Getting Started

[Nathan Ruben 0]

Hi guys! 

I'm Nathan, I wanna get started with skydiving with wingsuit flying as the ultimate goal and I was wondering if you guys could give me some pointers. Any help or advice would be much appreciated!

What are the best/cheapest places to get your AFF or AID? 

How much will it cost and how long does it take to get to the 150/200 jumps to apply for your FJC? 

Currently, I'm studying physics and everything there's to know about skydiving and wingsuit flying. I want to move out of the Netherlands for a better DF. Is there anything else that I can do?

Thanks for helping out!

Edited January 7, 2021 by Nathan Ruben

[wolfriverjoe 1,340]

Hoo Boy.

First off, welcome. It's a really fun sport filled with some very amazing people.

Second, don't focus only on a 'ultimate goal of wingsuiting'. Focus on becoming the best, most skilled & safest jumper you can be. The rest will follow. Enjoy the journey. You may find other disciplines to be something you want to do. Either as a side road on your journey to a wingsuit, or as a completely different path. Unitl you've done it, you have no clue what it's like. Formation work (belly), freeflying, canopy flight, instruction, rigging, even flying the planes. Each part of the sport has things that are very attractive to some folks. 

"Best" and "Cheapest" don't go together. Ever. I would look for a DZ close to you that has a track record of creating licensed jumpers from the students that start. One question I would ask is: 'How many students did you have that got their license last year?' Or maybe in the last few years because 2020 was so screwy.
Keep in mind that AFF or IAD are instruction methods. Once you get to 'solo student' status, there's still a ways to go to your license, and that's where the real adventure (and learning) begin.

How much? That depends. I know Europe tends to be more expensive than the US. I've said more than once that, no matter the training method, you can plan on somewhere around $10k (USD) to get your first license and all the gear you need. It can be done for less, but it takes a fair amount of skill, patience & luck. 

For the rest of the jumps, it will not be cheap. Here in the US, I usually pay $20-$25(USD) per jump. Getting to the minimum 200 (next 175 after the initial 25 for the license) for a wingsuit will cost $4k-$5k. 
And that's a minimum. Not everyone is ready to get into a suit at that point. 

How long? Again, it depends. How much can you afford to jump? The weather where you are isn't always the best, can you go somewhere like Spain? There are a couple good DZs there, they tend to have better weather and attract jumpers from all over Europe (and the US). 
Again, 2020 has been really awful for lots of this sorts of thing. Hopefully next year will be better.

 

If you are 'studying', are you a college student?
I would suggest finding something you like that pays well. It's a lot better to have a lucrative job, and jump as a hobby than to try to make a living at it. 
I would take at least a couple meteorology courses. Weather is a huge factor in this sport. Being able to understand and predict it is very helpful.

[Cocowheats 10]

Great advice above!

 

$10k USD for an A-License and a complete rig/helmet/audible/altimeter/etc. is a good number to plan on. $3-5+k for the license alone on student gear.

 

Again, don't worry about the budget route to your license. Worry about the track record of the DZ/instructors and the quality/maintenance to their equipment (your life literally depends on this stuff after all).

 

Get some solid time in a wind tunnel if you have one within a doable distance. Explain to them that you want to learn to belly fly as you are looking to start actual skydiving. Get video, lots of it. Use the same coach, if at all possible. You will have a much better understanding of how to control yourself if you tunnel first. Granted, tunnel flying is not the same.

 

Don't worry about redoing jumps as you work towards your license. Don't worry if you take more than 25 jumps to get your license. They all count, regardless.

 

Be consistent in your training. The more down time between jump days, the harder you'll likely have picking up on the necessary skills.

 

Don't be ashamed to jump on student gear for your first 50-100 jumps.

 

You have thousands of jumps ahead of you to learn/master skydiving skills; unless you botch the parachuting part. Learning to fly your wing proficiently and safely is far more important than the actual skydive!

 

Don't ever become complacent. That's how people commonly die.

Edited January 9, 2021 by Cocowheats