UncleMax

As a new jumper (unlicensed, 24 jumps) who loves the jumping but is less interested in the DZ culture, your statement above perfectly sums up my personal experience with skydiving as a sport.

Can you clarify this part? Identify what issues specifically, and what issues need to be cutaway? I could list all of it but it would just be repeating standard stuff as it's listed in manuals and online :) My own experience wasn't anything like that. It was not "theory" orientated, it was recognising that there was a problem and acting on it. I mean I might not be able to remember the exact name of the malfunction but after what I was taught to recognise, visually etc - I feel I'd know when to cut away or not. Hope this answers your question :)

Hmm what did you learn for a canopy checklist over there? You know: 1000, 2000, 3000, check canopy, check for shape, direction etc? Can you spell your checklist out for me, including what to do if the canopy doesn't pass one of the questions? They held photos above my head and I was taught to identify the issues, and then say if I needed to cutaway. Did a "standing" cutaway while wearing an actual chute, and the rest I mimed the cutaway when it was needed. I've had two actual line twists and I've done exactly what the told me to do (kicking legs) to solve it. I felt the canopy checklist I did was effective. That part of the AFF was with a different instructor than the guy I have now. *** I'm asking because a month or 2 ago I had a refresher student who was originally trained in the Czech Republic, and it took him 4 (!) tries in the hanging harness to get a (reluctant) "pass". I never got to use a harness prior to jumping. Not sure if there's something you're supposed to do in it that's different to what I mentioned above?

Czech Republic. I did try to get specifics out of them but they said essentially that I just needed to pack and do two formation jumps to get the A. No mention of a checklist which did seem odd to me as I've read about it everywhere online. Anyhow, due to time restrains I will only get time to jump once more here (with the express purpose of keeping current within the 30 day period), and then I will resume regular jumping and working towards my A back home in South Africa.

Thanks for the answers. How many jumps in does one start with the checklist? My last 10 or so have been very basic as far as instructor input, kinda feel like I'm going nowhere. The instructors seem very busy with new students, I need to be a little more pushy perhaps.

I have done 17 jumps so far as a student. I currently reside in a central Euro country. For various reasons I'd like to complete the remaining student jumps and any needed towards getting the A in another country. Is it simply a case of finding another instructor, having the right proof (signed logbook) of my jumps thus far and then picking up where I left off? I guess I'm a bit confused as to how the progression towards the A license works regionally, whether I have to attain it in the country that issued me with the student license?