me. I laid down on the wire floor and waited for the wind to pick me up. I had no idea how to catch the air, so when it finally was lifted off the floor I had no stability.

The first 10 minute block was all about finding the center point for balance and stability. I worked on getting my feet in the right place and not moving my body in strange ways. The second 10 minute block was shared with a young kid who had 5 minutes, so I'd go for two minutes and then he'd go for one. By this point I was seriously starting to get the hang of things. I was much more stable and able to move around the chamber with relative ease. I could go forward and backward, up and down. I could do spins (which were way fun...I wish I could have just have done a few minutes of solid 360 spins!)

After the second 10 minute block I was frozen! I stood in front of a heat lamp but just couldn't get warm for at least 20 minutes. I then went and got my jacket and a balaclava that I had in the car.

The final 10 minute block was by far the best. I alternated with Josh from Perris Fury and his student. The opportunity to watch the two of them was incredible. They were so smooth and solid. Their movements were so tight. Simple movements of their hands or a dropping of a knee had them flying all around the chamber with precision body placement. I learned a lot just by watching them. By this point my stability and skills were so much better than when I started. I played a "game of tag" where the coach would fly around and touch a spot on the wall. I would then have to maneuver myself to that spot and touch it too. This really had me working on my forward and backward movement as well as turns and translations (up and down). It was really cool!

I was sad that my time had ended, but I felt much more secure in my ability to pass the remaining AFF courses without needing to re-do anything.