WWYD?- jump infrequently or go uncurrent

[countzero 7]

i know people dislike these WWYD polls, but please bear with me. i'm really wresteling with this issue.

i can A- jump every 60 days to stay current. with rental and jumps it's about $150. if i keep doing this i'll have my own gear in about 10 months.

or B- take a hiatus from jumping. save the money i would have spent on jumping and rentals. i which case i'd have my own gear in about 6 months.

i do have a wings 50% off cert. that's good till dec. which helps alot. and i will be starting out with used canopies. and once i do have my own gear i'll be able to average 15 jumps a month.

is going uncurrent worth it to have my own gear sooner?

diamonds are a dawgs best friend

[Couloirman 0]

going uncurrent isnt really a big deal once you have an A license. As a student, it sucks to go uncurrent cause they make you do an AFF level 4 at full price which sucks and is embarassing(I know from experience). With an A license youll just have to make a coach jump(at least thats what my DZO told me) which isnt very expensive.

So the only real decision is CAN you take that long off from jumping without suffering massive withdrawal???

[labrys 0]

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going uncurrent isnt really a big deal once you have an A license. As a student, it sucks to go uncurrent cause they make you do an AFF level 4 at full price which sucks and is embarassing(I know from experience).

Being uncurrent has much deeper meaning than the cost of instruction.

Owned by Remi #?

[crotalus01 0]

Go uncurent. Once you have your gear you will be able to stay current for a long time (assuming no cutaway and lost main). Its better to deal with the fear and loss of muscle memory once than have to experience it every month IMHO....

As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD...

[elias123 0]

Hi there,

I had the same dilemma a few months ago. I took option B and I'm very glad I did. Personally I think that the satisfaction of not jumping for a while and having your gear sooner outweighs the satisfaction of continuing to jump but having to wait much longer to have your gear. Of course you have to make that choice for yourself, but I think you'll be happier if you chose option B.

Blues ;)
Eli

"In a mad world, only the mad are sane"

[cocheese 0]

Currency in aviation is everything. Find a way to make more currency.

Jumping every 60 days isn't very current. That's just plain torture.

[SethInMI 174]

Take a hiatus. I am not sure if the rental at your dz is per jump or per day, but either way it is not cheap; I assume your $150 is for 3-4 jumps.

I know what it is like jump infrequently, (5 years 100 jumps) and jumping like that it is tough to make progress, in either freefall skills or canopy skills. Take a break, save your money, get your own gear. It will fit you better and you will always be able to jump the same canopy, which will make you a better pilot. 5 years in the sport has also taught me that the sky will still be there when you are ready.

Seth

It's flare not flair, brakes not breaks, bridle not bridal, "could NOT care less" not "could care less".

[joblades 0]

This is what I did, when I decided to become a skydiver I tried to get my A license as soon as possible, once I got it, I volunteered to get deployed for a year, by the time I was coming up on my leave (at the six month mark) I had enough money to buy a new complete custom rig, I ordered it and it was at my house waiting for me when I got home on leave, I jumped it for 2 weeks and then I went away for the six months I had left.
That was 3 deployments ago…..currently on deployment #4.

~Freedom is never free

[Andy9o8 2]

I'd jump infrequently to stay current, rather than take a hiatus. The chance for you to have skydiving in your life is NOW. You never know when life will get in the way and put your jumping on hold for years and years. It happens. (Been there, done that.) Then you'll regret the chance you missed to get more jumps under your belt before it becomes part of your "previous life". People like to say, "the sky will always be there," but what they neglect to tell you is that sometimes the wait winds up being much, much longer than you might have hoped.

[UDSkyJunkie 0]

i can A- jump every 60 days to stay current. with rental and jumps it's about $150. if i keep doing this i'll have my own gear in about 10 months.

or B- take a hiatus from jumping. save the money i would have spent on jumping and rentals. i which case i'd have my own gear in about 6 months.

[Ironmanjay 0]

I would try to jump at least every 30 days. From personal experience the more time you stay out of the sky the higher safety risk you are to you and other people.
I dont know how your credit is but a credit card is an option I leave open for myself when it comes to jumping. Its not the smartest choice but like someone else said I'm skydiving right now, I might not have that luxury in the future. Or like someone said start packing, I think you might be surprised once you hang out at your DZ for a little while a good deal might just fall into your lap for some gear

GOOD LUCK

[UDSkyJunkie 0]

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I think you might be surprised once you hang out at your DZ for a little while a good deal might just fall into your lap for some gear

That's a really good point too. If you're packing/working, you're around a lot and you meet a lot of people. That does two things... first, it makes you want to come back more because you're making friends, and second, people will know you're looking for gear, and they'll be on the lookout.

When I was packing and looking for gear, someone went to the WFFC and bought a Vector III with zero jumps for $650. They were going to sell it for $800, but sold it to me for what they paid. When my younger sister started jumping, the same guy GAVE her an 8-year-old cypres that needed the 8-year check. She also bought a Spectre 150 with like 300 jumps and a PDR-160 with zero jumps for $1300 total, and the guy who sold it to her knew her and knew she was short on cash, so he let her give a down payment of $500, and pay the rest later.

Bottom line: try to be at the DZ as much as possible!

"Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."