Hello,
I started my AFF course in march 2005 and finished it after 13 jumps in june 2005. The main problem I had was that there were a lot of times between my jumps, so I lost a few jumps to get back relaxed with it.
The reason for this was that
my local DZ only jumps in weekends.
the weather was often lousy (so I could only jump once in 2 or 3 weeks)
my mindset wasn't really proffesional. For instance, When I did some jumps on saterday and passed one level , I was in a real fiesta-mood and went partying with the other jumpers, so the next day I had a huge hangover and didn't went jumping. My mistake, I know.
Thanks to my great instructor, however, I managed to finish my AFF. The day I finished my AFF, I did two solos and paid my round of beer .
One week later, I went on vacation and when I came back, I couldn't jump for 3 weeks because I had to work. So after almost 2 months of inactivity, I wasn't really comfortable with it and didn't go to the DZ anymore. In stead, I focused on my work and saved a lot of money and overtime.
I've regreted that ever since so I decided to start jumping again after the winter.
Since I believe the best way to overcome those beginning fears is to jump a lot in a short amount of time and since I've saved a lot of money and overtime, I've booked a 17 day vacation to Spain (Empuria) and subscribed my to a refresh course. I leave 31 march 2006 and I will stay till 17 april 2006 (including the easter boogie ) and my only goal is to jump as much as possible. I'm really counting the days and I'm practicing my arch dailly.
When I did my AFF, I had a great instructor and I had a very nice time at the DZ but I don't think it's very educational (and relaxing) when you can only jump in the weekends (especially when the weather tends to suck). I will, however, certainly join my local DZ as soon as I'm back because I really like the vibe and the people there.
What do you all think about learning to fly only in the weekend? Isn't it easier to learn new stuff and control your stress when you can do it dailly?
Greetz,
Stikke
PS: I'll travel to Empuria alone (since my close friends don't jump) so it would be nice to meet people who will also be there that time...