how it all begain etc ec etc
Reaching Dropzone
| Day | Activity | Jump | Total Jumps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ground School | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Ground School | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Bad weather. No jump. | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Packing Course. Bad weather. No jump. | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Rig packing practice. Bad weather. No jump. | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Bad weather. No jump. | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Cat-A Tandem Jump | 1 | 1 |
| 8 | Cat-B (jump with two instructors) Passed Cat-C (jump with two instructors). Failed | 2 | 3 |
| 9 | Wind tunnel 10 minutes. Cat-C (jump with two instructors). Passed Wind tunnel 10 minutes. Cat-D1 (jump with one instructor). Failed | 2 | 5 |
| 10 | Wind tunnel 10 minutes. Cat-D1 (jump with one instructor). Passed | 1 | 6 |
| 11 | Bad weather. No jump. | 0 | 6 |
| 12 | Bad weather. No jump. | 0 | 6 |
| 13 | Bad weather. No jump. | 0 | 6 |
| 14 | Bad weather. No jump. | 0 | 6 |
| 15 | Cat-D2 (jump with one instructor). Passed Cat-E1 (jump with one instructor). Passed | 2 | 8 |
| 16 | Cat-E2 (jump with one instructor). Passed. AFF completed. 3 Solo Jump 1 Coach Jump | 5 | 13 |
| 17 | 1 Solo Jump | 1 | 14 |
| 18 | 1 Coach Jump | 1 | 15 |
| 19 | 2 Coach jumps 2 Hop and Pop Jumps 3 Solo Jump | 7 | 22 |
| 20 | 1 Coach jump 1 Solo Jump 1 Check dive for License A | 3 | 25 |
My Journey
Day 1: Ground school: Next morning, we were greeted by the chief instructor Anton who then introduced us to the dropzone staff, Instructors, packers and riggers. He took us to the ground school and started our basic training. The training started with the introduction to skydiving, the dos and don’ts, details about the course progression, the jumps, tasks for each jump, the hand signals, landing area, landing pattern etc. Then he took us to the hangar and showed us what a rig/parachute looks like and the most important part of the skydive: Pull. We all attempted to do that. It was a long day and we were given the handbook to read about the basics and prepare ourselves. In the meantime we explored the area, saw other people jump, saw the wind tunnel and interacted with people who are already undergoing the AFF course.
Day 2: Ground School: Next morning, we were back to ground school at 8 AM and started our course. We were told that if the weather stays good then we might get the chance for our first jump. It was a scary feeling. In the evening we decided that the two of us should go to a supermarket and purchase the groceries so that we can start cooking for ourselves, it’s going to be economical and healthy. At night, I wrote down the steps and tasks I have to do in my first jump and started repeating them in my mind till I slept.
Day 3: No jump : Next morning, I woke up at 6 AM went for a 5km jog onto the highway, came back and got ready after having breakfast. I boiled eggs, took a glass of milk, roasted two slices of bread and I was ready. The wind speed was still above the limits for student jumps, so other people were jumping and I was given the briefing for the first jump by Pavlov, my instructor, and I waited the whole day for the jump but nothing. I got the chance to meet more and more people and explore the area. WE cooked some chapati, some rice and MTR ready-to-make curries. At night, I revised the same steps I had written last night and prepared for the next day. It’s been three days now going over the same feeling of fear and excitement over and over again. Now this is turning into frustration slowly
Day 4: Packing course, No jump: Next morning, I woke up at 6 and went for a 5km jog. I was briefed by another instructor, Gleb, for my first jump and he got me through the emergency procedures. I was once again ready and waited in the hanger for the whole day. Still the wind was fast and students were not allowed to jump. I got an idea why I am wasting so much time in the hangar sitting idle when I can use this time for some other activities. I met the chief instructor Anton and asked him that instead of waiting this whole time why don’t we go for the parachute packing course. It will be a use of time and we can use the time in jumps on later stages. Anton agreed and we started our packing course that day.
It was a bit difficult as the chief rigger Alexi was Russian and he didn’t know English but they made another person translate for us and made best efforts to make us understand all the necessary things. Then all of us were given a separate rig and with an instructor to teach us through and correct our mistakes while packing. It’s a painful exercise and it hurts more if you do not pay attention to the technique and just use brute force. I packed the rig 4 times that day and came back tired. The night was again the same, many people were enjoying and telling their jumps and I was sitting and listening to them and praying for my first jump.
Day 5: Practice rig pack, no jump: I woke up at 6 AM and went for a 5km jog and prepared myself a heavy breakfast with some potato sandwich and omelet and a glass of milk. I headed straight to the hangar and started packing a rig. By afternoon I packed it three times and I discussed with other friends what we should do now as this is getting frustrating. We discussed it and they decided to go for a 10-minute wind tunnel to get the feeling of being in the air. Rahul and Prabin went for their10-minute wind tunnel and I watched them. It looks so easy when you are outside and guiding people how easy it is. Yeah, I had the same feeling and I was wondering how easy it is. I didn’t get into the tunnel as I wanted to use that to correct the mistakes I’ll be making in the sky. Again, we went to our places and after having dinner we dozed off.
Day 6: No Jump: I woke up at 6 AM but did not feel like jogging so I just walked and got ready and was there at the hanger at 8 AM. The wind was still too much for student jumps. I waited in the hangar and then I met Prabin and Rahul whose bodies were aching because of the wind tunnel and then we started making fun of each other. That day later in the afternoon, the weather got a bit clear and Rahul and Kirtimaan got their first jump. I was also ready for the jump but before that the wind speed increased again. I stood there watching other people jump and came back frustrated but with the feeling that I will get the jump tomorrow. We cooked dinner, I recited the steps for the jump and slept.
Day 7: First jump, the tandem: Skydiving is a game of patience and excitement. As they say, slow is fast. The slower you move the faster it is. I woke up at 6, did some short runs along with some stretching exercises. Reached the hangar at 8 AM. It seemed like a pleasant day but the wind was strong. Suddenly Gleb came to me and briefed me for the jump and then took me for emergency drills and asked me to be ready. Rahul and Kirtiman were off to their second jump and I was waiting for my first jump. Then it was Prabin who went for his first jump and now my heartbeat was increasing that I could be next.
Finally, the moment came. I got ready, briefed Gleb about what all things I am going to do in the jump and we took off for the plane in a truck. As I was waiting for the plane, I kept telling myself what all things I have to do and in which order. It was not like the fun tandem jump where it’s all about fun and enjoyment, here I have to do some tasks and if I fail then I have to repeat the jump. As the plane arrived, I got into the plane. I looked around and saw all the smiling faces and I was the one with all the tension and pressure. Once again in the plane Gleb asked me to demonstrate the routine. It was 13500 feet when the door opened and people started taking off one by one, I watched them go and with every person leaving the plane, my heartbeat gets higher by 10. Finally, the moment arrived, I looked down for a second and went into routine mode.
OUT-IN-OUT and we were off the plane. I can’t describe the feeling in words. After the jump I didn’t do the routine and the instructor gave me thumbs up from both sides. I did right turn, left turn, alti checks, three practice pulls, alti checks etc. I don’t remember if I looked at the ground, the time went so fast that it was difficult to remember what I saw, I only remember what I did in the routine. At 6000 feet I waved off and moved my hand to pull and the parachute was opened. It was a little shock and I turned my head up and saw the parachute above my head. Gleb did the canopy check and risers test and then I moved my hands up and held the risers along with Gleb and then I did right and left turns, told him how the landing patterns should be, and where we need to be as a part of the routine. I observed the altitude with each turn and we landed. Gleb disconnected me and told me to get back to ground school for the briefing.
I came back smiling and with the feeling of achievement I discussed with my friends. I mentioned that I don’t know if I did all the things or not but it was hell of a jump and experience. I met Gleb with my logbook and he said I did everything right and sighed. He briefed me for the second jump and gave me a document to read. The night was good, we all had at least one jump and we were discussing the jumps, about the instructors, about everything related to skydiving.
Day 8 (Second Jump Cat- B and Cat C): I woke up at 7AM as yesterday I slept late because of all the discussions about the jump etc. Today I went for a 3km jog and reached the hangar after having breakfast. Alex came to me and asked me about the jump routine which I explained and practiced on my own in my free time. At about 10 AM he came to me and said you are on the next load get ready. I got ready and collected my rig and practiced the routine again. This was going to be my first jump without being attached to the instructor and I have to land on my own. Alex gave me multiple instructions on how to fly the canopy after the pull. The moment came and we left for the plane in the truck. The same fear and excitement was taking over me again.
We got into the plane and this time there were two instructors for me. At 1500 feet I unhooked myself and at 6000 feet I did the routine pull practice and at 10k feet Alex asked me to once again explain the routine. Now the moment came and the door was open. As soon as it was green light, people were taking off from the place. Now it was my turn, one instructor moved outside the plane and he held me from the grip. I was at the plane door and one instructor was inside. I looked in and shouted, “Check In” the instructor gave me a thumbs up, I looked out and shouted, “Check out”, and got another thumbs up. Then I shouted with the action, UP-Down-OUT and I was out of the plane and I started counting, “One thousand, two thousand, three thousand, four thousand, five thousand” and then I looked right got a thumbs up from the instructor and then I looked left and got a thumbs up from the instructor and then I checked the altimeter. One instructor asked me to arch and I did it, then I did a COA check followed by three practice pulls and left and right turns. I was looking at the altimeter again and again and as soon as 6000 feet came; I waved off and pulled the pilot chute. The instructors were gone now and I was alone. I checked the parachute if it’s all ok, then checked the slider. Took the risers in my hand and did right and left turns and now I was trying to figure out where I should be by looking at the ground. I couldn’t make out at first but slowly I was getting calm and things started making sense. I moved to the holding area and started experimenting with the canopy. Look left, turn left, look right-turn right, pull both risers together and hold for 3 seconds and repeat the routine without leaving the holding area, and in this manner I was descending and suddenly I heard Alex on the radio. Shubham, take a left turn, Shubham take a right turn, shubham tap your legs, move straight and I followed those commands. I kept looking at the altimeter as I have to be very careful with the landing pattern. I followed the instructions as help for following the landing pattern. Then in the final leg the instructor commanded, full speed and legs together. I followed. The ground was approaching fast and the speed was too much and I go the command, “half flare half flare half flare”, and I pulled the toggles to my shoulders and the next command, “full flare full flare full flare”, and I pulled the risers from shoulders till my trouser pockets. And in no time I was on my feet standing on the ground with a parachute falling behind my back. It was an amazing landing and I was on cloud nine. I did it. Obviously with support but I did it.
I gathered the parachute as per the routine and headed back to the hangar. Instructor told me to go to ground school for a briefing and it was all good. He signed my logbook and asked me to go through the document and briefed me for the next jump. I was excited and ready.
Now it was time for my Cat-C jump. With the same procedure, I was on a plane in the second half of the day. Instructors were changed now Fedor was the instructor giving me all the instructions. The gate opened, people left and so did I and did the route. After the routine, one of the instructors left me to see how I was holding and balancing. As soon as he left me I dived towards the left, he came back and held me. He took another chance and again left me and I dived off again. Now the held me till I pulled the pilot chute. Again I did the same thing for the landing and landed on my butt. Fedor called me for a briefing and said that I was unbalanced and I have to repeat the jump. But before that I have to spend some 10 minutes in the wind tunnel to correct my balance. I was depressed a bit but it was okay as many other people were doing the wind tunnel to correct their posture.
In the evening I went to the wind tunnel and it was not easy at all. The body aches and stretches like anything, I was not coming above the surface, not able to move at all, somehow I did some moves but it was bad, real bad. But I think I understood the basics of how to do the balancing. Kalpak told me to relax and not take things more seriously and I have done only one repeat where as Rahul and Prabin were on their second repeats but they were confident. I came back to the dorm after dinner and slept straight away as my body was in pain.
Day 9 Cat C and Cat D1 : Morning I woke up late and started my day slowly. Body ache was there but not something I can’t handle. I reached the hanger at 8am, recited my routine, practiced it and was ready for the jump. Again there were two instructors with me and this time I did somewhat better than yesterday, but after landing I was unsure if I’ll be cleared for the next jump. The instructor called me for the briefing and said that you need to arch more and balance more but you are good to go to the next level and advised me to spend 10 more minutes in the wind tunnel. I was happy that I cleared but I wasn’t confident that I am going to go through the next level.
I met Fedor and told him the things and he said that he is not free to give me time for wind tunnel but he’ll guide the wind tunnel instructor to teach me the basic things needed for me. He came with me to the wind tunnel and told the instructor in Russian what to teach me. I did it and my confidence went further down after that because I was not able to do anything there. Or maybe I did things good but I was not sure if I had done things right.
But the show must go on. In the afternoon I was ready for the next jump, category D1. Now there is going to be a single instructor with me. This time Andre was assigned to me. He is a good guy but not so good at English, he tried his best to make me comfortable and tell me all things. I was already under pressure and now jumping with a single instructor made me think if I can really do this or not. But I was ready for the jump and we were in the plane in no time. This time Andre was inside and I was outside, again with the routine I exited and I looked at Andre who was holding me from right, he shook me a bit as a sign to relax and I looked at him and he gave me a thumbs up. After COA (circle of awareness) check, he left me and came in front. I was looking at him and then to my altimeter and I was like, “Oh dear god, I am flying”, the took my attention by giving me a signal to turn right, I applied some force on my right hand and now I was rotating right, I balanced my body and applied some pressure on left to turn left and now now he was again in front of my eyes. I checked the altimeter and he instructed me to go left. I applied some force to my left and now I was rotating like a helicopter, one turn two turns and I was going out of control as I was not able to stop that turn by applying pressure on the right and arching properly. In my head I was like, “dude, you are gone”. In every turn I saw Andre trying to stop me, and suddenly I felt something on my leg, and before I could think of anything Andre again passed from my sight and this time he held me from my shoulder and back. My heart was pounding, I locked my eyes on the altimeter and as soon as it was 6000 feet, I waved off and pulled.
As soon as the parachute opened, I took some deep breaths and asked myself to calm down. IT was good, I was filled with negativity and depression if I am made for this or not. I landed safely and Andre asked me to report to the ground school where he debriefed me with the video and told me that my arch and body positions were good bit I have to work on body balancing and advised me to go to the wind tunnel for 10 minutes.
Now I am sick of it. I saw Fedor and told him that nothing helped. I said that wind tunnels are a waste of time and money and I am getting nothing but body aches and depression out of the wind tunnel. I prefer to repeat the jumps instead of going to the wind tunnel. He listened to me calmly and said if he is free he will look into it. But I was so depressed that I told him that I am going back and I am not made for this. I came back to my room where Kalpak saw me and said, things change in a matter of days. Today it was a bad day but tomorrow it could be the total opposite and you won’t even remember what you felt a day before. He induced some positive energy into me but I was way down under my own thoughts. I went to the dorm after dinner and started practicing my routine for the jump and trying to remember what went wrong and how to correct it.
At 1 AM I got a call from Fedor and he said where you are. I said I am in my dorm, he replied, come outside and meet me. He said what happened and I explained things to him and he asked me to get ready at 7AM and he is going to take my wind tunnel session. It brought some peace to my mind that somebody is there to help me out,
Day 10 Cat D1: I woke up at 6 AM and today I did just a walk and did not want to waste my energy as I have to go into the wind tunnel at 7. So I was there and Fedor just arrived. He took my wind tunnel session and I was feeling good. In 10 minutes of wind tunnel they give 4 sessions of 2.5 minutes each. I think what he did was, he made me do some difficult tasks in the first two sessions and then in the last two sessions he asked me to do the easier tasks and by the end I was with the feeling that I did everything great. It was his tactics, his teaching methods or just his presence. Whatever it was, I was feeling confidence.
I was ready for the jump. This time I got Alexi as my instructor, on the ground he asked me to explain the routine which I did and we were ready to go. I was feeling confident at the same time I was under pressure as this time I have to demonstrate the routine properly on my own.. The fear never goes away, at the door I was still nervous but I knew that I have to do this, there is no other way. He was inside the plane and OUT-IN-OUT and I started counting till five thousand and I looked at him. He gave me a thumbs up and I did the COA and he left me in front. I did a 90 degree right turn, came back to the same position, checked the altimeter, then did a 90 degree left turn, came back and did an altimeter check and that’s it. I was smiling and I was happy. He then gave me a sign to stretch my legs and I did and he moved to my side but didn’t hold me. At 6k feet, I waved off and pulled. I was happy and O knew that this time I nailed it, I am through. Rest of of the landing I did on my own and everything was great.
He called me for a debrief and said everything is good but I am taking more time to get stable which is okay but try to get stable a bit early. He gave me a document to read and gave instructions for the next jump. And I know I am going to take off now, nothing can stop me ahead. And then the weather came in and said, “you forgot about me”. It started raining and the day was called off because of the weather report, the clouds and the wet ground. I came back happily as I was through and feeling amazing.
Day 11: No jump: I woke up at 6 and it was raining, I slept again keeping an alarm for 8 am and it was still raining then. We had fun, we cooked, roamed here and there, went for long walks and I went to a restaurant and I went back to my book. In my free time I used to read the book and wanted to finish the book till the time I am here at dropzone. In the afternoon there was a jump limit of 200 and I came back and started my book again. We planned to go to the market and get our groceries and at night we cooked a nice meal.
Day 12: No jump: Same result different day. We thought that since the weather is bad, why don’t we go to Moscow for the weekend and utilize some time because we are not getting any jumps here because of weather. We booked train tickets and left for Moscow in the evening. We reached Moscow late at night and the hostel we booked simply declined as they were already full. We roamed the streets in search of a place to stay and then found a place to have dinner. Only one of us had the internet and all were depending on him to guide us. Finally we got to one place and stayed there.
Day 13: It’s Moscow Time: In the morning, I woke up early and got ready to explore the city. Everybody else was sleeping but I am a budget traveler, I have come to Moscow to visit the places and if I have to sleep I’ll sleep after reaching my home. I downloaded the map and I started exploring the city by walking. I don’t know how many kilometers I walked. I went to ……………………………………………………………………………………….
Now I needed to contact my friends and I didn’t have wifi or internet. So I went into a mall and tried some networks there but failed. Then I asked some of the shops if they have internet but they declined. Now I am back on the road again. I saw a guy smoking so I went to him and asked if he could help me and he did. We discussed our lives, where he is working and everything. It was a wonderful experience getting to know people out of nowhere. After contacting my friends and discussions with him I was again off to explore the city. Two hours went by and I didn’t see any of my friends and then I asked one more guy if he could give me wifi for contacting my friends. He didn’t know English but I made him understand and he shared the network with me and I shared my location. It was great to know how people support travelers and how helpful people are in every corner of the globe.
My friends were there and then we hired those electric scooters and traveled some places here and there. It was a fun ride. And we enjoyed it a lot. We shifted our luggage to another hotel and dozed off
Day 14: Leaving Moscow: Next morning we enjoyed ourselves in our hotel rooms and now we were off to Krutitcy for our skydiving. On that day we got to know that the weather had been absolutely clear these two day and I regretted that I should have been there but now what’s done is done so I started enjoying it here. We reached there at night and settled.
Day 15: Cat D2 and Cat E1: I woke up early at 6 and reached the hanger at 8. I asked Anton if it’s a good day to jump and he said yes. I quickly went through the jump routine and got ready. I practiced it again and again. Another instructor, Sergey, was assigned to me. He quickly briefed me through the routine once again and we were ready to jump. This time I had to do two 360 degree turns. The only thing in my mind was wondering if I am forgetting anything or not. Because it’s been 4 days since I jumped. But still I was on the positive side. I did everything and I was to land this time with minimal instructions and I did. This time I flared a bit early but it was okay.
Sergey and I discussed the jump and I was clear for the next jump. In this jump I had to do barrel roll. He took me to a hanger and told me how to do that and I was ready and confident.
This jump was the first jump I hesitated to make. As we were in the plane Sergei told me that I have to jump unassisted, which means he is not going to hold me and he will be outside. As soon as I came to the door I shouted, “OUT-IN-OUT” and I didn’t jump. I don’t know what I was afraid of or it was just the moment. From outside Sergey was shouting at me to jump, from inside the plane people were showing me hand signals to jump. I took a deep breath and I did “OUT-IN-OUT ”and I jumped. There were so many clouds and after getting sable I couldn’t find my instructor. I looked everywhere but couldn’t see him and I thought no problem if he is not here I’ll do what I have to do. He came in front and gave me a 360 degree front flip sign. I gathered all my muscles and pulled my knees together and I rotated but couldn’t get my belly position, my back was facing the earth. I took a second or two and gave myself a jerk to come back in the right position. Sergey came in front again and signed me to do a backflip. I was rotating but as soon as I stopped I bent my back and tried to touch my belly and in this way I got another flip. I was happy; Sergey came in front and gave me thumbs up and I was smiling and looking around. It was an amazing feeling. I pulled at the right altitude and did the landing all by myself. This time again I flared a bit high, I fell and got a small strain in my left leg. I decided that from the next jump onwards I am not going to flare until I feel that my legs are going to break if I hit the ground. Because every time the ground comes close I feel like I am going to hit and I always flare early.
Sergey called me for a briefing and said everything was good as a part of the jump except the exit. He told me that if I am taking too much time for my jump then the person athe last is going to be dropped way far from the dropzone and his jump is totally ruined because he has to travel a long distance to come back to the landing area. He said never to do this again and I understood the importance. He said that since I didn’t jump in my first count, he didn’t know if I was going to jump in my second as well so he jumped after I jumped and that is why he took time to come to me. Also it is a sport of trust and sync. Had he jumped before me on my first count, he would never be able to come to me and I am jumping a few seconds later and he can’t make his falling rate slower and I have not learned how to fall faster.
I understood the point but I was feeling confident that this jump was almost like a solo jump. I did everything on my own without an instructor. Now I am ready for the next jump
Day 16: Cat E2,(AFF clear) 3 solo jumps, and Cat F : I was to do barrel roll in this jump and this time I jumped at the right time. I took control and did two barrel rolls but just after the second my velcro of the altimeter opened. Sergey came in front and instructed me to do a 360 degree but I was focused on winding the velcro as I had to land with this equipment and I cannot afford to lose it. I panicked a bit and after correcting it, I pulled the pilot chute.
I reached the ground and Sergey asked me what happened and I told him everything. He took the video to other instructors and after discussion he came to me and said that you did everything correctly as a part of the jump but you should be more careful with the equipment.
I cleared AFF. And I was through. I am eligible to do solo dives. Doesn’t matter how confident I was, there was still a fear that there would be no instructor with me this time. I told myself that I am not going to do anything in this jump. I am just going to fall straight. I jumped, but the curious mind started its game. I said to myself in the free fall, “hey, you are stable, why don’t you take a 30 degree turn” and I did. Now another instruction came from inside, “why not do a flip as well”. Let’s do this. I was afraid but I was enjoying it. I landed on my own and it was an amazing feeling.
Till now I was using a canopy of size 240, I went to Anton and asked that I jump with this for 10 jumps. Can I go to 210 which is smaller than the 240. Anton said that he has seen my landings and I am doing good so definitely I can go to 210.
Like that I did two more solo jumps and one coach jump where I learned how to move forward and backward. 5jumps in a day, I would call this a successful day. Total jump count is 13. 12 more to go for a license.
day 17 solo jump : I woke up and reached the hanger and got ready. I did only one jump, whatever was told to me in the coach jump yesterday I tried to do that but since I was doing a solo jump there was no reference if I am moving forward or backward. As soon as I landed, the weather went bad and the day called off for students.
Tonight I along with Kirtimaan gave a party at the dropzone for clearing our AFF. We brought beers for everyone and kept them at the restaurant and everybody enjoyed them. The dropzone staff brought food and it was an amazing night. I discussed with Fedor that I have three days here and I have to complete 11 more jumps to get the license. He laughed and said that it is not possible because it’s just not about jumps; you have to learn things as well.
Day 18: Cat G1 : Again a bad weather day. I reached the hanger on time but weather was bad but I got ready as I did not want to waste a single opportunity to jump. In the afternoon I got the chance and I did my coach jump with instructor in which I learned how to fall faster and slower by managing the body surface area. I did the jump and landed on feet. Total jump remaining is 10 and I have one and half days remaining and I realized that it’s not possible this time. I have to come back and complete my jumps and earn the license..
Today I asked Anton that I feel comfortable with 210 and can I switch to 190, he simply declined. He said 190 is too early and risky for you now. Get familiar with the 210 first and then we’ll see after some time.
Day 19: Cat G2, 3 solo jump, 2 hop and pop, cat H : Since I was not able to do docking properly, I was asked to do the coach jump again and I did. I didn’t waste a single second today and was ready to jump one after the other. After the coach jump I did three solo jumps and then I did two hop-n-pop jumps.
Hop-and-pop jumps are scary, as normally I jump from 14k feet but in hop and pop I had to jump at 5.5k and 3.5k feet. Means that these are the altitudes I used to open the parachute and now at this altitude I have to jump from the plane. The plane door opened and I jumped as soon as the light turned green. I jumped and counted till 5 seconds and tried to get into a stable body position and when I did, I pulled. It was fun. I loved it. I did another jump and it was awesome.
I finished the day with the last coach jump where I was taught tracking. I loved this jump because when you track you go like a bullet and I love speed. Though I was not able to do it properly, I enjoyed it. It takes time to master this skill.
Seven jumps in a day, it was an outstanding day. Nobody among my friends has done these many jumps in a day and I was way ahead in terms of getting to the license. I had to leave the next day but I have only half a day to complete the next three jumps.
Day 20: Cat H, 1 solo, A license check dive : I woke up at 6 and reached the hangar at 8 because I have to get the signature on the packing course. Alex took my packing course supervision and he passed me. But at 8 am I was ready to jump. I did another coach jump, another solo jump and the check dive for my license.
When I heard things I have to do in a license check dive I was taken aback, I thought that if all these tasks can be done in a jump. But I was sure that I could do it. I passed with flying colors and I went to Anton to proceed ahead for incense. I thought this would take only 10-15 minutes but he said that it would take at least two hours to brief me and take the exam. I didn’t have that much time as my cab was waiting outside to take me to the airport.
I told myself that I did what I had to do. I gave my 100 percent and results are not up to me. Future holds something better and I started my journey back to India.
It seems that it was a nice thing that happened to me as I got my license in Thailand the very next year. Follow the link below.