just graduated AFF!

[eyrah 0]

Hello skydiving world, just thought i would introduce myself on the forum. I finally graduated AFF and received my solo certification this weekend an am excited to progress further into my license! this weekend will be my first un-supervised jump, any suggestions as to what i should keep working on next? different exits or maneuvers? i feel extremely stable up there as of now.

thanks and any
- Pauly

[FlyingRhenquest 1]

I did an awful lot of flips on my early jumps
There's always more to work on, but make sure you have the basics down solid. The secret to skydiving, if there is one, is that it's more fun with friends than alone. If you can find someone at the same skill level who falls at about the same rate as you, you can both work through the new skydiver blues trying to stay together and getting docks in. Once you have a reference point in the sky, you can tell if you're sliding or not, and stuff.

Tracking's kind of fun, too. A lot of newer skydivers I meet are intimidated by it and don't do it that often on their own. About 80% of my solo jumps and about half my jumps with others are tracking jumps.

Down in the tunnel I've been working on mantis and backflying. I could really move on to sit flying if I were so inclined, but I want to be solid on my back first. The tunnel here's nearly doubled their prices since I started, so I'm not going down there as often anymore. Mantis is kind of interesting, though. A lot of the tunnel instructors use it. They might tell you it's a more "advanced" belly position, but one of my jump buddies started picking it up at the 50-ish jump mark. You can find a good example of what it looks like in this airkix video. Or this guy learning how to do it.

Oh yeah and if you haven't done it already I highly recommend getting a canopy course in sooner rather than later. You'll learn some important stuff in there (And need it for your B, anyway.)

I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here?

[skymama 35]

Welcome to the forums and congrats on finishing AFF!

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[mrubin 0]

Enjoy a couple solos and being out there on your own. Then do some coach jumps. A coach that jumps with you can give you advice on what to work on.

Jumping with somone at your skill level (when you first get your A) can be fun, but it will not help you progress very quickly. Chances are that you will be chasing each other around the sky and not really improving your skills. If your dz has load organizers, jump with them. They will be a much more reliable reference point and will be able to teach you a lot about skydiving,

And definitely take a canopy course. Learn how to fly your canopy safely early on and you wont develop bad habits that you have to unlearn later. Plus its a lot of fun learning how to fly your canopy better.

"I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

[eyrah 0]

Thank you for the replies! i will definitely take your thoughts into consideration. Luckily i met someone who is about the same skill level to go on a couple jumps with. i think the most fun I've had so far has to be tracking! cant wait to progress further. Unfortunately, ill be moving drop zones here in about two months due to my EAS from active service.. so i need to meet new connections. On the plus side ill be jumping at cross keys, NJ! one of the largest .

- Pauly

[Lazarus_762 0]

eyrah

Thank you for the replies! i will definitely take your thoughts into consideration. Luckily i met someone who is about the same skill level to go on a couple jumps with... snip for space...

I'll give you one piece of advice that I wish I had listened to at your stage...every time you go to the DZ, make at least one jump with a coach. Don't be like me, doing solo bellies and hop n pops, and never getting any instruction. Remember, you are still a student - get training! By the time I finally got my A, I had 15 hop n pops and at least that many solo bellies, and I knew almost nothing about jumping with other people...hire coaches!

Airtwardo:"There is a bit of difference between a rigger with a nipper and a guy with 138 jumps and a swiss army knife...usually!"

[eyrah 0]

Quote

I'll give you one piece of advice that I wish I had listened to at your stage...every time you go to the DZ, make at least one jump with a coach. Don't be like me, doing solo bellies and hop n pops, and never getting any instruction. Remember, you are still a student - get training! By the time I finally got my A, I had 15 hop n pops and at least that many solo bellies, and I knew almost nothing about jumping with other people...hire coaches!

I already am starting to see this point well. today i did my 8,9 and tenth jumps solo just to work on some stabilization and get comfortable with exit. i feel like it helped out a great deal. I LOVE THIS SPORT! its kind of odd to see the transition from being an AFF student and having so much attention given to you and the basics drilled and now I'm just out there on my own. Next time i go I'm going to start jumping with someone watching or with someone to get the hang of it and practice for the coach jumps.

This might be a stupid question but if ask an instructor to jump with me to practice i should expect pay for their jumps also right? sorry just trying to get acclimated to this new environment and don't want to offend a coach :P

thank you!

- Pauly

[wicodefly 0]

Congrats! Some good advice in this thread for us aspiring A license folks.

Chance favors the prepared mind.

[eyrah 0]

agreed. I'm on my 16th jump now! It is strange to see my numbers add up so fast. I took some advice from the forums and the coaches, and thats just have fun. There is no rush to get the coach jumps done ASAP. I'm just enjoying jumping out solo!

- Pauly

[popsjumper 2]

What to work on?
-Did they give you an A-license Progression Card?
THAT'S what you need to work on.

-Please thoroughly learn the knowledge-based information.
I can't emphasize that enough.

-Get as much canopy flight learning done as quickly as you can.

-Drill, drill, drill emergency procedures.


And welcome to the Big Blue Skies!

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239