raps or AFF

[jubeinin 0]

hey guys..

i was just wondering about what you guys thought of RAPS as opposed to AFF...way i see it is do the RAPS get cat 8, then spend the extra grand you save on a shit load of jumps...

does that make sense or am i being a tit?

j

[Sonic 0]

Do you have the money to spend now? If so, do AFF. You will get qualified more quickly than the average person doing RAPS.

I did RAPS, and although it took me a while, I felt after I qualified I had more canopy control skills than the average AFF grad, plus i was a lot happier getting out a lower altitudes. We had an AFF grad at ou DZ who was scared to get out at "only 10,000 feet". I know this doesn't apply to everyone, but still.

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It's like something out of that twilighty show about that zone

[jubeinin 0]

i was hoping you'd say that, as i am just starting RAPS...thanks for your reply mate..

j

if you can't climb, fall.

[Sonic 0]

No worries. You'll get to appriciate your pre-second freefall more after the "dope rope".

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It's like something out of that twilighty show about that zone

[lukepinion 0]

I have never heard of RAPS before? What does that stand for?

[Sonic 0]

Ram Air Progression System - basically starting out on static line, and working up to freefall with long delays, learning turns, tracking etc at later levels.

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It's like something out of that twilighty show about that zone

[dterrick 0]

...sounds like IAD (Instructor Assisted Deployment) - a CSPA alternative to static line progression (never seen a SL rig!).

Certainly sounds like a program using a small piston engined craft for those 3-4k passes ... that's the other thing... you learn SMALL planes and hop'n'pops are your 'basic' jump skill. Stability during short delays with no assistance makes for faster progression later on.

With repeated radio-assisted langing and an altimeter (even for 3k jumps) you can also learn accuracy techniques very early on since the only 'freefall' task is being stable and, once you're stable and gaining altitude on each jump, your canopy skills are alredy reasonable and you may have learned to pack.

When I started late in '01 I'd advanced to 15 second delays. Winter layoff for 6 months and within 5 jumps I was cleared for full altitude (a whopping 9 grand in a C-182). Jump #5 was a cutaway / round reserve ride successfully PLF'd in the middle of the Ex-Air Force Base a la Demo. Did all those 'extra' jumps help me feel in control under canopy? Absolutely! Did it wind up costing more? No, actually cheaper. Would I do the same thing if I had a turbine and 13.5k to fall? Probably.

Dave

Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)