Qualifying a Trainer/Instructor

[Iota 0]

Greetings all,

Let me fist say, I'm extemely new to the sport, but so far I'm loving it. I've made two tandem's, with a 3rd upcoming (since it'll be over 30 days) followed by a Solo Training Program at my dropzone. I'm a big fan of research, which is why I ended up here--reading your posts on past experiences which have been helpful and interesting to say the least.

Now that I'm looking into doing the solo program and working towards my A license, I'd like to know a method to judge the quality of my instruction. Other than what insturctors teach you during a tandem skydive (i.e. arch back, pelvis out, etc) what are other topics that are 100% essential to performing a safe skydive and being prepared for various situations that you may encounter. Is there an instructor syllabus online (maybe something mandated by uspa)that I can download/review and used for comparison to the instruction that I'm receiving.

Lastly, I know you have to trust the people and drop zone you're training at, and so far, these guys have been top notch; however, it never hurts to be too prepared especially considering the consequences. Unfortunately, just because someone has 5,000+ jumps and may instinctly know how to overcome obstacles, doesn't mean they're an overwhelmingly good teacher.

Hopefully you understand where I'm coming from and what I'm looking for.

Thanks for your help in advance

-Iota

[mattjw916 2]

Really there is no way to judge one instructor vs. another since there is no true "right" way to do it. You will find opinions vary wildly in skydiving esp among the "pros". If you want a heads up as to what you are going to encounter in the air during AFF go to http://www.skydivingmovies.com and download and watch the student AFF level 1 vids and anything else you find interesting.

Read as much as you can but take it with a grain of salt and listen to your AFF/Is since they are the only ones that will actually see you fly. You can also read the dive flows from the SIM that you can get here: http://uspa.org/about/index.htm after you read all the other stuff until you are blue in the face.

BTW, you can study and read all you want, but the only way you are going to get proficient is to jump, stay current, listen, and have fun!!!

Blue Skies

NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

[AggieDave 6]

Most likely, if the instructor you're working with is a current rated instructor, you don't have whole lot to worry about. Some have better skill sets and better teaching techniques then others, though. At the end of the day, it comes down to which one works best with you.

Also note that a lot of DZs will let you request an instructor, but it might mean you have to wait much longer to jump.

Read the SIM (link in the post above) it has the BSRs and the FARs, they should be followed (the FARs are federal law) and the SIM has the USPA's ISP training program. The DZ you're at may or may not follow the ISP, but I bet it will be reasonably close, especially for the first few jumps.

Feel free to read what you can get your hands on here on DZ.com; however, you must promise me that you'll discuss the things you read with your instructors and/or S&TA (safety and training advisor). Why? Well, there's a lot of opinions on this site, not all of them are right, some are dangerously wrong and some although right, isn't right for you at your current level of skydiving. So please talk to your instructors.

Good luck!

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

[BIGUN 1,314]

Our curriculum comes from the USPA Basic Safety Recommendations (BSRs). If you download it as Aggie Dave suggested, you will not only be one-step ahead in each category, but it will also give you the baseline reference you're looking for regarding instruction.

P.S. To prevent from being labeled as a troll, you may want to fill out the rest of your profile.

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[riggerrob 643]

All instructors must meet minimums to earn their ratings. After that it is a question of teaching style. Different teaching styles work differently with different students. For example, I have a "technical" style of teaching while Bob has a "zen" style of teaching.
This is a result of our different personalities.
You could talk to me all week about the "zen" of a particular move, but I would never "get it" until I understood the theory behind the move. etc.
That is because I am a rigger by trade, while Bob is a professional salesman.
You will just have to do a few jumps with each local instructor, until you find one whose teaching style matches your learning style.
Then - just to mess you up - you will find that different teaching styles work better at different levels and on different subjects.
Hee!
Hee!

[Iota 0]

Thanks for all the help guys. I think between the SIM, the videos, and your input I have a decent baseline to go against.

This email was geared towards more the safety aspect of the schooling--i.e. making sure they're sufficientlly covering all the safety techniquies required to deal with various situations you may encounter. I care less about the 'style' of teaching, as long as they're able to convey the information I need to know in order to be safe while going through this process. Learning safety procedures while doing it (freefalling) isn't exactly an option given the nature of the sport so I wanted to make sure the instructor covered 'everything' in class. And now, after reading the SIM, various emails, etc.. I think I have a pretty good idea what 'everything' is as far as what should be covered. (not necessarily how and why yet--but that's what school is for)

Thanks again,

Iota

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2+2=5 For Large Values Of 2

[Mad47 0]

Spaceland is an excellent DZ, I don't think you need to worry about the skills of your istructors ...