Chilly day, low winds (temporarily over 16, but I spent all that time packing anyway).
Jump 1 - Out after a 7-way. Worked on fall rate changes. Yeah, I got that squared away. Worked on steeper dive for the swoop & dock, but felt a little unstable, so I backed off. Braked deeper and deeper until stall started. Landed in front of the other hangar. Packed.
Jump 2 - Tracking & steeper dive while tracking. Stayed stable this time, and felt the angle change downward. Horizon was gone, and I was looking at the ground. The sound of air going by my ears went up a lot. Easily got stable in a belly-to-earth position afterwards. Opening seemed slow, but maybe I'm just hypersensitive about my own pack jobs. Landed in front of FBO. Packed again.
Jump 3 - Steep dive in freefall again. Canopy opened fine. Turns & spirals under canopy. Landed by other hangar.
The coaches and instructors were crazy busy with tandems. I wasn't able to squeeze a jump in with any of them. Oh, well, maybe next week...
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Saturday, November 10, 2012
4 jumps, and I jumped a rig I packed. Finally.
There was almost no wind today. Made for some interesting landings.
Jump 1 - King Air, only got 4,500 feet. Jumped, got stable, hung out for a few seconds, pulled. I jumped the 240 last weekend because Doug had the 230 all day, and I forgot just how responsive the 230 is. Had a lot of fun under canopy, then had a less than perfect landing with no wind.
Jump 2 - I was going to pack the 230 with help, then jump it. Jim Smith was looking for one more to fill out a Cessna load, so I grabbed the 240 and got on. Spotted. First out at 4,500. Got stable, hung out a bit, pulled. The right toggle had a big loop of line that should have been stowed. It took me about 30 seconds of looking at it following the line, but I decided that the handle did no go through the loop, and released the brakes. On final, I realized I was heading for the taxiway. Put on some brakes, and landed well clear.
Jump 3 - I packed the 230 with a little help from Autumn. Took the King Air all the way up. Worked on turns using just legs. Did some tracking. Pulled a little higher just to have some extra time. Canopy opened fine with a little right turn when it inflated. Nice landing in front of the FBO.
Jump 4 - I packed the 230 with no assistance. King Air all the way up. Turns using just legs, including a 360. The canopy opened a little slowly, and seemed to be skinnier from front to back for a few seconds, then popped out into a perfectly good canopy. Maybe I was just overanalyzing it. Landed in front of FBO.
Talked to Van about getting some things signed off, and what I have to do to finish up this A license.
Jump 1 - King Air, only got 4,500 feet. Jumped, got stable, hung out for a few seconds, pulled. I jumped the 240 last weekend because Doug had the 230 all day, and I forgot just how responsive the 230 is. Had a lot of fun under canopy, then had a less than perfect landing with no wind.
Jump 2 - I was going to pack the 230 with help, then jump it. Jim Smith was looking for one more to fill out a Cessna load, so I grabbed the 240 and got on. Spotted. First out at 4,500. Got stable, hung out a bit, pulled. The right toggle had a big loop of line that should have been stowed. It took me about 30 seconds of looking at it following the line, but I decided that the handle did no go through the loop, and released the brakes. On final, I realized I was heading for the taxiway. Put on some brakes, and landed well clear.
Jump 3 - I packed the 230 with a little help from Autumn. Took the King Air all the way up. Worked on turns using just legs. Did some tracking. Pulled a little higher just to have some extra time. Canopy opened fine with a little right turn when it inflated. Nice landing in front of the FBO.
Jump 4 - I packed the 230 with no assistance. King Air all the way up. Turns using just legs, including a 360. The canopy opened a little slowly, and seemed to be skinnier from front to back for a few seconds, then popped out into a perfectly good canopy. Maybe I was just overanalyzing it. Landed in front of FBO.
Talked to Van about getting some things signed off, and what I have to do to finish up this A license.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
2 jumps, packed, but yep, wind again
Jumped twice today. Both times were full King Air loads.
On the first, I followed a 5-way out. I mostly watched them, did some turns just with my legs, and tracked. Landed the 240 right in front of the hangar. The winds were coming over the buildings, and we landed heading toward the buildings.
I packed the rig with some help from John Howard.
I did a floating exit on the 2nd jump. I felt like I was a little far from the airport. First out was a 5-way that took a long time to set up in the door, then a 2-way, then Chris, then me. The combination of being long and jumping a rig I packed made me decide to open a little higher (5,000 instead of 4,000). I got a hard left turn when it opened, but other than that, it was a perfectly good canopy. Landing was toward the buildings again. I slightly misjudged my downwind leg, but I was going to be in front of the other hangar. No big deal. Then I saw the plane taxiing, and I really didn't want to be anywhere near him, so I let the downwind leg go a little longer and landed on the far side of the runway. In retrospect, I should have known the plane would not go past the taxiway. Oh well.
I packed the rig on my own.
The winds went to 17, never dropped again until I had to leave.
On the first, I followed a 5-way out. I mostly watched them, did some turns just with my legs, and tracked. Landed the 240 right in front of the hangar. The winds were coming over the buildings, and we landed heading toward the buildings.
I packed the rig with some help from John Howard.
I did a floating exit on the 2nd jump. I felt like I was a little far from the airport. First out was a 5-way that took a long time to set up in the door, then a 2-way, then Chris, then me. The combination of being long and jumping a rig I packed made me decide to open a little higher (5,000 instead of 4,000). I got a hard left turn when it opened, but other than that, it was a perfectly good canopy. Landing was toward the buildings again. I slightly misjudged my downwind leg, but I was going to be in front of the other hangar. No big deal. Then I saw the plane taxiing, and I really didn't want to be anywhere near him, so I let the downwind leg go a little longer and landed on the far side of the runway. In retrospect, I should have known the plane would not go past the taxiway. Oh well.
I packed the rig on my own.
The winds went to 17, never dropped again until I had to leave.
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