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calimstng66

Surprise, newbie here with some questions

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hello. My name is Clayton i am 22 years old and have always wanted to jump out of a plane, until last week seemed more of something i wanted to do now its turned into something i must do lol. The other week got surprised with some time in a wind tunnel and since than the want to actually go skydiving has taken over. Right now my plans are to jump early jan 08 kind of a start the new year off with a bang.

Got some questions hope i can get some help with.

Are taxes added to the costs listed online? Like it says something like 329.99 is that what i will pay or is it going to get a boost from taxes.

I have never done a tandem jump and kinda just want to bypass it and go right into the aff courses, is that cool?

How long does it usually take people to finish all of the aff courses? How long did it take you?

If i were to say do my first course in jan and say my second a few months later and my third in another month or two will i have to retake all the courses again? How long does an aff course last without having to retake?


Any other newbie pointers you want to shell out go for it.

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Hi clayton, and welcome.

I was like you, I never did a tandem but went straight to the course. However, I did static-line, not AFF, nor am i an instructor.
Therefore I cannot comment on how long it takes on average to complete all AFF levels, but there is no shame in having to repeat one or more. You'll get there.

Whether or not you'll have to repeat any ground instruction if you only want to jump every few months is up to your instructor. I do know however, that the more you jump, the quicker your progression will be. I also know that if you truly catch the SkydiVirus you'll not be satisfied with only one jump every few months, and that you'll find yourself at the DZ whenever possible. :)
All that being said, it's quite possible that the DZ you're going to doesn't offer courses in January, so it might be best to give them a call or pay them a visit.

As to tandems, there are those who argue that a tandem is an ideal way of familiarising oneself with the freefall environment, without having to worry about stuff like opening and flying the parachute. You'll have to make up your own mind whether or not you are willing to pay the money for that.
But if you do, do not forget to tell your tandem instructor that you are considering AFF. Also, pay the extra fee to get a video of your tandem. it's great for debriefing and for bragging to your friends ;)

"That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport."
~mom

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Wait, Because your not an instructor you cant comment on how long you think it might take?

Im telling him time, not what to do during a mal. lol

Clayon. Where do you live? If you live around a year' round dz your good to go. I know at my dz...Skydive elsinore you had to take an AFF every month or re take a quick safety class. That being said. It took me about 6 months and 25 jumps to get my A license. You can do it as fast as you can. I know people who got theirs in 3 weeks or less.

Also, I have never been taxed on anything like that...your buying a service...not a product.

Since you have a few mintues in a tunnle...you know the feel of the wind and that is usually the biggest shock to people...I say do an AFF...the level 1 teacher should be good enough to teach someone with zero jump experience and thats what they get paid to do.

Have fun!

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Nope, I said i was a static line student, in addition to not being an instructor, so I have no practical knowledge of the AFF program. :)

"That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport."
~mom

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Clayton,

I had the same question about time limits for completion. If more than 30 days has passed since your last jump, you have to repeat the last level. I'm not sure if that is a USPA rule, but every DZ I have checked with follows it. If you can pay for the entire AFF course at once, most programs claim you could complete AFF in as little as 5 days (assuming you pass each level on the first jump, and you are at a busy DZ that jumps on weekdays).

Also, shop around! Here in Florida, I have seen AFF courses priced as low as $1100 and as high as $1700. It might be worth the money to travel to a DZ that is a bit farther away and make a week/10 day trip out of it (most DZs have a bunkhouse or camping for cheap-as-free).

Good luck!
Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward.

Accidents don't just happen. They must be carelessly planned.

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Would u say 6 months is the norm, im a cheap and frugal kinda guy so 25 in 6 months sounds like alot but whoknows once i take the first jump



I wouldn't say there is a "norm"... some people get their A license in a month, others take a year. The faster the better, and you're definately better off saving up for a few months and getting them done in less time than waiting weeks/months between jumps. It'll be a lot easier on your mind and nerves, and reduces the odds of repeating jumps.

Unfortunately, "cheap" and "frugal" do not describe skydiving students. I don't want to discourage you, but it is a reality that the first year of getting into the sport will cost several thousand dollars. I would budget a minimum of $6,000 for your first year to get you through your "A" license and purchase good used gear and other miscellaneous equipment. After you have those things out of the way it gets a lot more affordable and if you can only spare $100 once or twice a month you can still do a reasonable amount of jumping and have fun. There are also opportunities to earn some money on the side at most DZ's to help pay for the habit.
"Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

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Here's how I did it, which I found to be pretty good.
First weekend, I only did the first jump. I kinda wanted to just savor that and not work on going any further.
Next weekend, go back and plan on doing 3-4 jumps per day (assuming you can afford this). I think you'll find that after 3-4 jumps, your body's going to be going through some weird shit, as your adrenaline levels have been jumping all over the place, so trying to do more than that becomes counter-productive. Either way, if you're able to get in 3 good jumps on each day that weekend, you'll be done with AFF and on to solo status.
Once you're on solo status, just show up every weekend you can and do as many jumps as you feel comfortable doing and can afford. Depending on weather, it could take a while, but you'll get there.
As far as the question of the first jump being tandem or AFF, that's really a personal thing. If you're pretty sure that you won't have any issues getting out of the plane for a solo freefall, then it's fine to go with AFF first. If you're worried that you're going to go up in the plane and then get scared in the door and forget everything you've learned and freak out, Tandem is a good way to break your brain into the concept of jumping out of an airplane.
Welcome to the sport and good luck!

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I suspect the answer to my question is hiding somewhere in the threads already here, but I get side tracked pretty easy with the wealth of info here, so I thought I'd just ask----How/where do you go about getting good used gear when you live in rural Idaho? Thanks, Pat
"safety first... and What the hell.....
safety second, Too!!! " ~~jmy

POPS #10490

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Pat,

You can start on the dropzone.com classified for gear. This will give you a benchmark as to availability and pricing. Your closest gear store or the larger stores have online shopping. Please be careful. Get an opinion of an experienced jumper to prevent scams. Go through a rigger if possible.


Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, Shouting "...holy shit...what a ride!"

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Unfortunately, "cheap" and "frugal" do not describe skydiving students. I don't want to discourage you, but it is a reality that the first year of getting into the sport will cost several thousand dollars. I would budget a minimum of $6,000 for your first year to get you through your "A" license and purchase good used gear and other miscellaneous equipment. After you have those things out of the way it gets a lot more affordable and if you can only spare $100 once or twice a month you can still do a reasonable amount of jumping and have fun. There are also opportunities to earn some money on the side at most DZ's to help pay for the habit.



This is a great post. Spot-on. When I first got into skydiving, I budgeted for my student jumps...but didn't even THINK about gear. It really hurts when you reach that realization of "Hey, I can jump more than once in a day"...which then progresses to, "Hey, I want to jump as many times as I can in a day!"...which quickly progresses to, "Damn! Gear rental fees are eating me alive!!!"

Be sure and budget a few grand for some used gear in addition to your student jumps. You can find used gear for cheaper...but best to plan for more and have extra cash onhand that can go back into your jump fund (which you'll find empties pretty quickly). ;)

As it was, I waited until I had about 50 jumps or so before I could finally afford gear. I wish I had planned ahead, because once you get that license, you'll want to be at the DZ every weekend...and it sucks when you don't have the cash. It's an expensive sport to get into...but once your basic gear is taken care of, you can proceed at your own pace.
Signatures are the new black.

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I think you'll find that after 3-4 jumps, your body's going to be going through some weird shit, as your adrenaline levels have been jumping all over the place, so trying to do more than that becomes counter-productive.



For some of us, 2 jumps got to that point. Just get that first jump in, then see how you feel.

But going out less than every couple weeks is probably going to slow progress down a lot. At least the weather picture at Elsinore is pretty decent in winter.

Regarding sales tax - none on the AFF jumps or regular jump tickets, but many DZs in CA are charging it for videos, or including it in the end cost. I believe the fact that you get a product at the end makes it taxable in our state. Other states vary - seemed like one threatened or did make even jumps taxable.

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hello. My name is Clayton i am 22 years old and have always wanted to jump out of a plane, until last week seemed more of something i wanted to do now its turned into something i must do lol. The other week got surprised with some time in a wind tunnel and since than the want to actually go skydiving has taken over. Right now my plans are to jump early jan 08 kind of a start the new year off with a bang.

Got some questions hope i can get some help with.

Are taxes added to the costs listed online? Like it says something like 329.99 is that what i will pay or is it going to get a boost from taxes.

I have never done a tandem jump and kinda just want to bypass it and go right into the aff courses, is that cool?

How long does it usually take people to finish all of the aff courses? How long did it take you?

If i were to say do my first course in jan and say my second a few months later and my third in another month or two will i have to retake all the courses again? How long does an aff course last without having to retake?


Any other newbie pointers you want to shell out go for it.


329.99?
are you sure you arent dealing with some scam website?
where are you planing on jumping? go to this link and find your drop zone and call that number.

the price you see is the price you pay. taxes are included in 99 percent of the price listings.
329.99 is very expensive for one jump.
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329.99 seems to be what its running around me in socal. Both elsinore and perris are about the same for the first aff jump.

How much does gear rental usually cost, after i grad?



Yes, welcome to LA. 4 years ago it was only slightly better in NorCal at 300 for the FJC+AFF1. I think the rise to 330 happened recently.

20-25/jump is typical for rentals. Both Perris and Elsinore have full day rentals that make sense if you're doing at least 4 jumps a day. Square 1 at Perris (and likely Elsinore's shop as well) has a very good rent/buy program that favors the frequent jumper who is committed to buying a rig.

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