Those who've taken a long break, how long to get back to previous skills?

[base615 77]

Hi guys,

I'm getting back into the sport after a long layoff. I last jumped in 2004 (around 1100 jumps) but my skydives were few and far between since 1999ish as I was pretty exclusively doing BASE, so let's say 20 years since I was properly current.

I moved continents in that time so haven't jumped here in Sydney. I've spoken to the CI here and an online AFF refresher and a couple of JM assessments was proposed. I've done the online course and everything's fresh in my mind and I'm looking to do the jumps this week. I did 15 minutes in the tunnel and actually was better than I remember myself being belly to earth (pretty exclusively freefly since A license) so, although I was barely able to walk for a couple of days, I have no confidence issues when it comes to the assessment and I feel that the freefall side of things will be all muscle memory and come back quickly.

My question is more about getting close to where I was under canopy. I don't have my rig anymore so I'm not forced to get straight back on my old Stiletto 120 but I'm wondering whether I'm likely to feel comfortable to get back on something smallish pretty quickly or if I'm more likely to need several hundred jumps progressing from bigger canopies and should therefore look to buy something in the 150ish range after some jumps on rented gear down to 170?

Sorry, pretty long winded but just wondering if anyone's gone through this before.

Cheers.

[base615 77]

Ah, one other question.

I can't find my logbook (not that I kept it up to date very well anyway) but I luckily have my D license. Obviously I'll need to get a new logbook but any thoughts on where I should start it back up in terms of jump numbers? i.e. should I start it at around my real jump numbers or from the minimum numbers to qualify for a D license?

[wolfriverjoe 1,339]

Given that your freefall skills came back pretty quickly in the tunnel, I'd guess that your canopy skills might do the same. 

But given that you're 20 years older, you might want to consider staying on something a bit 'more age appropriate' (bigger). 

However, that's really not something you need to worry a whole lot about.
They're going to start you on something pretty big. Depending on the rental/student gear selection, you may be able to go down to a 150 if it seems appropriate (some places have 150s for qualified visitors or really small students).

Otherwise, you might be able to borrow a smaller canopy to see if it's where you want to be.

As far as logs & numbers go, I'd just be as honest as you can. 

You say 'about 1100'. How confident are you in that number?

If it's 'fairly' then start your new log at 1101. If not, maybe 1051 or 1001. 

[base615 77]

34 minutes ago, wolfriverjoe said:

Given that your freefall skills came back pretty quickly in the tunnel, I'd guess that your canopy skills might do the same. 

But given that you're 20 years older, you might want to consider staying on something a bit 'more age appropriate' (bigger). 

However, that's really not something you need to worry a whole lot about.
They're going to start you on something pretty big. Depending on the rental/student gear selection, you may be able to go down to a 150 if it seems appropriate (some places have 150s for qualified visitors or really small students).

Otherwise, you might be able to borrow a smaller canopy to see if it's where you want to be.

As far as logs & numbers go, I'd just be as honest as you can. 

You say 'about 1100'. How confident are you in that number?

If it's 'fairly' then start your new log at 1101. If not, maybe 1051 or 1001. 

Cheers man. I know it's definitely somewhere between 1100 and 1200 so was going with the lower number. To be honest, I don't really care if they make me start at 200 (Aussie D licence). It'll just be good to be in the air again :)

[wmw999 2,114]

I came back at a similar experience level. Not the same canopy issues, as I'd quit jumping when they were bigger. It took very little time for freefall skills to come back to very close (except that jumpsuit had changed so much). It's taken longer for canopies, partly for personal reasons (not-great depth perception), and partly because canopies also changed so much.

I'd start by renting (I'd kept my old gear, so it wasn't an issue), and consider staying at 1:1 to 1.2:1 or in that range for 30-50 jumps; you'll feel good before then, but it's better to feel good all the time, than not feel good once right after downsizing. Then you'll have a pretty good idea of where you want to be, and can go there faster rather than super incrementally.

It might mean buying a not-freefly-friendly or not-cool-colors rig to re-current on, and then passing it on as a deal to a student, if you can't get a loaner. Consider the cost of renting gear for a similar period, and deduct it from the cost of transition gear, that way it won't feel like nearly as much money.

Wendy P.

[neilmck 36]

I came back from a 25-year break.  The moment I first jumped from the aeroplane my freefall skills were back, like riding a bike.  However I was like a beginner when landing the canopy.  It has taken me a long time to sort out the landings.  Eventually discovered it was because I had spent the last 30 years sitting behind a desk.  Sorted it by going running regularly with sprints and then practising jumping off a 2 to 3 foot wall and land running.

[base615 77]

Cheers guys, that's good insight. I think we've got some good weather coming up on Wednesday so we'll probably find out how bad I am at that point :)

[BMAC615 205]

Similar situation as you as I came out of retirement after leaving in ‘00. I have several thousand jumps and worked full-time as Tandem and AFF-I. The last canopy I owned was a PISA 97. Coming back I thought of at least one death and two more who smashed themselves up with low turns. All three were people coming back after a long layoff who made a dozen or so jumps and felt like they had their old swooping skills. They didn’t.

Before coming back, I focused on the fact that most skydiving injuries and deaths occur under a perfectly functioning/flying canopy and that minimizing risk is my top priority. I decided to advise myself as if I’m someone with 50 jumps. How high would I advise them to pull? What canopy would I advise them to jump? What type of skydives would I recommend they do.

Like you, I took a refresher course and made a couple coach jumps with an AFF-I. Everything came back under canopy and landing w/ student gear was on target and uneventful. After a half dozen jumps, I moved to a Spectre 170 that puts me at a 1.25 WL. All approaches are student pattern with no more than 90* turns below 1000’. So far so good. For the near future, I plan to just look at the canopy as a life saving device.

Good luck and welcome back!

Edited December 21, 2020 by BMAC615

[base615 77]

1 hour ago, BMAC615 said:

Similar situation as you as I came out of retirement after leaving in ‘00. I have several thousand jumps and worked full-time as Tandem and AFF-I. The last canopy I owned was a PISA 97. Coming back I thought of at least one death and two more who smashed themselves up with low turns. All three were people coming back after a long layoff who made a dozen or so jumps and felt like they had their old swooping skills. They didn’t.

Before coming back, I focused on the fact that most skydiving injuries and deaths occur under a perfectly functioning/flying canopy and that minimizing risk is my top priority. I decided to advise myself as if I’m someone with 50 jumps. How high would I advise them to pull? What canopy would I advise them to jump? What type of skydives would I recommend they do.

Like you, I took a refresher course and made a couple coach jumps with an AFF-I. Everything came back under canopy and landing w/ student gear was on target and uneventful. After a half dozen jumps, I moved to a Spectre 170 that puts me at a 1.25 WL. All approaches are student pattern with no more than 90* turns below 1000’. So far so good. For the near future, I plan to just look at the canopy as a life saving device.

Good luck and welcome back!

Sounds good, cheers. A 150 puts me at 1.17WL so sounds like we're in a similar ballpark.

[base615 77]

Well, completely the opposite of what I thought. Canopy was no issue whatsoever but man was I rusty as hell in freefall first lift. Second was a bit more relaxed.but still not great. Hey, at least they signed me off :)

[BMAC615 205]

Nice, welcome back! Get 10 minutes of block time at an iFly tunnel if you can!

Edited December 26, 2020 by BMAC615