[svandamme]

tandem jump, equipment failure while strapping to the jumpmaster, very funny
went down ( fun when they point a skyvan straight down, then pull )

new harness , right back up again

week after that, solo jump ground training, bad weather
had to wait 3 weeks for good weather

went up, jumped, pulled at 3500, 1-100 2-100 3-100 chute? NAH
flash back to the drill weeks before, common failure: pilot chute stuck in vacuum on your back
rotated, opened up

good canopy ?? NAH
multiple twist
back to the drill, decide, live with it, deal with it, or cutaway
managed to untwist it

now the ground is closing, jumpmaster on the ground is feeding orders
no desert like in arizona, but patches of farmland, trees, houses, all sorts
left, left left, hold hold, left , right
then at about 150 feet, the darn thing goes silent
trees on the left, road on the right, cow field up front, with, off course, barbed wire

first jump, so no idea when to flare, at some point i pass the barbed wire, ground getting awfully close now, so i yank the straps, flare off, way to soon, and then a 10 foot drop or so, and i'm down

great fun
went back a few more times, but since jumpmasters here aren't profesisonals, but volunteers, and weather was crap, i spent more time watching jump vid's in the canteen, then actually jumping... and i quit