First Jump: AFF or Tandem?

[CupCakeBatter 0]

Im going for my first just this weekend. I was planning on the AFF for my first jump, however, some schools are telling me that isn't smart and I should tandem first.

Some input and advise would be great from all.

thanks,

CupCakeBatter

[Tink1717 2]

It really doesn't matter. The only real advantage that having a tandem under your belt does is give you an introduction to the freefall environment. For some first timers, that environment can be overwhelming and distracting from the tasks necessary to complete a good first jump. Tandems don't count toward your license as far as skills go, but they do count toward the total numbers you need for your license.

Good luck.

Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off.
-The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!)
AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

[jheadley 0]

I'm an AFF instructor at a DZ that allows your first jump to be AFF. When I started I was skeptical of how well the students would do but most of them actually do very very well. I'm a believer now that it's not a big deal to do AFF first provided they have decent physical strength, flexibility, and mental capacity.

If you want to experience the real thing, do AFF.

[Glitch 0]

I'm no instructor, so take my advice with a grain of salt along with ALL other advice you receive on these forums.

There's pros and cons to this question...

By doing the Tandem first, you'll likely drop a few dollars more initially (by virtue of paying for both a tandem and the AFF course) but you'll have some experience to draw from on your first AFF dive, especially with regards to canopy control and what it feels like as you approach your landing. ***but only if your tandem instructor knows you'll be doing AFF so you receive the appropriate instruction, versus just being taken for a ride***

As far as it 'not being smart' ...I call bullshit. There's no safety issue with doing AFF without a Tandem first. There's thousands of folks that have done this. It almost sounds like their more interested in $$$ than creating another skydiver (but in their defense, they are a business which means that's what they do... try to make $$$ ...a business is a business to make money.)

The above is my opinion only... YMMV

Randomly f'n thingies up since before I was born...

[ryanl2006 0]

I did aff with first without a tandem and am very glad I did. In my opinion this is the way to go if you are sure you want to get into the sport not just jump once. Most dz's that I have been to since being a student require doing a tandem first though, so what do I know.

[breadhead 0]

AFF

[Peej 0]

My first jump ever was an AFF jump, i so badly wanted to skydive and in fact had my heart set on doing a tandem. Then one of my mates who was a jumper and who knew that i would dig it said not to bother with the tandem, just do the first jump of an AFF course. And here i am.

Advertisio Rodriguez / Sky

[TALONSKY 0]

I will go against the general opinion on this thread and suggest that a tandem is the way to go. When doing a tandem you have the time to really just enjoy the feeling and not worry about anything. We will instruct you on freefall body position, canopy control, and landings but in the end you only really need to do two things to make a successful tandem skydive (say "yes" when asked if you are ready to skydive and pick your feet up when landing). The other things a good instructor can fix.
AFF is the first jump to get your license to skydive and as such you have a curriculum in freefall. While during the first jump the preformance critiria is not overwhelming it still is a jump where you have to concentrate on the curriculum instead of just kicking back and enjoying the feeling of freefall.
Kirk

[MarkM 0]

Depends on what you want out of the experience.

Tandem:

- Don't want to spend 8 hours in ground school.
- Don't really plan on getting your license(you just want to try it out).
- You don't want the added stress of being completely responsible for dealing with emergencies, etc etc.

AFF:

- You think you may not want to do just 1 jump, you really want to give the sport a go.
- You want the responsibility of being totally in control of your skydive. If you have an emergency, you'll live or die based on your training and decisions.

A Tandem is certainly safer than doing an AFF jump, but then staying at home and not jumping at all is safer yet. If you just want to experience free fall and be able to say "I did that", then do a tandem. They're great for that and there's nothing wrong with going that route.

But if you want to get a much more in depth intro into the sport(7-8 hours of training), be 100% responsible for the jump, and are thinking about giving skydiving a serious try, then you might as well do an AFF jump.

[ladyhawke 0]

I concur. Do a tandem first and embrace all the sensories! Then concentrate on learning how to skydive.

"It is our choices that show what we truly are far more than our abilities." - A. Dumbledore

[cjsgrlsx3 0]

I would say tandem first. I think it was a great benefit. Ask to wear an alti and see if they will allow you to pull. See if your dropzone has a tandem progress course. Mine did not but I still did 6 before my first AFF jump! I do not regret it one bit!

[skybytch 259]

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- You don't want the added stress of being completely responsible for dealing with emergencies, etc etc.

Yeah. God forbid anybody should take responsibility for themselves. Especially someone who thinks they want to be a skydiver. Note - this is not a dig on Mark, it's a dig on how tandems are marketed and performed at most dz's.

To the OP - Don't go for an amusement park ride, go for a skydive. Do AFF. Even if you only do it once. When you land you'll know far more about the sport, the gear and yourself than anybody who does a tandem will.

[MarkM 0]

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I concur. Do a tandem first and embrace all the sensories! Then concentrate on learning how to skydive.

I've known people who were completely fine on their tandems, were heads up, pulled the ripcord and what-not then did their level one AFF and completely froze up from the door on out. Mentally I think there's a big leap between being strapped to some guy with 8k jumps and doing it on your own.

And really the price of a tandem is the same as repeating a level 1 AFF jump, so you could do your level 1, get overloaded and have to repeat and be no worse off financially than if you did a tandem first.

I've known some really good places that do tandem progression, sort of a mix of tandem jumping and AFF, and it's a really great program. But like Skybytch said, many places(even ones with really good AFF instructors) treat tandem jumps like an amusement park ride.

[TALONSKY 0]

I have talked to quite a few AFF solo students after their first jump and when asked what they thought of skydiving, most responded that they thought they could have done better.
After taking over 700 tandem students most of their response on the ground is jumping up and down and saying that is the best thing they have ever done (oh yeah, the permagrin too)Kirk

[DocPop 1]

FWIW - I did 4 SL jumps and then the AFF course (after a gap of 17 years!).

No tandems and I intend to keep it that way (probably the control freak in me - I would not want to go pillion on a motorbike either)!

"The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls."

~ CanuckInUSA

[Fast 0]

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I have talked to quite a few AFF solo students after their first jump and when asked what they thought of skydiving, most responded that they thought they could have done better.
After taking over 700 tandem students most of their response on the ground is jumping up and down and saying that is the best thing they have ever done (oh yeah, the permagrin too)Kirk

That is because on an AFF jump you have to do things. You are responsible for yourself. A tandem is just a thrill ride, there is no investment in it. It doesn't matter how much you do "wrong" on a tandem if all you want to do is have some fun.

~D
Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me.
Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

[HeadCone 0]

I just wanted to throw my vote in for doing a tandem first since that's what I tell anyone who tells me they're interested in skydiving. It's just as good of a jump as any other and a great way to make a first jump since you don't have to worry about doing any student drills. Of coarse there's added cost so there's nothing wrong with going straight into training. I'll let the experts debate whether or not doing a tandem first is a help or hindrance to training but I really doubt it makes all that much of a difference.

--Head

--
Turn off the internet! Join Citizens United Negating Technology For Life And People's Safety!

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[skybytch 259]

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I have talked to quite a few AFF solo students after their first jump and when asked what they thought of skydiving, most responded that they thought they could have done better.
After taking over 700 tandem students most of their response on the ground is jumping up and down and saying that is the best thing they have ever done (oh yeah, the permagrin too)

And which ones come back the following weekend to do another jump?

[kelpdiver 2]

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I have talked to quite a few AFF solo students after their first jump and when asked what they thought of skydiving, most responded that they thought they could have done better.
After taking over 700 tandem students most of their response on the ground is jumping up and down and saying that is the best thing they have ever done (oh yeah, the permagrin too)

And which ones come back the following weekend to do another jump?

indeed, that was the impetus for me to try again. I just wanted to get to the point where I could 'fall with style.' (I also thought it was one of the best things I ever did, and had a nice happy hour afterwards)

There is a challenge to the soul to do a tandem, but it's pretty easily achieved - suck it up and fall out the door. I didn't think it made AFF-1 any easier for me, either.

Do a tandem if you're on the fence about it all - a full day of ground school, and if unlucky like me, a two week delay because the afternoon winds came up - takes a lot more time.

[moto89 0]

I think it largely depends on what you personally want out of the jump. Is skydiving something you've always wanted to get into? Do you want to feel like you've really accomplished something major? Do you have a desire to pursue the sport and to get licensed? If this is the case I would say AFF is probably the way to go.

If skydiving is on your "things to do before I die" list, then maybe a tandem is right for you. You won't have to focus so much, and you can sit back and enjoy the experience more so than an AFF dive.

It totally depends on what you want out of the experience. Either way it will probably be one of the greatest times of your life! Have you considered heading out to your local DZ before hand to speak with the AFF and tandem instructors? That might be something to consider. Find an instructor that you "click" with and talk to them about it face to face.

Less talking, more flying.

[chrismgtis 0]

I can't see any reason that doing a tandem first would hurt. I did so myself. If anything, I think it helps a lot to at least give you an idea of what to be prepared for without having to do much at all yourself the first time. As they say, better safe than sorry and that's the way I feel about tandems. I don't discourage anyone from trying AFF first, but I do recommend a tandem first since you never know how you will react to falling 120 miles per hour towards the earth. Though, not too many people seem to have a big problem starting immediately into AFF. None I've really heard of.

Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033
Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

[Kiki32 1]

My first jump was a tandem and I couldnt be happier having done it that way. It was a cool ride and once under canopy, the instructor let me do the canopy control check (and even some crazy spins too).

After taking my FJC I noticed that two other people in my class failed their jump. They both had never skydived before. Coincidence? I think not.

I think tandem first is the way to go.

Poetry don't work on whores.

[skybytch 259]

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After taking my FJC I noticed that two other people in my class failed their jump. They both had never skydived before. Coincidence? I think not.

I've seen some people "fail" their level one after doing a tandem or three. Coincidence? Quite possibly.

[Couloirman 0]

I have seen two people pass out on their first tandem jump(well, seen the aftermath on the ground) and after that Id have to say go for a tandem first. Some people would never think they'd get overwhelmed, but then they do and thank god they're strapped to someone to land them safely. In AFF, if you pass out, you still have to land that canopy by yourself so you'd better know you can handle the rush...

[kelpdiver 2]

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I have seen two people pass out on their first tandem jump(well, seen the aftermath on the ground) and after that Id have to say go for a tandem first. Some people would never think they'd get overwhelmed, but then they do and thank god they're strapped to someone to land them safely. In AFF, if you pass out, you still have to land that canopy by yourself so you'd better know you can handle the rush...

I'm not sure they were overwhelmed. The leg straps on the tandem harness are designed to keep that person attached, not to be comfortable. It bites into pressure points and can screw with circulation. I nearly puked on the canopy ride on my first. Once on the ground and the pressure removed, felt fine again.

(though I'll add, this happened on one jump in a rental rig at jump 30 as well)