Jump 1
Freefall: Solo, dove out, worked on body position, turns, tracking. I think I'm tracking pretty straight, based on watching a heading.
Canopy: Casey suggested doing front riser turns to get that checked off my yellow card. He went over it with me a couple of times, told me what to expect, and told me that it would be hard under the 280. It was. I barely got the 90 degree turns all the way around before my arms and hands needed a break. I couldn't even pull down hard enough to try the 180 degree turns after that. My hands were shaky when I was writing in the log book.
Landing: Stood up in front of the FBO building.
Jump 2 - 5,000 foot clear and pull
Freefall: Not much! Dove out, went a little steep, got stable and pulled. The canopy opens a bit slower when you're not falling as fast.
Canopy: The 280 I jumped on the first load was being packed. The other 280 I picked up was out-of-date. The third 280 had been scraped along a runway yesterday and was out for repairs. I jumped a 260. Much more responsive to turns. Front riser turns were much easier. Did the 180 degree turns and then did the 90s again.
Landing: Possibly a combination of wind and a smaller canopy. I flew a little long. Stood up the landing on the second field in front of the house.
Jump 3
Freefall: I planned on doing the 3,500 foot clear and pull, but there was no instructor on the plane without a tandem. Instead, I rode it all the way up to 12,500 (cloud layer above that). Floating exit. Arched way back and watched the plane continue on. More turns & tracking.
Canopy: Played with the 260.
Landing: Short. I overcompensated for the long landing last time. I cleared the weeds and landed in the shallow gully. At the last minute, I started steering and moving my feet, which put me into a little turn. PLF in the gully, nothing hurts.
Jump 4 - 3,500 foot clear and pull
Freefall: Dove out, got stable in about 4 seconds, waved and pulled. While I was watching the canopy open slowly at a low altitude, I believe I said, "Open, you son of a bitch, open!" Nobody on the ground commented.
Canopy: Played with the 260 again. A little less time, but I still had from about 2,800 to 1,000 feet.
Landing: Planned landing with buildings on the right. The sock was clearly showing that the winds had shifted to be coming straight from the direction of the hangar. Since I was alone, I could safely have altered my landing pattern. It's pretty firmly embedded in my brain to stick with the plan for the safety of everybody, so I stuck with the plan. Crabbed to my left for most of the final. Landed in front of the FBO. Flared a little high, and ended up drifting backwards before landing. PLFed in the grass.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
Fun jump, frustrating day.
First, the annoying part. I arrived at the DZ about 2 minutes before load 1 took off. Very cool that Grant got to jump with his son! The down side is that JR swung some deal to fly a demo jump in Johnstown, so the plane didn't come back until almost noon. At that point, the tandems scheduled for noon were here, so we waited for them to get trained. I got on that load and did my jump. I didn't go right back up on the next load (although I could have) because I wanted to talk to Doc Larry or Grant about how to do the 5000' clear & pull. Load 3 turned out to be the last load of the day.
Doc Larry told me to do a blind exit. I got positioned in the door so that I could dive out chest into the wind, closed my eyes, exited, and kept my eyes closed for 10 seconds. Maybe a little more, because I was at about 12,500' when I checked. Completely different feeling. I felt myself go steep, felt myself level out, felt a turn that I was easily able to correct. When I opened my eyes, I was stable, belly-down, and in great position. Worked on turns & tracking until 5500. Waved off at 5000', opened at 4500'.
Under canopy, I did some more braked turns, some steep turns, some spirals. Quite a bit of turbulence at 1700' that messed with my control of the canopy somewhat.
Pretty good landing pattern. Landed right in front of the hangar. Flared at the right time, but I think the almost 0 mph winds contributed to my skid on the landing.
Doc Larry told me to do a blind exit. I got positioned in the door so that I could dive out chest into the wind, closed my eyes, exited, and kept my eyes closed for 10 seconds. Maybe a little more, because I was at about 12,500' when I checked. Completely different feeling. I felt myself go steep, felt myself level out, felt a turn that I was easily able to correct. When I opened my eyes, I was stable, belly-down, and in great position. Worked on turns & tracking until 5500. Waved off at 5000', opened at 4500'.
Under canopy, I did some more braked turns, some steep turns, some spirals. Quite a bit of turbulence at 1700' that messed with my control of the canopy somewhat.
Pretty good landing pattern. Landed right in front of the hangar. Flared at the right time, but I think the almost 0 mph winds contributed to my skid on the landing.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Started working Cat F jumps
Two jumps today before the wind picked up.
The first was a solo jump. I was 2nd to last out. I tried the delta position for tracking and was amazed that I didn't start tumbling.
Nice, on-heading opening just across Airport Rd. aiming at the 6. Turns, sharper turns, spirals. Got in the landing pattern at the right time, followed the pattern, and landed right in front of the hangar. Flared all the way through, but I still slid and skidded a little. Took a divot of grass with me in my right sneaker.
The second was a coach jump with Casey to do tracking. We were both outside the plane, I did the count, pushed off into the wind, ended up diving and flipped. The plan was to come together first before doing the tracking, so I wasted some time trying to get back to him. Finally gave up, turned 90 degrees, and tracked for about 3 seconds. Got stable, turned around, did it again. Now at about 6200, so I did it again. At the end of that one, I got stable and saw that I was at 4,500 or so. Waved off and pulled. Casey told me that I should start waving off in front of my face to get that last look at altitude.
Easy opening, on-heading. Did a bunch of deep brake turns. Braked until stalled, backed off, then eased up on one side to turn the other direction 180 degrees. I did that about 8 times before it was time to get into my landing pattern.
On landing, I thought I maybe flared too low, because I hit kind of hard. PLFed, so no injury. Afterwards, a guy I never met before said that he was getting caught in rolling thermals from the heat off the runway getting blown by the breeze, and that he had gotten slammed into the ground. Maybe the hard landing wasn't all my fault.
The first was a solo jump. I was 2nd to last out. I tried the delta position for tracking and was amazed that I didn't start tumbling.
Nice, on-heading opening just across Airport Rd. aiming at the 6. Turns, sharper turns, spirals. Got in the landing pattern at the right time, followed the pattern, and landed right in front of the hangar. Flared all the way through, but I still slid and skidded a little. Took a divot of grass with me in my right sneaker.
The second was a coach jump with Casey to do tracking. We were both outside the plane, I did the count, pushed off into the wind, ended up diving and flipped. The plan was to come together first before doing the tracking, so I wasted some time trying to get back to him. Finally gave up, turned 90 degrees, and tracked for about 3 seconds. Got stable, turned around, did it again. Now at about 6200, so I did it again. At the end of that one, I got stable and saw that I was at 4,500 or so. Waved off and pulled. Casey told me that I should start waving off in front of my face to get that last look at altitude.
Easy opening, on-heading. Did a bunch of deep brake turns. Braked until stalled, backed off, then eased up on one side to turn the other direction 180 degrees. I did that about 8 times before it was time to get into my landing pattern.
On landing, I thought I maybe flared too low, because I hit kind of hard. PLFed, so no injury. Afterwards, a guy I never met before said that he was getting caught in rolling thermals from the heat off the runway getting blown by the breeze, and that he had gotten slammed into the ground. Maybe the hard landing wasn't all my fault.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Back in the air for 2011
I only managed one jump today. I got on load 2, then the clouds came in. Hung out, went to get some lunch, and finally the clouds cleared out. Then the winds were too high. Hung out, watched the wind, saw two readings of 15 & 16, then got a 21, which set my clock back to an hour. Done.
I had a brief refresher with Grant. Talked about a couple of things, then talked about what I wanted to do today. I had been thinking about that, and my preference would have been to do a couple of solo jumps just to get back in the swing. That sounded good to Grant, so I geared up for load 2.
I was going to be first out. Spotted with Mike M, who was video for a tandem. Jumped out, got stable quick, and tried some turns. I was much better at stopping them when I wanted to than last fall. Felt the head-to-toe rocking once, arched better and fixed that.
Hard opening with a fast turn. Enough to make me lose my sense of where the airport was, which sucked because it was now hidden under some clouds. I had a decent idea, so I flew toward a hole and saw the airport. I was between the 6 and the road. The clouds came my way, and I tried to stay out of them. After one of my turns, I found myself completely inside a cloud. Weird. Cooler, and damper. I got out quickly to see where I was, and I was still in good shape for my landing pattern.
I turned off the downwind leg a little early. I ended up in the other field toward the big hangar. Flared too high, flared unevenly, didn't complete my flare, so I PLFed.
I had a brief refresher with Grant. Talked about a couple of things, then talked about what I wanted to do today. I had been thinking about that, and my preference would have been to do a couple of solo jumps just to get back in the swing. That sounded good to Grant, so I geared up for load 2.
I was going to be first out. Spotted with Mike M, who was video for a tandem. Jumped out, got stable quick, and tried some turns. I was much better at stopping them when I wanted to than last fall. Felt the head-to-toe rocking once, arched better and fixed that.
Hard opening with a fast turn. Enough to make me lose my sense of where the airport was, which sucked because it was now hidden under some clouds. I had a decent idea, so I flew toward a hole and saw the airport. I was between the 6 and the road. The clouds came my way, and I tried to stay out of them. After one of my turns, I found myself completely inside a cloud. Weird. Cooler, and damper. I got out quickly to see where I was, and I was still in good shape for my landing pattern.
I turned off the downwind leg a little early. I ended up in the other field toward the big hangar. Flared too high, flared unevenly, didn't complete my flare, so I PLFed.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Refresher training
Refresher training today. Picked this over yesterday's safety day, because I really couldn't do both. Smart move. Mostly JR, a bunch of Grant, and a little Vic for about 6 hours, minus a lunch break. Essentially, the first jump course, but some of the basic stuff and the first jump specific stuff cut out, with some more things added in now that we've all jumped at least a few times.
A day well spent.
A day well spent.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Two solo jumps - turns & stopping turns
I got on the first two loads today, then the wind picked up. Pretty gentle winds on both my jumps. Jump run was right along the runway, heading about 240 degrees. Exits started 1/2 mile before the airport and .3 miles before the airport.
I wanted to work on turns, and stopping turns. I also have this odd rocking motion going on. Rocking head-to-feet, lengthwise along my body. Bill Hanrahan said that I should relax more, then work on my feet. I need to figure out what my neutral body position really is. This helped on my second jump.
Both times, I was across the street from the camping area when I opened. I wasn't really able to ever get over the 6 prior to entering my landing pattern.
On the first jump, I kept going toward the 6 until I was a little low. A tandem was pretty much in front of me, so I just did a shortened landing pattern and landed nicely right in front of the big hangar.
Pretty much the same landing on my second jump. This time, the canopy kited a little after I landed until I pulled in one of the brake lines.
Jamie had a tandem cutaway on the next load. I rode with him to the farm to retrieve the main. Since the winds were kicking up, it seemed like something useful to do. Learned a little about the malfunction he had (tension knot that caused the canopy to go into a hard right turn).
I wanted to work on turns, and stopping turns. I also have this odd rocking motion going on. Rocking head-to-feet, lengthwise along my body. Bill Hanrahan said that I should relax more, then work on my feet. I need to figure out what my neutral body position really is. This helped on my second jump.
Both times, I was across the street from the camping area when I opened. I wasn't really able to ever get over the 6 prior to entering my landing pattern.
On the first jump, I kept going toward the 6 until I was a little low. A tandem was pretty much in front of me, so I just did a shortened landing pattern and landed nicely right in front of the big hangar.
Pretty much the same landing on my second jump. This time, the canopy kited a little after I landed until I pulled in one of the brake lines.
Jamie had a tandem cutaway on the next load. I rode with him to the farm to retrieve the main. Since the winds were kicking up, it seemed like something useful to do. Learned a little about the malfunction he had (tension knot that caused the canopy to go into a hard right turn).
Sunday, October 17, 2010
One jump, then wind
The plan today was to just do as many jumps as I could squeeze in. Probably all solo fun jumps, but maybe a coach jump, too.
Winds were out of the WNW at about 10-15 when I got on the plane. Turns out they were a little stronger when I landed, and if there had been another wind speed reading before I got on the plane, I probably would have been grounded.
The upper winds were strong, too. Roughly the same direction, but 45 & 50 mph.
Todd (never met him before) got out first. I went out a few seconds after him. Stable almost instantly. No tumbling or flailing. I did a couple of 180 degree turns in either direction. At about 9,000 feet, I looked down to see the ground moving under me. That surprised me, until I thought for a second and realized that's exactly what should be happening with 50 mph winds. I did a barrel roll, a couple more turns, then waved off and pulled.
I opened up across the street from the airport near the trailer park area. I tried to get to the other end of the airport for a while, then took Grant's advice to point into the wind and not get blown to the other side of the runway. I never really got into a good landing pattern, but I got pretty close.
I landed in the main area a little toward the picnic tables. Didn't stand it up, mostly because of the wind. Fought with the canopy until Jamie yelled that I should swing around to the other side. Once I was downwind of the canopy, pulling on the lines didn't make it reinflate.
In the hangar, the chart showed the winds were too high. I waited for a while, and finally got a reading low enough for me to jump. The next reading was back up to 17, so the clock reset. I headed for home.
Winds were out of the WNW at about 10-15 when I got on the plane. Turns out they were a little stronger when I landed, and if there had been another wind speed reading before I got on the plane, I probably would have been grounded.
The upper winds were strong, too. Roughly the same direction, but 45 & 50 mph.
Todd (never met him before) got out first. I went out a few seconds after him. Stable almost instantly. No tumbling or flailing. I did a couple of 180 degree turns in either direction. At about 9,000 feet, I looked down to see the ground moving under me. That surprised me, until I thought for a second and realized that's exactly what should be happening with 50 mph winds. I did a barrel roll, a couple more turns, then waved off and pulled.
I opened up across the street from the airport near the trailer park area. I tried to get to the other end of the airport for a while, then took Grant's advice to point into the wind and not get blown to the other side of the runway. I never really got into a good landing pattern, but I got pretty close.
I landed in the main area a little toward the picnic tables. Didn't stand it up, mostly because of the wind. Fought with the canopy until Jamie yelled that I should swing around to the other side. Once I was downwind of the canopy, pulling on the lines didn't make it reinflate.
In the hangar, the chart showed the winds were too high. I waited for a while, and finally got a reading low enough for me to jump. The next reading was back up to 17, so the clock reset. I headed for home.
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