So the course is currently in Eloy, Arizona for one month of parachuting. We are just over halfway done with our time here and so far it's been a total blast. It seems horrible to complain about it after all of the really cold places we've had to go train in but I'm going to anyway. It's HOT here. Ridiculously hot. For example today at 1600 it +43 degrees celcius in the sun. Not cool when you have to wear black jump suits over top of your clothes. Regardless of the heat this is the most fun we've had on a phase yet. Sadly some guys have gotten hurt. One of our course mates, Mark, dislocated his shoulder during his first free fall jump of the course. He managed to get stable in freefall, deploy his canopy and bring it in for a standup landing using only his right arm. Apparently have your parachute deploy with a dislocated shoulder is an unpleasant experience. A couple of other guys have gotten hurt as well but nothing serious enough to dictate sending them back to Comox like Mark.
The basis for all of this jumping so far is to be able to accurately land within a given area. Sa ya while the freefall and all that is a blast the important thing to learn is to fly the canopy accurately. I appear to be quite good at freefalling and am picking it up fast. I almost already have my A COP (certificate of proficiency) and I only have 22 freefalls (not including static line).
Another good note is that the staff is starting to loosen up and be somewhat cool. Here's a pic of the two who're running this phase.
