Has basic skydiving become an obstacle?

[CMiller 1]

I kind of feel that way. I'm not so arrogant to think that I know all there is to know of have mad skills. In fact, I know that I am quite far from it. I have a very long way to go.

But to me, it seems like a lot of jumpers actually do lack basic skills. I don't know how many times I've been on jumps with people whose numbers are far higher than mine, yet they tug and pull on the grips creating a lot of pressure when they join the formation. They come in too fast and knock other people around.

I find it baffling. It's not that hard to fly next to someone, and to take their grips smoothly. It's not that hard to slow down and come in smoothly.

It doesn't seem unreasonable to expect someone to be able to do this when they have 200 jumps or more. Does it?

[JohnMitchell 14]

Different skill sets for different jobs. The people you describe could make great S/L instructors, where flying skills are less necessary. I've seen free flyers who couldn't belly fly into a tandem pair go and get his tandem rating. If you can get face to earth with a freaked out person on the front, you can probably be a tandem master. AFF still requires the most flying skill, in my opinion. I've earned that rating twice, and each time it was more work than any other rating.

[Andy9o8 0]

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I've known a few people who have racked up 300 or more hop & pops just for sake of jump numbers so they could get a tandem rating. Some have also used the date of their first tandem as a starting point for time in sport. So you could end up with someone who has been skydiving less than a year, with 500 jumps becoming a tandem master. Perfectly legal but definitely not wise.

Then that's an argument for yet another potential requirement, in addition to jump numbers, time-in-sport and currency: minimum amount of freefall time. Not so easy to rack up with hop & pops.

[brettski74 0]

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minimum amount of freefall time. Not so easy to rack up with hop & pops.

Sure it is. Log books can easily be faked to show higher amounts of freefall time than has actually been acquired. The only barrier you've added is ethics, but if someone thinks that doing 500 H+P with virtually no freefall experience is perfectly fine to enable them to control a whuffo passenger in freefall, then I suspect that ethics isn't too much of an issue for them.

[Chubba 0]

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It is until you get bored with it. And if you're the kind of guy who gets bored with 2 way belly flight quickly you'll probably get bored with solo and 2 way freefly/wingsuiting just as quickly.

Solo's bill... not 2-ways.

I go on every 2 way that pops up, which despite my low jump numbers I'm usually the more experienced half... I love sliding away and waiting for pins.

There's no way I'm going to belly fly solo though, I'll choose a sit or a track every single time.

[SKYgoonie 0]

Its kind of like back when we were 20 years old and most are friends turned 21 all ready and go to the bars and clubs. waking the next morning, all we do is hear really cool storys of the night befor.

It is the rules that were not suposed to fly cam or wing suits till min. of 200 jumps. But, we all drink under age right?

low jumpers like myself any more walk a thin line through the sims. We all try to push what we can get away with. Some do it better than others and it works to their advantege by further promoting their skill level a little quicker than usual. I have also seen guys follow the same path that made me a little uneasy and frankly put scared to be on the same jump run as them.

Wittnessing first hand most jumpers attitude tward the low timers(both very good but mostly were just ignored) I think people should be a little nicer and encouraging. show us the right way to do things. dont wait for us to show up with $1200 cam helmets, custom rigs and matching jumpsuits before you will walk up and introduce your self.

Because as we are commonly mentioned as the "now generation" if you push us aside and tell us we cant and shouldnt. there will be those who take it upon themselves to learn on their own

i only pretend to know what im doing
D.S.#619