Accelerated Free Fall

Accelerated Free Fall

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CountZero23

1,288 posts

177 months

Friday 31st July 2015
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mouseymousey said:
CountZero23 said:
Try to avoid doing this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a80r13T7cGo

Foot still smarts a bit but off the crutches and wretched moon boot. Giving it another week then getting back at it hehe
Ouch! That looked like a hard landing! What did you do wrong?
As other have said, it was a late flare - needed to pull down on the toggles few feet earlier and a bit faster. Was trying for a slower / smoother flare, by the time I realised that wasn't what was going to happen I hit the ground.

A decent PLF (Parachute landing fall ) and I would of been fine. PLF is the proper way to land without hurting yourself, very similar to the theory behind landing from a throw in martial arts - roll and distribute the weight in such a way nothing breaks smile

selym

9,539 posts

170 months

Friday 31st July 2015
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Jasandjules said:
selym said:
Try an early flare!! I boll0cksed my shoulder up by overestimating the distance from the ground. That was the end, my friend.
I did one so early that I had time to "re-flare" before landing..... Wasn't my softest.. But not my worst...
I asked the Flight Sergeant manning the binos on the jump area how high I flared at, he said 'about 40 ft son!' We agreed it was about 25 ft too soon. That was my last jump, and to be fair I don't really have the appetite for it to go back and jump again. Not the knock I took, but I didn't enjoy it or get as much of a buzz out of it as I thought I would. Apart from 'in the door....go' which was a massive buzz!!

matt12023

485 posts

195 months

Friday 31st July 2015
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where are you jumping at Countzero?

CountZero23

1,288 posts

177 months

Friday 31st July 2015
quotequote all
matt12023 said:
where are you jumping at Countzero?
Headcorn, you ever jump down this way?

matt12023

485 posts

195 months

Friday 31st July 2015
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That's South, furthest south I've been is Langer, which is a really good DZ

When everyone's got their FS1 we should arrange a PH four-way

mouseymousey

Original Poster:

2,641 posts

236 months

Sunday 2nd August 2015
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matt12023 said:
That's South, furthest south I've been is Langer, which is a really good DZ

When everyone's got their FS1 we should arrange a PH four-way
Where are you jumping at them? If Langar is South for you then you must be in the North as I am?

matt12023

485 posts

195 months

Sunday 2nd August 2015
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I live in Glasgow but usually jump at Peterlee, though I've had a quiet summer as been revising for uni exams

My mate Katarina is doing her B cert. progression at BK at the moment so you may well run into her

rovermorris999

5,195 posts

188 months

Sunday 2nd August 2015
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I did a couple of static line jumps back in the 80's and although I enjoyed them I decided that jumping out of a perfectly serviceable aeroplane is daft. A hat-tip to those who do though.

Jasandjules

69,825 posts

228 months

Sunday 2nd August 2015
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rovermorris999 said:
I did a couple of static line jumps back in the 80's and although I enjoyed them I decided that jumping out of a perfectly serviceable aeroplane is daft. A hat-tip to those who do though.
Not all the ones I've been in seem all that perfectly serviceable.. Had to push start one !

ukbabz

1,538 posts

125 months

Monday 3rd August 2015
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Jasandjules said:
Not all the ones I've been in seem all that perfectly serviceable.. Had to push start one !
You ever seen an AN-2 start? manually spin the prop..


mouseymousey

Original Poster:

2,641 posts

236 months

Sunday 16th August 2015
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Well I'm reporting back having started, and ended prematurely, my AFF course!

Got 3 jumps done with lots of pauses because of wind speed. Jump 1 was ok with the only issue being poor leg control in the arch. Got the chute deployed OK and canopy control was good with a decent landing.

Jump 2 I got the legs sorted but for some reason i dipped both arms when doing a practise pull and lost balance which I never really recovered from. I then couldn't locate the toggle on the pull at 6,000 feet and when I went back for another goy my instructor had already pulled for me. When under canopy I had line twists because of the unstable position when pulling. I kicked those out OK then had a good canopy ride and landing. This jump was about 9 hours after the first so putting it down to a long gap!

Jump 3 was much better, good legs, good arms, but I did have a problem maintaining a heading when released by both instructors. I know what the issue was (arms not level) but didn't really have time to fix it before the primary instructor grabbed me. This wold seem to be something to work on in the tunnel. The pull was good this time and canopy ride was excellent but I messed up the landing and rolled over a foot.

Quite painful but thought it was only soft tissue damage however I went to A&E this morning and I've broken it! I'm gutted! The course will have to be delayed.

I haven't been put off by it. It was my own stupid fault and I won't make the mistake again! The thrill of going out that plane is amazing and I really want to carry on once I'm healed. I had a few nerves on the lift up but once in the doorway the nerves go and the training takes over. I would recommend it to anyone

So there you go. An awesome experience which I will continue but can be dangerous if you don't listen very closely to your instructors!

rovermorris999

5,195 posts

188 months

Sunday 16th August 2015
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mouseymousey said:
I had a few nerves on the lift up but once in the doorway the nerves go and the training takes over.
That's where we differ. Once in the doorway the nerves got worse! Once the chute was open I loved it (this was a static line) but up to that point my survival mechanisms were shouting loudly at me. No better on jump two either and coupled with waiting ages for low enough wind speeds made me think I'd stick to cars. I'll collect my wuss badge on the way out.

Jasandjules

69,825 posts

228 months

Sunday 16th August 2015
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rovermorris999 said:
I'll collect my wuss badge on the way out.
At least you gave it a go. No need for the badge.

rovermorris999

5,195 posts

188 months

Sunday 16th August 2015
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I'm glad I did it, a tremendous experience, just not for me. At least I can relate a little to those who do progress in the sport. A bit like having some track time, it'll not make you a racer but at least you've had a slight taste.

CountZero23

1,288 posts

177 months

Sunday 16th August 2015
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Good work OP. Glad I'm not the only one breaking things in the process hehe

My foot is now sorted after about 4 weeks so ready to hit in again. Will see what conditions are like next week and see if I can get a day off work.

ben_h100

1,546 posts

178 months

Sunday 16th August 2015
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Get well soon and good luck for when you start again. I'm out of the loop having not jumped for 4 years but I will definitely get back into it one day. Living in Cyprus helped! Like one of the other posters I went to Perris Valley with the army and completed AFF at dirt cheap prices. Now at 60 jumps, B license and got most of the way through FS1. I'd recommend getting FS1 as soon as you can, even if you have to get to Spain to complete it intensively. Jumping on your own gets bring after a while.

mouseymousey

Original Poster:

2,641 posts

236 months

Sunday 16th August 2015
quotequote all
CountZero23 said:
Good work OP. Glad I'm not the only one breaking things in the process hehe

My foot is now sorted after about 4 weeks so ready to hit in again. Will see what conditions are like next week and see if I can get a day off work.
Sorry if I missed it but what did you actually suffer? I couldn't believe I broke the ankle, I thought I had sprained it at worse.

A&E telling me to expect 8 weeks in the boot - I can handle that but I'm encouraged by your 4 weeks!

Most pissed off that it was totally my fault and I've missed a day of jumping today. I will not be beaten by this, I'm up in the plane as soon as I'm cleared to jump.

ben_h100 said:
Get well soon and good luck for when you start again. I'm out of the loop having not jumped for 4 years but I will definitely get back into it one day. Living in Cyprus helped! Like one of the other posters I went to Perris Valley with the army and completed AFF at dirt cheap prices. Now at 60 jumps, B license and got most of the way through FS1. I'd recommend getting FS1 as soon as you can, even if you have to get to Spain to complete it intensively. Jumping on your own gets bring after a while.
Cheers for that! My last lift was with a guy doing last stage of FS1 - looks fun. Not so sure about CF1 - that doesn't really float my boat.

Edited by mouseymousey on Sunday 16th August 21:24

CountZero23

1,288 posts

177 months

Monday 17th August 2015
quotequote all
mouseymousey said:
Sorry if I missed it but what did you actually suffer? I couldn't believe I broke the ankle, I thought I had sprained it at worse.

A&E telling me to expect 8 weeks in the boot - I can handle that but I'm encouraged by your 4 weeks!

Most pissed off that it was totally my fault and I've missed a day of jumping today. I will not be beaten by this, I'm up in the plane as soon as I'm cleared to jump.
I fractured two or my metatarsals, was in the boot for a couple of weeks and limping for a few weeks after after. Still getting some interesting clicking noises out of it.

One thing to bear in mind is that if you don't jump for 3 months during your AFF you need to start again from scratch. This is what I was told by another jumper anyway.

Here's the rubbish landing in all its glory!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a80r13T7cGo

Zoobeef

6,004 posts

157 months

Monday 17th August 2015
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There was 15ish of us on my course. This is the video one of the instructors knocked up. All the footage there must have been of me and I only made it on for a few seconds at 5.13 doing a bit of tracking. I suppose that's the result of not body popping my whole way down.

https://youtu.be/8oGrtjHfJwg

There's nothing on the video after 8.20

mouseymousey

Original Poster:

2,641 posts

236 months

Tuesday 18th August 2015
quotequote all
Some good news after seeing the specialist and having another x-ray. The fracture is stable so I should be out of the boot in 4 weeks, not 8.

By my reckoning that means I can be jumping again within 8 weeks! Something to aim for anyway!