Jump #24
Wow… getting very close! Only one left to go.
This jump was very similar to the last one, another clear & pull, only this time, from ONLY 3500 feet. (Let.s do some math…) I’m sure everyone remembers a mile is 5,280 feet (right?) and 3500/5280 = .663, so my just was from LESS THAN two thirds of a mile… and let me tell you, it looks very close! There were a few clouds up there, so it took us a minute to find a clear spot, then the door opened and I had to lean out and spot the plane (make sure we’d be jumping out exactly over the ground where we wanted to). I climbed out, held onto the strut for just a moment, and then let go.
This time I got my arms down a little more (like I should have last time) and I was deployed within two or three seconds. It really seemed like I was so low that I needed to hurry, although my math tells me I really had at least about 23 seconds until I would have hit the ground! (yeah I know.. to a whuffo, 23 seconds till impact might seem like you’re knocking on deaths door, but really, 23 seconds is plenty of time, an easy margin of safety).
Anyhow, I got this last jump marked off on my A card and got the “spot w/o assistance” and my third “land within 20m w/o assistance” for my Category ‘H’ at the same time!
Right after the debrief, my coach, Allison, let me dis-assembly and re-assemble the three-rings on her rig. (The three ring assembly is what hold your main parachute onto the rig, it’s very strong, but designed to be very easily cut-away at the same time). Then we pulled out her closing loop and showed me that two, my last two check marks off my A card…
Now, just one week away, next Saturday I’ll be taking my 25 jump; my “check ride”. This will be the first in 15 jumps that I’ll have to do with an AFF Instructor again, and basically just show him all that I.ve learned from the AFF jumps and all the coaching jumps… and that.s it… I’ll be a licensed skydiver!