AFF Training Level 8- "Go now?"

If I had waited any longer I think Dee would have pushed me out the door.

What a terrible jump! Rob got me a helmet with a large frizzy black wig, which is tradition for graduating students. Excellent. I was a good sport and wore the thing.

So I end up sitting in the middle of a group of divers who are all doing some group thing. I have no idea, but they are getting out at 9,000 a mile away from the airport. They didn't seem to like the fact that I was getting out ahead of them.

I go to put my seatbelt on and there is no clasp on one side! I ask the guy next to me and he says You're Fu**ed". I took the longer side of the belt strap and tied it around my leg strap. Good enough.

As soon as I finished tying my seatbelt the pilot let off the brakes for takeoff and I practically ended up in the lap of the guy who gave the excellent advice on the seatbelt situation. The entire rear of the plane had a good laugh.

Dee got up at around 4,500 and moved to the door. I have no idea what's going on because my jump is supposed to happen at 5,500. At 5,000 she motions for me to climb up and jump out. I freaked a little b/c I don't know why we're 500' lower than expected. I hesitate in the door and think for a moment that she is going to shove me on my way.

So, I dive out the door, sideways, hips nowhere near the correct position. I tumbled around like an idiot for about five seconds then calmed down, leveled off, and pulled. The landing was good.

I caught a lot of crap from EVERYONE about this jump, but I pulled in time and that's the only requirement to pass!

I graduated!!!!

graduation cigar, a Rocky Patel-

AFF Training Level 7- "I heard you were fast"

Warren expected me to be a little crazy since he heard my last jump was really fast. No worries, we slowed it down a little to make sure I got the maneuvers all right.

This is the first jump I was completely comfortable with and really enjoyed from start to finish. No butterflies or anything.

The tandem passenger behind me on the plane reminds me of somebody I went to high school with, but I didn't ask... just sat in his lap for 20 minutes and didn't say a word. :-0)

So, I dove out the door a little sideways and the wind turned me a bit before I got stable. No big deal, it just took a second to level off. The back loop went great, followed by 5 seconds of awesome delta tracking (very fast forward flying). No shake or anything.

The 360 turns went really well too. No hesitation or corrections needed. I just spun around and faced Warren again.

After the last 360 Warren and I flew to each other and shook hands. Shortly afterwards we reached 6,000 and locked on for the pull.

The pull and canopy went great. I came in rather high in the landing pattern. Having a radio really messes me up b/c it's hard to hear and I never know if they are talking to me or someone else. So, I hear chatter and think they want me to start the pattern or turn.

Anyway, I came in pretty high on the final and did a couple low (and scary) flares to peel off some altitude. It worked out great and I landed very nicely without even taking a step.

So level 8 is next. A couple instructors told me that I could do a solo jump or two before doing level 8. They said some people are nervous about it. For level 8 you dive out at 5,500 feet, level off, then pull and land. It sounds really easy, but I guess some people are hesitant to jump so low.

Cloud cover cut this day short, so I'll be back this weekend. CAN'T WAIT!!!

AFF Training Level 6- "Don't wait for me"

On this level you get to do the delta tracking two times if you finish the first early enough. I have a tendency to get out of the plane and really wait to level off before doing any maneuvers, so Ian let me know I might want to get on with it this time.

This jump is the first dive exit, which is a nice change. I dove out great with an excellent arch right into the wind. I was still coming down horizontal when I felt in control enough to do a back loop. The back loop was really fast and I recovered very quickly.

I immediately started the first 5 second delta track which was really cool. I kept steady and it was awesome. When that was done I spun a 180 and tracked the other way for 5 more seconds. This one got a little squirrely, but I made some adjustments to keep flying straight.

I still had a few seconds of free fall after all that. The pull went very smooth. While I was flying around I realized the wind was changing direction a lot. I decided to run a pattern then adjust it as needed to get into wind on the final. Ian left me alone on the radio except a reminder to get back into wind at the end.

AFF Training Level 5- "This one's easy"

I thought "Yeah Ian, I'm sure it would be easy for YOU!". I felt pretty good with this jump. A little jittery in the pane, but I got pretty comfortable once standing in the door.

I took this jump nice and slow and did pretty awesome on the 360's. They were a little slow, but WHO CARES? I had plenty of time and took it easy.

My forward movement to Ian could have been started straighter. I flew a little sideways trying to reach him because I was pointing a little to the side when I started. Lesson learned.

I had a pretty good pull with only a little bit of instability. Much better than my last jump. Under canopy I did several 360's and had some fun with tight turns.

My landing pattern was great. I peeled off some altitude at the begining because I was a little high. I did a great job on the final, flared very well, and landed on my feet with a few steps forward.

AFF Training Level 4- "Ease into it"

Finally I'm past level three. One less instructor means the jumps are cheaper if I must repeat a level.

Dee's best advice prior to this jump is to "ease into it" when I'm going for the turns. She said I have a tendency to over steer which throws my stability off.

I was much more comfortable with my fear of heights on this jump. Approaching the door I had butterflies, but once I was there with my head out of the plane I felt great.

I got a sign to straighten my legs out and realized I had them tucked in behind me a little too much, as is my tendency when I first come out the door. I did two '90 degree' turns that really turned out to be around 120 degrees. This was no big deal because the important part of this jump is showing that I can start and stop turns while maintaining control.

I went forward for 5 seconds and felt a little shaky. It didn't feel like I was moving as fast as I had on the level 2 jump with instructors holding on. I don't know why.

I had a few more seconds of free time and stayed locked on the alti almost the entire time. I felt a bit unstable in the pull. Dee told me later that I twisted my body to reach the pull handle and this caused a left hand turn and some instability. The canopy's jerk was a welcome feeling.

I looked up to the canopy and realized my lines were twisted. For just a moment I panicked and started to think about cutting free and pulling the reserve. This was retarded because my chute was open just fine so I wasn't plummeting to the Earth. I only was unable to steer or brake. Very important functions, but nothing to panic over... yet.

After that brief second my mind decided to start functioning again and I started going over the malfunction procedures in my head. For twisted lines I needed to leave the brake toggles stowed, grab the risers, and kick to spin myself out of the twist. I did this and just a moment later was relieved to see the lines all back to normal.

Once I had that all straightened out I realized the winds were now coming from the East and the landing pattern needed to be changed. I decided to watch the people below me, but the two who remained didn't fly the same patterns. Changing the pattern due to wind was no big deal, just another first for me.

My landing pattern was pretty good. I flared at the correct height with one little problem. I yanked the brakes down rather than a smooth motion. This caused a big, quick flare followed by a drop of about 8'. I stayed on my feet and it felt like jumping off a roof. Not too painful, but the legs complained for a while. Later I would realize that somehow I hurt one or more of my teeth on this landing. Still need to have them checked out...

SO- I feel great! I signed up for Level 5 on load #8. Load #7 ended up coming back due to weather and I decided to head home rather than wait out the storm.

AFF Training Level 3 (Repeated)- "You've got this"

I was out of town last weekend, so no jumps. I've been getting the shakes for a few days and need to feed the addiction.

This jump felt really good. Dee went over the jump with me a couple of times. Ian and her were great at getting my confidence level back up.

Everything started great with a couple hand signals for minor corrections. They released me and I did really well at keeping my heading. I got a little shaky once or twice but straightened it right out by relaxing. I did so well that I thought they were holding me steady. Ian told me afterwards that I fell solo for 25 seconds!

They redocked for my pull. I forgot to wave off and ended up reaching for the chute a second time a little panicked. It worked out fine.

I flew the canopy great, and really started to enjoy it. My landing pattern was good, but a rather high flare and I ended up rolling around a little bit on the landing.

Overall I couldn't have expected better and am excited for another jump today!

AFF Training Level 3- "Just Relax"

Jason's favorite advice was a little ovewhelming at times.

Dee and Jason were my instructors for my second jump of the day. I was very excited and confident after the last jump. After going over this jump a few times I became very nervous about getting this one perfect and staying relaxed.

We had a good exit. Once our normal checks were done I got very freaked out when they let me go and I began to spin to the left. I corrected with my arms, but went back into the left spin right after the correction. This process repeated itself once or twice. Dee told me later that I had my left leg bent back a little more than my right, causing the left spin.

I didn't check the alitimeter from the moment they let go of me until 6,000' when Jason shoved my alti in my face. At that point I realized what was going on and did a proper wave and pull at 5,500.

From the start I was too high in the landing pattern. I was so nervous about dropping too low that I entered about 200' higher than normal. I attempted S turns to lose some altitude. I think I did them too tight, because they didn't seem to help much.

Half way through the final approach I started to think I might overshoot the landing area and end up on the taxiway. I applied full brakes for a moment in another attempt to lose altitude. I did manage to lose altitude, but also slowed to a near stop while still quite high. When I attempted to flare my landing nothing happenned beacuse of the loss of speed.

This was an incredible landing. In order, I hit my feet, head, feet, then landed face down. Purely as a reaction I jumped up immediately after coming to a stop. I wish this one was on video. I left mud streaks all over the rig, jump suit, and helmet. OOOPS.

I was hurting after this landing and decided to call it a day after the debrief, which confirmed my failure of the level.

AFF Training Level 2- "Check your alti"

This was an awesome jump! Dee and Warren were my instructors.

Just after we levelled off I started the maneuvers. My form was great, turns were awesome, and I kept a close eye on the altimeter. The turns were actually turning all three of us, so a good bit of input was required. The 5 seconds of forward movement was really cool. I could really tell I was flying forward.

I pulled at 5,500 and had a perfect landing. Two or three steps on the ground and it was all over.

I am very, very happy with my performance on this jump! Ready to hit level 3!

AFF Training Level 1- "No, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night."

Jim's response to an inquiry by one of the regulars as to whether or not he is an instructor really had me ready to hop out of a plane with this guy.

Jason and Jim are my instructors for this jump, level 1 of the AFF program! I had come running back to Sebastian as soon as I could to begin my training. First was the ground school from Dee. After 4 and a half hours the other student and I were VERY ready to get a jump in. I hadn't eaten anything all day and had only drank coffee, but I was so preoccupied with learning everything and the apprehension of my first jump with my own chute that the butterflies kept the hunger away.

So, here we are making final preparations for the jump and another nugget of stress comes this time from Jason's lips- "If you pull, you pass". I thought over the other option for the next few minutes as we board the plane and taxi to the runway.

I don't remember much of this jump at all. They told me I got hand signals to arch more and extend my legs, but I have no recollection. They showed me video of my practice pulls which were a laugh. I was reaching back and grabbing Jim's hand. He would try to help me reach the handle and you see me frantically fighting him off. It was really very funny.

Next thing I know one of them has shoved their altimeter in my face. I have a hard time reading it for some reason, and had never actually read a dial style alti before so I spent several seconds trying to figure out what it said.

At 5,500 one of them gave up on me and gave me the pull signal. I frantically waved off and began twisting around to reach the pull handle. After fighting Jim again for a few seconds I did finally throw the pilot at about 4,600 feet, 900 feet low.

I cannot describe the feeling of relief once I looked up and saw a normally opened canopy over my head. The emergency training we were given was great, but knowing all the possible failures is a little scary at first. I spent some time visually checking the chute, then grasped the brake toggles. I performed each of the control checks very methodically to ensure I did them correctly. Great, it steers both directions and brakes fine, whew.

Uh oh, this is when I realized that there was no airport in front of me. As a matter of fact, there is no airport anywhere near me! We were the last out of the plane and my control checks took so long I had spent a good time drifting the wrong direction.

I was many blocks into a residential area. I turned around and saw at least 8 blocks of houses, a full golf course, and after that, the airport. Oh, the WRONG SIDE of the airport. I turned myself around quickly to start heading back.

Did I mention that at this point I am just above 2,000 feet! I have no idea how far I can fly this thing before it reaches the ground and I need to make a landing decision pronto! Oh, one more thing- the wind is at my back. That sounds good and I'm sure it helped me fly further, but it means I've got to pull a 180 to land into the wind.

I keep my heading and hope the thing will fly me far enough to land an opposite landing pattern on the wrong side of the airport. They taught us to make a landing decision and stick to it, so this was my decision.

Around 1,800 feet Jim came on the radio. I couldn't have been happier to hear his voice telling me to keep my heading and prepare to land on this side of the airport. He walked me through flying in and essentially turning a 180 into wind just before hitting the ground. This was similar to my plan, but more or less gave up on a landing pattern all together.

I flared the chute at about 2' (should be done at 10 - 12') and came down very hard directly on my butt. This hurt very much. I stood up and waved to show them I was okay. Amanda had the wonderful task of driving the van across the airport to pick my dumb ass up.

Well, that could have gone better and I spent the next twelve hours or so really worried that I had hurt my lower back. So, I decided to be logical about it and jump again as soon as they would let me. :-)

I planned to return the following morning.