How to skydive fulltime

[SpinxB 0]

Hi guys.

So I am basically looking for advice on how to get a lot of jumps on a budget in like 6 months to a year. My idea is to go to some DZ, don't really know which one yet, to live and jump a hell of a lot to get my experience and jump number up.
I guess the obvious solution would be to get a job around the DZ, I would just like to hear some takes on what other people with the same idea in mind have done, and where they have done it...

Blue ones :)

[billvon 2,380]

>So I am basically looking for advice on how to get a lot of jumps on a budget in
>like 6 months to a year.

Get as many ratings as you can. Coach, SL instructor, tandem instructor, AFF instructor. Get a video helmet and get the experience/training to use it. Get your rigger's ticket. Get a van or a trailer and plan to live in it.

[Feeblemind 1]

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>So I am basically looking for advice on how to get a lot of jumps on a budget in
>like 6 months to a year.

Get as many ratings as you can. Coach, SL instructor, tandem instructor, AFF instructor. Get a video helmet and get the experience/training to use it. Get your rigger's ticket. Get a van or a trailer and plan to live in it.

+1

Fire Safety Tip: Don't fry bacon while naked

[Fast 0]

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Hi guys.

So I am basically looking for advice on how to get a lot of jumps on a budget in like 6 months to a year. My idea is to go to some DZ, don't really know which one yet, to live and jump a hell of a lot to get my experience and jump number up.
I guess the obvious solution would be to get a job around the DZ, I would just like to hear some takes on what other people with the same idea in mind have done, and where they have done it...

Blue ones :)

With your stated experience, find a job as a packer till you can get more ratings. Otherwise, expect to need a LOT of cash to get the experience/jumps/training for ratings.

Right now, packing is about the only thing that is gonna provide money fast enough to become an instructor in any reasonable amount of time.

~D
Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me.
Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

[SpinxB 0]

Thanks for the advice :) Only problem is that I suck big time at packing :P

[theonlyski 3]

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Thanks for the advice :) Only problem is that I suck big time at packing :P

Get better

"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
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

[SpinxB 0]

I plan to ;) I'm just having problems with my Sabre2 190 :P But it's only got like 45 jumps on it, and I've been told that it will soon begin to be more coorporative :) I hope so...

[theonlyski 3]

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I plan to ;) I'm just having problems with my Sabre2 190 :P But it's only got like 45 jumps on it, and I've been told that it will soon begin to be more coorporative :) I hope so...

Sure will, in a few hundred jumps.

Trust me, I was in your shoes... now I'm a rigger... reserves are easier to pack.

"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
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

[trig78 0]

I had a similar idea a while back. I had the money and will to do it but it's not that easy. To get the jumps you need to get as many ratings possible in six months you would pretty much have to live in the States, spend arround 35-40 grand on that project......and than find a ''real'' job because you would not get a job on a full time DZ with that experience.
You would also have to jump so much that you would probably get burned out and sick of it after a month, let alone six.

Check out the replies i got http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3860443;search_string=career%20in%206%20months;#3860443

Good luck brother

facebook.com/trig78

[SpinxB 0]

Well that's comforting :) At least the you were in my shoes part anyway :P There's nothing I want more than to do a few hundred jumps, I'm just trying to figure out how to go about it, hence the thread :)

[airdvr 197]

When you get to the DZ find the old guy with a limp that lives at the DZ. You know the guy that no one jumps with anymore...the one who jumps the rig that looks like a kelvinator on his back...the one who has few if any freinds because they all either bounced or quit jumping...the guy who's family gave up on him years ago because he couldn't be pulled away from the boogie to celebrate Aunt Ginny's 80th birthday. He'll give you lots of advice.

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[SpinxB 0]

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When you get to the DZ find the old guy with a limp that lives at the DZ. You know the guy that no one jumps with anymore...the one who jumps the rig that looks like a kelvinator on his back...the one who has few if any freinds because they all either bounced or quit jumping...the guy who's family gave up on him years ago because he couldn't be pulled away from the boogie to celebrate Aunt Ginny's 80th birthday. He'll give you lots of advice.

So you're saying that everyone who dedicates a large amount of their time to skydiving will end up a washed up bum at the DZ? That sounds a bit pessimistic to say the least.

[airdvr 197]

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When you get to the DZ find the old guy with a limp that lives at the DZ. You know the guy that no one jumps with anymore...the one who jumps the rig that looks like a kelvinator on his back...the one who has few if any freinds because they all either bounced or quit jumping...the guy who's family gave up on him years ago because he couldn't be pulled away from the boogie to celebrate Aunt Ginny's 80th birthday. He'll give you lots of advice.

So you're saying that everyone who dedicates a large amount of their time to skydiving will end up a washed up bum at the DZ? That sounds a bit pessimistic to say the least.

I'm just sayin' Don't be that guy.

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[billvon 2,380]

>There's nothing I want more than to do a few hundred jumps, I'm just
>trying to figure out how to go about it . . .

By far the easiest way is to get a well paying regular job and make 10 jumps a weekend for a year.,

Doing it via skydiving is doable but very difficult. If you really want to make skydiving your life, good for you. Get a loan, use it to pay for every rating you can get, sell your house, buy a van, live on a DZ and start working as soon as you get that first rating. You'll get those few hundred jumps working on your ratings, and after that they'll be paying you for your jumps (and you'll be paying back those loans.) There's even a place in New Zealand where you can do it all at once via an organized program, but it's pricey.

But if your question is "how do I make a few hundred jumps without paying for em, without taking any financial risks and without expending too much effort" then the answer is - you can't. I've gotten paid for a lot of my jumps, but it's some of the hardest money I've ever earned - in terms of time committed to get there, effort put into the jump, responsibility carried and $/hour result.

[SpinxB 0]

Yeah I've read a little bit about the commercial license in New Zealand... Do you know how pricey it is?

[GLIDEANGLE 1]

Skydive Fulltime?

I am not perfectly clear about what you are asking in your posting. Are you simply trying to build your experience, OR are you trying to build your jump count and experience so that you can get a full-time skydiving jumping job?

If all you are trying to do is build experience… have FUN. Pick a place with good weather and good prices and knock out the jumps. Paying for this is no small trick. If you are paying full retail price in the USA you can expect to pay ~$25 per jump. If you did 6 jumps per day (easy) 6 days a week, that would cost you $900 per week (6x6x $25 = $900). That would be ~ $3600 per month. So even if you are living in a tent eating VERY cheaply… this is an expensive proposition. Packers in the USA make ~$6 per pack job so… 4 pack jobs will almost buy you one jump. However, if you are busy packing… you aren’t jumping!

Of course, if you can get the jump price down this will help a lot.
• Sometimes staff member get a price break on fun jumps.
• Some places have really low prices. The current price for a jump ticket is only $13 in Lodi, California, USA. www.parachutecenter.com/
• Buying jump tickets in blocks can cut the price a lot.

If you are trying to build experience so that you can earn a living as a skydiver… good luck. It is possible to make a living as a skydiver, but it requires:

• Marketable skill(s).
- Many full timers have multiple skills/ratings.
- Tandem requires at least 500 jumps and 3 years experience in the USA.
- AFFI requires at least 6 hours of freefall in the USA. (Practically, few folks have the necessary skills at 6 hours)
- Camera typically requires less than either of the above… but you have to own your camera equipment and be able to “get the shot” 100% of the time!
• Willingness to work REALLY hard.
o Willingness to jump in unpleasant weather.
• Willingness to live in a place that has jumpable weather all year long.
o Bad WX = no pay.
• Willingness to be an independent contractor rather than an employee (at least in the USA)
o No benefits.
o Irregular pay. Winter will pay less in most places due to cooler weather.
• The LEGAL ability to work in the country where you want to.
o WORK visas are often hard to obtain.
• Own your equipment
o Unless jumping Tandem, expect to pay for your main and reserve re-packs (unless you are a super-fast packer for your main).

A joke about this situation is: What do you call a professional skydiver without a girlfriend?.... Homeless!

Most of our paid jumping staff at my DZ have real jobs Monday through Friday for pay stability and benefits. We jump on the weekend for fun and $. That is what works best for most of us.

The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

[SpinxB 0]

Thanks for the advice :) My initial idea was to live at or close to some DZ and work with whatever really, so I could get my jump count and experience level up.
I might not have been clear about my situation. I live in Denmark where jumping is pretty limited. The DZs are really small, they ony operate on weekends and in descend weather (which is rare). So the whole idea was to do it at some DZ elsewhere in the world.
I've been thinking about Empuriabrava in Spain since I've been there 3 times, but I am definitely open to suggestions.

[AggieDave 6]

As I recently put on FB:

Do you know what the difference between a full time skydiver and a Large Dominos Pizza is?
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A Large Dominos Pizza can feed a family of four!

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[baign32 0]

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I plan to ;) I'm just having problems with my Sabre2 190 :P But it's only got like 45 jumps on it, and I've been told that it will soon begin to be more coorporative :) I hope so...

I feel for you! I've got a new Sabre2 190 as well with only 5 jumps on it. it's like packing spring loaded grease paper.

[bunkerup 0]

I am just starting aff and I realize that I need to make approx 12 coached jumps after my 7 aff jumps. I guess my question is this. I f my DZ charges 95 for rental, my lift and the coach does he receive anything other than a free jump. This to me seems like a great deal for someone who loves to jump and assist others. Sure you dont make any money but you dont spen any either

[billvon 2,380]

>I f my DZ charges 95 for rental, my lift and the coach does he receive
>anything other than a free jump.

Coach jumps are not free jumps, any more than AFF's are free jumps or video jumps are free jumps. They're working jumps, in which you are paid (either directly or indirectly) for your efforts. They can be fun, but you need the rating or the experience to do them well, since that person is paying you for a service.

[SpinxB 0]

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As I recently put on FB:

Do you know what the difference between a full time skydiver and a Large Dominos Pizza is?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
.
.
.
..
A Large Dominos Pizza can feed a family of four!

Hehe yeah I guess that's right... Luckily I only have myself to feed :)