Tandem or s/l for first jump

[mike110 0]

I have read posts on this subject but none later than 2006. I am assuming that technology has changed this sport as it has all others so I would like to pose the question again. My 19 year old son and I are going to make our first jump and may never jump again. We have been provided with the choice of tandem or static line. I would like your help in making that decision as you all seem to be very helpful and encouraging to newcomers of the sport of skydiving. Thank you in advance for your assistance.

[diablopilot 2]

Eh, the technology hasn't changed that much since 2006 that you as a first time jumper would notice.

The most basic things to consider.....

Do you want to experience freefall, or is the canopy flight enough.

Do you want to say you've jumped "by yourself".

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[virgin-burner 1]

if it was a one time thing, i'd go with the tandem. enjoy freefall, not too much to do.. just go, get a short instruction, up, yeehaa, landing. more yeehaaa!
i didnt notice much on my first jump which was AFF.

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

[rhys 0]

I learned with the static line progression,

For a real buzz and a sense of accomplishment, do the static line jump.

Hey, you don't get a freefall but you climb out of the plane and let go....... by yourself.

Any sissy can do a tandem but a staic line jump takes balls and you will never forget it.

The extra instruction makes you feel as though you are a skydiver and not just another tandem punter.

That is my opinion though.

Have fun whatever you do!

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

[shropshire 0]

So did I... so 2nd'd

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[NickDG 23]

S/L all the way, the other thing is just a ride . . .

NickD

[napvid 0]

For about the same price as a tandem w/video, you could do AFF level 1 With that you get to hang out at the DZ all day, go thru ground school, jump from the plane on your own count with two instructors, free fall, solo canopy decent and all the bragging rights you can imagine.

And then if you decide that skydiving is your calling you will already be on your way to AFF level 2.

Good luck,have fun and be safe.

“As you know, these are open forums, you’re able to come and listen to what I have to say.” –George W. Bush, 10.28.03.

[CSpenceFLY 1]

My first jump was AFF. The first thing I said when I got to the ground was,"I gotta do that again." Nine years and 1900 jumps later here I am.

[AggieDave 6]

My fist jump was a S/L and I'm still here. I've taken a number of people on their first tandem jump and they're still jumping.

The method of the first jump is less important then doing the first jump!

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

[Andy9o8 0]

With any of the 3 methods - tandem, AFF or S/L - you still have to conquer your fear, so in that regard my respect for anyone who has made ANY type of first jump is based on that.

Tandem involves minimal training; at the end of the jump, you're still just a passenger, albeit one who has conquered a fear. AFF and S/L each require several hours of training; and at the end of your first jump you will really be a first-time skydiver.

[danielcroft 2]

I actually did tandem progression. I felt like it was a less dramatic entry into the sport. AFF & S/L both require you to land your own canopy on your first jump. Personally, I felt like having someone experienced helping with the really dangerous bits was a good way for me to learn.

YMMV.

Good luck.

[mike110 0]

Thank you so much to everyone that responded. I have decided to do the Tandem. I don't know if I am brave enough to step out of an airplane on my own. I have never been tested like that before. It's not that I'm a chicken but you never really know your limits until it happens.

[diablopilot 2]

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S/L all the way, the other thing is just a ride . . .

NickD

The sad thing is you're right. Too often these days it is just a ride to people.....

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[Kerrida 0]

I myself am currently saving up to be able to make my first jump. I want to experience Freefall, so that leaves Tandem or AFF. However, for some reason AFF doesn't unnerve me like the though of a tandem does. Odd, I know, and I can't exactly explain why, but just the way it is. So AFF is the way I'm going. Course I also have wanted to do this for six years, and thusly saving up money so that I have enough for quite a few jumps so I don't go a long time without one. Well.. then again.. all my friends do think I'm more than a little crazy for all the strange things I do.. so that may have something to say.

So, I'd say go for AFF :) Plus like was said you get to spend the day at the DZ, which is a blast.

[danielcroft 2]

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The sad thing is you're right. Too often these days it is just a ride to people.....

Clearly I can't speak for everyone but the TIs that I know will treat it like a ride unless you say you're interested in getting your license at which point it's no longer a ride.
Each to their own of course.

[hchunter614 0]

If you think you might even be a little interested in continuing on to get your license be sure to tell your tandem instructor. That way he/she can give you more information about the jump and let you help steer the canopy some and make it more than just a ride.

[NobodysHero01 0]

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Clearly I can't speak for everyone but the TIs that I know will treat it like a ride unless you say you're interested in getting your license at which point it's no longer a ride.

I did my first tandem in 2004 at Above the Poconos. It was definitely just a ride which is all I wanted. I had so much fun, I decided to make it a yearly event and went back for tandems in 2005, and 2006. Rather than sit me through the same boring 20 minute briefing year after year, for my return visits they actively pulled me out of the group and taught me stuff and went over the flight plan and got me interested in the sport.

Looking back, I like how I got into the sport. I think I'd feel too pressured and overwhelmed trying to go solo my first time. I took it nice and slow, did a couple of tandems, and as I got to know the people at the dropzone and feel comfortable, decided to go solo... That's probably what I'd suggest to most people.

-- Mike
"Embrace this moment. Remember. We are eternal. All this pain is an illusion"

[dreaming13000 1]

I did a tandem, just for the ride, no intentions of ever jumping again.....that was May 24th of 2008.

Now I am working on my A licence, a little over two months later, I am officially a skydiver and it has changed my life

Do whichever one you feel most comfortable with, but be careful it doesn't hook you!

Blue skies!

"A man only gets in life what he is believing for, nothing more and nothing less" Kenneth Hagen

[mike110 0]

You all are awesome!

[kelpdiver 2]

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I don't know if I am brave enough to step out of an airplane on my own. I have never been tested like that before. It's not that I'm a chicken but you never really know your limits until it happens.

The vast majority of first jumpers on any of the 3 methods feel just like you. An unforgetable experience.

[MattMazzocco 0]

When i did my first jump i had no intention of pursuing the sport.. Did a tandem and loved it. Went to a diff dz the next weekend and did 2 more. Went back out the next weekend and did 2 more.. After spending almost 850 on tandems i decided it would be a wise choice to take aff due to the fact that i couldnt stop going. Personally i am glad i did the tandems first because it made my aff progression painless and much easier. I cant imagine doing my first jump solo, seems quite overwhelming.

Then again i think if i were to do another tandem it would scare the shit out of me now.

Either way just do whatever feels right to you. It can be a life changing experience if you have the right personality for it. Good luck, be safe and blue skies always.

[ghost47 18]

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I don't know if I am brave enough to step out of an airplane on my own.

Neither was I. So I didn't "step out of an airplane". I just looked at both jumpmasters, looked at the propeller, rocked forward, rocked back, and stepped to my left. By the time my brain caught up to my traitorous body, I was already in freefall, and there was nothing to do but try to fly and land safely.

[diablopilot 2]

Quote

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The sad thing is you're right. Too often these days it is just a ride to people.....

Clearly I can't speak for everyone but the TIs that I know will treat it like a ride unless you say you're interested in getting your license at which point it's no longer a ride.
Each to their own of course.

That's a sad thing. Every student of mine is treated like a student, not a passenger. I figure if they want a ride, I'm doing no harm, and possibly I'm enlightening them to the idea that they are responsible for their actions, and maybe they will become interested in continuing the sport.

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[danielcroft 2]

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That's a sad thing. Every student of mine is treated like a student, not a passenger. I figure if they want a ride, I'm doing no harm, and possibly I'm enlightening them to the idea that they are responsible for their actions, and maybe they will become interested in continuing the sport.

Not that I have any basis to discuss except my opinion but I know of several people who don't want to deal with the student part. I don't think it's really that bad a thing when you're at a busy DZ with loads of tandems. I think this discussion has come up before and I'm extremely ill qualified to continue it. Suffice it to say that I think my friends do what they think is appropriate for the students. I'll defer to others on the facts however.

[jimmytavino 16]

to the O P ...
some of the decision may need to based on where you are. and in what sort of plane, you may or may not, have access to...

a big plane with lots of room and which gives you 13-five or 14 grand, will allow you and your son to share the entire experience, including watching fun jumpers exit before you...So then, go tandem, it will be great...

But if you are at a C 180 or a C182 DZ,
then that sort of arrangement lends itself to static line...
Doing a tandem or AFF from such aircraft requires a Longer climb, to less altitude, ( 10,500 ft or so ) packed more tightly, with 2 tandem masters, ( or AFFI's ) and if you or your son, are tall or big guys,,,
then a tandem outta a cessna, takes a lot more effort, and that's before you even begin, heading to the door...
( The tm's who do their work from 4 place airplanes, are the true current day heros of the sport...)


S L was for decades,,, the only training program available, and many MANY a jumper came into the sport , in that way... The plane would be suited to 3 students and their Jumpmaster. the climb to exit altitude is comfortably prompt, the step is usually,,, right there and fun to climb onto, and the immediacy of the canopy deployment,, gives the first timer a real sense of..."Security".. and Just at the very moment it is needed, considering the person just stepped off an airplane , for the first time ever...

It's intersesting to see that static line training is still available in places... It has been phased out of most DZ's nearby to me, it seems, in favor of AFF and Tandem,,
Nice to see that the option still remains, in some places..

There are VERY FEW personal accomplishments that can compare to the exhilaration of climbing out the open door of an Airplane flying at 3,500 feet from the ground, overcoming ones own personall uncertainties, demonstrating heart, Courage, strength, ( physical and emotional) Brains, and most of all Poise!!!! and then launching off that small perch,,, to a successful parachute jump.....
hahahaha.. are you kidding me???not much better than that...
it was that very energy which certainly impressed me, way back when..
and to a certain extent , still does....

i wish the same for you.

either way, enjoy, stay safe, check back in here, afterwards.

jimmytavino
a 3914
d 12122