I don't like potato chips

I don't like to eat them either. If you're a skydiver, you know what I mean.

I completed Level III of my Strong Tandem certification last Sunday, this time it was out of a Cessna. I think I was rushing because I had less altitude to work with, so maybe I was rushing. I knew that I was potato chipping in freefall, so I tried to relax, arch, and put my legs further out into the air. I think that is where I went wrong- I TRIED to relax. Relax is about putting LESS effort in, by letting go. Instead I put more imput in, and the potato chipping continued.

I passed the level with flying colors, even though I made a few mistakes. I forgot to detach and reattach the primary drogue release from the student's harness to my harness. I also talked about landing too late under canopy (during the base leg). No biggie- these are all fixable mistakes that aren't a huge deal.

Even though I am making progress towards my instructor's rating, I'm a little frustrated. I still can't flare the 400 SETS canopy. Despite my big efforts to get stronger at the gym, I am not any closer to getting a full flare. Here's the rub: I will probably be taking smaller people on tandems, so it will be easier to flare. But they probably won't be able to help me. The larger passengers make it harder to flare, but they will be able to help me. So which is it? Hmmmmm.......