tandem instructor course

[Josef97 0]

hello,

i hope this question  belong to this forum, im skydiving for 4 years with little less than 400 jumps and coach rating at the moment and planing on doing TI course after completing 500 jumps - and D license this summer so i could earn some money on the way.

my question is to TI's around here if its highly recommended to gather up more jumps before the course or is 500 jumps good enough considering im very current.

also would like to hear if there are some tips and other things i should know before going to the course.

thanks, josef.

Edited March 23, 2019 by Josef97

[JerryBaumchen 1,046]

7 minutes ago, Josef97 said:

my question is to TI's around here

Hi Josef,

It looks like you are in Israel.  If so, contact this guy:  https://www.dropzone.com/profile/19706-rigger/

Jerry Baumchen

[Josef97 0]

27 minutes ago, JerryBaumchen said:

Hi Josef,

It looks like you are in Israel.  If so, contact this guy:  https://www.dropzone.com/profile/19706-rigger/

Jerry Baumchen

yes, i also spoke with some TI in my dz most of them did the course with much higher jumps number.. this is why im asking here, btw im going to be in the US this summer... thanks tho!

[Rover 9]

My personal opinion is that 500 jumps is not enough for gaining a tandem rating. I'm not sure what the rules are where you but I would suggest that you look at outside camera as a way of building jumps and observing the sort of shit the TIs sometimes have to deal with.

I got my rating around 1400 jumps and have 6000 plus tandems currently.

Cheers.

[riggerrob 558]

Start by lurking local TIs on the ground. After observing for a while, ask a few questions about why they do some things slightly differently than their colleagues.

Watch them harness a dozen or more students, then ask them to teach you how. Most will welcome your help on a busy day ...... mind you, professional TIs still inspect student harness 2 or 3 more times ..... even if they were adjusted by another TI.

Get your aircrew medical a few months ahead of time.

Get the manual early and read it a couple of times.

Learn how to pack tandems.

Learn how to inspect common wear points.

Frequent the tandem forum on www.dropzone.com. and watch as many tandem videos as you can. Read all the tandem accident reports.

[DougH 270]

On 3/23/2019 at 2:26 PM, Josef97 said:

hello,

i hope this question  belong to this forum, im skydiving for 4 years with little less than 400 jumps and coach rating at the moment and planing on doing TI course after completing 500 jumps - and D license this summer so i could earn some money on the way.

my question is to TI's around here if its highly recommended to gather up more jumps before the course or is 500 jumps good enough considering im very current.

also would like to hear if there are some tips and other things i should know before going to the course.

thanks, josef.

It is really hard to say, especially over the internet. I personally think that the number should be closer to 1000.

Currency is a factor too, 100 jumps in a year aren't a lot. You say you are really current, what exactly are you basing that on?

That being said sometimes there is value in slow and steady, extra years in the sport come with additional experience if you are listening and learning.

You may have a better head on your shoulders than the new candidate that pumped out 200 hops and pops to meet the minimums, and are using their tandem a year before they started AFF as the starting point for their three years in sport.  I have seen that, and it is a fucking sham.

[skytribe 16]

On 3/23/2019 at 4:42 PM, Rover said:

My personal opinion is that 500 jumps is not enough for gaining a tandem rating. I'm not sure what the rules are where you but I would suggest that you look at outside camera as a way of building jumps and observing the sort of shit the TIs sometimes have to deal with.

I got my rating around 1400 jumps and have 6000 plus tandems currently.

Cheers.

I tend to agree - people use the 500 (which is a minimum) as a target.

A lot of the time tandem instructors make things look pretty straightforward BUT every single jump is different.   Different people, different wingloadings, different considerations for student (stiff old people , oversized people).    The students do not always help.   You are jumping in conditions such as winds, turbulence etc. with a canopy that has less manoueveribility (think school bus not sports car) and you dont have front risers.    Landing safely is critical for both yourself and the student.

I would like to see people have more quality jumps and I'm not talking about simply doing hop/pop or solos in order to get the total to 500.

I 

[fanya 3]

I got my tandem license at 530 or something.  The next 200 jumps were terrifying.  It got better from there.  

[DJL 232]

On 3/23/2019 at 2:26 PM, Josef97 said:

my question is to TI's around here if its highly recommended to gather up more jumps before the course or is 500 jumps good enough considering im very current.

Either pack tandems or shoot video or both, you need to know way more about the gear and operation than 500 jumps gives you.  If this is what you want to do then you need to take it seriously.