general thoughts

[donkeyboy30 0]

When I complete my AFF does this entitle me to be the jump master whilst doing a tandem or do you require higher levels/different licence??

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"What goes up, must come down, but in style"

[piisfish 135]

to be the tandem pilot all you need is your AFF, plus a few more licences, depending where, between 500 and 750 jumps or so... and some ability to talk to passengers.

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[vt1977 0]

In the UK once you have completed AFF, you have to do 10 consolidation jumps and you are then eligible for your A licence.

B licence is awarded after completion of 50 jumps and achieving IC1. IC1 involves packing, basic canopy control, accuracy landings, learning the responsibilities of a jump master and spotting (determining the correct exit point). Once you have a B licence you can JM a load of experienced parachutists (A licence and above).

C licence is awarded on completion of 200 jumps plus one other grade 1 – i.e. FS1 (formation skydiving, relative work or belly flying – all the same thing) or FF1 (freeflying). You can start working towards FS1 as soon as you have finished your consolidation jumps.

D licence is awarded when you have 1,000 jumps.

In the UK, you can go for a Tandem Instructor rating with 800 jumps. I believe it is 200 jumps to become a CSBI (Category System Basic Instructor) and 1,000 to become an AFF Instructor.

If you want more info about progression in the UK – check out/browse the BPA website: http://www.bpa.org.uk/

hth!
Vicki

Edited to add: the licensing system varies quite a lot between countries - this is the current UK system!

[donkeyboy30 0]

Hello again piisfish......

Thanks for that......still have my head in the sky from yesterday.....plus this website is so addictive to

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"What goes up, must come down, but in style"

[donkeyboy30 0]

Hi Vicki,

Thanks for your in depth answer.......by the way have you done a jump at the The London Parachute School yet?

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"What goes up, must come down, but in style"

[vt1977 0]

I've heard of it but never jumped there - I mainly jump at Netheravon and occasionally Headcorn.

Have you decided where and when you are doing your AFF yet?

Vicki

[donkeyboy30 0]

Yeah I'm thinking about going all out and doing it in Spain via the Freefall University, at least the weather will be in my favour and I can get a holiday out of it to, plus met more friends etc.

Alot of people have gone on about Netheravon??, why is that??

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"What goes up, must come down, but in style"

[vt1977 0]

Quote

Alot of people have gone on about Netheravon??, why is that??

It's a nice DZ with nice aircraft, good facilities and a cheap bar! Check out the website Depending on where you live, there is bound to be an equally nice DZ near you
Vicki

[mr2mk1g 10]

What town do you live in? We should be able to tell you which is the closest DZ to you and also which is the DZ we would go to if we were you, (it might not always be the closest).

[donkeyboy30 0]

I live in Witham, which is located in between Chelmsford and Colchester in Essex, I went to Old Buckenham yesterday but that was still a 2hr drive, worth the drive mind.......What ones can you recommend

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"What goes up, must come down, but in style"

[mr2mk1g 10]

Ok, so you have a few arround you. I think you've already found the closest. I've never been there but it sounds like a very small operation. This is the sort of place that needs students to keep them running so if you like it, stay there. You'll get a very personal, one on one style instruction.

If you want something a bit bigger, then there are other places arround. It looks like your considering going abroad to train anyway.

See this map for details of UK DZ's. The rest of the website is also quite a good resource for UK jumpers. http://www.bpa.org.uk/dropzone/dzone.htm

[donkeyboy30 0]

Yeah, I'm considering abroad only because of the weather factor.....I wouldn't won't todo levels 1-6 and have to wait another 2 weeks for the unpredictable english weather until I can complete the levels 7-8......I'd be biting at the bit to get my wings so to speak

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"What goes up, must come down, but in style"

[caz 0]

If you live in Witham the closest dz is probably Chatteris which is north of Cambridge.

~~~ London Skydivers ~~~