Advice from instructors

[drae 0]

When given advice, do you take it? Do you even ask?
I always ask for advice before I jump due to my inexperience. I just had occasion to reflect back on some of that advice and realize how important it has been for my safety. I don't always understand the issues involved that result in the decision, but I always take the advice and stay on the ground, or do not participate in a certain type of jump, if that is the advice I am given.
I would like to thank those that have been there to help and advise, knowing that they have the not so experienced jumpers' best intrest in mind. They are really to be commended as life savers in my book!
My thanks is exteneded to:
Alan Fitzsimmons, Sandy and Hans Paulsen, Blaine, Mike Gruwell, Mark Shimmell, and Frank Kenyon.
Thank you - who err on the side of safety!
And I thank God that I was given the good sense to listen.

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[skytash 0]

I think there are a lot of people out there like you, and often we only know those at our DZ. It's nice to know there are sensible people in lots of places!



tash

Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe

[NWFlyer 2]

I've learned to balance advice from instructors and other mentors with doing my own research and investigation. I've received questionable to downright bad advice from people more experienced than me in the past (and sometimes I've acted on it; if I'd done my homework, I would have known it was crap). Fortunately, most of the advice I've received has been excellent advice.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[matthewcline 0]

I way what advice I am given and depending on what it is I either take it or not. Normally I do follow it as normally the situation warrants it.

An Instructors first concern is student safety.
So, start being safe, first!!!

[popsjumper 2]

Hey Donna!

Funny you would list Alan first...

It's time for you to understand the who, what and whys of the advice being given to you. Please do NOT hold back your questions if you don't understand. There is nobody here who would not stop whatever they are doing to help make sure that you understand what's being advised.

Spank me!
Andy

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[drae 0]

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Hey Donna!

Funny you would list Alan first...

It's time for you to understand the who, what and whys of the advice being given to you. Please do NOT hold back your questions if you don't understand. There is nobody here who would not stop whatever they are doing to help make sure that you understand what's being advised.
Spank me!
Andy

Thanks Andy!
I am working on it!
I do recall asking for an explanation once and somehow a white board, markers, and hand drawn illistrations became involved...I think my eyes glazed over after about an hour, and I lost track of the question!
Some of the technical stuff is a bit complicated for me and has to be simplified into terms I can grasp...and just WHAT did you think we were doing in there?? !!

[crazyboy 0]

It is very important that you understand the reason for the decision of the instructor.
If you don't understand it or if it seems to be without any reason: ask him.

There is no sense in just doing it without understanding. Only if you understand why he told you not to do something, you can learn.

Later, when you are more experienced, ask always several instructors. There are many different opinions for everything and form your own opinion. Some people will tell you that a pad reserve handle is better then a loop reserve handle, some will tell you that freefallers should go first (the DZ has the final say) and so on. And then there will be people who tell you the opposite. Without an explanation you will only have statements. But if they explain it you can form your own opinion.

If your parachute fails to open, remember you have the rest of your live to fix it.

[drae 0]

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It is very important that you understand the reason for the decision of the instructor.
If you don't understand it or if it seems to be without any reason: ask him.

In no way did I mean to suggest that I am given advice with no explanation. Reasons are always explained. I just may not fully understand, simply due to a lack of experience.

[crazyboy 0]

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here is no sense in just doing it without understanding. Only if you understand why he told you not to do something, you can learn.
In Reply To
Considering the severe results that can occur in this sport, I have to disagree with you on this one.

Ok, an example.
You want to do a freefly jump and take a rental rig. Now you go to your instructor and ask him if you can use it for freefly. He says "No, you can't because the pilot chute is at the leg-strap." So you take another rental rig with a BOC. Everything seems to be fine because the pilot chute is not at the leg-strap. Unfortunately there are velcro riser covers, and the main opens during the jump.
If you would have asked the instructor why he told you not to do a freefly jump with the rig, that has the PC at the leg-strap, one of the answers would be "because of the velcro, the bridle can be ripped of and cause a premature deployment".
And exactly the same can happen with velcro riser covers.
I saw situations like this happen. After the jump the guy told us that he didn't know about the danger of velcro riser covers. When we explained the situation, he said "Oh, the velcro is the problem, not the leg-strap...".

If your parachute fails to open, remember you have the rest of your live to fix it.

[popsjumper 2]

Donna,

You have access to one of the best instructors around. Use him like you always have.


Oh, and abuse him, too. And you can tell him I said that.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[livendive 8]

It's wierd how different people are in this regard. Just in the last year, I can think of one novice who frequently came to me for advice, and then tossed it out the window and did what she wanted, and another who frequently would ask me questions and then use my answers as loose guidance at best (much better than nothing). The ones that stick out in my mind the most though are the ones who don't ask advice in the first place, and it's rarely egotism as much as just not recognizing there's an aspect they haven't considered. A 4-way of A-license holders whose plan in the event of a funnel is to break into two 2-ways, not realizing the danger of doing totally separate skydives in close proximity to each other. A novice who decides independently to spend her solo jump working on her tracking skills, and doesn't realize the direction she tracks is kinda important to the safety of herself and others. These people don't decide to do these things because they're stupid, or because they think they know it all, they just don't have the experience that triggers a "Warning - Insufficient Planning" alarm to go off in their heads. Eventually, we all learn that the limits of our knowledge should be bounding criteria, with exceptions being calculated and considered. Right now I'm wondering how to encourage the questions and requests for advice to come earlier.

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)