Repeat jumps during AFF

[philmo 0]

I have recently fallen in love with skydiving and have begun the AFF course. Did my 3rd jump today and totally gooned it up, problem with legs on my butt and unstable in my arch so I will be repeating the jump.

I'm not a perfectionist but I hate to fail....is it common to repeat jumps during the AFF process.

Just wanted to see what others experienced during their qualification.

Thanks.

[stratostar 5]

Quote

is it common to repeat jumps during the AFF process

Yes & no, everyone is different.

you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

[JoeQ.Public 0]

I was given the option on level 3. Had a slight turn that I corrected late in the skydive. I opted to do it over.

Very soon, an honest person will not be able to sing the last 2 lines of our National Anthem:::Practice safe dining....use condiments

[lost_n_confuzd 0]

A year ago I started AFF and passed 1 and 2 but had to repeat 3. Went away for 7 months and started where I left off when I got back without anymore repeats.

I had the same problem as you, unstable with a slight spin. I noticed that on level 4 -7 I was much more relaxed and really did not have any troubles at all. I actually felt in control rather than just being along for the ride.

[Reginald 0]

It's pretty common to repeat a level. Don't worry about it.

I personally hold the record for repeated Level 4's at my DZ. And now I'm an Instructor.

"We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

[Milo 0]

Quote

I'm not a perfectionist but I hate to fail.

Hey! You're not failing, you're learning!

It sucks to have to pay for another jump, but it's only money. And for some of us it's worth it.

I was not a fast learner, but I sure did have fun.

[countzero 7]

i had 3 attempts at lvl. 4 before i could relax enough to not spin.

diamonds are a dawgs best friend

[pgassett 0]

[KermieCorleone 0]

I had the same issue. I went in with the mindset that failure was not an option for me. For one, I didnt have the funds to repeat jumps and secondly, my buddy who started jumping before me didnt fail any of his levels. I failed lvl 2 and 4 but I made up for lvl 4 by doing lvl 4 and 5 in one jump (some AFFIs are the bees knees). I was soo pissed off for failing those 2 lvls. I couldnt even fully enjoy my AFF. My advice is dont do wot I did, by focusing on "NOT" failing, instead focus on learning to jump and enjoying the process. In any case good luck.

Cheers

- Neil

Never make assumptions! That harmless rectangle could be two triangles having sex ...

[OSOK 0]

I had to repeat my IAF lvl 5... 3 times. Yes, it sucks, mostly because of the money. Nothing wrong with repeating levels though.

On a side note, I wish the price for repeating levels would be less though...

[sebinoslo 0]

I have seen people repeating jumps indeed. But I just wanted to add I am a perfectionist too and thought more than once my jumps were shit because I was used to reading something and executing it exactly as written (school and work).

During AFF jumps I would feel I was turning really slow and shaky, I could not move forward fast enough, I would do a tumble or two leaving the aircraft (before recovering and moving on) and always thought I would have those "failed" because I did not fully follow the script (the tasks/sequences).

But as soon as my AFFI told me that I was doing fine, no one does all the tasks perfect, so if i were to spin or do a tumble I would curse myself for sucking during the rest of the jump, I would instantly move one. With that in mind, I relaxed and the following levels went without a single problem.

Like someone replied, SMILE! and you can only smile if you are relaxed and you can only relax if you know that a tumble is no big deal and does not bother you throughout the whole jump.

[shah269 0]

I just did AFF3, it is much easier if you have a few min of tunnel time. Finding stability and being at ease with your self becomes easier.
Case in point in my AFF2 my last right hand turn I bumped my instructor, my knees came together and I was on my back and my instructor was pushed off.
Thanks to being in the tunnel I was aware enough to get stable on my back look around, realize i was clear and he was gone, roll back on my belly check my altimeter, wave off and deploy.
Was I pissed? oh you bet I was! So much so that i totally botched up the landing.
but no one got hurt and I lived and life goes on.
It's a lot like learning how to drive a stick shift car, yeah we are going to suck for the first 30 rides but by ride 31....we'll be able to park the car with out stalling it!

Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay.

The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

[Andy9o8 2]

First: repeating an AFF level is not "failing". An AFF jump is training, not a test. You're learning an entirely new skill set, in a very alien environment, under considerable stress and sensory overload. If it takes you more than a single 50-second block of practice to learn a particular skill task, so be it. It's not much different than when you were learning to drive, for example, except there's a lot more stress. Did you master parallel parking the first time you tried it? I'll bet you didn't.

If the cost of each AFF jump is not a really huge impediment for you, then remember this, be patient (especially with yourself) and hang in there. Attitude is everything.

On the other hand, if AFF jumps are so costly as to be nearly prohibitive for you, consider finding a DZ that offers static line and/or IAD (Instructor-Assisted Deployment) training, which is considerably cheaper on a per-jump basis.

[JohnDeere 0]

Quote

I personally hold the record for repeated Level 4's at my DZ

And your flying shows it

Nothing opens like a Deere!

You ignorant fool! Checks are for workers!

[faulknerwn 38]

I periodically post this to make anyone feel better who's not a "natural" student..

http://crwdog.servebeer.com/CRWdog/HowCRW.html

The above link is my student logbook - I did the static line progression (with a couple of AFF thrown in) and I pretty much sucked :-) But I stuck with it, now have almost 6000 jumps, an AFF instructor rating, and some CRW world records to boot...

Just because something doesn't natural to you - don't sweat it. Keep plugging away, don't get discouraged, and you'll get it eventually.

W

[gjhdiver 0]

I'm an AFF examiner and my experience is that about 95% of people repeat a level.

Don't regard it as a fail. Regard it as an opportunity to learn. There are NO failures when I do AFF. There are just more opportunities to get it right.

If it was easy, it wouldn't be worth doing.

[apt3studiodiver 0]

Quote

If the cost of each AFF jump is not a really huge impediment for you, then remember this, be patient (especially with yourself) and hang in there. Attitude is everything.

This was one of the great things about my AFF training.. I retried level 4, level 6 and level 8 each. Each retry was for different reasons, but ones that my instructor and I both felt were good ones. Some were his decision and some were mine. What helped with that, is the fact that I am bartering the DZO my web services towards jump credit. That allows me more patience than some of the others that are doing AFF along-side me. Their stress levels just seemed a little bit higher most of the time.

Now I am only a few jumps away from getting my license but I feel extremely comfortable in the sky, and am nailing all my card requirements. Being patient, safe and remembering that this is all about fun helped me through AFF. In the end, I think the bigger goal to keep in mind is patiently learning the basic skill sets needed to effectively save your butt over and over and that is what counts!

www.apt3studios.com
www.musicpromotiononline.com
www.internetcafegaming.com
D.S. # 4321

[philmo 0]

Thanks to all for the comments. The first thing that I want to do is to learn to skydive as safely as possible and enjoy the experience, so if I have to repeat a lesson then no big deal; but at the same time I hate to fail!
Having to take a break for about two weeks due to work but I already have my repeat jump scheduled for mid July! Will keep you updated on progress/repeats:)
Thanks again for all the advice!

[philmo 0]

Thanks for the link to your logbook, helps me understand that if skydiving was easy then everybody would be doing it! I will say that your input has given a better understanding to the process and to what I can expect.
Thanks again,

Philmo

[Toasted_Cracker 0]

Don't sweat it. I repeated the 3rd jump myself on my AFF 3 times before I passed. I always had trouble with my legs. I finally passed it yesterday though!

Now this up coming Friday I will be making my first jump with only ONE instructor! Quite frankly im terrified. lol

[SivaGanesha 2]

Quote

Just wanted to see what others experienced during their qualification...

Thanks.

I did the static line progression in the 1980's...but didn't continue with the sport...so I basically started over with AFF when I returned to the sport.

So I've done both programs in my life, and I had to repeat jumps doing static line, and I had to repeat jumps in AFF. I think it is pretty common to have to repeat some levels. I spoke to someone this weekend who took 26 jumps to complete AFF but went on to do thousands of jumps. I sometimes get the impression that the people who have a bit more trouble in the early going may actually value skydiving more because they had to work harder to earn it.

"It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

[philmo 0]

Hey,
Thanks for all the comments. Because of my job I haven't been able to jump in almost 40 days but I'm looking forward to getting back into it this weekend.
It was great to hear that I was not alone in having to repeat jump, thanks for the comments!

[popsjumper 2]

Quote

First: repeating an AFF level is not "failing". An AFF jump is training, not a test. You're learning an entirely new skill set, in a very alien environment, under considerable stress and sensory overload. If it takes you more than a single 50-second block of practice to learn a particular skill task, so be it.

SPOT ON! And worth repeating and repeating and repeating again until the words "pass" and "fail" are eliminated from the training progression.

You Instructors out there who use "pass/fail" are doing your students a major disservice.

You students who think in terms of "pass/fail" are doing yourselves a major disservice.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239