Perseverance
One last jump. One last chance. It was my first attempt at Level Seven and I nailed it. I fucking did it! I graduated from the Accelerated Free Fall Program on the last day of the season at Mohawk Valley Skydiving, 11/25/07. I guess it was meant to be.
This means no more checking the weather every other hour of every waking day. No more fears of failing a level. No more butterflies in the stomach. No more anxiety. No more wanting to puke up my breakfast. No more doubts. No more high expectations. And no more AFF fees. It's sky's the limit from here on.
Thanks to those who didn’t believe in me. You forced me to prove you wrong. Thanks to those who supported me throughout the entire experience. Your positive energy helped me get through it. On my next jump, I'm just going to fly belly to earth for 45 seconds with no maneuvers. Just fall and enjoy the ride.
Now it's time to get my A License. Only 12 more jumps to obtain it. Damn. I still can't believe it.
Jump 1: Origin
Late 1990’s. Standard tandem jump at Sky’s the Limit, NJ. The experience left me in awe. I was on a natural high for a couple of days and I found myself wanting more.
Jump 2: Another Taste
Late 1990’s. Advanced tandem jump at Sky’s the Limit, NJ. Again, the experience was awesome, but I promised myself that the next jump would be towards obtaining my skydiving license. No more tandems. I wanted to be in control.
Jump 3: Fulfilling a Promise
081807. Level One in the AFF (Accelerated Free Fall) Program. Skydiving 101. Six hour ground course before boarding the plane.
Climb-out and exit with two jumpmasters assisting.
Performed basic maneuvers during free fall that focused on gear awareness. Deployed my first parachute. Canopy control and landing procedures with ground-to-air radio assistance.
Result: Pass. Ok for Level Two.
Jump 4: Nice and Easy
090207. Level Two.
Climb-out and exit with two jumpmasters assisting.
Performed basic maneuvers again. Introduction to forward motion and aerial turns. Canopy control and landing procedures with ground-to-air radio assistance.
Result: Pass. Ok for Level Three.
Jump 5: Fifty Fifty
091207. Level Three.
Climb-out and exit with two jumpmasters assisting.
Performed basic maneuvers once again. Jumpmasters let go of me for the first time. I finally experienced free falling on my own. The feeling was indescribable. I fell stable at first but then I experienced instability towards pull time. Jumpmasters had to re-dock with me before pull time [that's usually a no go]. Canopy control and landing procedures with ground-to-air radio assistance. 50/50 on the pass fail scale.
Result: They passed me. Ok for Level Four.
Jump 6: Getting Interesting
092307. Level Four.
First climb-out and exit with one jumpmaster. Jumpmaster lets go after reaching terminal velocity.
Maneuvers involved: Two 90 degree turns, two forward motions.
1st 90 was good. 1st forward motion was ok. On the 2nd 90, I accidentally did a 360, but I was able to stop my momentum before spinning out of control. No time for 2nd forward motion. Canopy control and landing procedures with minimal ground-to-air radio assistance. Successfully used risers to stall and turn.
Result: Pass. Ok for Level Five.
Jump 7: Nobody's Perfect
092307. Level Five.
Climb-out and exit with one jumpmaster. Jumpmaster lets go after reaching terminal velocity.
Maneuvers involved: Two 360 degree turns, two forward motions.
1st 360… no go. I had a difficult time initiating the turn. I arrived at the 360 in two steps. I did a 90 and then a 270. The maneuver burned too much altitude. 1st forward motion… another no go. I almost flipped onto my back during the attempt, but I corrected and recovered in time. Not enough altitude to perform remaining maneuvers. Canopy control and landing procedures with minimal ground-to-air radio assistance.
Result: Fail. Repeat Level Five.
Jump 8: Rematch
093007. Repeat of Level Five.
Climb-out and exit with one jumpmaster. Jumpmaster lets go after reaching terminal velocity.
1st 360… again, I could not initiate. I lost control and I was very unstable during free fall. I was thinking too much and lost focus. Jumpmaster had to re-dock with me. Not enough time to perform other maneuvers. Canopy control and landing procedures with minimal ground-to-air radio assistance.
Result: Fail. Repeat of Level Five.
Jump 9: Third Time's A Charm
102107. Repeat Level Five.
Climb-out and exit with one jumpmaster. Jumpmaster lets go after reaching terminal velocity.
This time around I had 30 minutes of wind tunnel time under my belt. 1st 360 was perfect. 1st forward motion was ok, but passable. 2nd 360, perfect. Not enough time for 2nd forward motion. Canopy control and landing procedures with minimal ground-to-air radio assistance.
Result: Pass. Ok for Level Six.
Jump 10: Unfamiliar Surroundings
110407. Level Six.
Introduction to spotting. First solo climb-out and exit. Jumpmaster exits after I exit.
Maneuvers involved: Two back loops and one track.
Being that it was my first solo exit [no jumpmaster holding on and aiding in stability], I was not used to the sensation of falling on my own. I panicked shortly after exit. Did you ever see a stunt man mimic a person falling from a building? That was me. I was that man… arms and legs flailing aimlessly in the air like an idiot. I didn’t perform the essential procedures to regain stability. I left everything that I had learned in the airplane. The jumpmaster had to chase and catch me in the air to help stabilize me. After I stabilized, I attempted the maneuvers. 1st back loop… nothing. I forgot to throw my head back to initiate backward momentum. 2nd attempt on 1st back loop was not bad. I arched hard and recovered. 2nd back loop was a disaster. I found myself spinning on my back out of control. Jumpmaster had to chase and catch me again. He held on to me until pull time. Canopy control and landing procedures with minimal ground-to-air radio assistance.
Result: Fail. Repeat Level Six.
Jump 11: Close Call!
111007. Repeat of Level Six.
Spotting. Solo climb-out and exit. Jumpmaster exits after I exit.
At exit I felt myself kicking again. I quickly corrected it and and found myself stable at terminal velocity. 1st back loop was unsuccessful. I forgot to throw my head back again to initiate backward momentum. Unbelievable. 2nd attempt on 1st back loop was sloppy with slow recovery. 1st attempt on 2nd back loop was better with good recovery. I attempted the track maneuver at what I thought was an altitude of 6000ft. I tracked with decent motion and held it only for a couple of seconds because I knew that I was pretty damn close to pull time. During recovering arch, I deviated from my heading, checked my altitude, observed 4500ft, waved off and pulled. I didn't realize it at the time, but when I pulled, I was in a slight spin. This caused the parachute to suffer a line twist malfunction. Line twist usually occurs when the skydiver pulls the parachute as he/she is unstable or spinning. The lines twist in the direction of the spin causing a malfunction. The parachute does not open. FUCK!
This was my first line twist and this is why they conduct these 6 hour ground courses on day one... to teach you how to react to emergency situations. I quickly recognized the malfunction and acted instantly by pulling the rear risers apart. I observed the lines to verify the direction of the line twist and kicked violently in the opposite direction to reverse it. To my comfort, I began to spin out of it. Eventually the parachute opened. I immediately pulled my toggles down and looked at my altimeter. I was at 1000ft. I'm usually at 2000ft. Canopy control and landing procedures with maximum ground-to-air radio assistance.
Something went wrong and my intuition was confirmed by the look on everyone's faces when I entered the office. For the debriefing session, my jumpmaster took me into a private room and closed the door. Not good. He was very concerned. To make a long story short, my altimeter readings were incorrect. I was off by 1000ft. Therefore, I initiated the track maneuver at 5,000ft, not 6000ft. Which means, I pulled at 3500ft, not 4500ft. Looking back at it now, he was right. At pull time, as I glanced below, I noticed that everything was a lot closer than usual. Close call!
Result: Definite Fail. No questions asked. Repeat Level Six.
Jump 12: Determination
111107. Repeat of Level Six.
Spotting. Solo climb-out and exit. Jumpmaster exits after I exit.
I arrived at the drop zone focused and determined and I received a lot of positive feedback from my fellow skydivers.
My climb-out and exit was the best that they've seen in awhile from a student on level six. It was smooth and controlled. No kicking. No arms flailing. At terminal velocity, I immediately attempted the 1st back loop with decent success. Recovered and arched. 2nd attempt on back loop was good with good recovery and arch. 1st attempt on track, I went in a circle. No go. 2nd attempt on track, again, no go. 3rd attempt on track was fair and passable. This time around I demonstrated good altitude awareness like most of my previous sky dives.
Suffered another line twist malfunction, but corrected it swiftly. I have to focus more on being stable at pull time. Canopy control and landing procedures with minimal ground-to-air radio assistance.
Result: Pass. Ok for Level Seven.
Jump 13: Putting It All Together
112507. Level Seven. The Last Level in the AFF Program.
Spotting. Solo climb-out and exit. Jumpmaster exits after I exit.
Maneuvers involved:
To demonstrate everything that I had learned from the previous levels and then some.
Spotting and point of exit was my responsibility.
No ground-to-air radio communication for canopy control and landing procedures.
I'm on my own.
1. Bomb out exit (new maneuver)
2. Front loop (new maneuver)
3. Right 360 degree turn
4. Left 360 degree turn
5. Barrel Roll (new maneuver)
6. Track
I have to admit, I was very nervous. It was the last day of the season at Mohawk Valley Skydiving. A Sunday. The weather was beautiful but cold. One last chance to fulfill my goal... to pass every level in the AFF program like I said I would. To graduate from Mohawk Valley Skydiving, the drop zone where I began my training, meant so much to me. I wouldn't have it anyway other way. I could have graduated elsewhere, some drop zones are open all year round, but I was determined to be a graduate of Mohawk Valley Skydiving.
Here's how my Level Seven went down:
I demonstrated great spotting work. 1st attempt on a bomb out exit was Ok. I did a 180 degree turn before reaching terminal velocity, but I recovered and stabilized. 1st attempt on a front loop was good, but I tipped slightly during recovery. Right 360 was nice. Left 360 was nice. 1st attempt on barrel roll was excellent [my favorite maneuver by far] and my track was a lot better than my previous attempts on Level Six. I could actually feel myself accelerate during the track. I held it for a good 5 to 6 seconds. And the sound... that howling of the wind as I cut through air. I'll never forget it.
I demonstrated good altitude awareness and canopy control. I also nailed the landing without assistance.
Result: Pass. Ok for self supervision. Student has graduated from the AFF Program. BOOYAH!