Flying with weight
A few weeks back I decided to open my wallet for a piece of equipment that I’ve been told time and time again I would eventually need to fly with, but I’ve been too stubborn to purchase.
I don’t like being told that I’m going to need something in order to accomplish what I want in freefall. Sure, we all need parachutes, that’s a given. But when I was told I would need a weight belt (or vest) to keep up with others in freefly (and on my belly too, though you’ll rarely catch me there), the stubborn ass in me came out.
“I can just stand and catch up if I need to.”
Well, that didn’t prove to work as well as I thought it would – even standing I’m still pretty floaty.
“Well then, I’ll go head down to catch up.”
Turns out my head down skills aren’t where they should be to stick with a group of sitflyers.
“Well, what’s 10 pounds going to do anyway?”
Turns out…a lot! I’ve been flying with the belt off and on the past few weeks, forgetting it at home once, doing some solos another time, but for the most part the belt has been on. Though until this weekend, I didn’t really realize just how much of an effect it has on my fall rate.
(The first jump I did with a weight belt at Zhills. You can see a little bulk in my lower back, but nothing too terrible. In fact, it’s the same jump as my blog header – you can’t even tell I’m wearing weight there! *Photo by Aaron Stocum)
Jump #1 at The Ranch entailed me in a sit, looking down at my buddy Tom. Once I realized a stand was going to be necessary, he was too far gone and I, for the life of me, couldn’t stick a stable stand 
.
So for jump #2 I strapped on an extra 10 pounds around my waist and off we went. On this jump, I was only very slightly above him, in fact, if I would have kept a better heading and focused on driving my hips forward we could have easily made a couple good docks.
I think I was in awe of the difference the weight really made.
The rest of the weekend I worked on my fall rate changes and focused on the differences the weight makes on my skydive. I was even surprised how much I could feel the difference under canopy and coming in for a landing.
Needless to say, I’m incredibly happy with the weight. Who would have thought a girl could get so giddy about putting on 10 pounds?!
Best part is, in freefall, I don’t really even realize it’s there. I tuck the buckle back between my rig and lower back and, aside from the little jelly roll appearance it gives under my clothing, I’d never even know it was there on the skydive!
For all you floaty skydivers out there, I highly recommend strapping on a weight belt and giving it a go. It might just make all the difference in the world!
Blue skies!
Ashley
Jump for Diabetes: PD Canopy Raffle
(Love the new logo! Thanks, Nick Bagnoli)
Alright y’all. It’s time for an exciting announcement from the Jump for Diabetes (JFD).
As some of you might know, I’m a huge advocate for this cause, what with Rick being a type 1 diabetic and loving the sport of skydiving (really?!). Two of my passions in one event – that’s pretty freakin’ awesome if you ask me.
Anywhoosits – this year Performance Designs has teamed up with JFD to give away a custom canopy to one lucky donor.
I know, right, that’s huge!
Just by being one of the first to donate $100 or more to the cause you have a 1 in 100 chance of winning a custom canopy from Performance Designs. BAD ASS!
The coolest part about it is that all the proceeds from the raffle go to benefit diabetes research and help find a cure. That right there should bring you some warm fuzzies 
.
Check out the JFD blog to find out more info. Or simply send an email to jumpfordiabetes@gmail.com with your name, address, email and phone # to get the process rolling. Donations are collected via PayPal then you’ll receive an eTicket. Winners are drawn at the event, but you don’t have to be present to win. So anyone, anywhere can enter to win!
The raffle is being kicked off today, so don’t delay in making your donations…wouldn’t want to miss out on your chance to win that new Pulse you’ve been eyeing, would you?
Don’t forget to visit the Facebook fan page for the latest updates as well.
Happy hump day, jump day!
Blue skies!
Ashley
Happy Anniversary
Last week was the 1 year anniversary of my first skydive.
It’s hard to believe how much my life has changed since that day. I make it a point not to discuss my life in too much depth, after all, you’re not here to listen to me talk about myself. It’s about the sport!
But given that I’ve been blogging about it for nearly a year, and I’ve politely avoided the personal inquiries along the way, I thought it might be time to provide a little insight into the author of this little corner of the universe I like to call my blog
This is a combination of a meme and the type of questions I’d ask the Experts in the Friday column – though oddly enough most of it relates to skydiving in some way. Since I’m far from being an expert in anything, especially skydiving, I certainly don’t see this worthy of a Friday post.
So for those who have inquired, or those who may be mildy interested (why, what’s wrong with you?) here’s a little about me and my experiences.
Blue skies!
Ashley
Cutaway Controversy
One night I dreamt that I had been talking with a friend after skydiving, and he said to me “I knew you’d cut away before your 100th.” The next day, it came true…
A couple weeks back, during the Everglades Boogie at Skydive AirAdventures, I experienced my first cut away. It was an enlightening experience in a number of ways…let me explain.
(And yes, for the record, I already purchased my owed case of beer.)
Friday evening we signed up for a high altitude jump first thing the next morning – after which we jumped on the sunset load to finish out the day.
The weather was beautiful – nothing quite like a sunset Skyvan load – though the wind had picked up slightly.
Naturally, this makes me a little nervous about making it back to the DZ, given that I’m under a canopy that’s proving to be too large for my exit weight. And I was right – the skydive was immensely fun, a 4-way horny gorilla – but I didn’t quite make it back to the LZ. I landed just shy of the target…in the camping area. A fellow skydiver who was firing up his grill about 10 feet from my landing spot gave me a ride back. Nice guy!
So I took this frustration and headed straight to the Aerodyne tent to ask them for a smaller, demo canopy to use on the high altitude jump in the morning.
Given the fact that there was a higher probability of my landing off on a high altitude, I didn’t want to increase those odds by flying my canopy in the higher winds that were expected for the morning.
I worked with the rep, Les, to decide on a canopy to fly. We settled on a Pilot since I was familiar with them as a student.
As he was installing the demo I asked who packed it last and if I should repack the canopy. His words: “This is a brand new canopy and I packed it myself so that should be the least of you worries.”
Perfect! So I was good to go for the morning.
That day I was nervous. Mainly because I was doing a high altitude at an unfamiliar DZ in a little bit of wind – I really didn’t want to land in the sugar cane!
But the jump went well – I was a little late out the door, but was able to hold a sit for 60 seconds or so. It was good practice.
And then, I deployed. Almost instantly (read: as soon as the bag was out of the container) I could feel that something was amiss. Looking up I said to myself (literally, aloud) “I’ve seen videos of this shit before.” There were countless line twists above my head and I was spinning to the left.
Reaching up and attempting to spread the risers I realized the situation was too far out of hand, the lines weren’t budging. At just under 2,000 feet, I didn’t want to waste anymore time so I reached for the cutaway pillow and chopped.
Before I could even grasp onto that silver handle my reserve was above my head. Thank you RSL.
Now safetly under a crisp, white canopy, I gathered myself, stuck my cut away handle in my teeth (I wasn’t about to be the girl who lost her handles) and steered myself back to the DZ.
I thought for sure with this situation I was going to end up in a sugar cane field somewhere, but with the breeze that had picked up even more, I made it back. Though when I got there, I wasn’t penetrating the wind at ALL, so I had to pick from one of three options:
1) land on the packing tend
2) land on top of the skyvan
3) gracefully set myself down on the tarmac between the two
I went for the latter and prepared to PLF like it was my job. The winds helped set me down on my feet and luckily there were plenty of people nearby who rushed over to pluck my canopy out of the air before it touched the concrete.
As expected, Les was there to meet me after the cut away – though not quite with the message I had anticipated. He briefly interrogated me on why I cut away his canopy (to which I responded “because I wanted to live”), then, with clear frustration, he headed off to “find it.”
Lucky for everyone, both the canopy and freebag landed at the edge of the airport and were retrieved unharmed.
I was then approached by two Performance Designs reps who had no idea I was testing out a canopy, but wanted to see if I was alright and inquire about the malfunction. I instantly gained a lot of respect for PD. Throughout the weekend I talked with Karl about accuracy and tips for packing to ensure that things like this don’t happen in the future.
Feeling rather exhilerated, I disregarded the attitude the Aerodyne rep presented, and headed over to meet Rick. The extra adrenaline rush was really starting to hit me. The event seemed so clear (though now it’s rather fuzzy – wish I would have worn the GoPro on that jump after all) and I was feeling like I could do anything. Hell, I just saved my own life!
Thankfully, Thomas was available for a rush repack, so we headed up to the rigging loft. While I was waiting, Les came back to me with my canopy in hand (my personal canopy, not the cutaway). He proceeded to blame me for cutting away a canopy he seemed to believe was landable.
What gets me more than anything is that the thought never crossed my mind to be upset with Aerodyne – and yet that’s exactly how they approached me.
I was completely taken aback by the disrespect and lack of concern for my safety that he displayed, so were other onlookers.
Jokes began to fly that I cut away a perfectly good Aerodyne canopy because I knew I had a better PD reserve to use. Which of course, was not the case. Funny, none the less.
After spending time talking with lots of different folks about the incident, it’s uncertain the exact cause of the malfunction – precisely where a helmet cam would have come in handy. From body position to a bad pack job, it could be any number of things, or a combination of these factors. Regardless, as the pilot of that canopy I had a decision to make, and chopping was the right one for me. Even with some of the doubt I’ve encountered along the way, I look back with confidence and say “I had to cut that canopy away.”
One thing I’ve learned by talking to others is that other skydivers will always question your malfunction and doubt your decision to cut away. But the truth is, I was there and they were not – and in the end I learned that I can do it and it’s nothing to sweat. When you’re in that moment and you have to pull that handle, you just do it. Nothing else exists but that moment as you release your main from the container.
Though some of it is fuzzy, I look back on certain details of the malfunction with great clarity – the feel of the cut away pillow, the sound of the main releasing. I look back on the incident with an odd fondness as I walked away a more confident and knowledgable skydiver.
Blue Skies!
Ashley
Tips for Winter Skydiving
If you’re anything like me, as the season came to an end you were determined not to let the colder weather stop you from jumping when there are blue skies.
But the first time that bitter chill hits your exposed skin on the ground, you think twice about heading up to altitude in those conditions – sunny or not.
Of course, on a sunny mid-December day it didn’t take much coaxing to get me up in the air. It’d been two weeks since my last skydive and I was starting to twitch with the earliest signs of withdrawal. I was starting to feel like I needed a support group.
“Hi, I’m Ashley, and I’m a skydiver. It’s been 14 days since my last freefall…”
Alright, enough of that.
So as I mentioned on Monday, we headed down to Grove City for a couple jumps out of the C-182. Jeff, our pilot and recent past DZO consistently took us up past 11 grand – gotta love that kind of altitude out of a tiny Cessna.
The ride to altitude was surprisingly mild, but around 9,000 feet, we all started gearing up appropriately. As soon as the door opened, signaling the beginning of our jump run, we were thankful to have donned so many layers.
Given that this is the firs…um, err… the only winter so far that I’ve gone skydiving, there were plenty of lessons learned moments.
So, for those of you who are thinking about making a jump in the snow this winter, or are traveling to colder climates and want to skydive, I’ve come up with a short list of recommendations for walking away from a fun day of jumping, sans frost bite.
If I’ve missed anything, please chime in down there in the comments.
1.) Make sure you have a good pair of gloves.
-This is one I haven’t fully figured out yet, as my gloves just didn’t cut it. Gloves need to be thin enough so you can still find and grab your hackey to pull out your pilot chute, but thick enough that you’ll be able to feel your hands enough to do so.With incredible wind chill that you experience in freefall, it’s important to have gloves that will not only keep your hands toasty and comfortable, but that will cut the wind. The Nike ACG gloves that I was sporting did little to protect my fingers from stinging and turning bright red post jump. Even with latex gloves underneath, I wasn’t satisfied. Skydiving glove recommendations for this freeze baby are welcome and encouraged.
2.) Wear a full face helmet, if you have access to one.
-My buddy Don wore his new Cookie full face that he loves and it worked well for him. Helmets like that make me feel a little claustrophobic so I’ve stuck with my Bonehead Pimp Daddy that I love. But, by simply adding a balaclava I was totally fine. My face stayed nice and toasty. If you choose this route, do know that your goggles will fog up almost instantly in the plane, but once you’re out there are no fogging issues – even under canopy.
3.) Doing RW? Use your booties!
-As a girl who doesn’t do much RW these days, I find that booties help me stabilize and move more precisely. They also work wonders with keeping my tootsies warm. They help deflect the wind away and protect your feet and ankles (that would have been exposed while wearing my freefly pants).
4.) Check the winds aloft forecast.
-Though it may be fairly calm on the ground, the winds at altitude the last couple times I’ve jumped have been stronger than normal. This leads me to my next point…
5.) Check your SPOT!
-We take for granted that our pilots have GPS and the spots are usually good. Well, when winds at altitude are strong, you want to double check where you’re getting out. This will prevent you from an off landing and waiting in the cold for someone to come pick your ass up.
6.) Carry Chapstick in your pocket.
-Even if the wind isn’t directly hitting your lips, they will feel dry. Some good, protective moisture never hurt anyone.
7.) How about a breath mint?
-You know how your mouth tends to get dry just before leaping out the jump door? Well talk about cotton mouth – it’s worse in the winter. With the dry air at altitude, your skydiving partners will thank you for popping a mint before getting in that cramped little plane.
Hope you found these few little hints helpful. But tell me fellow skydivers, what am I missing when it comes to tips for winter skydiving?
Blue skies!
Ashley
Jumping with Gloves
When I first started skydiving back in April, I was lucky that the weather was warm enough that I didn’t require too many layers, even at altitude.
Though after my first few AFF jumps, we had a spring cold spell here in NE Ohio and I was donning gloves and a hoodie. I was nervous the first time jumping with gloves. I was so used to reaching back and grabbing the hackey with my bare hands that I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to feel it, or worse yet, find it with gloves on.
Luckily, my winter gloves have grippers on the palms and fingers, so I felt confident that deploying my pilot ‘chute would not be an issue.
Sure enough, the gloves worked perfectly. In fact, I came down from that skydive with a preference for gloves. Not only do they keep my fingers nice and toasty at altitude (as we’re all aware that I’m a little bit of a freeze baby), but they protect my hands in freefall too. After all, haven’t we all had those moments of,” hey, my hand is bleeding…how did that happen.”
No, just me? Well, okay then.
(Suited up in my RW gear, gloves and all)
Until the heat of summer set in, I was in the habit of donning gloves before every jump. It was something I became quite accustom to. It’s also something I’ve had to do this fall in order to ensure I can feel my hands post-freefall to work my toggles properly.
Not many of my skydiving buddies wear gloves on a regular basis, but I’ve heard from some who swear by it. I suppose it’s all what you get used to over time.
For me, gloves are where it’s at – though we’ll see if that holds true during heat waves next summer.
What’s your preference? Gloves or no gloves in freefall?
Blue skies!
Ashley
REVIEW: Infinity Rigs
As a skydiver who just came off student status this year, I’ve had numerous opportunities to jump all kinds of different equipment before making a purchase of my own. This is one of the perks of being a student, actually. You get to test out a variety of rigs, canopies and other gear as you progress through the sport.
You may recall a couple months back when I was lucky enough to attend a local Aerodyne demo tour and test out a brand new Pilot canopy and Icon rig. I fell in love with the Pilot and knew that one day that would be the canopy for me.
In fact, shortly after earning my A license I was prepared to start piecing together the perfect rig. Lucky for me, the perfect complete system was practically dropped into my lap during a random search on Dropzone.com.
The main canopy was a Triathlon. In student training I’d jumped one 7-cell and liked it well enough, and given that it’s an Aerodyne product, I figured it was a good enough option.
What I like most about this system is the Infinity container, manufactured by Velocity Sports Equipment. As soon as I put it on I knew it was the rig for me. It fit like nothing I’d ever tested before. Sure, most of those were student rigs, but even those that were sport rigs didn’t fit quite like this. For a girl with a small frame, it can be hard to find used gear that fits quite this well. I’d recommend Infinity to anyone with a small build – they certainly know what they’re doing.
Other points to note: it’s completely freefly friendly and packs like a dream! Two things that were critical in choosing a rig.
(Climbing out for our three-man rolling train last week)
As you’ll notice, it’s very sharp, too. Purple with blue, black and gray accents. Now, if only I had a matching pair of freefly pants…
If you’re in the market for a new rig, or know someone who is, I highly recommend checking out Infinity.
Blue skies!
Ashley
Weekend happenings
This weekend is panning out to be just as exciting as the last. As one that originally started out fairly laid-back in terms of jumping, I’ve managed to quickly load up my skydiving agenda.
Of course, I’m not complaining.
Saturday, Aerodyne will be at Skydive Tecumseh for a demo tour. This is a great chance for anyone who is thinking about getting a Pilot or Triathlon (read: me) to head on out and test their canopies and complete rigs at no cost.
You better believe I jumped at this opportunity! (cheesy pun not intended)
Sunday I’ll be headed back to Canton Air Sports to jump with my friend Rick on his 200th and maybe even dabble with some free fly. I’ve been dreaming of giving my free fly skills a test for a while and now seems like an ideal time.
If you’re not near Tecumseh or Canton, below are a few other events around the world I recommend checking out. Oh, and if you are in the area, why don’t you come out and jump with me!
- 8/22 – Target Skysports, UK. 50-way formation skydiving and Skyvan weekend event. Click here for more details.
- 8/22 – 8/23 – Skydive City, Zephyrhills. PD demo weekend. Performance Designs will be setting up camp in Z-hills this weekend. Demo canopies and PD swag as expected. Check out Dropzone.com for more information.
- 8/25 - Cross Keys & Freefall Adventures. Swoop club for all canopy pilots. More details at Dropzone.com.
Where ever you end up this weekend…
Blue Skies!
Ashley
Stepping down
Last week I mentioned on Twitter that I’m stepping down my canopy size. As an AFF student I was jumping a 260, but as a 120 pound person that’s become too large. I’m in the air too long for my liking.
The dilemma I was running into was that the next size down at my home DZ is a 190. Upon Tweeting this, I was overwhelmed with the responses concerned for my safety.
Thanks y’all. Talk about making a newbie feel cared about! I’m all about the love.
Luckily, my presence was requested back home in Michigan this weekend, and I was able to jump at Skydive Tecumseh where the variety of student rigs was much greater.
I was able to get in a couple good jumps on smaller canopies and ended on a Pilot 210 that I loved! I’ll definitely be looking to get a Pilot when my budget allows for the purchase of my own rig. Anyone know of a 170 that’ll be going on the market this year?
This weekend I’ll be back at Canton Air Sports in Alliance, OH, jumping with some of my favorites. Fingers crossed that they have something in a comparable size. I really don’t want to jump that 290 like last time.
Oh, but wait. Just when you thought I was wrapping up. I want to back up to my time at Skydive Tecumseh. What kind of blogger would I be if I didn’t give my two cents on this DZ?
This was my 4th drop zone (Skydive Miami, Cleveland Parachute, Canton Air Sports and now Skydive Tecumseh). Other than the fact that it’s incredibly convenient when I’m headed home to see my family, it’s a great little community in itself.
In the day that I spent there, we had a few weather holds that allowed me to meet some great skydivers – and new friends. I also had the pleasure of being the very first student of a new coach on the scene.
Jeromy (check him out over at SkydiveBlog.com) did a great job and any student would be lucky to have him. He really helped me with my docking and tracking. I can’t wait to show off my new skills this weekend!
On top of all that, the DZ is really organized. And they fly an Otter full time to 14,000 feet! Can’t beat that kind of altitude.
Needless to say, I’ll be heading back there every time I’m in Michigan.
Blue Skies!
Ashley
Lucky #13
This weekend I finally got back into the sky – and it felt great!
After taking two weeks off – due to wind and a minor elbow injury, as you may recall – my level of nervousness was a little higher than usual, but as soon as that door opened at 10,000 I was right back in the game.
(That would be my nervous smile.)
I finally got to fly my new jumpsuit that came in the mail last week (and was taunting me for days as it hung from my closet door). Since I’m still new to the sport I strapped the booties to my legs rather than using them in free fall. Once I’m an expert at flying my body, you best believe I’ll be giving those booties a try!
Jump #12 – My first diving exit.
I felt like Superwoman. That is, until I was backflying – unintentionally. Oh look, there’s the plane! I stabilized belly to Earth with enough time to get in a back flip and attempt a front flip. Winds were mild, maybe 5 mph and variable. Soft landing that I rolled out but really should have stood up.
(Mid-front flip!)
Jump #13 – Lucky #13, and that it was. Our plane was full, VERY full. Clouds rolled in and we had to circle for almost an hour before the skies allowed us to jump. But it was worth the wait as we got about 1,500 feet more than we typically would. More free fall time, woot! I asked Lonnie to jump with me for some new solo pictures, video, and a little coaching. Check out his work at VelocityPhoto.com. I see now that I need to get my head up and quit looking at the ground.
(All smiles!)
You can find more pictures on my Flickr and Facebook pages.
Overall my jumps went well and more importantly I had a blast! My AFF friends graduated on to solo this weekend too. It’s always great to hear their stories. And I even got to watch my friend Jessica come down from her first tandem – which she loved, naturally. I left the drop zone feeling pretty great last night. Can’t wait till next weekend!
Blue Skies!
Ashley