Zena 0 #1 July 17, 2006 I am about to attend an AFF-I course in August and I'm really nervous. I've started training for it and have been extremely fortunate to have a handful of exceptional mentors willing to help me prep. If anyone has advice on preparing for such a course, I would appreciate it. Thanks so much! Zena Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jim2752 0 #2 July 17, 2006 What helped me out tremendously was conducting several practice jumps a couple of weekends before the course started. I made these jumps with an evaluator that I knew was going to be evaluating during the course. I also got intimately familiar with the air evaluation checklist in the IRM. It lists the areas in which you will be avaluated in the air. You need to score 75% or better in order to pass the air eval. Also, get the bottom end sequence down cold(altitude signal, pull signal, dock, assist, deploy student). Good luck!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zena 0 #3 July 17, 2006 Thanks Jim. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites tdog 0 #4 July 17, 2006 Quote I'm really nervous. Which course? Which DZ - and any tunnel nearby to practice rollovers and spin stops in? I went thru Bram's course - and have seen Billy's first hand (and evaluated for his coach course this spring)... I would say the first thing is try to replace nervousness with confidence... I know some AFF evaluators will use the nervousness against you - meaning causing you to second guess yourself. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Zena 0 #5 July 17, 2006 RPC. No tunnel nearby. However, I did drive nearly 12 hours round trip about two weeks ago to an outdoor tunnel near Asheville to spend 30 minutes flying slot, giving h&a signals and stopping spins. It was costly, but I can tell the difference after only 30 minutes and I'm glad I did it. The last two weekends, I've been training with evaluators doing dive flow and bottom end stuff. I'm slowly gaining confidence... I've still got a LOT to work on! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites jumpnaked69 0 #6 July 20, 2006 Dont plan on walking into the course with a great handle on everything. That's what I tried to do and I realized, then why the hell am i taking the course? I learned so much in my course that I would love to sit through some more courses in the future. If you've been doing some tunnel slot-flying, practice jumps with evaluators, and have good belly skills, then confidence is all you'll need to put it all together. Good luck with your course, I am sure you'll do great. Who is the course director? Alan oh, and dont listen to anything tdog has to say. he's just trying to get his post numbers up. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Zena 0 #7 July 20, 2006 Thanks. B. Rhodes is the course director. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites SkymonkeyONE 3 #8 July 20, 2006 QuoteThanks. B. Rhodes is the course director. I got my rating from Billy. We had him show up early for a pre-course. There is simply no substitute for doing full speed practice dives with the guy that is ultimately going to pass or fail you in the actual course. As the course you are attending will have lots of active duty guys from "over there", I am sure they are going to have him show up for a pre-course (and pay for it). Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Zena 0 #9 July 21, 2006 I hope to participate in a pre-course, but I work during the day and I'm assuming that the pre-course will mostly cater to the "guys" during the work week. I've been lucky enough to have two of the course evaluators work with me during the weekends, so if I can't participate in the pre-course... hopefully having my ass handed to me on the weekends will pay off a little. Zena Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Gary73 8 #10 July 24, 2006 As has been mentioned, there's no substitute for jumping with an active evaluator. I'd recommend at least twenty jumps (preferably thirty!), and be sure to practice funnelled-exit recovery and rollovers, since those are guaranteed to happen at the course. Also have them practice the in-the-plane stuff with you. It feels kind of dorky doing that, but the practice will help you at the course. Learn the ground-prep stuff and practice that, also. Make sure your routine covers everything required on the evaluator's check-off sheet. Make practice and eval jumps in the suit in which you're most comfortable doing RW. Do lots of RW, but remember that AFF is not RW. You have to be more aggressive in your flying and you must sometimes manhandle the student in the air, particularly during the exit. Get all your course jumps videoed, and as many of the practice jumps as possible. Learn about student jumpsuit selection. An evaluator will allow you to select a suit for him/her that will make it almost impossible for you succeed on the dive. When in doubt, put the evaluator into a fast suit. Learn the hand signals (including the harness shake) and get into the mindset of using them the instant they're needed. Evaluators will generally respond to a clearly given signal, which can save you a lot of chasing. (If only real students did that!) Also get into the mindset of pulling for the evaluator every time (which will be necessary at the course), so have them wear a dummy handle for you to pull. Remember to transfer the dummy handle to your left hand before it's time for you to pull! Remember that most of the stress at the AFF course is self-generated. I did the course twice (both times with Billy) and the difference was like night and day. I simply wasn't prepared the first time, and it showed and created stress. The second time it was kind of fun, and I got to watch all the other candidates stressing over every little thing. Good luck, and let us know how it goes. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Zena 0 #11 July 24, 2006 Thanks Gary! I appreciate your advice. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites crazyboy 0 #12 July 27, 2006 Make a lot of practice jumps with as many different AFF-I as possible, so you will be confronted with a new situation every time you change the instructor. One will be slow, one very fast, one will spin like hell ... AFF is not like normal RW. You have fly very aggressive. Everything is allowed. If the student is to fast, you can use a sit-fly to catch him. The first few times when I let the student go, ie that he can make turns, I stay very close to him. I don't move backwards, I only keep my arms short, so that I don't have to fly forward to stop him. I only stretch my arms and I can stop him. Keep the evaluator busy. Give him handsignals all time. If he is busy with c.o.a., p.r.c.p. or whatever, he probably won't be bored during freefall and won't start spinning an so on. Practice how to stop a spinning student and how to torn him into a belly to earth position. If you have to stop a spinning student, don't try it half-assed, it won't work. See you at ToledoIf your parachute fails to open, remember you have the rest of your live to fix it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites sergant 0 #13 October 4, 2006 Zena, did you pass the cource? Could you share how was it with us? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites SkymonkeyONE 3 #14 October 4, 2006 QuoteZena, did you pass the cource? Could you share how was it with us? As of three weeks ago (last time I was in NC), she had not attended a course. The course she was prepping to go to ended up being a "closed", military-only course. Too bad. I told her to get her ass to a course this winter, somewhere it's warm. Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites popsjumper 2 #15 October 5, 2006 Billy and an evaluator will be here at The Farm in a couple of weeks for AFFI training...both pre-course and the actual course.My reality and yours are quite different. I think we're all Bozos on this bus. Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites sergant 0 #16 October 8, 2006 QuoteBilly and an evaluator will be here at The Farm in a couple of weeks for AFFI training...both pre-course and the actual course. It's gonna be Oct 11 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Zena 0 #17 November 3, 2006 Sorry, I haven't been on DZ.COM in a while. No, sadly I was unable to attend the course since it was made an all-military course (like Skymonkey mentioned) That really sucked because I had trained with the guys and I really wanted to go through with them. I was planning to catch the course at the Farm, but I'm a working woman and couldn't get time off from work. So... I am not and AFF-I. However, I'm going to see if I can catch a course here soon. Also... I've been working on my TI and I have a few more jumps before my probation period. So I guess that's good Thanks for asking guys! I appreciate all your help and I will certainly heed your advice for when I eventually catch an AFF-I course! Zena Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites DALAILAMA 0 #18 November 7, 2006 If you need help with practice dives let me know. I am always willing to help if you want it. "Dropzone.com, where uneducated people measuring penises, has become an art form" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites matthewcline 0 #19 November 7, 2006 Oh sure just 'cause she looks good in nylon! Why not help out an "Eagle" this weekend? Or ya gonna be too busy keeping the rif raf in line?An Instructors first concern is student safety. So, start being safe, first!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Zena 0 #20 November 7, 2006 And how would YOU know how good I look in nylon? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Zena 0 #21 November 7, 2006 Thanks GW! And thanks again for being so patient with me in the TI course You're the BEST Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites matthewcline 0 #22 November 7, 2006 I made a "presumption" based on D-lama's offer, he wouldn't do it for me!An Instructors first concern is student safety. So, start being safe, first!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites SkymonkeyONE 3 #23 November 29, 2006 QuoteThanks GW! And thanks again for being so patient with me in the TI course You're the BEST You will be a great Tandem Instructor! Great personality and plenty-big-framed to do the job safely. Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Zena 0 #24 November 30, 2006 HAHAHAA! That's a new one.... "big framed". I like that... I'm not fat, I'm just big framed Thanks for the positive vibes Chuck! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites DALAILAMA 0 #25 November 30, 2006 With big squishy fun bags to rest the heads on! Love them, I do!"Dropzone.com, where uneducated people measuring penises, has become an art form" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Reply to this topic... × Pasted as rich text. Paste as plain text instead Only 75 emoji are allowed. × Your link has been automatically embedded. Display as a link instead × Your previous content has been restored. Clear editor × You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL. Insert image from URL × Desktop Tablet Phone Submit Reply 0 Go To Topic Listing
tdog 0 #4 July 17, 2006 Quote I'm really nervous. Which course? Which DZ - and any tunnel nearby to practice rollovers and spin stops in? I went thru Bram's course - and have seen Billy's first hand (and evaluated for his coach course this spring)... I would say the first thing is try to replace nervousness with confidence... I know some AFF evaluators will use the nervousness against you - meaning causing you to second guess yourself. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zena 0 #5 July 17, 2006 RPC. No tunnel nearby. However, I did drive nearly 12 hours round trip about two weeks ago to an outdoor tunnel near Asheville to spend 30 minutes flying slot, giving h&a signals and stopping spins. It was costly, but I can tell the difference after only 30 minutes and I'm glad I did it. The last two weekends, I've been training with evaluators doing dive flow and bottom end stuff. I'm slowly gaining confidence... I've still got a LOT to work on! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jumpnaked69 0 #6 July 20, 2006 Dont plan on walking into the course with a great handle on everything. That's what I tried to do and I realized, then why the hell am i taking the course? I learned so much in my course that I would love to sit through some more courses in the future. If you've been doing some tunnel slot-flying, practice jumps with evaluators, and have good belly skills, then confidence is all you'll need to put it all together. Good luck with your course, I am sure you'll do great. Who is the course director? Alan oh, and dont listen to anything tdog has to say. he's just trying to get his post numbers up. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zena 0 #7 July 20, 2006 Thanks. B. Rhodes is the course director. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkymonkeyONE 3 #8 July 20, 2006 QuoteThanks. B. Rhodes is the course director. I got my rating from Billy. We had him show up early for a pre-course. There is simply no substitute for doing full speed practice dives with the guy that is ultimately going to pass or fail you in the actual course. As the course you are attending will have lots of active duty guys from "over there", I am sure they are going to have him show up for a pre-course (and pay for it). Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zena 0 #9 July 21, 2006 I hope to participate in a pre-course, but I work during the day and I'm assuming that the pre-course will mostly cater to the "guys" during the work week. I've been lucky enough to have two of the course evaluators work with me during the weekends, so if I can't participate in the pre-course... hopefully having my ass handed to me on the weekends will pay off a little. Zena Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gary73 8 #10 July 24, 2006 As has been mentioned, there's no substitute for jumping with an active evaluator. I'd recommend at least twenty jumps (preferably thirty!), and be sure to practice funnelled-exit recovery and rollovers, since those are guaranteed to happen at the course. Also have them practice the in-the-plane stuff with you. It feels kind of dorky doing that, but the practice will help you at the course. Learn the ground-prep stuff and practice that, also. Make sure your routine covers everything required on the evaluator's check-off sheet. Make practice and eval jumps in the suit in which you're most comfortable doing RW. Do lots of RW, but remember that AFF is not RW. You have to be more aggressive in your flying and you must sometimes manhandle the student in the air, particularly during the exit. Get all your course jumps videoed, and as many of the practice jumps as possible. Learn about student jumpsuit selection. An evaluator will allow you to select a suit for him/her that will make it almost impossible for you succeed on the dive. When in doubt, put the evaluator into a fast suit. Learn the hand signals (including the harness shake) and get into the mindset of using them the instant they're needed. Evaluators will generally respond to a clearly given signal, which can save you a lot of chasing. (If only real students did that!) Also get into the mindset of pulling for the evaluator every time (which will be necessary at the course), so have them wear a dummy handle for you to pull. Remember to transfer the dummy handle to your left hand before it's time for you to pull! Remember that most of the stress at the AFF course is self-generated. I did the course twice (both times with Billy) and the difference was like night and day. I simply wasn't prepared the first time, and it showed and created stress. The second time it was kind of fun, and I got to watch all the other candidates stressing over every little thing. Good luck, and let us know how it goes. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zena 0 #11 July 24, 2006 Thanks Gary! I appreciate your advice. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites crazyboy 0 #12 July 27, 2006 Make a lot of practice jumps with as many different AFF-I as possible, so you will be confronted with a new situation every time you change the instructor. One will be slow, one very fast, one will spin like hell ... AFF is not like normal RW. You have fly very aggressive. Everything is allowed. If the student is to fast, you can use a sit-fly to catch him. The first few times when I let the student go, ie that he can make turns, I stay very close to him. I don't move backwards, I only keep my arms short, so that I don't have to fly forward to stop him. I only stretch my arms and I can stop him. Keep the evaluator busy. Give him handsignals all time. If he is busy with c.o.a., p.r.c.p. or whatever, he probably won't be bored during freefall and won't start spinning an so on. Practice how to stop a spinning student and how to torn him into a belly to earth position. If you have to stop a spinning student, don't try it half-assed, it won't work. See you at ToledoIf your parachute fails to open, remember you have the rest of your live to fix it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites sergant 0 #13 October 4, 2006 Zena, did you pass the cource? Could you share how was it with us? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites SkymonkeyONE 3 #14 October 4, 2006 QuoteZena, did you pass the cource? Could you share how was it with us? As of three weeks ago (last time I was in NC), she had not attended a course. The course she was prepping to go to ended up being a "closed", military-only course. Too bad. I told her to get her ass to a course this winter, somewhere it's warm. Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites popsjumper 2 #15 October 5, 2006 Billy and an evaluator will be here at The Farm in a couple of weeks for AFFI training...both pre-course and the actual course.My reality and yours are quite different. I think we're all Bozos on this bus. Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites sergant 0 #16 October 8, 2006 QuoteBilly and an evaluator will be here at The Farm in a couple of weeks for AFFI training...both pre-course and the actual course. It's gonna be Oct 11 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Zena 0 #17 November 3, 2006 Sorry, I haven't been on DZ.COM in a while. No, sadly I was unable to attend the course since it was made an all-military course (like Skymonkey mentioned) That really sucked because I had trained with the guys and I really wanted to go through with them. I was planning to catch the course at the Farm, but I'm a working woman and couldn't get time off from work. So... I am not and AFF-I. However, I'm going to see if I can catch a course here soon. Also... I've been working on my TI and I have a few more jumps before my probation period. So I guess that's good Thanks for asking guys! I appreciate all your help and I will certainly heed your advice for when I eventually catch an AFF-I course! Zena Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites DALAILAMA 0 #18 November 7, 2006 If you need help with practice dives let me know. I am always willing to help if you want it. "Dropzone.com, where uneducated people measuring penises, has become an art form" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites matthewcline 0 #19 November 7, 2006 Oh sure just 'cause she looks good in nylon! Why not help out an "Eagle" this weekend? Or ya gonna be too busy keeping the rif raf in line?An Instructors first concern is student safety. So, start being safe, first!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Zena 0 #20 November 7, 2006 And how would YOU know how good I look in nylon? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Zena 0 #21 November 7, 2006 Thanks GW! And thanks again for being so patient with me in the TI course You're the BEST Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites matthewcline 0 #22 November 7, 2006 I made a "presumption" based on D-lama's offer, he wouldn't do it for me!An Instructors first concern is student safety. So, start being safe, first!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites SkymonkeyONE 3 #23 November 29, 2006 QuoteThanks GW! And thanks again for being so patient with me in the TI course You're the BEST You will be a great Tandem Instructor! Great personality and plenty-big-framed to do the job safely. Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Zena 0 #24 November 30, 2006 HAHAHAA! That's a new one.... "big framed". I like that... I'm not fat, I'm just big framed Thanks for the positive vibes Chuck! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites DALAILAMA 0 #25 November 30, 2006 With big squishy fun bags to rest the heads on! Love them, I do!"Dropzone.com, where uneducated people measuring penises, has become an art form" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Reply to this topic... × Pasted as rich text. Paste as plain text instead Only 75 emoji are allowed. × Your link has been automatically embedded. Display as a link instead × Your previous content has been restored. Clear editor × You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL. Insert image from URL × Desktop Tablet Phone Submit Reply 0
crazyboy 0 #12 July 27, 2006 Make a lot of practice jumps with as many different AFF-I as possible, so you will be confronted with a new situation every time you change the instructor. One will be slow, one very fast, one will spin like hell ... AFF is not like normal RW. You have fly very aggressive. Everything is allowed. If the student is to fast, you can use a sit-fly to catch him. The first few times when I let the student go, ie that he can make turns, I stay very close to him. I don't move backwards, I only keep my arms short, so that I don't have to fly forward to stop him. I only stretch my arms and I can stop him. Keep the evaluator busy. Give him handsignals all time. If he is busy with c.o.a., p.r.c.p. or whatever, he probably won't be bored during freefall and won't start spinning an so on. Practice how to stop a spinning student and how to torn him into a belly to earth position. If you have to stop a spinning student, don't try it half-assed, it won't work. See you at ToledoIf your parachute fails to open, remember you have the rest of your live to fix it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sergant 0 #13 October 4, 2006 Zena, did you pass the cource? Could you share how was it with us? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkymonkeyONE 3 #14 October 4, 2006 QuoteZena, did you pass the cource? Could you share how was it with us? As of three weeks ago (last time I was in NC), she had not attended a course. The course she was prepping to go to ended up being a "closed", military-only course. Too bad. I told her to get her ass to a course this winter, somewhere it's warm. Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
popsjumper 2 #15 October 5, 2006 Billy and an evaluator will be here at The Farm in a couple of weeks for AFFI training...both pre-course and the actual course.My reality and yours are quite different. I think we're all Bozos on this bus. Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sergant 0 #16 October 8, 2006 QuoteBilly and an evaluator will be here at The Farm in a couple of weeks for AFFI training...both pre-course and the actual course. It's gonna be Oct 11 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zena 0 #17 November 3, 2006 Sorry, I haven't been on DZ.COM in a while. No, sadly I was unable to attend the course since it was made an all-military course (like Skymonkey mentioned) That really sucked because I had trained with the guys and I really wanted to go through with them. I was planning to catch the course at the Farm, but I'm a working woman and couldn't get time off from work. So... I am not and AFF-I. However, I'm going to see if I can catch a course here soon. Also... I've been working on my TI and I have a few more jumps before my probation period. So I guess that's good Thanks for asking guys! I appreciate all your help and I will certainly heed your advice for when I eventually catch an AFF-I course! Zena Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DALAILAMA 0 #18 November 7, 2006 If you need help with practice dives let me know. I am always willing to help if you want it. "Dropzone.com, where uneducated people measuring penises, has become an art form" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
matthewcline 0 #19 November 7, 2006 Oh sure just 'cause she looks good in nylon! Why not help out an "Eagle" this weekend? Or ya gonna be too busy keeping the rif raf in line?An Instructors first concern is student safety. So, start being safe, first!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zena 0 #20 November 7, 2006 And how would YOU know how good I look in nylon? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zena 0 #21 November 7, 2006 Thanks GW! And thanks again for being so patient with me in the TI course You're the BEST Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
matthewcline 0 #22 November 7, 2006 I made a "presumption" based on D-lama's offer, he wouldn't do it for me!An Instructors first concern is student safety. So, start being safe, first!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkymonkeyONE 3 #23 November 29, 2006 QuoteThanks GW! And thanks again for being so patient with me in the TI course You're the BEST You will be a great Tandem Instructor! Great personality and plenty-big-framed to do the job safely. Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zena 0 #24 November 30, 2006 HAHAHAA! That's a new one.... "big framed". I like that... I'm not fat, I'm just big framed Thanks for the positive vibes Chuck! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DALAILAMA 0 #25 November 30, 2006 With big squishy fun bags to rest the heads on! Love them, I do!"Dropzone.com, where uneducated people measuring penises, has become an art form" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
