About time, right? I finally got a free day to head up to the Burg. I wasn't sure what I'd have to do for recurrency after 7 months on the ground. The guys didn't make too big a deal about it, and things came back easy. Grant told me that I should do a coach jump and just do whatever I wanted to do. Mostly, I think the idea is to see if I can stay stable in the air. I would have waited for a coach, but then Grant said I could get on load 1 and do a 5000' clear-and-pull with John Howard watching if I wanted. I went for that option.
Jump 1 - 5000' clear and pull. Matt (the pilot) trimmed up the 206. I opened the door to spot. Looked good, John said something, so I left. I sat on the edge, grabbed the frame with my left hand, and rotated out into the wind. Easy exit, instantly stable. Counted 5 seconds, during which I went over the hill, and pulled. It turns out that I never asked Matt to cut, so we were going faster than we should have been. Don't think that matters as much in the 206. On final, I thought I was heading for the taxiway. I used some brakes, then I was still looking at the taxiway. Cleared it be about 2 feet, standing up in the PD 280.
Jump 2 - solo. Cessna 186. Doc Larry told me to dive out toward the tail and wrap my right arm around my waist to make me spin. Probably wasn't the prettiest spin, but it worked. Corkscrewed twice, opened up into a neutral position, and got instantly stable. I tried to work on sliding sideways by tucking the same elbow and knee in close. About 1/2 the time it seemed to work. The other half I turned. Something to work on. Landed on the field in front of the other building, flared a little high, and rolled. Made a pretty crappy step-through.
Jump 3 - 2-way with Mark Muller. Cessna 186. He was going to float off the strut and I was going to dive down to him and dock. He got a little unstable and dropped faster than he wanted to. I dove, went a little bit over, got back to a good position, aimed at him, and then overshot him. I turned, he turned, and I was below him. I started to close, then tried to rise up. We got pretty close, but I saw us at 5000 so I waved off the rest, turned and tracked. Higher winds now, so I ended up landing on the end of the field near the picnic tables. Stood it up in the little gully.
I'm back.
Monday, May 26, 2014
Monday, September 2, 2013
No plane?
I finally got back up to Chambersburg today. Between vacation, a short downtime because of some lower-back muscle pain, and a couple of long days handling merit badges, I haven't been able to get away. So I did today.
The left engine of the KA wouldn't start. The C-182 already had its engine out. Sat around for 3 1/2 hours or so hoping the mechanic would be able to fix the plane. No luck. Crap.
The left engine of the KA wouldn't start. The C-182 already had its engine out. Sat around for 3 1/2 hours or so hoping the mechanic would be able to fix the plane. No luck. Crap.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
First jump with a license
After spending a couple of hours taking down the old satellite dish and putting up a new one with John, Mike, & Anthony, the weather finally cleared enough to jump. I checked in, got geared up,and got on load 1 at about 2:00.
Henry spotted, Vip was first out solo, I was second out. Turns out we were way early. Henry OKed the spot because the weather reports had some winds below us that were blowing toward the airport. Vip and I both tried to track some back toward the airport after we got out and saw how far off the end of the 24 end of the runway we were. I was over a cloud, and tried to track toward a hole. I wasn't going to make it, so I got neutral before sinking into it. Once below the cloud, I tried to make a little more headway toward the airport. Opened at 4,000. Had one complete 360 degree turn when the canopy opened. Weird, but no big deal. I was still off the end of the runway, so I aimed toward the hangar and stayed on that heading. I saw Vip come in straight with no pattern at all and land in front of the hangar. I was a little higher, but there was no way I was going to do a standard landing pattern. I stayed over the buildings, because I didn't want to be near the runway with the plane coming in behind me to land. Grant was level with me at about 1500 feet. He spiraled down and ended up well below me. At the edge of the hangar, I turned left toward the field, then turned right and landed on the far field in front of the hangar.
I talked to Dave afterwards about it. He said that sometimes the first load of the day tests the winds and that we really couldn't have known to stay in the plane longer. Poor landing pattern, but the fact that I was aware of where everybody else was flying helped. Nothing much I could have done, other than land way off.
Henry spotted, Vip was first out solo, I was second out. Turns out we were way early. Henry OKed the spot because the weather reports had some winds below us that were blowing toward the airport. Vip and I both tried to track some back toward the airport after we got out and saw how far off the end of the 24 end of the runway we were. I was over a cloud, and tried to track toward a hole. I wasn't going to make it, so I got neutral before sinking into it. Once below the cloud, I tried to make a little more headway toward the airport. Opened at 4,000. Had one complete 360 degree turn when the canopy opened. Weird, but no big deal. I was still off the end of the runway, so I aimed toward the hangar and stayed on that heading. I saw Vip come in straight with no pattern at all and land in front of the hangar. I was a little higher, but there was no way I was going to do a standard landing pattern. I stayed over the buildings, because I didn't want to be near the runway with the plane coming in behind me to land. Grant was level with me at about 1500 feet. He spiraled down and ended up well below me. At the edge of the hangar, I turned left toward the field, then turned right and landed on the far field in front of the hangar.
I talked to Dave afterwards about it. He said that sometimes the first load of the day tests the winds and that we really couldn't have known to stay in the plane longer. Poor landing pattern, but the fact that I was aware of where everybody else was flying helped. Nothing much I could have done, other than land way off.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Got my A license
2 jumps today. First was my standard warm-up jump. I dove out of the plane facing the wind, got stable quick. I tried all the things that I was supposed to do with Casey 2 weeks ago. Easily did 4 360s (2 each way) and 3 back flips. On 2 of the back flips, I finished on the same heading. I turned onto final just a little early and landed on the taxiway. Bill H gave me some tips on using brakes to slow down my forward speed and land where I wanted to.
2nd dive was my A license check dive with Bill Hanrahan. I spotted after a 6-way went out. He went in the door and gave the count. I dove out right after him. 1 360 each way. 1 back flip. Bill moved in front of me as I turned to face him. I closed on him and docked. We were still at 9,000 feet, so he signaled for a couple more 360s. Stopped at 6,000. At 5,000, I turned and tracked away. Opened by 3,500. Under canopy, I played with the brakes based on Bill's suggestions from the last jump. Again, I saw that I turned into final heading for the taxiway. The brakes stretched out my glide path instead of shortening it. I went over the taxiway, and landed in front of the other building. Bill said that maybe next time I should try deeper brakes. The 230 and 240 rigs are back in use, so I'm probably not going to be jumping the 280 anymore.
Final exam, some paperwork, and I have my temporary A license. First jump was 4 years ago yesterday.
2nd dive was my A license check dive with Bill Hanrahan. I spotted after a 6-way went out. He went in the door and gave the count. I dove out right after him. 1 360 each way. 1 back flip. Bill moved in front of me as I turned to face him. I closed on him and docked. We were still at 9,000 feet, so he signaled for a couple more 360s. Stopped at 6,000. At 5,000, I turned and tracked away. Opened by 3,500. Under canopy, I played with the brakes based on Bill's suggestions from the last jump. Again, I saw that I turned into final heading for the taxiway. The brakes stretched out my glide path instead of shortening it. I went over the taxiway, and landed in front of the other building. Bill said that maybe next time I should try deeper brakes. The 230 and 240 rigs are back in use, so I'm probably not going to be jumping the 280 anymore.
Final exam, some paperwork, and I have my temporary A license. First jump was 4 years ago yesterday.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
6 jumps - 1 brainlock away from my A
Weird weather day. Sprinkled on and off as I drove out. Got on load 2 first. After load 2, Alan (the pilot) said that we may as well tie down the plane because the weather's going bad. 20 minutes later, we had beautiful skies with some puffy white clouds. All under the 280.
Jump 1 - Solo jump in the King Air. Lots of tandems. Wanted one to shake out the cobwebs anyway. Spotted. Good spot, dove out. Worked on the swoop to get ready for some swoop-n-docks on my yellow card. Did some tracking perpendicular to the jump run. Rain in freefall, stung a little. Landed right between Grant and Wayne.
Jump 2 - Still lots of tandems, so I did another solo from the King Air. Had some miscommunication. The lights in the plane got worse. I was spotting, waiting for red light to open the door. Well, the red light was no longer working, and the signal to open the door was the flaps going down, but I didn't get that message. Casey called for the exit, so I opened the door, took some time to check for traffic and to see where the airport was, and dove out. Talked to Chad and Casey afterwards - not a big deal because there were just 3 tandems with no video after me, so nobody ended up long. Tracked & swooped, tried sliding sideways. Aimed for the grass in front of the hangar, but overshot a little. Ended up just a little further down the grass than I wanted, but still before the taxiway.
Jump 3 - 2-way with Wayne from the King Air. He was in the door, I dove out after. Lots of separation, so I guess I waited too long. Didn't close too quickly, and he gave me some tips later on how to get forward motion better. Closed, not quite level, turned, tried again, closed once, then broke off because we were at 5,500. Did a braked approach. I had already talked to Grant about it. Landed roughly where I hoped to land, but from 1/2 brakes, I didn't get much flare. PLF-ed and managed to end up with a step-through, which I haven't done in years.
Jump 4 - Coach jump with Casey from the King Air. Both outside, me toward the front, my count. I think I got too eager to turn and find him, and ended up upside-down for the first time in a lot of jumps. Got stable, found him, dove, closed. He dropped, and I couldn't get to him before our 5,500 break off. Landed in front of the hangar. Grant gave me just a little grief about my final. I honestly had no idea that there was an imaginary line between the runway and the buildings that I wasn't supposed to cross. Learned something, so that's good.
Jump 5 - Coach jump with JR from the King Air. He got in the door, I dove out. I dove down to his level, closed, broke off. He sank, signaled me, and I dove down again. Got a little low, floated up, closed a 2nd time. At 6,000, broke off while he did some celebratory 360s! Landed about 25 feet from JR in front of the hangar. Great skydive!
Jump 6 - Check jump with Casey from the Cessna 182. I swooped down to his level. I closed a little, then did a backflip, well, sort of a backflip, but it was mostly a backflip and I got stable easily enough. I was supposed to dock with him then, but forgot and started a 360. About 1/2 way around, I realized I screwed up, got completely stupid, couldn't figure out how to fix my screw up, and ended up somehow going upside down in the 360. Especially weird, since my first jump this spring with Jamie after not having jumped for 3 months included 2 beautiful 360s! Well, I got stable, checked altitude, broke off, tracked away, and opened. Landed right where I wanted to land in front of the hangar.
I'm down to a final exam and a check dive. Sat around bs-ing and drinking a beer (which, sadly, I was not responsible for supplying) and headed for home around sunset. Next weekend, maybe, or Independence Day weekend. I'm really that close.
Jump 1 - Solo jump in the King Air. Lots of tandems. Wanted one to shake out the cobwebs anyway. Spotted. Good spot, dove out. Worked on the swoop to get ready for some swoop-n-docks on my yellow card. Did some tracking perpendicular to the jump run. Rain in freefall, stung a little. Landed right between Grant and Wayne.
Jump 2 - Still lots of tandems, so I did another solo from the King Air. Had some miscommunication. The lights in the plane got worse. I was spotting, waiting for red light to open the door. Well, the red light was no longer working, and the signal to open the door was the flaps going down, but I didn't get that message. Casey called for the exit, so I opened the door, took some time to check for traffic and to see where the airport was, and dove out. Talked to Chad and Casey afterwards - not a big deal because there were just 3 tandems with no video after me, so nobody ended up long. Tracked & swooped, tried sliding sideways. Aimed for the grass in front of the hangar, but overshot a little. Ended up just a little further down the grass than I wanted, but still before the taxiway.
Jump 3 - 2-way with Wayne from the King Air. He was in the door, I dove out after. Lots of separation, so I guess I waited too long. Didn't close too quickly, and he gave me some tips later on how to get forward motion better. Closed, not quite level, turned, tried again, closed once, then broke off because we were at 5,500. Did a braked approach. I had already talked to Grant about it. Landed roughly where I hoped to land, but from 1/2 brakes, I didn't get much flare. PLF-ed and managed to end up with a step-through, which I haven't done in years.
Jump 4 - Coach jump with Casey from the King Air. Both outside, me toward the front, my count. I think I got too eager to turn and find him, and ended up upside-down for the first time in a lot of jumps. Got stable, found him, dove, closed. He dropped, and I couldn't get to him before our 5,500 break off. Landed in front of the hangar. Grant gave me just a little grief about my final. I honestly had no idea that there was an imaginary line between the runway and the buildings that I wasn't supposed to cross. Learned something, so that's good.
Jump 5 - Coach jump with JR from the King Air. He got in the door, I dove out. I dove down to his level, closed, broke off. He sank, signaled me, and I dove down again. Got a little low, floated up, closed a 2nd time. At 6,000, broke off while he did some celebratory 360s! Landed about 25 feet from JR in front of the hangar. Great skydive!
Jump 6 - Check jump with Casey from the Cessna 182. I swooped down to his level. I closed a little, then did a backflip, well, sort of a backflip, but it was mostly a backflip and I got stable easily enough. I was supposed to dock with him then, but forgot and started a 360. About 1/2 way around, I realized I screwed up, got completely stupid, couldn't figure out how to fix my screw up, and ended up somehow going upside down in the 360. Especially weird, since my first jump this spring with Jamie after not having jumped for 3 months included 2 beautiful 360s! Well, I got stable, checked altitude, broke off, tracked away, and opened. Landed right where I wanted to land in front of the hangar.
I'm down to a final exam and a check dive. Sat around bs-ing and drinking a beer (which, sadly, I was not responsible for supplying) and headed for home around sunset. Next weekend, maybe, or Independence Day weekend. I'm really that close.
Monday, May 27, 2013
2 solo jumps
Talked to JR first about refresher training. We agreed that I'm good. DZ was very busy today. First good weekend in a while, so all the backed up tandems and CAT A students showed. Still no 230 or 240, so I was fighting for the 2 280s.
Both jumps were from the King Air at 13,500. In both freefalls, I worked on turning quicker, tracking, and forward motion.
First landing was a little poorly planned. Got into the pattern late, turned into base leg late and went quickly into the final leg. Plenty of altitude to get level, just not the best pattern. Slid in.
Second was better. Landed about 25 feet from Amy, who said, "Nice landing."
Both jumps were from the King Air at 13,500. In both freefalls, I worked on turning quicker, tracking, and forward motion.
First landing was a little poorly planned. Got into the pattern late, turned into base leg late and went quickly into the final leg. Plenty of altitude to get level, just not the best pattern. Slid in.
Second was better. Landed about 25 feet from Amy, who said, "Nice landing."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
