AFF level 1 - nightmare

[nanobyte 0]

I completed my first jump yesterday - AFF level 1. I had never done a tandem jump or any other kind of jump before.

When I left the plane, it was extremely scary, I thought I would accelerate endlessly.

I still managed to complete the first level and landed very well, standing and running when I touched the ground.

During the night I had a nightmare which woke me up - I relived my jump.

Today I still managed to complete AFF level 2, though, and it was completely different. I actually felt 33% of the fear I had during the previous jump (but I felt sick in the plane, of fear).

Everything went fine again, but my teachers told me I had done things much too quickly. They told me to calm down and do things more slowly... as if I hadn't tried. ;)

So: 1st jump absolute nightmare, friendly teachers, 2nd jump close to enjoyable but teachers unfriendly and not very supportive (they were pissed off I did everything so quickly).

Grrrr... Does it get better? Is the 10th flight actually fun?

I'm actually really looking forward to jumping alone... then I have all the time in the world and don't have to complete silly (in the eye of a fearful beginner...) tasks anymore :)

[Andy_Copland 0]

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I actually felt 33% of the fear

You work with computers dont you?

Jumping on your own is a novalty that wears thin very quickly though, congrats on your first jumps

1338

People aint made of nothin' but water and shit.

Until morale improves, the beatings will continue.

[jakee 1,489]

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Grrrr... Does it get better? Is the 10th flight actually fun?

No. It never gets fun, we all hate it every time we have to get out the door.

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[jamiem 1]

whoa, what made you do AFF if you've never even done a tandem before?! That's pretty cool.

I can't really tell you if it will get better for you or not because I was never scared. I was so pumped and had so much adrenaline after my first tandem that I have always enjoyed it 100%. Hopefully it will get better for you...but it's not for everyone.

[skybytch 273]

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I'm actually really looking forward to jumping alone... then I have all the time in the world and don't have to complete silly (in the eye of a fearful beginner...) tasks anymore :)

Those "silly" tasks? We call them survival skills. They're pretty important.

If your overall goal is to stay alive, that is.

[billeisele 130]

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I'm actually really looking forward to jumping alone... then I have all the time in the world and don't have to complete silly (in the eye of a fearful beginner...) tasks anymore :)

Those "silly" tasks? We call them survival skills. They're pretty important.

If your overall goal is to stay alive, that is.

Skybytch beat me too it but it bears repeating. Until those "silly tasks" become automatic it would be advisable to practice them - again and again. I still do my "silly tasks" and my tandem students don't seem to mind.

Give one city to the thugs so they can all live together. I vote for Chicago where they have strict gun laws.

[Zenister 0]

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Jumping on your own is a novalty that wears thin very quickly though

not true.. I know jumpers with thousands of jumps who still regularly do solos (unless we badger them to jump with us)

there are ALOT of good things to be said for a solo.... the simply freedom to try whatever you wish without having to worry about anyone else is one.... and the ability to relax and enjoy the view without 'ruining' someone else's dive

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Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

[Zenister 0]

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whoa, what made you do AFF if you've never even done a tandem before?!

Independence in my case. The fact that the one responsible for my fate was me, and not a TM... however i'd already been through military static line training as well as a few training jumps... but i dont think i would have been as impressed or excited if I had done a tandem instead as my first jump

i didnt do a tandem until around 300 then i did 2 for a friend getting his ratting.. definitely not impressed then with anything other than how hard it was to steer that beast from the bottom position without help. Which did give me a better perspective on how much work TMs do on every jump.

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Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

[davelepka 4]

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I'm actually really looking forward to jumping alone... then I have all the time in the world and don't have to complete silly (in the eye of a fearful beginner...) tasks anymore :)

I hate to burst your bubble honcho, but alone or with a group of 20 of your friends, you always have the same amount of time.

For the record, you have plenty of time to complete the tasks, and you'll do most of them on every jump you ever make.

It will be better on your next jump, provided you listen to your instructors, relax and slow down to admire the scenery.

[diablopilot 2]

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2nd jump close to enjoyable but teachers unfriendly and not very supportive (they were pissed off I did everything so quickly).

I really can't believe that.

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[chrismgtis 0]

I got "almost" entirely over the fear after about my 7th jump, or somewhere around there. I still get a little nervous sometimes. Mostly if I'm at the back of the plane beside the door. I hate that. Especially if the door is open. I get nervous when I jump with someone. If I'm alone, I mostly just don't care. I feel more in control that way and then the only time I'm not 100% comfortable is right before I step up to the door for a few seconds. So, yea you get over it. At least I did. It's different for everyone.

Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033
Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

[Kiki32 1]

When I was in AFF I couldnt wait to jump by myself. Now that Im on solo status Im sick of jumping by myself and want to jump with others desperately.

Im sure you'll go through this too.

Poetry don't work on whores.

[DSE 5]

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When I was in AFF I couldnt wait to jump by myself. Now that Im on solo status Im sick of jumping by myself and want to jump with others desperately.
.

that's a good "want." I made the mistake of jumping for too many jumps on my own, and didn't progress as fast as I could/should have for the first 50 or so jumps. Once I started jumping with coaches, friends, and people with much greater experience, the learning factor was exponential.
Nanobyte, why do you think the instructors were "pissed off" because you learned "so fast?" If you did learn that fast, it's a reflection on your instructors as much as it might be a reflection on you.

[nanobyte 0]

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Nanobyte, why do you think the instructors were "pissed off" because you learned "so fast?" If you did learn that fast, it's a reflection on your instructors as much as it might be a reflection on you.

No what I meant was: They wanted me to be more calm, do the motions more slowly etc. I did things very hastily.

They had the impression I was extremely nervous and wanted to "get it done as quickly as possible", which I'll freely admit...

But what they want to see is that their students concentrate a 100% and do everything in a slow, controlled and smooth manner...

...I still did everything right though, so my next jump will be AFF level 3. :)

[kefran 0]

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But what they want to see is that their students concentrate a 100% and do everything in a slow, controlled and smooth manner...

which seems quite normal for any AFF instructor they want to see you relaxed in the air because if things goes wrong suddenly you'll be able to calmly do your emergency procedures
welcome in da sky

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I never used 2 rocks to start a fire ... this is called evolution !

[chrismgtis 0]

I'm still totally fine jumping alone. I'm more worried about canopy skills and experience than 4-ways or free flying. All of that can come much later. There are more important things to me. The only real skills I want to develop right now with others is getting good at closing in on another jumper to dock and adjusting fall rate. Honestly, as far as most of the rest goes, like learning all the 4-way skills, I could care less. I'm not bored yet jumping alone. Theres plenty to learn that most people don't think about.

Do yourself a favor and don't rush into anything at all. Besides, if you get bored jumping alone that fast, you're going to get bored with everything in the sport pretty quickly. You'll find yourself wanting to get into disciplines that you have no business attempting.

You will get a lot of coaches, instructors and other jumpers telling you that you should be getting into 4-ways and jumping with someone else all the time. I don't believe in that. It's good to jump with someone every once in a while, but developing those kinds of skills are very secondary to learning to survive, pilot your canopy, land in an safe area and react in an emergency. It's not to say you can't participate in jumps with others and those things, but I find that just about everyone that gets into these things after they get an A-license don't even think about what is really important.

Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033
Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

[DSE 5]

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I'm still totally fine jumping alone. I'm more worried about canopy skills and experience than 4-ways or free flying. All of that can come much later. There are more important things to me. The only real skills I want to develop right now with others is getting good at closing in on another jumper to dock and adjusting fall rate. Honestly, as far as most of the rest goes, like learning all the 4-way skills, I could care less. I'm not bored yet jumping alone. Theres plenty to learn that most people don't think about.

Do yourself a favor and don't rush into anything at all. Besides, if you get bored jumping alone that fast, you're going to get bored with everything in the sport pretty quickly. You'll find yourself wanting to get into disciplines that you have no business attempting.

You will get a lot of coaches, instructors and other jumpers telling you that you should be getting into 4-ways and jumping with someone else all the time. I don't believe in that. It's good to jump with someone every once in a while, but developing those kinds of skills are very secondary to learning to survive, pilot your canopy, land in an safe area and react in an emergency. It's not to say you can't participate in jumps with others and those things, but I find that just about everyone that gets into these things after they get an A-license don't even think about what is really important.

So in other words, you have no clue as to how well you fly relative to others. It's also a good opportunity to learn bad/dangerous habits that may well affect others. If no one is around to correct you, then you, and no one else, is aware of your bad habits. Next thing you know, you've got a couple hundred jumps, go on a 4 way, and potentially funnel it badly enough to hurt someone.
Nanobyte, this is a prime example of why you want to speak to your instructors and experienced skydivers at your dropzone and until you've gained a great deal more experience yourself, ignore 90% of what you read on DZ.com.

[peregrinerose 0]

I have to disagree on this post... your advice here is scary. When you are in freefall alone, how do you know if you are falling in a straight line or not? How do you know how far you are tracking? Without a frame of reference, it's impossible to learn these things... and these are skills you need to save your life.

The jumpers I have worked with that make tons of solos end up having to un-learn all the bad habits they managed to teach themselves, and this is a LOT more difficult than learning how to fly well to begin with.

Who says you have to do 4 way or freeflying or anything else? You learn little to nothing from a solo skydive, go jump with people, learn something every time you jump! Do some fun 2 ways and build up from there as your comfort level increases and your skills improve.

Jen

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[skybytch 273]

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Next thing you know, you've got a couple hundred jumps, go on a 4 way, and potentially funnel it badly enough to hurt someone.

And that potential isn't there when someone has 50 jumps?

Chris has a good point. The more time any jumper spends working on canopy skills, the more likely they are to avoid titanium inserts. Canopy skills are survival skills. Concentrating on them early in someone's skydiving career is a good thing, imho.

[DSE 5]

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And that potential isn't there when someone has 50 jumps?

Chris has a good point. The more time any jumper spends working on canopy skills, the more likely they are to avoid titanium inserts. Canopy skills are survival skills. Concentrating on them early in someone's skydiving career is a good thing, imho.

I guess one can't work on canopy skills after a 2,3 4 way freefall?
You missed the point entirely. Someone who jumps solo for several dozen or hundred jumps has a much greater propensity for funneling, running into, injuring, (insert descriptive here) another skydiver in a relative work jump than does another skydiver with an equal amount or potentially fewer relative work jumps in most situations. Surely you're not disputing this?
Of course the potential is there when someone ahs 50 jumsp. And the potential is there when someone has 5000 jumps. But the person with 25 relative jumps is probably less likely to create a problem than the guy with 100 solo jumps.

[skybytch 273]

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I guess one can't work on canopy skills after a 2,3 4 way freefall?

Not like one can on a high hop and pop or by pulling high on a solo.

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Surely you're not disputing this?

Yeah, I am. And don't call me Shirley.

We all start with no rw jumps. If you know that someone has no rw jumps you design a dive accordingly, right? I don't see a difference between someone with 100 jumps and 10 rw jumps and someone with 40 jumps and 10 rw jumps... except for the fact that the one with 100 jumps is more likely to be able to pull off a stable exit and less likely to run into me under canopy.

[mnskydiver688 0]

My first 4-way was the jump after I got licensed, which was jump 37. You could get a 4 way together and ask to break off at 5 and pull by 4. Then you have time to evaluate your pattern and try different approaches, (double fronts, rear riser, etc.) No matter if your jump was a solo or a 10-way you only have once chance to practice your landing and so why not get your money's worth and practice skills from exit to touchdown? I guess because I went through SL I have a more economical approach toward jumping. But, then again I only have 200 jumps so what do I know?

Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

[peregrinerose 0]

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We all start with no rw jumps. If you know that someone has no rw jumps you design a dive accordingly, right? I don't see a difference between someone with 100 jumps and 10 rw jumps and someone with 40 jumps and 10 rw jumps... except for the fact that the one with 100 jumps is more likely to be able to pull off a stable exit and less likely to run into me under canopy.

I disagree.... if someone has 50 jumps, 30 of them solos (NOT hop/pop solos, but doing freefall), then chances are they have picked up a lot of weird habits, not necessarily good ones. If someone has 20 jumps, none of them solos, they have been receiving active pointers on their flying skills from jump number 1, have been actively working on improving flying skills with feedback from coaches/instructors and receiving feedback just by having another body in freefall with them.

I have jumped a lot with people who have 100 jumps or close to it and most of them solos... they do far scarier things in freefall than someone with a brand new A license.... they tend to be more erratic, less fall rate control, and have unfounded confidence in their flying skills because of the 100 jump wonder status. When I work with them, I have to spend a lot of time unteaching the bad habits that have been ingrained during all those solos.

Jen

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[Thanatos340 1]

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if someone has 50 jumps, 30 of them solos (NOT hop/pop solos, but doing freefall), then chances are they have picked up a lot of weird habits, not necessarily good ones

I remember my DZO/Instructor right after I graduated AFF HIGHLY discouraging solo`s (Other than License requirement) until after you get A and even then avoid if possible for a while. He felt you learned very little on a solo because you had no point of reference in the sky. Resent AFF Grads doing solos generally will not be able to tell if they are back sliding or have any reference for maintaining/adjusting fall rate if they are jumping alone..

[peregrinerose 0]

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I remember my DZO/Instructor right after I graduated AFF HIGHLY discouraging solo`s (Other than License requirement) until after you get A and even then avoid if possible for a while. He felt you learned very little on a solo because you had no point of reference in the sky. Resent AFF Grads doing solos generally will not be able to tell if they are back sliding or have any reference for maintaining/adjusting fall rate if they are jumping alone..

Same here, for the same reasons. Mine encouraged a solo right after AFF just to have one skydive all by myself to relax and not have to do anything but pull, but that was the only time I was encouraged to do a solo.

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda