Cat C-1 jump - #4

Grant prepped me. Really, not much to prep. I know how this is supposed to go. I did ask to spend a few minutes in the King Air mock-up, which has roughly the same opening as the Caravan. Definitely close enough to get the feel. I thought I had it.

Didn't have it. I'm not completely sure where my mind went wrong, but I had some trouble getting my feet right, I never really got completely outside the plane, and I wasn't up straight. The advice I got was to not worry about rushing it, to take my time to get my feet right, my hands right, and my knees and hips right.

Reserve side - Vic. Main side - Grant.

Kicked on exit. Flipped over. Vic released until we got stable.

Pretty good arch, until my practice touch. I flattened out and brought my feet up toward my butt. The consensus is that I'm just over-thinking everything. I'm concentrating so hard on my arch that I completely lose focus of it when I have to think about my practice touch. That doesn't sound like me at all! (Uh, that's sarcasm folks.)

I had some trouble picking up a heading. Possibly because I'm aiming myself at a certain point, rather than taking in the big picture.

Maintained good altitude awareness. Locked on at 6000, waved & pulled at 5500. Clean opening, good canopy. I had some fun flying around. Did some complete 360s, some hard turns, S-turns, flares. Grant radioed that the landing pattern switched, so I had to readjust my mental picture of my entry point. Got in the pattern OK.

I was focused too much on the ground at flare time. I should have been looking more out toward the horizon. This wasn't my best PLF, but I didn't get hurt, so it must have been a good enough PLF!

Vic helped my understand the flow of gathering up the chute. Velcro toggles, move the lines up toward the canopy while pushing the slider ahead. Get a grip on the bag, pilot chute, and tail (label) of the canopy. Throw it over my shoulder and walk.