BPA approved AFF in the states

[jamespruden 0]

Hi guys,

I'm a real newbie to skydiving, i did a tandem and loved every second of it. Ive got a bit of tunnel time under my belt and more booked.

I want to do AFF and am really tempted to go to California to do it, get a holiday out of it too!
I can't seem to find any proper guidelines on whether or not i can bring my qualification back to the UK and jump here afterwards.

From what i understand i will need to use a BPA approved instructor and do a checkout jump when i get back to my local DZ.

Could somebody please clarify this for me?

Cheers,
James

[JoeG 0]

Searching I found this post http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2017366 but it is a nonauthoritive answer.

The BPA website is a bit hard to search, but perhaps the best thing would be to call a local DZ where you would like to jump and ask them what is involved in crossover training to certify for BPA licenses.

_________________________________________
"Knowledge is Power!"

[azdiver 0]

welcome to a sport that is going to keep you broke.i just went through the aff about three months ago so cant really answer your questions yet but would say eloy is a awsome place to learn. skydive az is great place and its really big and right know its not that busy if you go their during the week you could fly through the aff program pretty quickly, they also have some of the best instructors there, but just my opinion and they also have a windtunnel right on the dz

light travels faster than sound, that's why some people appear to be bright until you hear them speak

[TrickyDicky 0]

Get in contact with the DZ you are going to. I think if you get your AFF done under BPA or USPA rules, aslong as you've done all your consoles and a few more while out there, you should probably be ok as the syllabuses are pretty similar afaik.

If you dont complete your training, you may find it hard to jump at a DZ over here. So make sure you do all your levels + consoles there.

UK Skydiver for all your UK skydiving needs.

[skytash 0]

the one difference between the BPA AFF and many other AFFs is the hop'n'pop which is required by the BPA. A number of licensing associations from other countries don't require them.

tash

Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe

[jamespruden 0]

Sweet!

Cheers for your help guys, gonna head down to my DZ this weekend and chat with the owners.

Hopefully get it all booked in a couple of weeks.

Once again cheers for the responses.

[caspar 0]

im with a uni skydiving club, i learnt with the club last year and this year we took 20 odd students to perris. did the course over there, the hop n pop and solo's got all the jumps signed by instructors then got it signed off by the CCI at out local dz back home. send it all off to the bpa and hey presto you have a license. have fun!

"When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading."

[VampireGirl 0]

Hi James, I did my AFF in the states.

The problem I had when I came back was that the BPA have a set amount of things you need to do on the AFF course and they do it in a certain order (regardless of how the student is progressing). The US instructors didn't make such a fuss about everything getting ticked off in a certain order, or to do a certain thing on a certain jump, just as long as I demonstrated the skills that I wassupposed to be learning.

Now it may be that the DZ I went to to jump when I got back just did it to be a pain in the @rse, but I had to do a "check out" jump with one instructor (it cost me £80) before they would give me my "A", this was because they went through my log book and said that I needed to do a dive exit, and two 360 degree turns on one jump and I didn't have it in my log book (after 25 jumps, including warp coaching in the states).

All I am saying here is be careful, get the AFF syllabus from the UK and make sure you make the instructors aware of what you need to do and why (the BPA are very "by the book") it may save you a bit of money!

Just wanted to add (it was a couple of years ago now) that I had to do a hop n pop to get my A licence, but they called it a "low solo". After all 7 levels of AFF, I did a "high solo" and a "low solo", the low one being from 4500ft.

I think it's a great idea to go to the states to do this! You will be spoilt!



xx

Sarah

www.sneale-create.com

[brabzzz 0]

Just make sure you get AFF done, do a low signed-off hop'n'pop, do all the consoles and then crack in as many jumps as you can. F*ck it, get some SkydiveU in there as well to really show you're not a student anymore.

The BPA mag does make it all sound a bit risky, but that's because it's better for business if you do it in the UK. On the other hand, a half completed foreign AFF+consoles is asking for trouble. Budget at least 10-14 days to make sure you get it all in.

As for the turns and 360s, I think the required jump is a dive exit, 2x 360, front loop and backloop followed by a track. I had to do rolls (ie 360 about head/foot axis) too. Get that videod and you shoudl avoid the need for a 'checkout jump'.

---------------------------------------
Ex-University of Bristol Skydiving Club
www.skydivebristoluni.com

[VampireGirl 0]

Yep, I think you're right about that jump, (my memory is a bit sketchy, it was so long ago).

I suppose they just want proof that you can do all the required skills (that is the level 7 jump, isn't it?).

have fun!
xx
Sarah

www.sneale-create.com

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

One option is to find a US dropzone with BPA-rated AFF instructor. There are several in Florida and there is even one right here in Raeford, North Carolina (Tim Tennant). Tim got his BPA ratings when he was in the US Airforce stationed at Mildenhall England. He maintains that rating "just in case".

Chuck

[sweep 0]

Bear in mind that with the introduction of CH1 as part of the A-Licence, you will not be eligible for an A licence solely by completing AFF and consols. This means that you would have to be integrated into the UK system as a student (which is harder than integrating someone who has fully completed their training).

This is done at the discretion of the CCI at the DZ you return to so the best bet is to get in touch with your local DZ, speak to the CCI and get a clear list of the things he/she wants you to achieve out there. You'll find most CCIs very helpful and willing to offer advice.

Once you know where you need to be when you get back, then head out there and have fun!

Sweep

----
Yay! I'm now a 200 jump wonder.... Still a know-it-all tho..

[RandomLemming 0]

If you're going to be in Northern California, drop bodypilot1 on here a PM.

He does everything that the BPA AFF requires, and makes sure that you cover all of the required activities on each jump. The BPA didn't give me any trouble about my A licence with his work, and both of the DZs that I've been to in the UK were very happy with his log entries and the work I did on each dive. And his penmanship... that gets mentioned a lot too :D

[bodypilot1 0]

Quote

If you're going to be in Northern California, drop bodypilot1 on here a PM.

He does everything that the BPA AFF requires, and makes sure that you cover all of the required activities on each jump. The BPA didn't give me any trouble about my A licence with his work, and both of the DZs that I've been to in the UK were very happy with his log entries and the work I did on each dive. And his penmanship... that gets mentioned a lot too :D

It didn't hurt that you were an easy student either.
James sent me a pm. I think we'll show him a great time here in California and send him back home with a BIG smile and a new set of wings.

Hope all is well Wayne.

Be safe
Ed

www.WestCoastWingsuits.com
www.PrecisionSkydiving.com