Hello which course to take

[tvo7 0]

Hello I am i houston and thinking about taking the classes to jump by myself. There are 2 DZ's near here. Each one has different way of teaching skydiving. One is the traditional AFF where 1 st jump you go out with 2 instructors and progress o your 25th jump all for around 2k. The other one is a litle more expensive but you have to do 2 tandems first and then jump 3 is where you jump out with 2 instructors. This class is a little more expenive. By the way, the latter class only requires 20 jumps. Which on would you all pick?

[WatchYourStep 0]

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This class is a little more expenive. By the way, the latter class only requires 20 jumps. Which on would you all pick?

Rookie jumper so remember that when reading my post. According to the SIM you need to have 25 jumps in order to get your A license.

http://www.uspa.org/publications/SIM/2005SIM/section3.htm

Scroll down to Section E.

"You start off your skydiving career with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience up before your bag of luck runs out."

[FrEaK_aCcIdEnT 0]

im just starting out and i do my second jump next weekend. the first and second i chose to go the tandem route. reason being i just want to get the feel for it b4 i have to worry about controling everything. Im a newb but id go with the 2 tandem and then the aff course. good luck with ur training progression and have fun!

ExPeCt ThE uNeXpEcTeD!
DoNt MiNd ThE tYpOs, Im LaZy On CoRrEcTiOnS!

[AggieDave 6]

Where in Houston are you?

It is possible to go through a tandem progression, getting state of the art teaching techniques and saving a few hundred dollars getting through the minimum 25 jumps for the USPA A-license.

If you'd like, drop me a PM and I can explain what I'm talking about in greater detail as well as answer any questions you may have about training progressions and such.

Oh, by the way, the 20 jumps does not get you your A-license, to get your license from the USPA you have to make a minimum of 25 jumps, period.

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

[brianemerson 0]

I took the course at the second DZ (Spaceland). It is a 20 jump program. You should complete everything on your A card by your 18th jump. If you mess up a few of the jumps they have a few "students choice" jumps built in to cover things you will need to repeat. If you don't mess any of them up then they can work on the other things during those jumps. That is what I hear anyway because I had to do a few of them twice and still graduated in 20 jumps. As far as the cost goes, a couple hundred dollars is not that much of a difference in the long run. As Aggie Dave said the 2 tandem jumps at first help get you used to freefall and the canopy flight I felt the 2 tandems help prepare you for your 1st jump with your own parachute and lets you enjoy your 1st skydive. You have an expert that can get you to the ground safe in case you have sensory overload and forget everything.

I would suggest going to both DZ's stay for a couple hours and see which one you like best. See if the students are jumping or if they waiting for the instructors to get a few more tandems out of the way. Look at the planes, gear, facilities. Talk to some of the current students, other jumpers, instructors and the DZO. Ask as many questions as you like. Ask the DZO if you can do a couple jumps to see if you like skydiving (it isn't for everyone) then pay for the rest of the program at the discounted pre-pay price. Find out the cost of gear rental.

You will probably acheive the same end result at either place for close to the same cost. See which place makes you more comfortable and treats you like a person and not just a number.

[tvo7 0]

brian: What made you decide on skydive spaceland over skydivehouston? Did you visit skydive houston also?

[brianemerson 0]

I didn't visit either one before I made my 1st jump. But I did look at their websites, call each of them and look at the pricing information. Then I did a Tandem at Spaceland and was hooked after that.

As I said earlier you will achieve the same end result at either DZ. I was in favor of the tandem progression due to the fact I was scared to death for the 1st few skydives. I also liked the 20 jump program vs the 8 aff levels because it felt like the instructors were able to customize the jumps depending on what I needed to work on.

I have friends that have gone through training at other DZ's. They each have a different feel to them, so choose whichever one makes you more comfortable.

[brnnncrzy77 0]

i am doing static line and i think it is going to be a great way to go and cheaper

u werent flying, u were falling with style

[kelpdiver 2]

If you're not sure of your commitment to the A license program, do a tandem first, at either place. It's a much smaller initial time investment, you can get some in air training that the first jump course just can't do, and it's a chance to evaluate the staff.

Just be sure to indicate that you want this to be a training jump and not just a ride.

Don't prepay for a package at a DZ until you've done a jump there.

[AggieDave 6]

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i am doing static line and i think it is going to be a great way to go and cheaper

Nothing wrong with the SL progression, that's how I learned 5 years ago; however, even though its cheaper per jump (generally speaking) I've noticed that it takes students longer to get all of their jumps in for their A. Remember, its 25 "freefall" jumps (drogue fall counts) for your A license, but you do get to skip your 2 hop-n-pop jumps required for your license.

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

[Amanduh 0]

I went through training last year at Spaceland as well. It is basically a call you have to make on your own. Like Brian said, go check out both places. See where you feel more comfortable at and go from there. ASK QUESTIONS.

One thing I really liked about the 20 jump licensing course, was that unliked AFF that when you complete your levels you are released to jump with a coach or solo up until 25 jumps (A license), Spaceland had 1 on 1 instructor/student up until jump 20 where each jump was video'd for free and debriefed. I didn't have to go solo on my 13 jump or whatever because no coaches were available, etc. I only had to worry about that for 5 jumps or so. Personally....it made me feel that I got more out of my training..

Both DZ's are great. You need to do all the research you possibly can, and go with your gut.

Wish you the best!!!

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[kelpdiver 2]

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Remember, its 25 "freefall" jumps (drogue fall counts) for your A license, but you do get to skip your 2 hop-n-pop jumps required for your license.

SIM says "a. completed 25 jumps."

Wasn't freefall the requirement before 2003 when it was 20?

[larsrulz 0]

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Nothing wrong with the SL progression, that's how I learned 5 years ago; however, even though its cheaper per jump (generally speaking) I've noticed that it takes students longer to get all of their jumps in for their A. Remember, its 25 "freefall" jumps (drogue fall counts) for your A license, but you do get to skip your 2 hop-n-pop jumps required for your license.

Got your facts a little screwed up there. Check out the Proficiency Card to see it is in fact 25 skydives not freefalls. From my coaching experience, rarely does a student take more than the 25 jumps to complete their A-license via static line unless they have accuracy problems. The freefall skills necessary are not a problem to obtain in 25 jumps of a static line progression.

I got a strong urge to fly, but I got no where to fly to. -PF

[tso-d_chris 0]

Unless USPA has changed the definition, neither a static line jump, nor an IAD jump is considered a skydive, as the parachutist does not deploy their own canopy. They are instead classified as parachute jumps.

[AggieDave 6]

Hey folks, thanks for squaring me away. That requirement changes in the past little while and I overlooked that.

Thank you for the correction.

"And now I know...and knowing is half the battle..."

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