All play and no work makes James a dull skydiver

#28 15/10/2011

I finally got myself back to the drop zone yesterday. My plan was to practice tracking (moving horizontally across the ground) in free fall then get the understanding of the new size canopy I had missed out on last time. The drop zone was busy, and it took me longer to get on a lift than usual, but the skies were completely clear and there was a low, steady breeze. Conditions were perfect.

Our lift was well organised. I was the last fun-jumper out, because you fall slower when tracking and I was pulling higher to play with the canopy. The jumper before me was also doing a solo track, so we assigned headings perpendicular to the jump run (the direction the plane flies as we're getting out) so we'd avoid each other and the other groups. I was flying at about 80°, I'd orientate myself off the runway.

I was confident about doing all this, except for my exit. I so wanted to get it right on this rare opportunity to practice. I took my time in the door, visualised my body positioning, and went. Immediately I was unstable, flipping onto my back. All I could think was Arch, arch, arch, but it took an eternity (probably 3-4 seconds) for my body to correctly interpret the command. I don't know why, and that's frustrating.

The track itself went well. I could feel the air resisting my forward movement as I barrelled across the sky at maybe 40 miles an hour. A good tracker can double that but practice makes perfect. Just before I went into a track I looked down and could just about see the other jumper whizzing off in the other direction. I did a long track out then turned 180° and did a short track back so I wasn't too far from the landing zone, and pulled. This time I was in an ideal position so I started to play with the canopy. Damn, that thing can move! It probably didn't look like much compared to the high-number jumpers, but hard turns felt vicious, like I was penduluming up to 90° and swooping round. It was great fun.

My landing pattern was good, but as I came in to land I flared slightly late. I was carrying more speed than I should have, and made the instantaneous, sub-conscious decision to land on my arse, sliding along. This was fun too, but not good for mastering the canopy.

Afterwards I found myself frustrated with the jump. The two most important parts - the exit and landing - were wasted. I decided to write off the day, go home and come up with a plan. At the start of next month I have a sizeable overtime payment coming. I'm going to take a day off and head to the drop zone midweek, when it will be less busy. I'll try and get in 3 or 4 jumps, possibly low-altitude, low-effort hop-and-pops, and practice exits and landings. Hopefully I'll make some progress.