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chuteguy

Just starting, 6 weeks to get my A License in Ohio. Need opinions!

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Hey everyone!

So I did my first tandem jump on July 5th. I loved it! Now I want to get into the sport. My first jump was at Skydive Snohomish in Snohomish, WA. It is an amazing DZ but only allows C/D licensed solos. The only options in WA for training are pretty far from me. However, I'll be in Ohio for 6 weeks starting tomorrow and there are a number of schools down there. I wanted to get some opinions on the three options I saw and get some general questions answered.

First, DZ selection. I made a poll but I'd like to hear about the DZ's I listed. They offer static line and AFF depending on the location. I will be staying in Chillicothe, so these locations are 1-2 hours drive for me. I can get there after work and on weekends. Does this sound reasonable? Early evening jumps and 4-5 weekends sounds like enough time to cram my training into.

Second, there are two options in the area for training for my A license. Static line and AFF. I'm leaning towards AFF but that is an additional 40 minute drive. I will be banging out these 25 jumps in a relatively aggressive timeline and want to minimize travel time but I also want the best training I can get. I'm sure there are threads on this but the specific school I choose might make me go one way or the other. What is the general feeling on the two training styles?

I'm looking forward to starting my skydiving career and learning a lot. Can't wait for my weekends to be full of that rush I got the first time.

-Drake

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chuteguy

Hey everyone!

So I did my first tandem jump on July 5th. I loved it! Now I want to get into the sport. My first jump was at Skydive Snohomish in Snohomish, WA. It is an amazing DZ but only allows C/D licensed solos. The only options in WA for training are pretty far from me. However, I'll be in Ohio for 6 weeks starting tomorrow and there are a number of schools down there. I wanted to get some opinions on the three options I saw and get some general questions answered.

First, DZ selection. I made a poll but I'd like to hear about the DZ's I listed. They offer static line and AFF depending on the location. I will be staying in Chillicothe, so these locations are 1-2 hours drive for me. I can get there after work and on weekends. Does this sound reasonable? Early evening jumps and 4-5 weekends sounds like enough time to cram my training into.

Second, there are two options in the area for training for my A license. Static line and AFF. I'm leaning towards AFF but that is an additional 40 minute drive. I will be banging out these 25 jumps in a relatively aggressive timeline and want to minimize travel time but I also want the best training I can get. I'm sure there are threads on this but the specific school I choose might make me go one way or the other. What is the general feeling on the two training styles?

I'm looking forward to starting my skydiving career and learning a lot. Can't wait for my weekends to be full of that rush I got the first time.

-Drake



Personally, I don't think you can beat Greene County. They're not called The Legend for nothing.

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For a DZ I'd go with one that has a bigger plane. Quicker to altitude and usually means more loads turning.

I would caution that learning to skydive isn't something to be crammed into a specific time line or rushed. People learn at different paces, debriefs take time, sometimes people need to repeat levels and trying to do too many jumps in a day can end up having diminishing returns.

Then there are factors out of your control- limited availability of student gear and wind/ weather holds.

You can begin your training at an Ohio DZ and then finish up back at home if needed.
diamonds are a dawgs best friend

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countzero



You can begin your training at an Ohio DZ and then finish up back at home if needed.



Not necessarily true. I think many DZs want a student to start and finish at the same location and transfers tend to be more case-by-case. I have seen DZs that will not accept transfers and will require you to start over, or at least start back a few levels. I am not an AFF instructor, but I suspect some instructors would have reservations about doing a release jump with a student they have never jumped with before, know nothing about and at a DZ they know the student has never jumped at before. The ISP is intended to be part of a progression that involves start-to-finish training with an instructor or two who know the student and know what s/he needs to work on and what s/he is strong with.

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This is truly something i don't want to risk. Ive read this in several places already.

I felt like 6 weeks was plenty of time given I have literally nothing else to do.

Greene County is actually a lot closer than the recommendation i received but Start Skydiving told me they thought i could fit everything in just fine.

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Westerly

***

You can begin your training at an Ohio DZ and then finish up back at home if needed.



Not necessarily true. I think many DZs want a student to start and finish at the same location and transfers tend to be more case-by-case. I have seen DZs that will not accept transfers and will require you to start over, or at least start back a few levels. I am not an AFF instructor, but I suspect some instructors would have reservations about doing a release jump with a student they have never jumped with before, know nothing about and at a DZ they know the student has never jumped at before. The ISP is intended to be part of a progression that involves start-to-finish training with an instructor or two who know the student and know what s/he needs to work on and what s/he is strong with.

I would agree staying in one place is best. If there are issues that cause you to need to moved to a new DZ, then a student should not be afraid of a move. My student history is a bit of a story but over the course of 7 months I was force to jump at three different DZs (or not jump) because of circumstances and two more by choice.

Yes, I had to repeat some jumps so a new DZ could take a look at me.
Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

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