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jrh

Benefits to having a B license?

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I sent in the paperwork this afternoon to get my B license. I'm not very experienced and I mainly worked towards the B license because I like having goals to shoot for and an excuse to keep improving my skills.

Now, aside from the obvious reasons listed in the SIM (qualify to earn a coach rating, pull lower, etc.) what are some of the cool jumps I'll have access to as a B-licensed jumper that I wouldn't be able to do with an A?

I think I remember at a boogie last summer, the high altitude jumps were only open to B-licensed and better jumpers.

What else have you seen only open to B and better?

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It's interesting that apparently a lot of people skip the B license: if you look at the list of newly issued licenses in the USPA magazine, the numbers for recent C licenses are greater than those for B. So many people have skipped it.

One of the requirements for C is that you either hold a B, *OR* have met the requirements for a B (whereas, you must have an A-license to get anything higher). Same deal getting a D: you don't need a B and C (although you have to meet the requirements for them).

OTOH, the only down side is the $30 license fee and the trouble you take to submit the form.

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Recurrency training goes out to 90 days from 60 days.

Night jumps require a B license or higher (water jumps only require an A plus training)
Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

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Night jumps require a B license or higher



Nope.

6-4 B1
"Skydivers participating in night jumping should meet all the requirements for a USPA B or higher license."

You don't have to apply for and pay for the B license to do night jumps. You just have to have the card filled out and signed off.
Owned by Remi #?

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Night jumps require a B license or higher



Nope.

6-4 B1
"Skydivers participating in night jumping should meet all the requirements for a USPA B or higher license."

You don't have to apply for and pay for the B license to do night jumps. You just have to have the card filled out and signed off.



Ok thanks for the correction.
Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

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It's interesting that apparently a lot of people skip the B license: if you look at the list of newly issued licenses in the USPA magazine, the numbers for recent C licenses are greater than those for B. So many people have skipped it.



I didn't see any value in it. Part of it was that the timing worked out that I didn't complete water training till I had about 130 jumps. At that point I figured I was close enough to a C that I'd just wait and apply for the C instead of bothering with the B. I couldn't see anything that I wanted to do at the time that a B license would have allowed me to do.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

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Neither hot air balloon jumps nor helicopter jumps technically require a B license (from USPA) but that is a common requirement of the drop zone or operator. I went ahead and submitted mine for the extra currency and because of my jumping pace (I jump frquently but I'm not racking up the jump numbers) meant it would be a while before I get my C.

Although I know its technically correct that a lot of things can be either "B-license" or "B-license qualified" I suspect getting the B license would make those things easier to do if you were travelling for a boogie (as would often be the case for a helicopter or balloon jump)? I haven't been to enough different places or done enough speciality jumps to know for sure, I just suspect that a busy DZ staff would rather just see a B license then inspect a log book and a completed B license application.
"What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

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i have a b license, but never had an A.


Well, then if it was issued under the current requirements, they probably made a mistake. First item in the B-license requirements is "obtained a USPA A license". (Whereas, for C-license, it's "met all current requirements for *OR* hold a USPA B license".)

But I won't tell on you. ;)

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What else have you seen only open to B and better?



You need at least a B license to compete in intermediate/advanced 4-way/8-way FS, 10-way FS, 16-way FS, 2-way CReW, or intermediate artistic events at nationals. You need a C license or better to compete in anything else.

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"Skydivers participating in night jumping should meet all the requirements for a USPA B or higher license."



That's kind of annoying. I did my water training and first night jumps when I had five or six hundred jumps. I wanted to go straight to D, but the powers that be at the dropzone made me fax in my B application before they'd let me jump at night. So I have A, B, and D licenses, the latter two issued in close succession. (I should have just written the credit card number wrong on the form, haha)

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i have a b license, but never had an A.


Well, then if it was issued under the current requirements, they probably made a mistake. First item in the B-license requirements is "obtained a USPA A license". (Whereas, for C-license, it's "met all current requirements for *OR* hold a USPA B license".)

But I won't tell on you. ;)


i sent in my stuff in feburary so i would be good for the fitz boogie. i emailed them a copy of my A card, and that was sufficient.
"Never grow a wishbone, where your backbone ought to be."

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i have a b license, but never had an A.


Well, then if it was issued under the current requirements, they probably made a mistake. First item in the B-license requirements is "obtained a USPA A license". (Whereas, for C-license, it's "met all current requirements for *OR* hold a USPA B license".)

But I won't tell on you. ;)


i sent in my stuff in feburary so i would be good for the fitz boogie. i emailed them a copy of my A card, and that was sufficient.


That's because a completed, signed, stamped A card IS an A-license. Most people do apply for the A license anyway because if nothing else, getting it filed with USPA means that if you lose the yellow card, there's still a verifiable record of you having achieved the A license. If you lose the card, you'd have to redocument everything, which could be a pain. But by having the card, you did have a license.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

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I did the same thing. The only issue I had was not having a A-license number. People would ask to sign their logbooks and I didn't know what to tell them



A-Pending?

Works for riggers!:D
"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
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That's because a completed, signed, stamped A card IS an A-license. Most people do apply for the A license anyway because if nothing else, getting it filed with USPA means that if you lose the yellow card, there's still a verifiable record of you having achieved the A license. If you lose the card, you'd have to redocument everything, which could be a pain. But by having the card, you did have a license.

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I like that.... and I like this thread. Very informative

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