Mid-week jumps and weekend happenings

After an exhausting weekend in West Virginia for Bridge Day I really thought this week at the office would drag. But boy was I wrong.

Seriously, how is it Friday already?

I think taking a half vacation day on Wednesday to take advantage of the nice weather really helped. The temperatures got up to almost 70 degrees and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Perfect fall jumping weather!

So Rick and I headed down to Canton Air Sports to meet up with a number of our other jumping buddies who had the same idea.

A couple jumps was just the fix I needed…I was starting to twitch over here!

The first jump was a new two-way freefly attempt – one we had seen pictures of before, though we’re not entirely sure what to call it. Essentially, it’s a one-man sit with a head-down stinger. I was the stinger. And we actually pulled it off for a couple seconds. More practice is definitely in order.

If anyone has a name for this, please feel free to share.

The second jump was a high pull so we could play under canopy for a while. I’ve never pulled at 7 grand before, and given the amount of time I hung out in the sky, I’m pretty certain I won’t again for a while.

What can I say, I just get a little uncomfortable being under canopy for so long. But I did learn a little more about my Triathlon – how far I can push it with spirals, testing out front and rear riser moves. For anyone with a new canopy, I definitely recommend a high pull to help you get acquainted.

Hopefully on Sunday the weather will play nice and I can get back to the playground in the sky. If you’re in the NE Ohio area, come out and fly with me. Otherwise, here’s what’s going on this weekend around the skydiving community:

• 10/24. CSC Halloween Party. Live music, costume contest, bonfire and camping. If you’re in or around Chicago, this is a can’t miss DZ party.
• 10/24. RW skills camp. Also at CSC. Visit Dropzone.com for more information.

And next week there is sure to be numerous Halloween boogies to choose from.

Blue Skies!

Ashley

Home Away from Home

Over the course of the summer, Canton Air Sports has quickly become my home away from home – as is the case for most skydivers and their home DZ.

It’s a place that you look forward to visiting after a long week. A place where you find peace, tranquility, and happiness. A place where you’re all family – an often crazy, dysfunctional family that likes to throw themselves out of airplanes at 13,000 feet and marvel at the video footage after – but a supportive one none the less.

I cherish my home dropzone just as much as my real home. Between the bonfires, stories and advice shared, and great memories built in freefall with like-minded people, who wouldn’t look forward to a weekend at the DZ?

The friends I’ve made this season alone are some of the most incredible people I’ve ever met – and this weekend, I was lucky enough to celebrate the 35th anniversary of our home DZ with most of them.

It was a 5-jump weekend for me, four on Saturday – starting with a dead sprint to make the first load – and one on Sunday. What can I say, it was a long night and a very cold day at altitude. So, I might just be a freeze baby. What of it?

The weekend was filled with freefly jumps, lots of sit practice with my freefly partner and some excellent coaching opportunities with one of the most incredible freeflyers around. I feel more than fortunate to have been in the air with him and learned so much just from one-off conversations on the ground. Thanks, Joe!

Throughout the weekend we got to jump, eat, drink, and chat with those skydivers who share in the love of a great dropzone. The cookout was delicious, and after a long day of jumping, cracking open that first beer around the bonfire made for the perfect transition to a night of debauchery. I’ll spare you the details. What happens at the bonfire, stays at the bonfire.

(Diane and Rodger, Rick and myself hanging out with the rest of the crew at the bonfire.)

Though it’s all in good fun. Work hard, play hard. Right?

Come Sunday most of the experienced jumpers were moving a little slower than usual, but what’s a better hangover cure than a brisk 60 seconds in freefall?

This was one of the best jumps of the weekend for me. Two-man rolling train into a sit. I held a pretty decent sitfly – enough to participate in a two-man freefly with Joe as he went head down. This was also, by far, the best landing I’ve had with my canopy yet. Perfect braked approach into a landing where I wouldn’t have cracked an egg shell – and perfectly on target. Looks like I’m starting to get this 7-cell thing down. About time!

Due to the cold winds at altitude and the caravan having to leave earlier than expected, I called it a day after one jump. The rest of the afternoon was spent cleaning up from the night before and reminiscing over the hundreds of pictures that Sandy took over the weekend.

She was even nice enough to burn some onto a CD for me. Here’s a small blip of the events from the 35th anniversary celebration of Canton Air Sports. (Big thanks to Sandy and Lonnie Kirk for these amazing photos.)

(Dirt diving the 6-way hybrid. I was part of the 4-man base with Rick and Joe as hangers.)

(Sandy took lots of great shots of the sport jumpers under canopy!)

(Couple of freeflyers, always wanting to ‘hang’ around.)

(Now that’s what I call dirt dive concentration.)

Blue Skies!

Ashley

I’d Rather be Skydiving

It’s been a while since I’ve written one of these posts; mainly because I’ve spent all my free time jumping this summer and haven’t done much else. What can I say, I’m a lucky girl!

Unfortunately, the weather hasn’t cooperated much these past couple weekends, what with fall arriving at a much faster clip than I’d prefer. Don’t get me wrong, I love the fall. So long as it’s sunny and the weather is jumpable. There’s always a catch, isn’t there?

It’s been difficult going two weekends without skydiving. This weekend some friends and I even headed down to a local dropzone – after hearing that the plane was grounded at our home DZ – without a single jump to show for it. Sad, really.

Luckily, I slipped in a jump last Thursday when the weather was perfect! It was a fun freefly jump with friends Nick and Rick.

We did a three man rolling train, releasing once stable and transitioning into a sit. (Turn up the audio if you want to hear some fun commentary on the ride up.)

Nick is on the bottom with me in the middle and Rick on top (shooting video for us).

This was the only jump of the day as the sun was already setting once we packed up. Still having a hard time getting used to these shorter days.

Blue Skies!

Ashley

It just makes sense

As I mentioned in Tuesday’s post, lots of time this weekend was spent bonding over beers with fellow skydivers.

This has quickly become one of my favorite past times. Not only do we reflect, reminisce, and have a good laugh at the skydives of the day, it’s also a great chance to learn from other jumpers. And of course, what a better way to make new friends than over a cold beer!

After the sunset load on Sunday, I decided to trunk pack out of pure laziness and spent that time having a 1-on-1 pow-wow with one of my favorite belly flyers. 

As I sat on the neighboring packing mat, I was asked the same question most of my belly flyer friends have asked lately: “what made you turn to freeflying?”

Funny thing is, my answer has changed over the last couple weeks. Initially, I started dabbling in freefly just to see what it was about, for some variety between big-ways, for a different type of body control practice. All with the goal of becoming what I consider a “well-rounded skydiver.”

But on Sunday, I found myself answering this question quite concisely: “it just makes sense.”

*Photo courtesy of Skydive Orange. 

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m by no means a full-time member of the freeflyers, but it’s a discipline I’ve begun gravitating toward more and more. I’m still available for RW jumps, so don’t forget about me belly flyers.

But to me, freefly just makes sense. Exit the plane head down, got it. Break off the hybrid into a sit, no problem. I can’t explain why it seems so simple, but from the moment I was instructed on how to sit in freefall – and actually doing it quite easily on my first attempt – I’ve gravitated toward this discipline. 

Upon hearing this answer, my belly flyer friend responded in an incredibly encouraging manner. He even recommended some of the best freeflyers around to hook up with for mentoring.

Not that I expected anything less. As much crap as skydivers like to give each other, we’re a very supportive bunch.

For some, belly flying comes natural, they get a thrill out of connecting up in big-ways, making points in smaller groups, and dirt diving every jump along the way. I’ve heard a number of natural belly flyers say they stick to RW for the challenge it brings, and because “they can’t sit to save their lives,” or some version of that phrase.

Others find sitting, standing, and head-down positions to make the most sense. Like me, a lot of these skydivers find big-ways to be stressful and making points just isn’t necessary for a successful jump.

Then of course there’s the people who are in the sport for canopy work – the swoopers and CRW (canopy relative work) groups. I’m a freefall junkie, so I’m definitely not the best source of information here.

(These are some talented CRW jumpers if I’ve ever seen them!)

Regardless of the discipline, at the end of the day, we’re all skydivers. We all love to sit around, talk about our jumps, brag about the good one’s, laugh at the funneled formations and tumbling freeflyers.

This is what makes the sport so great. There’s so much to do, so much to learn, and so much to talk about. Thankfully – after all, that’s why you keep coming back here, right?

In your time as a skydiver, what have you encountered that “just makes sense?” What are some of your favorite parts of the sport?

Blue skies!

Ashley

Two Boogie Weekend

As I sit here and drown myself in coffee’s caffeinated goodness, I can’t help but think back to the incredible Labor Day weekend.

On Friday I was lucky enough to get out of work at 3 p.m. so I could head down to Cleveland Parachute to get in a couple jumps. It’d been forever since I was there and it was about time I got into the sky with some of my long-lost friends. 

Well it turned out to be a bust, with no pilot to be found. So I made a last minute decision to head to Skydive Tecumseh for the Hellfish Boogie – knowing full well that I wouldn’t be staying for the toga party Saturday night. But the 5 jumps of the day made it worth while.

It was a day of 2-ways, 3-ways, 6-ways, and even a 10-way to end the day. Every jump had points, too. Even if it was only one!

After the 10-way I packed up and made the two and 1/2 hour drive back home, cleaned up and drove out to meet Rick for our trip down to Start Skydiving for the Work Stinks Boogie.

A sleepless night and a four hour drive later we made it just in time for the sunrise load – can’t beat a $14 lift ticket!

There were three 2-way groups on the caravan – Rick and I were out last with a head down attempt. I really shouldn’t say attempt- it was a success. We were head down and stable almost immediately out the door. The speed of this freefly is incredible!

We broke off a little high and I decided to pull early so I could play around under canopy and be sure to find the dropzone. Of course, with me, that doesn’t mean I’m going to land on it. What can I say, the soy beans and I are becoming great friends.

The second jump of the day was our helicopter jump. A quick briefing on where not to grab and how not to fall, we were off and ready. Just as we got loaded, Norman Kent came over to us to film our ride up. I’m honored to have been filmed by him.

Here’s one of the stills he sent to us!

Helicopter jumps are amazing. The pilot took us up to 4,500 ft and hovered while we literally fell off the aircraft. My exit was incredible. I stood, facing away from the helicopter, put my arms out and just fell. Into dead air. It was the most peaceful thing I’ve ever experienced. It took only 500 ft to make one full body rotation and get back belly to Earth. I pulled by 3 grand and made a beautiful slide-in landing, on the dropzone.

After packing back up it was time to relax. We met up with a group of former Cleveland Parachute jumpers and chatted for a while. Always great to meet skydivers who grew up where I did.

30+ hours of no sleep was setting in, so a couple hours in the afternoon was spent curled up in the corner of the hangar, napping. We woke up refreshed and ready to jump.

We manifested on an Otter load – Rick’s first time jumping an Otter (BEER!) and we did another freefly. Train exit to a sit. Rick let me go after about 1,500 feet and I held my first solo sit for about 20 seconds before flipping back belly to Earth and tracking away. Another fun slide in.

Clouds started rolling in and we called it quits for the day. It was by far the best day of skydiving I’ve ever had, with two incredible freeflys and a helicopter jump.

Labor Day was rained out. We cashed out at manifest and mingled with some regulars, Norman and the DZO for a bit. The dropzone is incredible. Located at the Warren County airport, the facilities are new and modern, with a hangar just for sport jumper packing. The crew there is incredibly down-to-Earth. I’ll certainly be headed back in the near future.

Soon after we made the drive back home and back to reality.Thankfully, it’s a short week and Patriot will be back at Canton Air Sports this weekend. Y’all know where to find me!

Blue skies!

Ashley