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datruthab123

hello drop zone, My first tandem yesterday and Im hooked, need info from those in th know

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Im active duty army, stationed in FT.Lewis and have never been skydiving , my family and wife thought I was crazy but I went anyway, I did a tandem jump at Kapowsin air sports here in WA , I I can say it was amazing, It was the most exciting thing I have ever done in my life and glad I did it and I would like to get my A license in the next 4 months is it possible, I have seen the cost for the 25 jumps, training, gear rental is about 2200 dollars. but is it possible and how hard is aff training ? How expensive is a parachute, buying my own, Im about 270 if weight matters, and all the gear necessary and I'm I going about it the right way, and if I did get my A license before I go to a wedding in VA in oct, and I would want to jump while back in MD,VA area what would I need . Well Ive talked enough , any advice or info would be great

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First off, congrats on making the jump and welcome to the sport.
The difficulty of AFF training varies from person to person. Some will complete the first 7 jumps without a repeat. Some may need 2 dozen jumps to get past AFF. I think you'll find if you start AFF, a lot of getting your license is just persistence. Sometimes it's persistence to get past an AFF level you're having trouble with, sometimes it's persistence going out to the DZ 3 weekends in a row and not being able to jump due to winds. If you're the kind of person that will stick with it and will focus on listening to your instructors' advice and improving, I think you'll be alright.
As far as parachute price goes, they're pretty expensive. Go click on the classifieds tab at the top to get an idea of what used gear costs. I'd recommend holding off on buying any gear until you get your license, as what you initially jump and what you're on once you have your license may vary greatly. Your instructors will also want to give you advice based on how they see you developing under a variety of canopies.
As far as jumping at another drop zone, if you have your license and log book, that is supposed to be all you need. As a pre-emptive warning, do not get any ideas about jumping into the wedding. You need a demo license to do that kind of thing, which requires a great deal of skill and experience.
Once again, welcome to the sport and I hope you stick with it.

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Like red said, AFF is all about sticking with it. I had to do level 2 3 times and I almost quit. Luckily my instructor made me promise to come back the next day and try again. I'm glad he did because I'm having so much fun up there.

Again like red said gear is expensive. One other thought that came to mind is you said you are 270 which means for AFF you would need a 310. Unless the DZ is ok with you having a 1.1 wing loading (assuming the biggest canopy they have is a 260) you might be required to buy your own gear to even do AFF. Now take all this with a grain of salt. I don't own, manage, or even work at a DZ but I have heard of bigger people being required to buy their own gear.

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I just finished my AFF course. i failed stage 4 once and was determined to finish the course no matter what it took. i feel like i really accomplished something. It was a scary and fun couse at the same time. Its the best thing i have ever done apart from my 2 little babies. Buying a starting rig isnt that dear. I got a older rig that has only 120 jumps on it for $1300. Its not the newest rig at the dz but it will do me for a couple of hundred jumps and saves wasting money on hiring a rig.

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Congrats on the first jump! If I were you "and this is what I did" I would set a goal for when I wanted it done and I would make sure I went out enough to make it happen. Gear is as much as you want it to be. You can get it super cheap or buy new gear instead of a car! Your choice. Do not even think about choosing now though, after you have a dozen jumps or so you will understand what everyone is saying!

Blue Skies,

Daniel

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Is there a wind tunnel within a reasonable distance? Those can help you learn stability without getting gear, but the closest one to you might be San Francisco or somewhere down that way.
You don't have to outrun the bear.

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If you're looking to save money you might look into static line training instead of AFF. Skydive Kapowsin and Skydive Toledo are pretty close to you, and they both offer static line training.

http://www.skydivetoledo.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

http://www.skydivekapowsin.com/index.php

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The weight matters a lot - a bulk of gear is rated for 254 pounds net (including gear). You will be 300+ out the door. And since you're probably a fit 270, even the wind tunnels may not be able to accommodate.

There are options, and a number of big guys here that can help. Since Kapowsin could accommodate you as a tandem, they may a good place to call first.

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Quote

Im active duty army, stationed in FT.Lewis and have never been skydiving , my family and wife thought I was crazy but I went anyway, I did a tandem jump at Kapowsin air sports here in WA



Dude. I was there on Saturday as well -- you may have seen my wife and I coming in late afternoon (my second jump, her first).

Good luck!

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