The beer fines jump

After working in Devon yesterday, I drove to Dunkeswell airport, and stayed overnight in their bunkhouse. Stayed up untill 2AM ‘socialising’ 😉 around a fire, before getting up at around 7 to be ready for the first lift at around 8. A few of us were new to the drozone, so we had another brief (we had one the evening before as well) while we waited for the pilot to arrive. However, the pilot was delayed, and the lift didnt go up untill about 10:30, but, when it did, it was fast. A Beech plane, very fast, got to 15,000 feet in about 8 minutes, and it seemed really odd not seeing the sea during the climb, but, the climb didnt really last long enough to take that much notice.

In the plane, i practice my emergency procedures a few times, and feel for my toggle (which is now a ball) for my pilot chute. This is my first jump on my own equipment (beer fine), my first jump on a canopy that ive packed (beer fine) and my first jump at this dropzone (beer fine).

I do my normal rolling exit, followed by a few practice pulls, just to make sure i can find my pilot chute, followed by practicing my emergency procedures in freefall, then a few 360s and look at the new view. I can see over to the beaches of devon, and loads of fields, a few more practice pulls, a few more 360s before turning into the wind, and deploying my canopy at 4,000 feet, and, IT OPENED!!!! YAY!!!!!!!

I do my control checks, turn towards the landing area, and, holy crap, its miles away. I look around me, and everyone is just driving straight towards the landing area, i remember being shown where the power lines run on the aerial view of the DZ, and, im looking for great big pylons, but cant see any, but i know theres some below me somewhere. I see the first canopies that were out land within one of the grass areas we were told we can land in if we wont make the proper landing area, but still within the airport and follow those in, and like all of those, i also land with the wind behind me instead of turning and coming into the wind (my first landing like that (beer fine)). As i flare to land, at the last second i bring my legs up, as im going pretty fast, and slide across the grass on my arse. Everyone groups together, and we all walk through the field, then through the next field, to where we are all picked up by a bus. The only person in that lift who ‘just made it’ to the landing area, was wearing a wingsuit.

But, really happy with everything on that jump, even if there was loads of beer fines involved 🙂

Later, once my pro-track was connected to the PC, this jump also saw me pass 100 miles in freefall, i dont know if thats a beer fine in itself, but, for the amount of fines already on this jump, I may as well also add this to it 🙂