New AffI

[loudtom 5]

Within the last 2 hours I have got my signature on my proficiency card and am rated!!!
What a relief and pleasure to join the ranks of those who teach our solo freefall and canopy techniques.
Didn't think I could do it did ya Jen...
Thanks Bram and Elly.
Love and Blues and no wind days,
loudtom AFFI 04

tom #90 #54 #08 and now #5 with a Bronze :-)

[AggieDave 6]

Congrats! That's bad ass. After watching a rating course I am very impressed with what it takes to become an AFF-I.

Bram is one hell of a teacher, I got to watch him when he was in Aggieland teaching a couple of our guys.

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

[rbrcokflichk 0]

way to go!!! congrats....


Those poor unsuspecting students won't know what hit 'em when you're through!!! Watch out girlies....

I'd rather have an awkward morning than a boring night!!!

[bodypilot1 0]

Congrats. Now it time to get nervous again, just like when you were a student.
But this time it's your responsibility to keep them safe.

I still remember how I felt taking my first student up after getting my rating in the beginning of 94.
He was a 232 lb guy on his Level 4 (single Instructor) jump and I was 185 lbs out the door.
His exit was dearched though stable, and I had to give him the arch signal and immediately BEND IN HALF to stay with him after I released him. He did great though......
Enjoy your new rating and if it's not your full time job always keep it safe and be CURRENT.

-

www.WestCoastWingsuits.com
www.PrecisionSkydiving.com

[livendive 8]

Congrats! I just got mine a couple weeks ago and it's a good feeling when you're done. Like Ed says, be prepared to be really nervous when you take up a real student. I was suddenly very glad the evaluators had tried as hard as they did to hose me. Looking at my first student and realizing he would NOT roll to his belly or stop a spin on his own if I hadn't caught him by pull time made me focus even more on being there then I did in the course. I think that's probably a good thing.

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[slotperfect 7]

Congratulations! Welcome to the fold . . .

Arrive Safely

John

[loudtom 5]

My brother in arms Scotty Reedman finished up his course today and is the newest member of the crowd!
Congrats Scotty and can't wait to see you the other side of student one of these days!!
Thanks Bram and Elly again!!
tom

tom #90 #54 #08 and now #5 with a Bronze :-)

[AndyMan 7]

Way to go Tom! Didn't know you were on here. Kudos to Scotty, too.

_Am (andy, the canuck)

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[ostrich 0]

Congrats! Now the students can start really educating you on what it takes.

When I first got my rating I thought I'd never see a student as bad as what we had in Don's course. Boy was I wrong! Just when you relax, that's when they'll get ya!

[MikeTJumps 4]

Allow me to add my congratulations to you.

I've been privleged to be one of the first rated instructors in the 1981-82 series of courses and let me tell you, it is a big kick to see the smiles on the faces of your students when you both return safely to the DZ clubhouse or assembling area.

Mike Turoff
Instructor Examiner, USPA
Co-author of Parachuting, The Skydiver's Handbook

[icemaker 0]

Good job on getting your rating. Now the learning really begins.

I have learned so much from my students. They help me be a better instructor.

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

Thats great! You bear a tremendous responsibility as a rated AFF Instructor, so take the job seriously. I was thrown immediately into the fire the very day I got my rating. I took reserve side on a Cat C1 not one hour after I got the signature on my card. Billy Rhodes was proud.

Chuck Blue
D-12501
AFFI (among other things)

[matthewcline 0]

I'm jealous!

AFF-I is the rating I really want! Only time and Funds keep getting in the way!

Awesome job!

Matt
SE-0299

An Instructors first concern is student safety.
So, start being safe, first!!!

[riggerrob 558]

I still remember how I felt taking my first student up after getting my rating in the beginning of 94.
He was a 232 lb guy on his Level 4 (single Instructor) jump and I was 185 lbs out the door.
His exit was dearched though stable, and I had to give him the arch signal and immediately BEND IN HALF to stay with him after I released him. He did great though......

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Manifest was not very bright.
They would have been far wiser to send you reserve side on a couple dozen two-on-ones to ease you into the program.
Don Balch "USPA includes so many two-JM dives to train the new instructors."

[bodypilot1 0]

Quote

Manifest was not very bright.
They would have been far wiser to send you reserve side on a couple dozen two-on-ones to ease you into the program.
Don Balch "USPA includes so many two-JM dives to train the new instructors."

Unfortunatly all of us didn't start jumping a larger DZ running turbine aircraft. The 1 C182 we had was a busy plane and I was the only other Instructor there besides the owner.
Manifest had nothing to do with the choice of Instructors, nor should they at any other DZ unless given the right to do so with experience and knowledge of whom is jumping with whom.
And you say, Don Balch "USPA includes so many two-JM dives to train the new instructors." ?
It may be a good idea to do some reserve sides after getting a new AFF rating, but I have seen on more than a few AFF 2 Instructor jumps, as a mainside Instructor, my newly AFF rated reserve side not only fuck up the exit, but never even make it back up or in to the skydive!
Babying the newly rated instructor is in my mind a bunch of bulls**t.
IMO, they should have earned that rating at the AFF certification coarse and be ready for ANYTHING given to him after he has it!

-

www.WestCoastWingsuits.com
www.PrecisionSkydiving.com

[sducoach 0]

CONGRATS!

Who was your course director? Did you learn the "handshake"?

Welcome to the world of AFF!

Blues,

J.E.

James 4:8

[loudtom 5]

Hey, Bram Clement came and finished up for
Scotty and I. He is awesome and no BS about it.
Straight out of the book and no f'ed up evaluators to muck things up. When evaluators discount your tandem rating and have an attitude about us older guys, it is time to go to
Bram Clement,,,SkydiveRatings.com
Let's go do some aff!!!!!!!!!!

tom #90 #54 #08 and now #5 with a Bronze :-)

[NoShitThereIWas 0]

Awww, come on LT, I knew you could do it. You and Chop Chop, new AFF-I's. I'm getting scared , just kidding .

Congratulations Tom, you are now a rating hound. When are you gonna get your Riggers ticket?

Just keep bammin it up, LT, you rock!!!

Roy Bacon: "Elvises, light your fires."

Sting: "Be yourself no matter what they say."

[Deuce 1]

I agree with that, Ed.

I've had easy mainsides and reserve sides so far, but no solo's. The mainside level one I had last Sunday tried very hard to kill us both. She was done with the whole script, and had done good PRCT's when I gave her the "toe-tap" signal. She lifted her knees to her chest and looked at her toes and tapped them. This flipped us instantly onto our backs, tossed the reserve side instructor and put us into a flatspin.

And I'm thinking, "crap, this is exactly what Yong did to me in San Diego." Grip switch to do the roll over and soon as I reach across for the hip strap to get her back belly to earth, she arches and twists and now I'm back on my back again. 4500 feet, spinning so hard that holding on to her hip strap feels like hanging one armed from a chin-up bar. I reach her deployment handle, and deploy her when I see blue instead of brown over her container. Her main deploys and I'm under canopy at 1900. The reserve side instructor was head-down diving at us the whole time and never made up any ground. We were freaking hauling.

So, there is no such thing as an "easy two instructor' level.

As I was in that hairball, I was immensly grateful that my instructors had put me in exactly that same predicament before.

The student was like paper, I was like rock.

Thanks Yong Chisholm.