First solo after AFF

[Pinky2 0]

Hi folks

I will most probably enrol to an AFF next summer in Lillo, Spain and I am already excited about it. I have tried Level 1 in Switzerland as a trial jump after a few tandems.

Can anyone tell me about his or her first solo after AFF, because taking FULL responsibility up there kinda makes me feel uncomfortable. Do you think there's a difference between AFF Level 7 and the first solo dive in terms of psychology? Will I be ready after Level 7?

I'd appreciate some frank opinions from a variety of people. Thanks in advance.

blue skies

Pinky2

[Avikus 0]

My First solo was a very late sunset jump, limit night jump!

I got back from the beer store with my 24 (tradition of graduating) and next thing I know I got a parachute on my back and I'm in a plane. I didn't really have time to that I was going to do my very first alone solo jump. Come to think of it, I think I never saw it as "HOLY SH!T! MY FIRST JUMP!" since I was quickly thrown into it.

I just stay relax and had an amazing time ... alone ... Did turn and looked at the city and the sunset! Was Great!

Avikus - Packer and Jumper - Hate landing with the plane!

[mrubin 0]

I was really nervous before my first solo. It was the first time that I had no instructor to save me if I screwed up and I had no dive plan. I went unstable on my exit, punched a hard arch, and got stable right away. That's when it hit me that I knew what I was doing. It was an amazing feeling.

Trust yourself and trust your instructors. If they don't think you're ready to solo then they won't let you.

"I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

[FlyingRhenquest 1]

I still wasn't too sure what order I was supposed to get on the plane, but the other skydivers took care of me. There always seems to be some load organizer who's not me organizing the loads. I'm too lazy to make a good load organizer though, even now when I know the jump order.

It was nice not having any objectives on the jump. It was the first jump where I could really relax and do my own thing. That kind of overcame the intimidation of being out on my own. I still hadn't mastered my exit yet and got tumbled around a bit. I think I tried to dive out ass-to-the-wind which really doesn't work very well. Then I did some flips. A lot of flips, really. And a little tracking in there somewhere in there too.

Being out on your own's a little intimidating at first, but you get used to it pretty quickly.

I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

[GooniesKid 0]

Pinky2

Hi folks

I will most probably enrol to an AFF next summer in Lillo, Spain and I am already excited about it. I have tried Level 1 in Switzerland as a trial jump after a few tandems.

Can anyone tell me about his or her first solo after AFF, because taking FULL responsibility up there kinda makes me feel uncomfortable. Do you think there's a difference between AFF Level 7 and the first solo dive in terms of psychology? Will I be ready after Level 7?

I'd appreciate some frank opinions from a variety of people. Thanks in advance.

blue skies

Pinky2

To be honest...solo is quite boring.

[dthames 0]

Think about what you are saying. Want to skydive? You better be ready to take full responsibility for yourself. Sorry to be blunt but that is just the way it is. I trusted my instructors, but never felt like I was jumping out of the plane and it was someone else job to take care of me. But that is just me.

Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

[evan85 0]

dthames

Think about what you are saying. Want to skydive? You better be ready to take full responsibility for yourself. Sorry to be blunt but that is just the way it is. I trusted my instructors, but never felt like I was jumping out of the plane and it was someone else job to take care of me. But that is just me.

I was worried I was the only one thinking this!

If you leave the plane with your own rig, you are taking full responsibility for your own life. Any mindset other than this sets you up for failure (e.g. "oh darn, I can't find the pilot chute; I'll just wait for my nice main-side AFFI to pull it for me!").

Being scared or nervous is natural, and will go away (likely) after the first few jumps--probably before you finish AFF. But not wanting to "take full responsibility" -- that's just the wrong way to think about things. Your life is no one's responsibility but your own.

Hopefully your instructors have told you the same. On my first AFF jump, my main-side instructor told me "If something happens, I will try to catch up to you and deploy your canopy. I will try my absolute hardest until 2,000ft. After 2,000ft, you're on your own; I'm saving my own life."

[aeio540 0]

Did my first solo jumps last weekend. It goes through your mind but once you grab your gear you realize that you've done it a few times before and you know the rig like the back of your hand.

A buddy at the dropzone told me I'd find my first solo jump to be boring. All I wanted to do on my first solo was be stable, altitude aware, and land on my feet. Wouldn't you know it he was right. In AFF you're doing turns, back loops, front loops, barrel rolls, leg extensions, delta, etc. No joke 20 seconds into it I think I may have actually yawned from just being stable.

If the school is worth their salt, you'll be ready. There is always a bit of apprehension but that's normal for our level. Hope this helps.

Quote

I still wasn't too sure what order I was supposed to get on the plane, but the other skydivers took care of me. There always seems to be some load organizer who's not me organizing the loads. I'm too lazy to make a good load organizer though, even now when I know the jump order.

This is what struck me the most during my solo. Jumpers I had never met were awesome. They helped me out with my order, congratulated me and gave me some advice, gear and pin checks. I felt good on the way up. Call me campy and corny but it makes you feel a lot better when you feel like you are going on a load with friends rather than strangers.

[ShcShc11 0]

By the time you get to solo/level 7, you'l probably have gotten ''used'' to the environment and you'l know what you are capable of.

Psychologically speaking, you'l have some doubts, but I found it easier to handle it than level 1-2-3 (when everything was incredibly new).

+ You don't have any pressure to do random tricks to pass the level so you'l probably also feel pretty relaxed.

Take it one level at a time :)

[nadominhoca 0]

My first solo jumps were actually the Hop & Pops from 5.5k and 3.5k, and being honest, I wasn't nervous at all!! Actually I fetl very prepared at the time, and everyone on the plane was very nice, also, my instructor was also in the plane with other student, so it was really easy for me..

After the H&P I did right away my first solo at 12,500ft! That was awesome!!! As I did at the same day of the H&Ps, again, I wasn't nervous... and again, by lucky my instructor was in the same load! hehe (she is kind of my babysitter at this point)..

Just get yourself prepared before the jumping from the plane... like you do in your AFF jumps, have a plan for it.. even though you are not gonna do any tricks, just being stable during the entire freefall... But I reccommend you to have a plan (Type of Exit, Freefall, deployment altitude, etc) and them you certainly will be fine!

I think someone mentioned, but now that I have 20 jumps, I'm getting bored doing the solo jumps! I really prefer to jump with my instructor... where we can do some stuff together...

[unkulunkulu 0]

For me it was like: finally those guys won't hold on me and make me perform those tasks end exercises, I just can jump and enjoy the view.

[thomasismyname 0]

my first solo jump went horrible. I just spun all the way down, and was getting pissed off because i couldn't stop it -makes me laugh just thinking about it- the only advise i have is to not panic if something doesn't go right. If you passed all the other levels, then yes, you will be ready for level 7.

[JeffCa 0]

unkulunkulu

For me it was like: finally those guys won't hold on me and make me perform those tasks end exercises, I just can jump and enjoy the view.

This is exactly how I felt! I was always much more concerned with the performance aspect, I had full confidence that I could save my own life. In AFF, you're under constant pressure to perform tasks with up to 2 instructors watching you, and if you screw one up, you might fail the jump. When you finally get off of AFF, you can relax somewhat for your solos. For example, if you don't stop a turn in time, nobody is going to criticise you on the ground and make you repeat the jump. They won't even see it. You're free to just enjoy the jump with much less pressure.

OP, enjoy your solos!

"So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

[dthames 0]

unkulunkulu

For me it was like: finally those guys won't hold on me and make me perform those tasks end exercises, I just can jump and enjoy the view.

1+

Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

[excaza 1]

I spent 9000 feet on my first solo staring at my altimeter.

It was pretty boring

[Pinky2 0]

Hi there

You got me wrong, I am not passing any responsibility to anybody for my life up there. It is only an intimidating feeling at this stage and I wanted to know how others coped with it. that's it.

Pinky2

[collier1234 0]

Pinky2

Hi folks

I will most probably enrol to an AFF next summer in Lillo, Spain and I am already excited about it. I have tried Level 1 in Switzerland as a trial jump after a few tandems.

Can anyone tell me about his or her first solo after AFF, because taking FULL responsibility up there kinda makes me feel uncomfortable. Do you think there's a difference between AFF Level 7 and the first solo dive in terms of psychology? Will I be ready after Level 7?

I'd appreciate some frank opinions from a variety of people. Thanks in advance.

blue skies

Pinky2

Your first jump isnt to bad. my first jump after level 7 wasnt to long ago. dont over think the jump before you go. my instructors told me to not do anything but control my fall and watch my altimeter. just remember to have fun and dont forget to pull!

[FlyingRhenquest 1]

excaza

I spent 9000 feet on my first solo staring at my altimeter.

It was pretty boring

Funnily I still don't get bored on solo jumps. I think it's because I always have goals. There are still a lot of things I'm not particularly good at, so I'm always trying to learn something. This could easily keep me busy for years.

I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

[JohnMitchell 16]

Pinky2

Hi there

You got me wrong, I am not passing any responsibility to anybody for my life up there. It is only an intimidating feeling at this stage and I wanted to know how others coped with it. that's it.

Relax. Finish all your AFF and your question will answer itself. Most people enjoy paying less for the jump and doing whatever they feel like doing.

[dthames 0]

JohnMitchell

***Hi there

You got me wrong, I am not passing any responsibility to anybody for my life up there. It is only an intimidating feeling at this stage and I wanted to know how others coped with it. that's it.

Relax. Finish all your AFF and your question will answer itself. Most people enjoy paying less for the jump and doing whatever they feel like doing.
Try to teach someone something, like how to fish, but never give them the rod and reel without holding on to it. At some point you can expect the student to say, "Give that thing to me so I can DO IT." You can expect your point of view to change as you progress.

Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

[Pinky2 0]

Cheers mate!

[Pinky2 0]

Cheers for the post! Don't worry, I won't get on that load with negativitiy on my mind. Blue Skies folks!

[NorrinRadd 0]

All about the fun of it! I am looking forward to MY first solo jump! Can't wait!

Why drive myself crazy trying to be normal, when I am already at crazy?

[Kalrigan 6]

unkulunkulu

For me it was like: finally those guys won't hold on me and make me perform those tasks end exercises, I just can jump and enjoy the view.

This pretty much.

Didn't last long though as I'm doing Coach jumps for my A now. >_<

[AviationTD 0]

I was nervous when I was put on the list for the next load and no one "appear" to watch over me. Asked the instructors what I am I supposed to do on this jump. They told me to relax and have fun. They practically kicked me off the curb. I did what was trained to do: Check gear, suit up, hop on the plane, and jump out of perfectly safe aircraft. It was the first time that I actually look down and watch the earth hurtling toward me. "Cool!", I thought.