*ARSE*POO*BUM*SHIT*STUPID*BASTARD*DUMB*FECKINEEEEJIT*
It is with great regret that whilst adding this page to wheresthatluckybastard.com that I mistakenly placed the floppy disk containing the pictures in a pool of beer next to the PC in the hanger. Thus ruining them. I do apologise for this inconvenience and hope this won't depreciate from the overall experience too much.
*ARSE*POO*BUM*SHIT*STUPID*BASTARD*DUMB*FECKINEEEEJIT*
Day 2
Woke up with a catchy riff from a song on one of my CDs, I have no idea of the name but it made me feel good. I met up with Zak at 8am again in the hanger. Blue skies today, we were going up on the first load!
I didn't feel half as nervous as I did in the plane yesterday. All the questions I had (Will I be able to see the DZ? Will I be able to get to it? What if? And then what if? And...) I was calm, excited and determined. I'd had all night to plan, contemplate and visualise the coming dive.
I concentrated so hard on thinking about the jump I forgot the normal door exit procedure. Instead of holding onto the doorframe I grabbed the rail above and stood ready. Tim shouted to get above the noise of the rushing wind "Let go of the rail and get in the doorframe! What are you afraid of?" Fair enough, I'm jumping out the plane anyway, theres not much point in being scared to fall out!
On the way down I only needed a few pointers to correct my arch and keep me stable. I did a practice ripcord pull. Then, with Zak and Tim still clutching my suit, I attempted 2 90degree turns to the left and right. I found one side moved easier than the other but it was only a test to check I got the actions right, Tim and Zak acted like anchors. I then extended my legs to get forward movement. I checked my altimeter and knew it was almost time to deploy so I locked-on (meaning I didn't take my eyes off) it and as 5,500ft approached I motioned to release so I could deploy. At the same time Zak made a fist for 'pull' which distracted me long enough to miss the 5,500 point (still 15 seconds from critical). I put my hand back and felt Zak guide it to the cord.
When I deployed my main, it popped out without any problems and I even managed to keep my ripcord and stuff it down my shirt. I found the holding area, got used to flying under canopy, did my penetration checks, started my landing procedures and then even managed to land in a run, stop and gather up my chute!
I felt on top of the world! I'd passed level 2 but still needed to work on my arch to keep me stable. In an attempt to explain what position my hips should be in for a good arch, Tim said came up with an anaolgy about 'the most beautiful woman in the world' being only 3ft tall...
I went into the hanger cafe and saw Steve (one of the guys in my room and also doing his AFF with a different company here.) He looked depressed and beaten up as he'd just done his first jump and didn't pull off the perfect dive. It stung also as he'd done some static line jumps while he was in the army. I started excitedly telling him about all that advice he'd said to me yesterday about 'its only your first jump - don't worry' etc. No one has a great first jump!
Anyway, Dive 3 was much better again. I got the door procedure right, got pretty stable in the air, they even let me go and let me hover until it was time to deploy. I started to realise it doesn't all happen quickly. A whole minute goes by before the chute needs to be pulled, so until then, just relax and enjoy the maneuvers. I put my left hand up to stabilise myself as I reached back with my right and pulled the cord. It felt fantastic. It was the first time i'd deployed without anyone having to guide my hand. I glided down and landed with a bit of a bump, but flared at the right time so it was quite soft.
I walked around about 10 ft tall. I wanted to hug and kiss and thank anyone who said 'how did it go?' I'd cleared stage 3 meaning I went down to only one instructor and I was getting the hang of it!
I felt like I'd had a busy day even though it was only about 11.30am by the end of my debrief. I had some lunch and waited until I felt the weak post-adrenalin high leak out of my system. I went up to my room and closed my eyes for a while to recharge. By about two or three o'clock I was ready to go again. Unfortunately, the wind had other ideas. It'd picked up to 17 knots (AFF Max is 14) so I sat around, anxious to get back up.
The wind dropped and I ended up on the sunset load. I was a bit tired as the day was wearing on and i'd been sitting around doing nothing for hours. Everything went fine on the jump. I'd stabilised, Zak let go, so I performed 2 solo 90deg turns, then extended my legs to move forward and docked with him. As we moved apart I hadn't quite got my arch right and I started to tumble instead of performing another turn. ARCH! I thought, Let the wind do the work! Sure enough, I stabilised and considered pulling my rip-cord. Nope, no need, Zak is there, hold on, sky, ground, I was tumbling again. I felt no panic, I knew I was well above the critical zone and Zak was nearby anyway.
I stabilised on my back, face to the sky with my arms and legs upwards, as I was thinking 'check altitude and think of solution to this' Zak flipped me over and checked I was OK and put me in a stable arch. 7000, 6000, (lock-on) 5,500, Deploy. I thoroughly enjoyed the canopy ride down. Now i'm more comfortable up there it really is fun!
At the debrief, Zak told me i'd passed the level as I'd completed the maneuvers before the tumbling. Though we both agreed I need to work on my arch! As I started to tumble I stiffened up, which is a natural reflex but one I must overcome to complete the course. I've booked some time in the wind tunnel in Orlando tomorrow to practice my stance. At $260 for 15 minutes (6x 2.5mins with coaching) it ain't cheap, but its massively cheaper than 15 skydives! Most of the people here have done it and found it helped them out a great deal.
In hindsight and chatting to people afterwards, its not unusual for someone to have a tumble on their AFF, especially at this level. This was only the second time they'd let go of me. If everyone could already skydive as naturally as they can walk, then there'd be no need for AFF would there? It's all part of the learning process. Nobody's perfect. I'm just a bit pissed that I'm finding myself feeling the same as I did this time last night! I know how pleasurable it can be, but like all worthwhile things in life, its a bitch getting there!