A few newbie Q and A's please

[wanab 0]

Hey all

Name is nathan, have been looking into skydiving for some time now. Decided to go ahead and try it out.


needing to know a few things first.

For a newbie. How do you recomend that i start.
1) tandem
2)AFF
And why?

Also.. I cant seem to find a DZ around my town. Durant, Oklahoma. If anyone could point one out to me.. That would be uber.

Also. What type of gear do you think i should go with. And a place/web page I can look at to order the gear... Also.. How much is a full set going to run money wise...(yes yes, I know. Sell everything)




ok, I think thats about all for now... Thanks all

[caress 0]

Well he is kindof a drive for you, but I've seen people drive pretty far for a certain DZ they call home. I will tellyou the closest DZ when I am done. I have read some of this mans posts and he impressed me. He is Keith Laub at Tulsa Tandems. From what I understand from what I have read he is a great instructor, and worth the trip. He is a Static Line instructor, an IAD instructor,Tandem instructor, He is a USPA coach and has a pro rating. I can tell you that I believe that static line is the way to be better prepared, and you get a whole lot more in depth training, but I am sure that opinions will vary on that. Lots of people do AFF and are just fine.
Keith is "Nightjumps" on DZ.Com
The closest place to you is Pegesus skydiving @redhills airport Chickasha (405)222-1445

I wish you the best with your choices!-Caress

I've learned.... That being kind is more important than being
right.

[nightjumps 1]

Hi Nathan,

Welcome to the forums and deciding to try skydiving. Regarding instructional methodology and location:

1. If you "think" your goal is to become a skydiver, your two best options for learning are the Accelerated Freefall Program (an eight jump program where you wear a rig yourself beginning with jump one) or the Advanced Freefall Program (starting out with three tandems in which each progresses in complexity until your fourth jump where you begin wearing your own rig). I "believe" we're the only one's in Oklahoma offering the AFP (Tandem) program.

2. Based on your location, you are closer to Skydive Hinton or Skydive Dallas. If you would like to investigate an Oklahoma DZ, I recommend you contact Kris Martinez (Kris on DZ.com) who jumps at Skydive Hinton. I know some of the staff there (Marcus, Jeff & Annika) have all jumped with me and they are excellent folks. Skydive Dallas is about 45 minutes from you and they offer one of the largest training facilities in a 250 mile area. Their staff is not only top notch, but some of them are personal friends.

I would love to have you come to Tulsa to train, but I think the drive would be overly excessive when you have excellent DZ's closer to you.

I would encourage you to pursue AFF and either facility would provide excellent training.

Good luck and feel free to contact me if I can be of additional help.

Keith

[Tink1717 2]

In my not so humble opinion, you should do a tandem first and then make a decision about whether you want to continue or not. The DZ, wherever you go , will have all the gear you need for that and for AFF. After that your instructors will, and should be, your primary source of information. Let them guide you.

Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off.
-The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!)
AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

[AggieDave 6]

Good words Bigun!

I wanted to add to it, though.

Even if you do a traditional AFF program instead of the newer/cutting edge training technique of a tandem progression into AFF, I highly suggest you do a "fun" tandem.

Why?

For a few reasons.

1. It will give you a better idea of what to expect in freefall and undercanopy.

2. It will help you with the nerves you'll have doing AFF.

3. Its just fun damnit!


Good luck! Keep us informed of how it goes!

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[nightjumps 1]

I totally agree with Dave's comments:

Quote

1. It will give you a better idea of what to expect in freefall and undercanopy.

2. It will help you with the nerves you'll have doing AFF.

In addition, you should know that if you decide to do this first, it counts towards your license.

[wanab 0]

Wow.

I didnt expect answers so fast

How would I go about setting up a "fun" tandem jump?

Also, How much can i expect to pay for both a "fun" tandem jump and the AFF course?



Thanks for the answers guys. I will be posting here a lot more

*edit for my uber spelling skills

[AggieDave 6]

You can guess at around $2k for your license. Of course that varies between DZs and such, but that's the very rough estimate.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[nightjumps 1]

In our region, Tandems run between $150.00 - $200.00. AFF starts at $250.00-$300.00 for the first jump course, gear and your first jump. After that is a declining scale (varies by DZ) as you progress through the categories. Add $50.00-$100.00 if you want a video of your skydive.

Both Skydive Dallas and Skydive Hinton have pricing schedules posted on their websites.

[smit705 0]

I would just like to add, Good Luck and Have Fun. Welcome to the addiction.... yes. It is addicting. Blue Skies


Dave Smith

In Christ
Dave Smith

[skymama 37]

Welcome to the forums!

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[attached 0]

You will love it. I have only been on tandems but what a great feeling.
I'm waiting for warmer weather. Oh well, at least I admitted it.

[tearseyes 0]

Well I agree with everyone with the tandem thing. I really went into jumping with a very optomistic attitude and when i get in freefall i totally freaked out. It is a totally different experience than you have ever had in your life. I plan on doing it again though. Good luck let us know how it goes.

[MarkM 0]

Website links:

http://www.skydivehinton.com/
http://www.skydivedallas.com/
http://www.skydivetulsa.com/

You can see a full list of dropzones at:

http://www.uspa.org/dz/index.htm

[ChileRelleno 0]

"HI!"
Great info from some folks that are first class IMO, Nothing left for me to say but "Welcome to DZ.com and Skydiving in general.

ChileRelleno-Rodriguez Bro#414
Hellfish#511,MuffBro#3532,AnvilBro#9, D24868

[Flyer2Diver 0]

Quote

For a newbie. How do you recomend that i start.
1) tandem
2)AFF

Welcome - from one newbie to another. I was in the same situation last week and decided to do a Tandem to experience skydiving. It was an amazing experience and now I'm totally sure I want to go forward with AFF training. Now my only problem is waiting for warmer weather before I can start!

Enjoy

_______________________________
30005KT 10SM SKC 23/05 A3006

[skyyhi 0]

I did AFF without doing a tandem, but when people ask me I always recommend a Tandem before the AFF. There was so much to think about on that first AFF jump that I really did not have time to relax till after it was all over. . .I did fine and now have my license. . .but I think I would have liked that tandem thing. . .

________________________________________
Take risks not to escape life… but to prevent life from escaping. ~ A bumper sticker at the DZ
FGF #6
Darcy

[KolinskyDC 0]

Quote

For a newbie. How do you recomend that i start.
1) tandem
2)AFF

Tandem

Quote

And why?

Complete sensory overload. I am so glad that I did a tandem first, I was in such overload, I do not think I could have handled doing it alone, but then again I did not eat or drink anything for several hours prior to my jump....big mistake....do not do that!

Whatever you decide, have a blast, and get ready to think of nothing else for at least 2 weeks after.
Melissa

"May the best of your past be the worst of your future"

[Sheenster303 0]

I did a tandem back in September and because of various reason I haven't been able to get back in the sky. I was wanting to just jump straight into AFF when summer gets here, but I think I've decided to make another tandem before I started AFF. I forgot what it was like in the sky and I want to get myself more used to it again before I go AFF.

I'm so funny I crack my head open!

P.M.S. #102

[Fireflyer 0]

I am with everyone here, Tink, Aggie, Skymama, and the rest, that a tandem is the way to go.

I did that a year ago. Bought a tandem for like 170, then did AFF for about 1700 I think.

The tandem gets you exposed to freefall and prepared for what you will need to do on your own in AFF.

Best of luck!

[dgm458 0]

I am also a "newbie" who happens to jump at Skydive Hinton. I live in Tuttle so it's almost an hour drive for myself. Coming from Durant, you're looking at about 3 hours. I went thru the IAD program, starting at another dz and moving to Hinton in the middle of my training. I've got about 4 jumps remaining until I get my A license. My brother just got his. I'll tell you the pros and cons of Hinton.

The people are friendly, laidback, and very helpful. My training instructors, Jeff and Marcus, are always willing to answer questions and dirt dive. Marcus, my brother Mike, Cody Guest (runs the DZ) and myself all dirtdived for about five hours one day waiting on the wind. My old dz wouldn't have done that. I believe Marcus was the S & TA for the World FreeFall Convention in Rantoul of '02.

Hinton has two planes, C-172 and C-205. We usually fly the 205 but if Marcus is doing a lot of tandems we'll fly both. If our normal pilot isn't there we may also fly the 172. It's a very small DZ that's not so money concious. Some DZ's will only fly if they have a full load. Not Hinton. We've gone up with only two jumpers plenty of times, and usually IAD students go up alone with the instructor.

The worst thing about Hinton is the wind. There have been entire days with no jumping due to wind. The area is flat, about 1500 ft above sea level, and the winds can just howl thru those plains. I do not think that Hinton is currently offering AFF training. I do know that the instructors are planning on getting AFF certified this summer. If you want to tandem in Hinton (Marcus is excellent and will give you the ride of your life), just call to set it up. It's by appointment only since Marcus drives in from Amarillo. Marcus did nine tandems a couple of Sunday's ago and I thought those guys were going to pee their pants they were so stoked.

Dallas is a much larger and much busier dz. It may also be closer to you. I don't know much about Chickasha except that there are high-tension power lines running between the runway and the lz. But, that doesn't stop most folks because they run a pretty busy static line program from what I hear. I believe the airport is owned and operated by the dz. There is also Oklahoma Skydiving Center in Cushing. They are no longer USPA affiliated, but they run a very large student program. I started there.

----Edited to add prices---

I believe the rates are as follows for Hinton:
Tandem $175
IAD School $150
Students jumps $50 each
5-pack $200 (best way to go, buy 4 get 1 free)
20-pack $800 and they will probably knock some off of the school.
Gear rental (after graduating student status) $15
Jumps to 5000 $15
Jumps to 10000 $20

I didn't look these up, so they may be off a little.

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Failure to prepare is preparing to fail