AFF or Tandem

[IceWater 0]

What does a person do when they are handed a golden ticket – then back away? I had my second tandem jump (way too poor to take AFF (this month – next month hopefully!)), but my instructor was lovely and started to teach me the art of sky diving…

Lets start with the jump – I cannon balled out!!! Flipping and rotating through 1,000 feet of sky before I was stabilized thanks to the work of the gentlemen that was along for the trip. He offered me the toggles to learn control of the parachute, but after my disastrous trip out – I declined.

Now the question is – how much of a hole did I dig for myself? Do I need to (read SHOULD I) do another tandem before AFF? Did I miss too much by not landing the parachute myself with an instructor on board??

What do you think?

Life is not about how many breaths you take; but rather how many moments there are that take your breath away.

[GLIDEANGLE 1]

AFF is designed to be suitable for students who have done a tandem (or two) AND for students who have NEVER done a tandem.

Save up your pennies and start AFF!

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

[cjsgrlsx3 0]

Ok this is my 2cents! I did six tandems in six months and then started my AFF. I also had 30 minutes worth of tunnel time. EVERY tandem that I did I learned something and met some really great people. I did not do the tandem progression, I just did alot of tandems. My daughter has two tandems and I encourage her to do more before starting her AFF. This is not a sport to rush. Take your time. The only bad thing about tandems is that it will teach you bad body position. Don't sweat the small stuff. Enjoy your tandems and learn canopy pattern and altitude awareness. Don't worry about steering, you will be happy to grab the toggles when you do AFF!

[virgin-burner 1]

i went straight ahead and booked AFF, never did a tandem, but i was sure i wanted to do this..

“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

[xanthic 1]

I went to AFF straight as well, waiting to do my first tandem later on.

If you know you want to do this sport, then go straight to AFF, you learn much more than in a tandem (my opinion). And AFF is just as safe even if you've never done a tandem.

[bluetwo 0]

Assuming there's no static line progression, because you haven't mentioned it, just do it already.

I went the static line route so I was 5 jumps in before I did any free falls. It's not that much different. You just jump with training wheels a little first before you venture further.

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[GLIDEANGLE 1]

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And AFF is just as safe even if you've never done a tandem.

You must be kidding! From my observation, landing related injuries seem far more common in AFF students than Tandem students. in my observation, obstacle landings seem far more common for AFF students than tandem students.

Things I have seen or have reliable first person reports about:

--Very hard landing into side of building. AFF yes; Tandem no
--Riding a spinning mal to impact w/o attempt to cut away. AFF yes; Tandem no.
--Landing in power lines. AFF yes; Tandem no.

I wish I had quick access to hard facts on this question. However, both logic and my observations lead me to be confident that tandem is safer than AFF.

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

[timmyfitz 0]

Quote

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And AFF is just as safe even if you've never done a tandem.

You must be kidding! From my observation, landing related injuries seem far more common in AFF students than Tandem students. in my observation, obstacle landings seem far more common for AFF students than tandem students.

Things I have seen or have reliable first person reports about:

--Very hard landing into side of building. AFF yes; Tandem no
--Riding a spinning mal to impact w/o attempt to cut away. AFF yes; Tandem no.
--Landing in power lines. AFF yes; Tandem no.

I wish I had quick access to hard facts on this question. However, both logic and my observations lead me to be confident that tandem is safer than AFF.

You missed his point completely.

[Mickymillions 0]

Just go for the AFF. I will admit that I had done a tandem before starting my AFF. I however did the tandem on my 14th birthday and didn’t start my AFF until this year just after I turned 24 so there is a bit of a gap. My theory is you are definitely interested and keen to do it otherwise you wouldn’t be on here talking about it so throw caution to the wind and just do it you won’t be disappointed. The feeling you get when you have landed back on the ground under your own canopy for the first time is unbeatable. 100 X better than tandem.

Just my opinion anyway