Selecting an instructor at Sky Dive Miami?

[AEsco48 0]

Any suggestions and why....how do i decide what instructor i "want"?

[CSpenceFLY 1]

When I want through AFF you didn't get to pick who you jumped with.I dought you can there either.If you let the students pick their instructors the assholes would never get any work.


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[AEsco48 0]

so its a different instructor each jump and each class?

[Squeak 17]

not necassarily
it depends on the number of instrutors to student and if the instructora also do tandem that has an effect aswell

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[AFFI 0]

At the DZ I work at the student can certainly request a specific instructor. There are Pro's and Con's, just like anything in life.

If you are making your first jump and do not know any of the instructors how can you decide? Same holds true if you have been jumping with a specific instructor and just want to stick with that person because you are being clingy, like I was when I was a student. I remember for my third jump I requested the same instructor and he came to me and told me he would not jump with me that it was important to jump with others so he made me jump with a different instructor, and for me it was a good call. Sometimes there are students with "special issues" they are trying to resolve and it is sometimes best to let one instructor work with that person because they are familiar with what is going on - alternatively making the switch is the best thing because another instructor may use an approach that is more effective. Another thing to consider is the instructor you request might be backed up for an hour or two and you need to get into the air ASAP due to your personal time constraints, by jumping with an instructor that is more readily available you will get into the air faster and wont have to wait.

It is your money, you are the customer and the DZ (or any other business) should cater to the “customer is always right” and do their best to make their customers happy and feel good about spending their hard earned money.

There is no answer that works for everyone across the board and there are varying opinions on which are best. Personally I have mixed feelings because there is not a single answer that is best for everyone, so bottom line (from my perspective) is to treat on a case by case basis.

Mykel AFF-I10
Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

[kirrz 0]

You could do what I did..

I was assigned random JMs for the first few jumps and then after a while I would approach a JM and ask them if they would jump with me.. if they said yes then I would make the request at manifest. As AFFI already pointed out, sometimes there is a lengthy wait because that person has prior committments.

In hindsight though, I really enjoyed jumping with different people because they all have different approaches to teaching and you pick up different things..

[jguy904 0]

Until u try one u have no basis for judgement---once you begin training simply ask yourself if this instructor makes you feel comfortable and confident? if yes, stick with him/her--if no, request a change. Remember--you are the customer--
I jumped with 2 different ones--both very high end and well known skydivers-- one was a former USPA president and frankly he did not make me "warm and fuzzy" so I stuck with the other one for all of my training jumps because I felt more comfortable and confident with him and his teaching style--
all of your instructors are "qualified", but they all have different styles--

MUFF #3384, DIRTY SANCHEZ #28(Chief Recruiting Officer), FALLING GATOR #7801-A, POPS #10957, FLYING HELLFISH #847, HISPAS #79, SRA #9229, Surfador Rodrigues

[MarkM 0]

The instructors at Miami all follow the same training proceedures and they're very standardized with their training methods, so while you may go from one instructor to another during your training it's nothing to worry about.

Greg was the head instructor last time I jumped there, has been an instructor there for years and is one of the better instructors I've met. I'm sure he'll be covering a lot of your training, he always watches out for the students and low time jumpers there, so you'll be in good hands.

[JeepDiver 0]

Quote

Any suggestions and why....how do i decide what instructor i "want"?

I jump there and know all of the Instructors well enough. It's where I started.

I don't even want to know why you want to choose just one instructor having only completed one jump so far if your profile is correct.

All of the Intsructors there have huge jump numbers are very skilled and are truly great instructors. It is an extremely well run DZ. The safety of their students is taken very seriously. You will be in good hands with any one of the Instructors working there. I think very highly of SDM and everyone there.