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back2nature

Want to earn my license but I'm in a unique situation.

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In a previous thread I wrote about my first jump (tandem) a couple days ago. It was the greatest dayof my life and now I want to experience more and see what I am capable of achieving. I have decided to make it a goal to earn my license.

I have a problem though and I feel that my work situation could possibly hold me back. I travel with the disney ice shows as a crew member. So basically I am in a different city every week, and sometimes in other countries for extended periods of time. I would have no problem having every jump in a different place but I dont know what the rules are when it comes to training. Do I need to stay with a specific school or can I still make this happen? I dont plan on traveling like this forever but I can't exactly quit my job anytime soon. I don't really know what to do. Skydiving has all of a sudden become very important to me (and I've only made 1 jump) and I think the whole thing can be nothing but therapeutic for me in so many ways. Thanks for any advice you could give..

Your friend, Shawn

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I suggest you save up till you can afford to pay for the entire A license package. Depending where you get it in the US, it will cost around $2500-$3000 some places will be less, some more. Then take a week (or more likely 2) off work if possible and bang out the whole thing. Really you could do it in 10 days with good weather easily. Then once u got your A you can jump at any DZ in the US and lots outside (i know nothing bout jumping outside the US) If you cant do that at least do AFF in a couple of days (around 8 jumps) and then you can do your solos and coach jumps at other DZ as long as they are USPA and you have a current signed logbook it should not be an issue, but I would try and get my A then you are golden...

just my opinion...

btw, I started with a tandem for xmas for my daughter and I got hooked right away came back and got my A in 3 weeks....I know how you feel ;)

"Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

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I think you may run into a little resistance at some places but for the most part this is an achievable goal. I would call ahead to a DZ where you are going to be in advance and tell them your situation. That way you'll know right off the bat whether you'll encounter any resistance. Also, explain your situation to each instructor so that they make damn sure they are filling out your log book in a way that ANY instructor can read and KNOW exactly where you're at in your student progression. They should be doing this anyway, but make sure they do. Also, if you could get phone numbers of each instructor, any new instructor could call and confirm and gain a bit more knowledge on past jumps. Really, skydiving isn't rocket science. It's pretty easy stuff. Good luck and if you're ever near Springfield, MO I'll be happy to take you up where ever you are in your student progression. Good luck and get to jumping! :)


Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher
D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I
Videographer/Photographer

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Welcome to the sky!!!

Humbled1 gave you a good plan... save up and then knock it out all at once.

Here is a place that advertises getting your license in a week:

http://www.skydivespaceland.com/license-in-a-week.php

This place mentions that some students have finished in a week:

http://www.skydiveaz.com/_students_data/student_returning.html

Both of the above are reputable schools and DZs.

I am sure that there are many other DZ which can get you through quickly too.
The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

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Once you get your license, you'll find it very straightforward to skydive around the country and around the world, and the best thing about the skydiving community (especially if you get to know people through this and other online sites) is that you'll have an instant community when you land in a new location. I know that when I traveled a lot for work the local skydivers made my life away from home much more fun. B|

"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 definitly agree with the previous posts mentioning saving up and banging out all your jumps in a short period of time to get your A.

It might take you a little longer to do your next jump, but then you'll have your A in no time and you can jump anywhere you want. There are several big dropzones around which are open every day of the week where getting your A in a week will be possible.

Make sure you go to a place that has farely good weather over the time you're there since you will have such a short period of time to get everything done. Somewhere like Skydive Arizona (Eloy) would be a good option.

Good luck! And welcome :)

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You can do your training at as many different DZs as you want. Having a clear and complete log book will certainly help you for sure, but you can always call the previous DZ if there is a question.

One problem you may run into is time. You'll need to plan for a full day off to fit in a jump. Most DZs are an hour or so away from major metro areas. In Cleveland for example, the ice show is downtown, and the nearest DZ is just over an hour away.

So figure two hours just to get there and back. By the time you're signed in, trained, jumped and debriefed, that could take anywhere from (aside from level 1) 3 to 5 hours at the DZ, depending on how busy they are.

The one mistake you should never make is going to the DZ with a definite time to leave. It never works out, you'll always end up leaving late, or having to split right before your jump.

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Do you have any vacation time saved up? Can you pop-smoke and disappear for a week?

If you can take the vacation and can save the money up, you can knock out an A-license in a week at some DZs (weather permitting). Then its easier to hit up a DZ while traveling to score a couple of jumps.
--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

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Shawn,
I've a friend in the Cirque that is in much the same situation.
He did AFF A/B/C at our DZ, and we logged it deeply and well, plus providing contact info for all instructors. He was able to complete his AFF and A license at a variety of DZs, and is now a happy skydiver traveling the world. It takes a concerted effort, but it can be done.

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I would have no problem having every jump in a different place but I dont know what the rules are when it comes to training. Do I need to stay with a specific school or can I still make this happen?



The instruction program is standardized so you can make jumps at different drop zones.

I did AFF levels 1 and 2 on separate weekends at one drop-zone; 3-6 over a weekend at another drop zone while traveling on business, and level 7 back at the first DZ.

You'd probably be less likely to have problems once making it through AFF-7 and the follow up first solo at which point you'll be cleared for self-supervision and the instructors won't have to rely on their predecessors comments being accurate + complete.

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Here is a place that advertises getting your license in a week:

http://www.skydivespaceland.com/license-in-a-week.php

And what a great bargain it is for all that is offered with it – a large fleet of well maintained aircraft, 130 acre landing area surrounded by miles of fields, fantastic gear, all of your instructional solo jumps are videotaped free for accurate debrief, great instructional staff and the best training program available anywhere on the planet…

I had a female student recently not only finish the entire student progression but went on to get her A License in only 3 days of jumping - day one – 6 jumps, day two – 10 jumps and day three - 9 jumps! I gurantee that if you learn at Spaceland, you will be hard pressed to find another DZ anywhere that will provide you with the knowledge base you will obtain here. Our graduates have the knowledge I had at 100 jumps or so and when we get new staff members they say the same thing after being here a bit – the curriculum is simply remarkable. I recently trained a guy who is in a similar line of work as you, travels around a lot and took a two week vacation here, finished in around 5 days of jumping.

Here is his progression from the first release dive to graduation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuydq8WcyOE
Mykel AFF-I10
Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

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Welcome to the sky!!!

Humbled1 gave you a good plan... save up and then knock it out all at once.

Here is a place that advertises getting your license in a week:

http://www.skydivespaceland.com/license-in-a-week.php

This place mentions that some students have finished in a week:

http://www.skydiveaz.com/_students_data/student_returning.html

Both of the above are reputable schools and DZs.

I am sure that there are many other DZ which can get you through quickly too.



Skydive Chicago does the one week program too.
...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

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I did the vast majority of my freefall progression in one weekend. (Preqrequisite tandems and trailing graduation jumps were on other weekends, though), at 8 jumps in one weekend. It took me a long while till I got my A license, as this was a weekends-only dropzone. But in America, there's a number of dropzones like Perris, Chicago, Spaceland, etc. that's open 7 days.

Find a good 7-day dropzone with known good weather, take a one-week vacation to get your license as quickly as possible, and then you can be a travelling skydiver. Just make sure you hire some coaching now-and-then for some small-way jumps, and visit a few wind tunnels (see www.bodyflight.net along the route), to keep yourself proficient.

To accelerate things even further, go spend half an hour at a wind tunnel one weekend (with proper skydiving instruction, even if not the same AFF instructor as the one who will teach you in the sky) in some city you're going to anyway for a show. Then in a subsequent trip/vacation, begin to do the compressed A license plan like the other posters are suggesting. Fewer levels will likely be repeated with some tunnel experience. That's if you can't stay at one dropzone for very long, but it's still best to go all the way to A license at the same dropzone -- just do it in a compressed instruction.

The tough part will be finding other skydivers to accept you as an A-license skydiver for small group jumps, so your first few jumps after the A-license might be solos, but you can also compensate for this in part by doing some tunnel time during other weekends, then you can easily fly smallway groups while you pratice your tracking and canopy skills, etc. (stuff that can't be practiced in a tunnel) Tunnel time is a timesaver in skills-learning too. Canopy skills are very important, you will need to really focus on that too -- perhaps spend some of your early post-A-license jumps with a canopy coach, to help your ability to land at unfamiliar dropzones you'd probably be visiting so early in your skydiving career.

Some instructors say it is a bad idea to do compressed instruction (full instruction, just without much rest breaks), but if you've got the energy to travel frequently with lots of moving bags, and a crew member that often consumes lots of energy during performances (even backstage or support crew), then you probably got the stamina to deal with an accelerated 7 day A-license program.

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Although there has been good advice given already, there is a couple additional things you may want to think about. If you are unable to complete you entire A license at the same DZ some issues may arise.

The first is that there are basically two different styles of going through the AFF program and getting your license. This is not intended to state which program is better but is rather provided for informational purposes that may apply to your specific situation.

One of these programs is the integrated student program (ISP), and the other is the traditional AFF program. Although it probably will not be too much of a problem if you jump at DZs with different programs because they are fairly standardized during the AFF protion, I would advise calling ahead and discussing this with the DZO.

The next thing to think about also relates to the different programs of instruction at different DZs. The way getting you A license works is that you will complete a series of tasks on a proficiency card, each of which are signed off by an instructor or coach. Once complete, this card becomes your A license.

It's important to note that there are two different types of proficiency cards depending on which program of instruction is used at the DZ. The proficiency card associated with the ISP is much more detailed and has many more tasks on it. This card is designed to be completed as you go through with specific sections for each category. These categories continue after you are no longer required to jump with an AFF instructor all the way until you get your A license. There are many tasks that require you to jump with at least a USPA Coach to complete.

The other type of proficiency card is far shorter. However, unlike the ISP, the traditional AFF program is only structured until you complete level 7 and are cleared to solo. As a result, the shorter card will have many tasks that will not necessarily be signed by the instructor as you go through the AFF program. Some of these tasks will also require at least a coach to complete and DZs that use the traditional AFF program may have different programs designed to get you from solo to license. Some basically have no real structure after you are off AFF status and you are more or less on your own. You look at what you need on the card and find a coach or instructor to help you with the task.

Although I think the shorter proficiency card would be a lot easier to complete if you are not completing all the A license requirements at DZs using the ISP, you should speak with all the DZs about your intentions.

If you do end up using the short card, make sure that you get as many of the tasks signed off as possible at each DZ you jump at. If you use the ISP card, make sure an instructor signs off all the tasks for each category you complete. Otherwise, you will find yourself pleading with an instructor to sign something that you already did with another instructor at another DZ. This places the instructor in a bit of a bind and most will probably not verify something they did not see you do, and for good reason. Make sure you get contact information for the instructors you jump with in case this arises.

I hope this helps and good luck.

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Ya' gotta want it and that means finding the time, money and right place to get it done. I've had students that bring the right attitude(and everything else) on a Thurs. nite and had them jumping on their own by Sun. It's an ambitious schedule and yeah, you'll want to make sure you've got a full bowl of Wheaties in you, but it can be done. Spaceland looks like they do a good job and won't dink you around. It's definitely worth it. Good Luck!

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