flare too late - slide on the dirt -minor foot injuries

Hey guys! Perris student here :)

I did two jumps yesterday (level 2 and level 3) and all passed! Good news here. But the bad news is, on my second jump my landing was terrible. I waited for the radio to tell me "flare flare flare" but ended up flaring too late. I slid on the dirt, and got minor foot injuries....Not a big deal tho and  it will be healed within a few weeks, and I will be back in the sky as soon as I feel good about my feet.

Right now I need to work on my landings... obviously. But I can't tell how high is 8-12 feet when in the air.. and it seems like I cannot trust the radio sometimes..I didn't listen to radio and I stood up on my level 1. 

Any tips and advice?? I greatly appreciate it. thanks in advance.

Blue skies and safe landings!! 

David

A landing footage here. 

Dont wait for the radio? After AFF there is no radio.
 

I found that finding the right flare point is way easier with my eyes that my ears

Finding the right altitude to flare took me a good 20 jumps to figure out, either too early or too late at first. It will get better with the more jumps you make.

One tip if to look in front of you and not below you and another is when you "think" its time to flare, wait 2-3 more seconds before you do.

23 hours ago, David Wang said:

A landing footage here. 

 

044F0EB0-6273-472F-8CE4-75B0E794F3B4.MOV

The plane is in the way right at the time where we could see when or how high you flared lol.

Don't slide.

It's an advanced technique, and it requires pretty precise timing/height judgement to pull off well.

You have neither at this point (same as everyone else). 

It also requires knowing the landing area very well (where are the holes & ruts that will catch a foot?).
I've had a jump or two that I had planned on sliding in up until I saw a rut (or hole or lump or whatever) about 10' in front of my contact point. Precisely placed to break my ankle during the slide. Changed to a PLF and was fine.

PLF is what you needed here. It's a vital skill that should be in every jumper's toolbox.

It can save your leg, foot or ankle on any given jump. 

I've heard it said (by Wendy) that planning to PLF on every jump is important. If things go well, stand it up.

But consider a 'stand up' landing a bonus, not the standard. 
 

On 2/16/2020 at 11:55 AM, David Wang said:

But I can't tell how high is 8-12 feet when in the air.. and it seems like I cannot trust the radio sometimes..I didn't listen to radio and I stood up on my level 1. 

As a frequent radio controller I encourage students to call their own flare ASAP. Most can not judge the height because they are looking down and that causes the Earth to appear to be rushing up at you. You have only a few jumps, you will get better quickly. How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Same way as you learn to flare. Practice, practice, practice. Student parachutes are large and lightly loaded to make them forgiving. You will make errors and within reason the Earth and the canopy will forgive them.

13 hours ago, oktolon said:

Dont wait for the radio? After AFF there is no radio.
 

I found that finding the right flare point is way easier with my eyes that my ears

Thanks! You are right - I am the pilot and I decide when to flare.

10 hours ago, Nabz said:

Finding the right altitude to flare took me a good 20 jumps to figure out, either too early or too late at first. It will get better with the more jumps you make.

One tip if to look in front of you and not below you and another is when you "think" its time to flare, wait 2-3 more seconds before you do.

 

 

 

The plane is in the way right at the time where we could see when or how high you flared lol.

9 hours ago, gowlerk said:

As a frequent radio controller I encourage students to call their own flare ASAP. Most can not judge the height because they are looking down and that causes the Earth to appear to be rushing up at you. You have only a few jumps, you will get better quickly. How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Same way as you learn to flare. Practice, practice, practice. Student parachutes are large and lightly loaded to make them forgiving. You will make errors and within reason the Earth and the canopy will forgive them.

Oh right! The plane just passes by... So you both say just practice more... what if I get hurt again on landing? I do PLF every time until I get the feel when to flare? 

Actually I was supposed to get hurt on my first jump that day but I landed on the grass far away from the dropzone... it was the same way when I landed as my second jump. I slid on the grass but I was fine..and I had a healthy exercise walking back to the dropzone with that huge canopy lol... 

10 hours ago, wolfriverjoe said:

Don't slide.

It's an advanced technique, and it requires pretty precise timing/height judgement to pull off well.

You have neither at this point (same as everyone else). 

 

It also requires knowing the landing area very well (where are the holes & ruts that will catch a foot?).
I've had a jump or two that I had planned on sliding in up until I saw a rut (or hole or lump or whatever) about 10' in front of my contact point. Precisely placed to break my ankle during the slide. Changed to a PLF and was fine.

PLF is what you needed here. It's a vital skill that should be in every jumper's toolbox.

It can save your leg, foot or ankle on any given jump. 

I've heard it said (by Wendy) that planning to PLF on every jump is important. If things go well, stand it up.

But consider a 'stand up' landing a bonus, not the standard. 
 

Thank you..yes I need to be prepared for PLF on every jump but somehow I just didn't do it and slid on the dirt. I really shouldn't listen to that radio on final. 

4 minutes ago, David Wang said:

So you both say just practice more... what if I get hurt again on landing?

That might happen. It's skydiving, everyone I know who skydives has been injured. Try not to get hurt. Realize that you might anyway.

1 minute ago, gowlerk said:

That might happen. It's skydiving, everyone I know who skydives has been injured. Try not to get hurt. Realize that you might anyway.

ok....Thank you! Maybe I should PLF everytime 

Plan for a PLF (have you practiced them since your FJC? ).  Standing up is a bonus.

And talk to your instructors about it. They see you fly and land. They can give way better advice on your landings in person than you will get from anonymous internet users (like me)

1 hour ago, skybytch said:

Plan for a PLF (have you practiced them since your FJC? ).  Standing up is a bonus.

And talk to your instructors about it. They see you fly and land. They can give way better advice on your landings in person than you will get from anonymous internet users (like me)

 

 

 

i would normally say the same thing, as i am not an instructor and i do not know you.  having said that, i can safely say this:  plfs will save you injuries in the future.  practice them anywhere, all you need is something you can safely stand on that is about 2 or 3 feet high. 

i couldn't keep my feet and knees together at airborne school and they tied my boots together and i hopped around all day.  i can do the most beautiful plfs now, 20 years later, and have done them at start when i jumped.  i could have ran it out and stood it up, but on the walk back when i stepped in a hole i decided i made a good call with the plf.

6 hours ago, skybytch said:

Plan for a PLF (have you practiced them since your FJC? ).  Standing up is a bonus.

And talk to your instructors about it. They see you fly and land. They can give way better advice on your landings in person than you will get from anonymous internet users (like me)

 

 

 

Thank you. I should talk more to my instructors. Always ready for a PLF--I've really learned a lesson. 

4 hours ago, sfzombie13 said:

i would normally say the same thing, as i am not an instructor and i do not know you.  having said that, i can safely say this:  plfs will save you injuries in the future.  practice them anywhere, all you need is something you can safely stand on that is about 2 or 3 feet high. 

i couldn't keep my feet and knees together at airborne school and they tied my boots together and i hopped around all day.  i can do the most beautiful plfs now, 20 years later, and have done them at start when i jumped.  i could have ran it out and stood it up, but on the walk back when i stepped in a hole i decided i made a good call with the plf.

Thank you!

David,

The words I'm about to say to you come from a place of good intention (regardless of the tone), and not a personal attack on you:

STOP ASKING THE INTERNET FOR SKYDIVING ADVICE!!!

You have numerous posts on here asking for advice, where you have received a  variety of responses on what you should do.  That alone should be a red flag.  This is a sport that can be safe if you do everything correctly....it can also be one where if you do one thing wrong it can kill you.

Please let that sink in.

The ONLY people you should be asking for advice, whether it's in the air or on the ground are your instructors at Perris.  Those are the only ones who have flown with you and watched you land.  Everyone else here does not have that personal experience with you.

You have 3 AFF jumps...3!  Just enjoy it, learn from it, and continue to grow.  I remember when I was going through AFF and watched every Friday Freakout, read every post on reddit and dropzone.com, all of that stuff.  At the end of the day, all that mattered was learning how to fly my own body through those first 25 jumps.  Even then, hundreds of jumps later I'm still learning different/better ways to fly my body.  It will all come with time and practice, not advice from internet message boards.

So I'll say it one more time: STOP ASKING THE INTERNET FOR SKYDIVING ADVICE!!!

1 hour ago, Your_Mom said:

This is a sport that...  if you do everything correctly.... can kill you.

There, fixed that part for you. The rest of it was good...

2 hours ago, Your_Mom said:

David,

The words I'm about to say to you come from a place of good intention (regardless of the tone), and not a personal attack on you:

STOP ASKING THE INTERNET FOR SKYDIVING ADVICE!!!

You have numerous posts on here asking for advice, where you have received a  variety of responses on what you should do.  That alone should be a red flag.  This is a sport that can be safe if you do everything correctly....it can also be one where if you do one thing wrong it can kill you.

Please let that sink in.

The ONLY people you should be asking for advice, whether it's in the air or on the ground are your instructors at Perris.  Those are the only ones who have flown with you and watched you land.  Everyone else here does not have that personal experience with you.

You have 3 AFF jumps...3!  Just enjoy it, learn from it, and continue to grow.  I remember when I was going through AFF and watched every Friday Freakout, read every post on reddit and dropzone.com, all of that stuff.  At the end of the day, all that mattered was learning how to fly my own body through those first 25 jumps.  Even then, hundreds of jumps later I'm still learning different/better ways to fly my body.  It will all come with time and practice, not advice from internet message boards.

So I'll say it one more time: STOP ASKING THE INTERNET FOR SKYDIVING ADVICE!!!

You are right and I agree with you! Thanks...