AFF Landing

[Quake120 0]

Well, this year I'm going to finish AFF (I only have one tandem, almost a year ago... financial issues :( ...I can't wait to jump again!)
The only part I am really nervous about in AFF is the first landing. A few people have said that you can REALLY mess up your landing due to wrong flare altitude because of the ground rush, wrong amount of flare, bad PLF, etc. Any advice? Should I try to slide in on my ass or try to stand it up the first time?
Any suggestions for freefall on all of the AFF levels? I'm also a little bit nervous about the first time I'm alone in freefall.

[pilotdave 0]

You'll get all the advice you need in your first AFF jump course. No need to go into it with any tips from anybody other than your instructors. Doing anything that your instructors didn't tell you is probably the best way to get hurt.

Dave

[NewGuy2005 51]

Whatever you do, don't slide on your ass. You could break your back.

Your feet are your landing gear. Planes don't land with their gear up, right?

[lippy 773]

The best advice anybody online can give you is to listen to your AFF instructors and let them know any concerns you've got.

There's a lot of stuff you're gonna be nervous about. Just trust that your instructors have given you the tools to do the job you're there to do, and remember to have some fun...After all, that's what it's all about

I got nuthin

[billvon 2,406]

> Any advice? Should I try to slide in on my ass or try to stand it up the first time?

Listen to your instructors. They will likely teach you to PLF, which is a way for your legs to absorb landing shock if you flare too high/low. (And if you do really screw up, a broken leg is better than a broken back.) They will likely give you other tricks as well to ensure you flare at the right height and/or land without incident; listening to them is generally your best bet.

>I'm also a little bit nervous about the first time I'm alone in freefall.

By the time you get to that level, you'll be concentrating so hard on the TLO's for that level that you won't notice he's not hanging onto you any more.

[cjsgrlsx3 0]

I was nervous about all of it and still am but it is the best feeling knowing that I listened to my instructors and even better when the first let go of me!

[tdog 0]

It would be wrong for you to solicit basic advice on these forums at this point in your skydiving career. Once you get a few jumps under your belt, these forums are perfect for discovering questions you never knew you had - then finding out the answers you need from people you trust.

I often tell people, "I don't learn answers on Dropzone.com. Instead I learn what questions to ask that I never thought about asking." Once I have a question, I have a few people (some online, some in the real world) that I trust, and we buy a proverbial beer and discuss at the bar.

For you, right now, every skydiving "problem" has a simple answer that will be taught to you by your instructors - to keep the information you will be given manageable. Once you gain experience, the simple answers turn more complex and you will have to research what you want to believe. There are many ways to skin a cat, you will find out.

So, that is why everyone says the "ask your instructors."

But, I can say... I am an AFF instructor and work with many, many first time jumpers... Ya, some of their landings were "comical", but the worst I saw last year was a skinned palm of hand, like a rollerblading mishap.

Why do I say this? Well, don't overthink it. Of the 100 first jump course students I had last summer, none of them were superheroes as their day jobs. They ranged from athletic college students to overweight old-farts. They all survived and a lot had very soft landings on their first try. Those who did not, stood up and brushed of the dust and laughed as if nothing went wrong. Not one of them said, "I regret doing this." Most of them were so happy on landing, they could not concentrate on the small stuff, like walking back to the hangar - instead they were skipping, jumping, running, etc. Getting a complete sentence of words out of their mouth was difficult, because every third word was interrupted by, "that was so awesome."

And - every one of them had the same worries that you do, and they all survived...

So - what you need to do now is - regardless of money - go to the dropzone and start meeting people. When the money, time, or nerves settle, you will be ready to jump.

[mustard 0]

Quote

They all survived and a lot had very soft landings on their first try. Those who did not, stood up and brushed of the dust and laughed as if nothing went wrong.

What he said. It's funny to learn that the things you worry most about before you make your jumps often turn out to be insignificant. I remember a guy whose wife had bought him a first jump. He went through the First Jump Course and worried the whole time about the landing, which was just fine. The freefall was so overwhelming to him, though, he couldn't stop talking about it in the debrief.

He went on to make several hundred more jumps before moving on to some other challenge.

***
DJan

[Sub 0]

See http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=4405



We all survived the landing.