To be fair, I haven't tried that hard to jump - it's been cold and frequently wet and windy and I haven't felt inclined to drive for hours to one of the few dropzones that are open in the winter, just on the off-chance I might be able to squeeze in one or two jumps.
But it's now just over a week until I fly back out to Seville for a few days and hopefully that will make a massive difference. I'm trying not to set myself any expectations on how many jumps I might manage to jam into 5 days, though a sneaky little voice keeps telling me that 20 would be nice to bring me up to my first 50, lol. A tall order perhaps, I'll be grateful for some sun and some warmth to start off with :-)
Before I head off, I have the tunnel scrambles at Bedford on 01st Feb which should be fun and hopefully will help me remember what an arch feels like, lol. It seems like a very long time since I last jumped (8th December!) so I am a little nervous of heading back out to Seville which wasn't the most forgiving of landing areas, to put it mildly. But at least there won't be mud swamps!
And I have more tunnel time with a bit of 4-way coaching booked for mid Feb so I may slowly get coaxed towards my FS1. But my main focus is still on my canopy handling so really looking forward to my Canopy Course with Brian Vacher in June. That seems so far away right now, but I guess that means more time to practice my CH2 and there's also Conrad's demo course in March. Now that's going to be challenging, lol. At least it's all hop and pops so even if it's cold, hopefully I won't suffer too much, but I can't really see the weather cooperating too well that early in the season! I like hop and pops so not too bothered about the exits though I'm not certain about the actual exit I'm supposed to be using. I've only ever dived or jumped, I've not held onto the plane so that will be new. Maybe I can get someone to show me some options in Seville. My main concern is the accuracy of the landings - I'm doing this to learn new stuff, not to have any hope of qualifying, rofl. And I'll be way low on jump numbers anyway since the minimum is 100. But at least I may be able to help out on the ground - assuming I go back to Sibson. Not sure if it's a generic qualification and if so, where it might get recorded. A separate certificate like a packing certificate? Might have to have a quick Google of that :-)
Sunday 26 January 2014
Tuesday 14 January 2014
12 Jan - Packing practice and my tangle test !
Had planned to try and jump at Langar today if the weather had been kind but it is bitterly cold - got down to -2 degrees C on my drive up last night and it was no better this morning! Lots of frost on the cars and rooftops - I like my fingers attached to my body, there's no way I'm even doing hop and pops in these temperatures, lol.
So pro-packing practice it is then :-) It's been a few weeks since I last did a practice and it shows. Setting the brakes was easy, doing the 4 line checks was also ok, I have one set of lines over each shoulder, the slider at the back of my neck and...... now what?? I can count all the different sets of lines (As, Bs, Cs etc) but then have no clue what comes next. Something to do with counting nose cells ..? After a few minutes of racking my brains and not coming up with any inspiration, I admit defeat and confess to Conrad I can't remember what happens next. So we start again.
The first part was ok - laying out the canopy with the container face down, then checking the steering lines and setting the brakes. The four line check was also ok so I had actually got as far as Check Stage 1 by myself.
The initial part of Check Stage 2 had also started well, with checking the sets of lines (A, B, C, D and brakes / steering lines) but the first thing I had forgotten was to quarter the slider and make sure it was neatly tucked high up amongst the lines. The next step is to gather all the lines together, in one hand, turn the whole canopy onto my hip and flake out the nose cells. Ah yes, this is looking more familiar. Nose cells between the knees to keep them neat, then find the centre of the tail. Flaking alternate sides in to get all the lines together, then wrapping the tail around the grommets to keep it all in place, by twisting the back edges together without disturbing the rest of the canopy, before attempting to squash some air out. Laying the whole thing neatly on the floor was also another challenge!
And now the biggest challenge - getting the canopy neatly into its D-bag. Hmmm, there might be some leeway required on the definition of neatly......
I also forgot to cock the pilot chute as student parachutes don't need this step and I'd only done it once before. Though I still should have checked the D-bag and bungees regardless so not really much of an excuse, lol. So now I have a cocked pilot chute, the D-bag is inside out with all the bungees untwisted, all I have to do now is S-fold the canopy and put it into the bag. Yeah, right! As I wrestle with this step over and over again, with more and more layers of clothing coming off as I get hot and out of breath with the struggle, Conrad shows me various different ways of folding the canopy to get it into the bag. So long as the slider stays high and the lines back to the container stay taut (and hence don't have the chance to tangle or wrap over the canopy), it's really just a case of squashing all the air out of the canopy so it will fit in. Hmmm.... Once it's finally in, the next challenge is to try and keep the tail wrapped tightly round the lines, which need to stay taut, whilst getting the first couple of elastic bungees secured. My fingers are not going to forgive me for a while..... Having finally won that battle, and secured the rest of the lines in the stows, I've reached the end of Check Stage 3. Time for a cup of tea! Then Conrad pulls it all apart and I do it all again from the beginning. Now I'm starting to get the knack of this part, it's time to move on to the last stage.
So the D-bag goes into the container with the lines at the bottom (for freefall. Apparently the lines go at the top for static line!). There is a very simple statement on my check sheet at this point which merely states "close container and stow risers". Ha ha ha! If I hadn't already been hot and sweaty from putting the canopy into the bag, then doing battle with the closing loop and pin would definitely have done it. And I'd forgotten the closing sequence of the flaps too - it can vary but mostly it's Bottom, Top, Right, Left (Aide-memoire: Bengal Tigers Roar Loudly. Or Conrad's preferred option: Big Tits Require Looking). I did remember to put the bridle for the pilot chute out to the top right, though again, that can vary by container.
So having squished enough air out of the canopy to get the flaps closed (see, this is where I reckon heavier people have a major advantage; they can squash the air out more easily when they kneel on the container, lol) and put the locking pin in place, it was time to stow the risers, then stow the bridle and pilot chute.
Having done all that, a quick check of the 3 ring system, cutaway pad and reserve handle and I'm done, ready for Check Stage 4.
So Conrad pulls it all apart slowly to check each step. A few comments and tips (like remembering to tuck up a bit of the bridle before stowing the rest and turn the steering loops to the inside) and we get to the stows on the D-bag. Mostly they are taut but the first one was slightly uneven because I hadn't tied the harness rings tightly together (another tip - use the pull up to tie the largest of the harness rings to each other; not only does it mean the lines will be more even, hence helping to avoid line twists on deployment, it also means you'll know exactly where the pull up is (and that you have one handy!!) when it comes to closing the container).
Overall he's fairly happy with it, so once it's back in a heap on the floor, I start again from the very beginning.
By this time it's taking me around 35 minutes from start to finish - not as bad as I'd feared, lol. We take a break for lunch then Conrad pulls it all apart again. It's looking ok, so I put it all back again and this time, instead of pulling the canopy out, he pulls the cutaway out and gets me to put it back together again. Once that is done, another review of pulling the whole thing apart, then Conrad sends me off for a cup of tea whilst he sets up a tangle test. Uh oh! Wasn't expecting this! Hopefully he's not going to be too mean, lol.
Back again and Conrad has the container over one shoulder, with the canopy and lines bundled in his arms. He drops the whole lot on the floor and leaves me to it! Arrrghh!
First thing was a twisted steering line, wrapped around other lines and tangled so I sorted that out and stowed both (without setting the brakes) whilst I had a look at the rest. The lines looked pretty twisted so I started by following the steering lines down from the canopy and untwisting those, before setting the brakes. Then I attempted the four line check to see if I could work out what was wrong.
Definitely a twist of the canopy passing through its own lines so I cautiously started spreading the line sets out to see if I could determine which way the canopy needed to go. After trying a couple of different ways of laying out the lines, I made enough space to put the canopy between them, picked them up and flipped it whilst keeping tight hold in case I'd got it wrong, ha ha. It looked a lot better once I'd done that but I still had a twist in one set of lines near the canopy. That was confusing - how did I get a twist only on one side?? And how on earth do I get it out?? It doesn't make sense. I decide to do the four line check again just to make sure I'm not missing something, and this time I end up with a twist on each side. Ok, that makes much more sense. Except now I have to flip the entire canopy between its own lines without dropping anything. Or do I? The twists are at the top of the lines above the slider, but if I coax the twists below the slider, maybe I could just flip the container over instead. Aha! Much simpler option and it works.
Right, back to the beginning again. I check the steering lines again for twists and have to undo the brakes and reset them. After that, it's all pretty straightforward. Conrad pops in and out, checking on my progress, and he's probably eavesdropping on my mutterings too, lol. It's going well up until the point where I have to get the canopy into the bag. This time it starts slithering away from me. I retrieve it a couple of times and eventually it's in the bag, but looking at it, I'm not overly happy that I would jump it. I'm not sure the slider has stayed high (actually it had) and the tail has definitely unwrapped from the lines. Would I be comfortable jumping this canopy if it was mine? No. Right, back to Check Stage 1 then <sigh> It goes a lot better the next time around and I complete the entire sequence to Check Stage 4. I would happily jump it this time so I hand it over to Conrad for his checks. And out it all comes again ....
And I passed! Conrad was happy with it and I'd got all the steps right. It took me a little over an hour, which I was more than happy with considering I'd redone Check Stage 2, and Conrad took pity on me and repacked it for the final time, showing me more tips and techniques as he did so. Right, where can I get hold of a rig to practice on..???
So pro-packing practice it is then :-) It's been a few weeks since I last did a practice and it shows. Setting the brakes was easy, doing the 4 line checks was also ok, I have one set of lines over each shoulder, the slider at the back of my neck and...... now what?? I can count all the different sets of lines (As, Bs, Cs etc) but then have no clue what comes next. Something to do with counting nose cells ..? After a few minutes of racking my brains and not coming up with any inspiration, I admit defeat and confess to Conrad I can't remember what happens next. So we start again.
The first part was ok - laying out the canopy with the container face down, then checking the steering lines and setting the brakes. The four line check was also ok so I had actually got as far as Check Stage 1 by myself.
The initial part of Check Stage 2 had also started well, with checking the sets of lines (A, B, C, D and brakes / steering lines) but the first thing I had forgotten was to quarter the slider and make sure it was neatly tucked high up amongst the lines. The next step is to gather all the lines together, in one hand, turn the whole canopy onto my hip and flake out the nose cells. Ah yes, this is looking more familiar. Nose cells between the knees to keep them neat, then find the centre of the tail. Flaking alternate sides in to get all the lines together, then wrapping the tail around the grommets to keep it all in place, by twisting the back edges together without disturbing the rest of the canopy, before attempting to squash some air out. Laying the whole thing neatly on the floor was also another challenge!
And now the biggest challenge - getting the canopy neatly into its D-bag. Hmmm, there might be some leeway required on the definition of neatly......
I also forgot to cock the pilot chute as student parachutes don't need this step and I'd only done it once before. Though I still should have checked the D-bag and bungees regardless so not really much of an excuse, lol. So now I have a cocked pilot chute, the D-bag is inside out with all the bungees untwisted, all I have to do now is S-fold the canopy and put it into the bag. Yeah, right! As I wrestle with this step over and over again, with more and more layers of clothing coming off as I get hot and out of breath with the struggle, Conrad shows me various different ways of folding the canopy to get it into the bag. So long as the slider stays high and the lines back to the container stay taut (and hence don't have the chance to tangle or wrap over the canopy), it's really just a case of squashing all the air out of the canopy so it will fit in. Hmmm.... Once it's finally in, the next challenge is to try and keep the tail wrapped tightly round the lines, which need to stay taut, whilst getting the first couple of elastic bungees secured. My fingers are not going to forgive me for a while..... Having finally won that battle, and secured the rest of the lines in the stows, I've reached the end of Check Stage 3. Time for a cup of tea! Then Conrad pulls it all apart and I do it all again from the beginning. Now I'm starting to get the knack of this part, it's time to move on to the last stage.
So the D-bag goes into the container with the lines at the bottom (for freefall. Apparently the lines go at the top for static line!). There is a very simple statement on my check sheet at this point which merely states "close container and stow risers". Ha ha ha! If I hadn't already been hot and sweaty from putting the canopy into the bag, then doing battle with the closing loop and pin would definitely have done it. And I'd forgotten the closing sequence of the flaps too - it can vary but mostly it's Bottom, Top, Right, Left (Aide-memoire: Bengal Tigers Roar Loudly. Or Conrad's preferred option: Big Tits Require Looking). I did remember to put the bridle for the pilot chute out to the top right, though again, that can vary by container.
So having squished enough air out of the canopy to get the flaps closed (see, this is where I reckon heavier people have a major advantage; they can squash the air out more easily when they kneel on the container, lol) and put the locking pin in place, it was time to stow the risers, then stow the bridle and pilot chute.
Having done all that, a quick check of the 3 ring system, cutaway pad and reserve handle and I'm done, ready for Check Stage 4.
So Conrad pulls it all apart slowly to check each step. A few comments and tips (like remembering to tuck up a bit of the bridle before stowing the rest and turn the steering loops to the inside) and we get to the stows on the D-bag. Mostly they are taut but the first one was slightly uneven because I hadn't tied the harness rings tightly together (another tip - use the pull up to tie the largest of the harness rings to each other; not only does it mean the lines will be more even, hence helping to avoid line twists on deployment, it also means you'll know exactly where the pull up is (and that you have one handy!!) when it comes to closing the container).
Overall he's fairly happy with it, so once it's back in a heap on the floor, I start again from the very beginning.
By this time it's taking me around 35 minutes from start to finish - not as bad as I'd feared, lol. We take a break for lunch then Conrad pulls it all apart again. It's looking ok, so I put it all back again and this time, instead of pulling the canopy out, he pulls the cutaway out and gets me to put it back together again. Once that is done, another review of pulling the whole thing apart, then Conrad sends me off for a cup of tea whilst he sets up a tangle test. Uh oh! Wasn't expecting this! Hopefully he's not going to be too mean, lol.
Back again and Conrad has the container over one shoulder, with the canopy and lines bundled in his arms. He drops the whole lot on the floor and leaves me to it! Arrrghh!
First thing was a twisted steering line, wrapped around other lines and tangled so I sorted that out and stowed both (without setting the brakes) whilst I had a look at the rest. The lines looked pretty twisted so I started by following the steering lines down from the canopy and untwisting those, before setting the brakes. Then I attempted the four line check to see if I could work out what was wrong.
Definitely a twist of the canopy passing through its own lines so I cautiously started spreading the line sets out to see if I could determine which way the canopy needed to go. After trying a couple of different ways of laying out the lines, I made enough space to put the canopy between them, picked them up and flipped it whilst keeping tight hold in case I'd got it wrong, ha ha. It looked a lot better once I'd done that but I still had a twist in one set of lines near the canopy. That was confusing - how did I get a twist only on one side?? And how on earth do I get it out?? It doesn't make sense. I decide to do the four line check again just to make sure I'm not missing something, and this time I end up with a twist on each side. Ok, that makes much more sense. Except now I have to flip the entire canopy between its own lines without dropping anything. Or do I? The twists are at the top of the lines above the slider, but if I coax the twists below the slider, maybe I could just flip the container over instead. Aha! Much simpler option and it works.
Right, back to the beginning again. I check the steering lines again for twists and have to undo the brakes and reset them. After that, it's all pretty straightforward. Conrad pops in and out, checking on my progress, and he's probably eavesdropping on my mutterings too, lol. It's going well up until the point where I have to get the canopy into the bag. This time it starts slithering away from me. I retrieve it a couple of times and eventually it's in the bag, but looking at it, I'm not overly happy that I would jump it. I'm not sure the slider has stayed high (actually it had) and the tail has definitely unwrapped from the lines. Would I be comfortable jumping this canopy if it was mine? No. Right, back to Check Stage 1 then <sigh> It goes a lot better the next time around and I complete the entire sequence to Check Stage 4. I would happily jump it this time so I hand it over to Conrad for his checks. And out it all comes again ....
And I passed! Conrad was happy with it and I'd got all the steps right. It took me a little over an hour, which I was more than happy with considering I'd redone Check Stage 2, and Conrad took pity on me and repacked it for the final time, showing me more tips and techniques as he did so. Right, where can I get hold of a rig to practice on..???
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