Tandem vs. AFF instructor preference?

[emmiwy 0]

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I think it's the uniform. Chicks dig that.

And the full face helmet. Mmmm yeah won't disagree with that, it's pretty hot :)

[skybytch 259]

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Tandem only pays $35 per jump.

AFF also pays $35 per jump, but you spend twice as long in ground school.

you do the math.

If how much you're going to make on a particular day is vitally important to you, please stick to doing tandems or video.

AFF students deserve instructors who don't care how long it takes to brief or debrief them. Not instructors who will hurry it along because they would really prefer to be making the same money with far less effort by taking someone who will never come to the dropzone again for a ride.

Not much disgusts me more in this sport than hearing instructors whine when they make less money than another instructor because they "got stuck" doing AFF while the other guy did tandems.

[skybytch 259]

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Not at our DZ bc the non method specific is done by us SI and coaches. Then the AFF gets them for the method specific (roughly the time spent on tandem prep possibly a little longer) then they go.

That's for Cat A. It takes longer to do a good ground prep for a Cat B or higher AFF jump than it takes for a tandem master to meet and gear up their next passenger. Which is all that most tandem masters have to do between jumps.

[Rstanley0312 0]

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Not at our DZ bc the non method specific is done by us SI and coaches. Then the AFF gets them for the method specific (roughly the time spent on tandem prep possibly a little longer) then they go.

That's for Cat A. It takes longer to do a good ground prep for a Cat B or higher AFF jump than it takes for a tandem master to meet and gear up their next passenger. Which is all that most tandem masters have to do between jumps.

Ya that's true... I was just thinking about Cat A.

Life is all about ass....either you're kicking it, kissing it, working it off, or trying to get a piece of it.
Muff Brother #4382 Dudeist Skydiver #000
www.fundraiseadventure.com

[DesertDevil 0]

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To all instructors,

I'm new to skydiving, currently going through the AFF and loving every step! Thank you for everything you do you are all amazing for passing on your knowledge and love for the sport to us just getting into it. :)

I'm not even close to becoming an instructor/getting any kind of rating, but I'm definitely inspired to become an instructor one day. I'd say now I'd like to get a TI rating because I'd like to help people have a good time, and to share the experience of a first timer is awesome [I know I'll never forget my first jump].

The AFF student can be [like me] a lot more serious and performance driven, but I think it'd be awesome to see the progression of a student through the different levels and see them grow the skydive career long term. I think I'll get both at some point... :)

So what do you enjoy more, teaching tandem or AFF students?

Welcome to the skydiving world! My first skydive was July 21, 1987. I like teaching both AFF and tandems. When the time comes, you'll know what you want. Typically tandem instructors make at least 200 tandems a month and AFFIs make around 30-50 AFF jumps, depending on the dz. Both are really fun and both have their scary moments.

[emmiwy 0]

Thanks DesertDevil. :) It's a long ways away but the dream is certainly there. Speaking of scary moments, I have been watching YouTube videos documenting some "oops" moments in AFF jumps. Scary to think about it if it were to actually happen to me, but better to be aware and prepared than naive and unprepared.

[emmiwy 0]

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If how much you're going to make on a particular day is vitally important to you, please stick to doing tandems or video.

AFF students deserve instructors who don't care how long it takes to brief or debrief them. Not instructors who will hurry it along because they would really prefer to be making the same money with far less effort by taking someone who will never come to the dropzone again for a ride.

Not much disgusts me more in this sport than hearing instructors whine when they make less money than another instructor because they "got stuck" doing AFF while the other guy did tandems.

Point well taken skybytch--thanks to you, students like me hopefully will benefit from instructors who truly care about how their students learn how to skydive.

A question that a friend posed to me yesterday: do you think an instructor would intentionally offer "sub-par" instruction, so a student fails his AFF and have to pay for a repeat course? Of course the quality of instruction varies by person, some students do well with certain instructors as opposed to others, etc.

[Joellercoaster 6]

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do you think an instructor would intentionally offer "sub-par" instruction, so a student fails his AFF and have to pay for a repeat course

1) No.

2) Assuming for a moment, for wildly unlikely agument's sake, they wanted you to re-take the level to make some more money. They could just tell you you didn't do something quite well enough to pass, what's a student going to know? Much easier on the instructor that dealing with an inadequately-trained student.

--
"I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan

"You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

[emmiwy 0]

Yeah it seemed like a silly question...I was initially hesitant to ask because I felt all the instructors I've had so far have been incredibly attentive and conscientious [well, the exception of my first I think he was a little out of it after having gone to a strip club the previous night for a friend's birthday or something.]