Nothing much to say. Today was the free AFF Refresher Training. Hopefully, it's the last time I have to do that.
No jumps. I still have a cold, and my ears felt pressure coming down the hill from South Mountain. 10,000 feet was really going to hurt. Anyway, by the time we were done with training and ready to jump, the wind had picked up from essentially 0 to 20 mph in 30 minutes.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Saturday, December 15, 2012
3 jumps. 2 coach jumps w/ Casey
Chilly, very little wind. Cessna 182 all day.
Got on load 1 to do a 2-way with Rick. Never met him before. I went out on the step, he dove out after me. Got together, did a 360, got together again, broke off, tracked away, open at 3000.
Packed to get on load 2 with Casey to do fall rate changes. I went out on the step, he came out with me. I floated up to catch him. I thought we would dock for a second, but as soon as we touched hands, he backed off and sank. Surprised me a little. I got down to his level and we just about redocked again before we were at 5000 and had to turn to track away. I went a little further on my final leg and was near the little hills before the cornfield. I flared based on the top of the hill, realized that I was going to land in the lower part, so I held the partial flare, flared the rest of the way a second later, and slid in the landing.
Packed to get on load 4 with Casey to do swoop and docks. We went out on the step, I dove out after him. Waited half a second too long. I kept my arms in the normal position for a few seconds before remembering that I was supposed to be swooping down. Got easily into the dive, and overshot. Admittedly, I was trying to make up the time I lost, so I overcompensated. He sunk again, I swooped and overshot again. Didn't get it right, but I definitely have the feeling of what swooping is supposed to feel like for next time. Landed in front of the white building, about 8 feet before the taxiway.
Got on load 1 to do a 2-way with Rick. Never met him before. I went out on the step, he dove out after me. Got together, did a 360, got together again, broke off, tracked away, open at 3000.
Packed to get on load 2 with Casey to do fall rate changes. I went out on the step, he came out with me. I floated up to catch him. I thought we would dock for a second, but as soon as we touched hands, he backed off and sank. Surprised me a little. I got down to his level and we just about redocked again before we were at 5000 and had to turn to track away. I went a little further on my final leg and was near the little hills before the cornfield. I flared based on the top of the hill, realized that I was going to land in the lower part, so I held the partial flare, flared the rest of the way a second later, and slid in the landing.
Packed to get on load 4 with Casey to do swoop and docks. We went out on the step, I dove out after him. Waited half a second too long. I kept my arms in the normal position for a few seconds before remembering that I was supposed to be swooping down. Got easily into the dive, and overshot. Admittedly, I was trying to make up the time I lost, so I overcompensated. He sunk again, I swooped and overshot again. Didn't get it right, but I definitely have the feeling of what swooping is supposed to feel like for next time. Landed in front of the white building, about 8 feet before the taxiway.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
3 jumps today
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...
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 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.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
4 Cessna jumps
First time jumping out of the Cessna 182. Seats 4, but you really have to be OK with giving up personal space.
#1 - 4 of us. Cloudy. Got 5,000 feet. We were the first load, and were testing how much altitude we could get. Exited off step, stable quick, pulled at 4,000. Played with brakes under canopy (the 230). Landed in front of the other hangar.
Started to pack, but JR suggested that if I get Tara to pack it, I could get on the next load. Sounded OK with me.
#2 - 4 of us. 5,000 again. Exited over a thin cloud that I could vaguely see through, and I could still see the runway beyond the edge of it. Pulled @ 4,000 just as I was at the bottom of the cloud. Played with brakes under canopy (the 230). Landed in front of the other hangar.
I planned to pack, but Doug wanted to switch off and jump this rig, so I couldn't.
#3 - 3 of us. I spotted. John Howard said that he was a little long on his last jump, so I got us out a little earlier. We exited at 8,500 feet, so I worked on fall rate changes. I was completely stable when I slowed my fall rate, and I could really feel the speed change. Brakes and turns under the canopy (240). I must have flared a little more quickly than I should have on this canopy, because I ended up getting a little lift. The canopy just sort of set me down after that, so not really a big deal. Just need to remember that when I jump a different canopy, I should do more practice flares before landing.
Didn't really want to pack the bigger 240 sq. ft. canopy.
#4 - 2 of us. 5,000 feet again. Exited from step again. There was some rain in the air (not on the ground) that really stung my face. Felt like ice, but at only 5,000 feet it probably wasn't cold enough. Turns and spirals under canopy (230). Landed in front of the other hangar.
#1 - 4 of us. Cloudy. Got 5,000 feet. We were the first load, and were testing how much altitude we could get. Exited off step, stable quick, pulled at 4,000. Played with brakes under canopy (the 230). Landed in front of the other hangar.
Started to pack, but JR suggested that if I get Tara to pack it, I could get on the next load. Sounded OK with me.
#2 - 4 of us. 5,000 again. Exited over a thin cloud that I could vaguely see through, and I could still see the runway beyond the edge of it. Pulled @ 4,000 just as I was at the bottom of the cloud. Played with brakes under canopy (the 230). Landed in front of the other hangar.
I planned to pack, but Doug wanted to switch off and jump this rig, so I couldn't.
#3 - 3 of us. I spotted. John Howard said that he was a little long on his last jump, so I got us out a little earlier. We exited at 8,500 feet, so I worked on fall rate changes. I was completely stable when I slowed my fall rate, and I could really feel the speed change. Brakes and turns under the canopy (240). I must have flared a little more quickly than I should have on this canopy, because I ended up getting a little lift. The canopy just sort of set me down after that, so not really a big deal. Just need to remember that when I jump a different canopy, I should do more practice flares before landing.
Didn't really want to pack the bigger 240 sq. ft. canopy.
#4 - 2 of us. 5,000 feet again. Exited from step again. There was some rain in the air (not on the ground) that really stung my face. Felt like ice, but at only 5,000 feet it probably wasn't cold enough. Turns and spirals under canopy (230). Landed in front of the other hangar.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
1 jump, wind.
I got one jump in today. Load 2. I was spotting. Surprised to see a plane directly below us. Grant said it was on final to the airport, and it turned down the taxiway. I wanted to extend jump run a little bit because of the wind. Green light on, Grant said go.
Got out just before the rainbow field. Did some tracking and turns with legs only.
Opened roughly over the 6. By the time I did control checks, I was in front of the hangar. Flew back to the 6 easily enough. On landing, I realized the winds were definitely higher than the 15 kts when I got on the plane. Got just enough penetration into the wind to land well into the grass up from the picnic area. Ground winds were 20 when I landed. Still, easy landing.
Spent the rest of the day waiting for the winds to drop. Swapped skydiving stories, watched malfunction training videos, worked on packing. My flaking part of packing seems to have taken a step backward.
Got out just before the rainbow field. Did some tracking and turns with legs only.
Opened roughly over the 6. By the time I did control checks, I was in front of the hangar. Flew back to the 6 easily enough. On landing, I realized the winds were definitely higher than the 15 kts when I got on the plane. Got just enough penetration into the wind to land well into the grass up from the picnic area. Ground winds were 20 when I landed. Still, easy landing.
Spent the rest of the day waiting for the winds to drop. Swapped skydiving stories, watched malfunction training videos, worked on packing. My flaking part of packing seems to have taken a step backward.
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