Ready, set, go!
The dreaded dive (okay, it was more like a cartwheel-dive hybrid) was easy! I didn't even flop around. In retrospect, I thought "Well of course it was easy! When you're in freefall your whole body is outside. Who cares what part goes out first!?"
As for the dive tasks, here's how I graded myself.
- Front Loop: A-
- Barrel Roll: B- (crude and awkward. Yahtzee Dice Roll is more like it)
- 360 degree turns: C (I rushed these, body position could be better)
- Docking onto instructor: A- (nobody got hurt)
- Turn and Track: C- (It was close to pull altitude so I cut it short. Better to pull on time than to track neatly into the ground.)
- Canopy Landing B- (Who flared too high? Tsk. Tsk.)
Me? Solo? I thought. I couldn't do that. I'd mess it up. I'm not the kind of person who can...
Then I remembered those "I couldn't do that" thoughts aren't necessarily true...
Bonus Video:
I didn't tape my dive, but a tandem student sitting next to me had her jump recorded, and you can see me leave the plane (blue suit, with the yellow helmet). I'm only there for a few seconds, then the action returns to the tandem student.
(To see what happened when I tried my first solo, click here)
9 comments:
Nice!!!
Now you see how fun the diving exits can be. And how easy.
They can be intimidating, but as you said, once you've done one, you ask yourself "what was so bad about that?"
And now solo jumps. Without an instructor to babysit you.
You know, like a real skydiver.
Thanks as always. These are really great. It's a lot of fun to see students progress. Either in person or vicariously through your drawings.
Wolf River Joe,
You're very welcome.
I actually wanted to add more pictures and details, but I ran out of time. Maybe I'll some. them this weekend if it's too windy to jump.
Thanks again!
Amazing, amazing, amazing.
My favorite part: the gray bird with the red beak who says, "Hey, RELAX!"
p.s. NEXT TIME IS SOLO???
I'm a bit late, but wanted to say congratulations on passing your level 8!
You'll find it very different now with nobody watching or testing you. You might even find things feel a bit 'flat' for a while - a kind of what-do-I-do-now? sense.
I'm not exactly sure how things work in the US, but you'll have a progression system of coached jumps whereby you prove you're safe to skydive with other people - but probably no need to start that straight away.
Whatever, the adventure is just beginning. :)
And d'oh! I've just this second figured out how you arrived at your nickname! :)
(MikeJD facepalms)
Linda,
Yep. Next time I'm on my own. After all the monkey tricks I had to do for jump 8, it will be almost a relief.
MikeJD,
Thanks! No worries about being late to the game- I didn't jump last week because it was windy, so I'm trying for the solo this Saturday. I'm told I'll be more or less on my own, but not to try anything weird or new in the air. I'm a little concerned with botching the exit order and timing. Not that I don't know the rules, of course...
p.s. Only a handful of people have figured out my name. When I signed up for Twitter I was shocked that there was another "namowal" ( actually "namowAL") already registered. So on twitter (which I don't use much) I'm OtherNamowal.
Oh, on the topic of exit order and timing, you'll be briefed by your jumpmaster. If you're not, give him or her a gentle nudge :).
Things are a little different now because there are so many 'new' disciplines to influence exit order: for example, most DZs put freeflyers out after all of the flat flyers, and wingsuiters and tandems behind them. But when I did my first solos, it was common for newbies to be last out of the plane because of pulling high. Aside from somebody usually having to make the joke about shutting the door on your way out, I remember it feeling very odd and somewhat lonely being the only one left in the aircraft after everyone else had gone!
Mike JD,
I agree it's weird to start out in a crowded plane and end up being one of the last ones out!
p.s. the solo cartoon is pending...!
Thanks for writing such great texts.
dream girls
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