spud 0 #1 June 4, 2006 I have been doing tandems for the last 6 years, looking at doing AFF rating soon, just wondering what jumpsuit would be best. I am 6'2 and only weigh 176 pounds with gear on. I have no problem going slow. Any comments help. Blue Skies Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mixoligist 0 #2 June 4, 2006 dress for success..... it's that simple.................................. Better you than me .................................. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 558 #3 June 4, 2006 You will need a minimum of three jumpsuits: slow, medium and fast falling. Wear whichever suit most closely matches the fall rate of each student. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AFFI 0 #4 June 5, 2006 Quotedress for success..... it's that simple Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skrovi 0 #5 June 7, 2006 just curious, do AFF I wear different jumpsuite to match each student or they match their fall rate to that of the student. At our DZ AFFI all I see is the instructors wear the same no matter what the student is built like. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tonto 1 #6 June 7, 2006 QuoteYou will need a minimum of three jumpsuits: slow, medium and fast falling. Wear whichever suit most closely matches the fall rate of each student. I beg to differ. I have 1900+ AFF dives and the last 400 odd have been in a pair of Birdman Pantz and a Go Fast long sleeve T. My students have ranged from 44kg (97lb) to 100kg (220lb) and my speed range on my belly from the high 90's to the mid 140's measured on my Neptune. I'm 77kg (170 lbs) and 1.79m (About 5'11") tIt's the year of the Pig. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AFFI 0 #7 June 7, 2006 QuoteQuoteYou will need a minimum of three jumpsuits: slow, medium and fast falling. Wear whichever suit most closely matches the fall rate of each student. I beg to differ. I have 1900+ AFF dives and the last 400 odd have been in a pair of Birdman Pantz and a Go Fast long sleeve T. My students have ranged from 44kg (97lb) to 100kg (220lb) and my speed range on my belly from the high 90's to the mid 140's measured on my Neptune. I'm 77kg (170 lbs) and 1.79m (About 5'11") t Which implies the "Dress For Success" idea varies from instructor to instructor factoring in that instructors experience level. I have seen quite a few instructors in freefly pants and a tee-shirt before they were ready, a time or two; I have seen video where that lack of preparation resulted in an instructor not being able to catch their spinning student, or maybe they just were not interested in dressing for success so they could get some freefly time in with their buddy after the student deployment. Me, I am a fatso and only have around 500 AFF jumps so I have to dress accordingly - probably 90% though I use a standard RW suit, 140 pounds or less I have a slow suit and a freefly suit that I will use whenever I can get away with it because it is the most comfortable. I think because of my build, opportunities to wear pants and a tee in the future will be quite limited. Since I am taking on such an enormous responsibility I choose to do all I can to ensure the students I work with that I will be able to perform at an optimum level, which is my primary obligation. The bottom line is to be there for our students, whatever it takes…Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat… Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rehmwa 2 #8 June 7, 2006 so, are you: 1 - just bragging? 2 - actually think that a new AFFI shouldn't worry about what suit he wears? 3 - trying to emphasize that flying skills are the main thing to develop as an instructor? (revised) ... Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
livendive 8 #9 June 7, 2006 I just wear my medium suit (RW w/ booties) most of the time. I've got a fast suit I could theoretically throw on, but I'm more likely to put it on my student then wear it myself. My two-piece freefly/tandem suit is floppier and thicker, but I'm more comfortable flying slow with booties, so if it's a really small student I'll throw the freefly top over my regular suit. Blues, Dave"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkymonkeyONE 3 #10 June 8, 2006 I generally wear my regular competition bootie suit since I have a lot of range and tons of leg power in it. As I generally fly with my legs on those dives, that's the best suit for me. Lighter students? I have a set of slip-ons I can pull over my lower arms or I will simply pull a sweatshirt over top of my bootie suit. Faster student? I wear my 3/4 length Tony swoop pants and a t-shirt (weather permitting). If it's cold I will wear weights with my bootie suit, but only if they are very large. Also, we have enough instructors at Raeford that we can simply be smart and put the big guys with big instructors and the very-light students with the lightest AFFI's (like me). It all works out to where I rarely get a backache at the end of the day. There is more than enough work to go around these days. We are swamped with AFF and tandems. Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
livendive 8 #11 June 8, 2006 QuoteI generally wear my regular competition bootie suit since I have a lot of range and tons of leg power in it. As I generally fly with my legs on those dives, that's the best suit for me. Lighter students? I have a set of slip-ons I can pull over my lower arms or I will simply pull a sweatshirt over top of my bootie suit. Faster student? I wear my 3/4 length Tony swoop pants and a t-shirt (weather permitting). If it's cold I will wear weights with my bootie suit, but only if they are very large. Sounds about identical to me, except on slow jumps I use a heavy denim freefly top outside my bootie suit instead of a sweatshirt. I also have slip-ons I wear routinely, but I suspect they're more of a rabbit's foot than an actual slow-me-down. Blues, Dave"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tonto 1 #12 June 8, 2006 1. "It ain't braggin'..if ya really done it!" - Don Yahrling 2. All AFF instructors should be mindful of fallrate. I don't think worrying helps much. 3. Be aware of your limitations. I learned mine through failure. Fallrate is variable, and lighter, skin tight, weighted students can easlily escape from tent wearing instructors if they lose stability and fail to recover. In the same way, tent wearing, heavy students can escape from skin tight, weighted instuctors who are pegged to the students "flat" range when the student goes unstable. We are - almost without exception - afraid of the floater, and thus are seldom compromised by one. In my opinion, AFF flight requires 3 primary skills. a) Control of exits b) No contact proxcimity, regardless of fallrate c) Vertical aggression If an AFF Instructor suspects that ANY variable will put the student beyond their range in those 3 categories, pair them up with an instructor more likely to cope. tIt's the year of the Pig. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sky15 0 #13 June 9, 2006 Lucky you with that build. I'm opposite, short 5'3" and weigh about 138 pounds. Also tend to fly with an arch and fall fairly fast. I have two types of suits I've always used for 12+ years of AFF. One is a regular RW suit (not a lot of wing, but not a lot of spandex either and has booties - of course I never jumped booties til I had about 1000 jumps) and a crater body sport suit, basically a very baggy suit, no booties. I used the crater suit the most over the years for any release dives unless they were very fast students, or for small and some "medium" sized students. ETA: Even with your build I'd recommend you have a slower suit on hand and jump it some, and have weights. You will get students at opposite ends of the spectrum and although you should have good range with your build and experience, it makes it easier to have more than one suit. AFF's can redefine your definition of "slow" fall rate. Also, if you haven't ever flown a bigger/baggy suit it may seem funny at first, it did to me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jdog 0 #14 June 16, 2006 Does any one have recommendations for or against swoop cords for an AFF I jumpsuit? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AFFI 0 #15 June 16, 2006 QuoteDoes any one have recommendations for or against swoop cords for an AFF I jumpsuit? Use em when I need em, which is usually cuz I am a fat ass. I have 3 jumpsuits for student skydives, sometimes making the right choice can be a little hit and miss, still kinda climbing the learning curve - always... A fellow AFF-I at the DZ I work at has the really cool "mini" wings that go from just above the elbow and just below the armpit, thinking about getting one built for me, looks like a great idea...Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat… Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
