British AFFI vs US AFFI

[yoink 321]

I've been reading through some old posts like This one, and saw that people were talking about becoming AFFIs after <400 jumps....

In the UK it's a minimum of 1000 jumps and 10hrs freefall..

Why the difference and do you think it really matters?

for what it's worth, a friend of mine recently completed the AFF instructor course - he's a CSI, TI and has been on a good 4-way team and he said that it was by far the hardest thing he's done in the sport...

I suspect currency will have something to do with the difference in qualification needed...

[usskydiver 0]

I am probably one of the few Americans who is rated (and current) in both countries.

I passed the US AFF course with 4:03 of FF time and 342 jumps (and some really good coaching) on my first try. I moved to England with 10:00 of FF time and 850 jumps and was allowed to do tandems but not AFF. I applied for a waiver and that was denied (due to the 1,000 jump rule). When I got 1,000 jumps, I reapplied for the waiver and was denied again. I went to the BPA AFF course at beautiful Weston on the Green and earned 13 points in the 5 jumps. The course was just as hard air skills wise and harder psychologically that the US course.

Yes, currency is a factor but what I don't understand is the 10 hr / 1,000 jumps rule as 10 hrs is now earned quicker than 1,000 jumps. There is now an agreement in which a US rated instructor may work in the UK for a specified period and that is a significant improvement IMO.

Just my thoughts.

Tim T.
Team Paraclete

[Vimes 0]

Hi, sorry to hijack slightly but here seems better than another topic. Is there a website where it shows the USA AFF course for people who want to skydive.

The reason I am asking is I did my AFF with a British instructor but we went to Spain for the weather. It was still under the BPA though. I only had to do seven levels and then 10 consolidation jumps. I have seen on here that the USA AFF has front lops and other things that I know I didn’t do on my AFF. I am just curious of the differences as it seems to take longer to become a BPA rated AFF instructor but the AFF itself seems less or was this just my AFF course.

Cheers

[kelpdiver 2]

Quote

The reason I am asking is I did my AFF with a British instructor but we went to Spain for the weather. It was still under the BPA though. I only had to do seven levels and then 10 consolidation jumps. I have seen on here that the USA AFF has front lops and other things that I know I didn’t do on my AFF. I am just curious of the differences as it seems to take longer to become a BPA rated AFF instructor but the AFF itself seems less or was this just my AFF course.

AFF in the US doesn't specify front loops - just some sort of disorienting back to earth manuever. My primary training site did backrolls, which seem most common. Perris does barrel rolls, but does push you out the plane in a 5 second forward tumble on L6.

[Tonto 1]

Our AFF in SA is closer to the US model - 10 jumps, 3 double instructor levels, 4 single instructor levels, 3 solo's, the last of which is a hop and pop.

Our requirements are the same as the UK. 1000 jumps, 10 hrs of freefall time.

I did both the USPA and the PASA AFF I courses. They were similar, but the PASA pass requirements were higher.

When asked about the 10 hours attained in fewer than 1000 dives, I was told than launching exits is a critical AFF skill - and that you can only get exit practice from exits.

Now that I have over 1500 AFF dives - I feel that more jumps are better - but do acnowledge that I did the USPA course with less than 1000 dives - and did OK.

I think it's really up to the individual - but in reality, 1000 dives is really only a measure of some commitment to the sport. It's certainly no measure of skill - as with any jump number.

t

It's the year of the Pig.

[Deuce 1]

I thnk the 1000 jump rule is a good one. I had about 920 when I got mine, and would have had 1000 when the course was offered up here in NorCal, but I'll be out of town then, and the Skydive SoCal course was convenient to the Memorial Day boogie.

What's wierd is the discipline thing. If somebody gets their A, and goes Darkside (freeflying) and never even owns a gripper suit, at 980 freefly jumps, they will likely not pass the AFF course.

Cause we teach the course on our bellies. I'm current in belly, sit, camera and birdman, but really only about a third of my jumps are inside RW. The experience of 1000 skydives is a good thing, but not all types of skydiving are all that relevant to AFF instruction.

So, I think the number can be lower, like it is in the US, so long as the AFF-I course is hard. Half the guys in my AFF-I course washed out and were invited to complete at a later date.

Like any other skill, really, it's all about "show me".