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This is actually a huge part of the attraction for me. If I had the choice I would never use an AAD but, for better or for worse, they're now compulsory in a lot of places and sort of "unofficially compulsory" everywhere else. I have an unusual (but not exactly rare) attitude towards life and death and I would actually rather I honestly did have to pull or die each time. Knowing that there's a safety net kind of makes it less beautiful. Do you think many other people have this sort of view or should I keep it to myself? I'd never mention it at the DZ for fear of being grounded as a suicide risk or something silly like that.

Good advice so far. In particular definitely try going to DZ with no obligation or intention to jump. One thing that will make sure your fear increases and becomes more firmly established is trying to force your way past it. That's not how to beat fear, or similar objections to doing things - you have to sneak past it, instead. It's the difference between repeatedly walking into a brick wall, or just walking around it. Also, remember that you don't have to skydive at all. It's a pretty weird thing to be doing, to be honest. If I ever don't want to go any more, I just won't. Simple as that. There are millions of things I don't and never have done and I don't beat myself up over them, either.

I was doing video for some RW jumps, pulling in place above breakoff. One time I dumped but continued watching them fall, hell of shot! http://robert.branzone.com/pics/Cool.jpg Very nice indeed.

Very true, I wish someone had told me this. You'd think it would be in the instructors'/DZO's best interests to get you there and burning up cash as fast as possible, but honestly I had no idea I was supposed to do it quickly. I guess they have too many low-level students to bother chasing them and telling them to gtf to the DZ before they forget how to skydive.

Does anyone know of any videos online that include footage of this sort of thing? There are quite a few with the camera man falling away from someone who just pulled, but how about a camera man under canopy filming others in the air coming down past him?

I went three months between my AFF L4 and my next jump and I got bumped back to L3 - and I needed it! I was terrible. You going ~7 months is pretty bad, I'm not surprised they want you to do it again. Why did you leave it so long - at the time did you not plan to do the other levels or did other things just get in the way?

This was a very strange experience for me today - whether due to my increasing situational awareness or a quirk of the exit order, for the first time today I saw other people falling past me. I was under canopy around 4500ft and watching an early-level AFF trio break apart as the student pulled (presumably around 5.5-6k), then the instructors burnt down past me - seemingly quite close but a safe separation really. They pulled a way below me. That was amazing to watch, a completely new thing to see. On my next jump I was able to watch tandems deploy as well, higher than where I was at the time. Really nice to watch, I liked it a lot. Just felt like mentioning it...

As a recent AFF student we are taught clearly to return to our normal flying position after tossing the pilot chute. This is what I try to do, albeit not very arched as that feels a bit rough on my back if the canopy opens slightly harder.

I reckon I'd have been fine if I got my AFF done quickly, but I took a few months off, fluffed a level and then lost my confidence, which the tunnel restored. Once back in the air I found that actually I was not really any better than I was before, but it gave me the confidence to carry on. Time in the air seems to be worth 10-20x time in the tunnel, at least at my early stage. The flying aspect is relatively easy, but there's so much else going on (real or imagined) in the sky that makes it much, much harder or more complicated. Personally if a friend wanted to do an AFF I'd suggest that a tandem would (presumably) help a lot if they wanted to do something to prepare for it. Otherwise, just do it, and if they need tunnel time then that will become apparent later. But most don't.

Loosen up your feet, ankles and knees under canopy, while you've got plenty of altitude. I also rotate my ankles a bit on my final approach - I hurt one on my very first jump (never went to a Dr about it but it took 3-4 months to feel normal again), and this makes everything feel a lot nicer when I touch down. I'm quite slim naturally (not so much now...) and my joints are narrow and prone to injuries in other cases, so I do have to worry about it. Landing is pretty damn easy, though, all things considered. don't let it worry you too much, and don't be afraid to drop into a roll (well worth practicing) instead of forcing a standing landing that isn't meant to be. It can be a lot, lot safer sometimes to go to ground than try to stick it like a gymnast or something.

Presumably all dropzones are beautiful from the air. Mine is in an unremarkable area of countryside near some fairly unpleasant towns, but it's a wonderful sight when you're up there.

Great stuff

A good number of skydiving instructors do not earn their primary living from jumping. While they do make money at the DZ, they do the work because they want to. I can tell you from experience, it takes real desire to work 12-14 hours per day at the DZ Sat and Sun, and then get up Mon morning for your 'day job'. This, and other similar posts, just seems to conflict with what I've seen at my DZ so far. It's only really open from about 0730 to 1600, and that's stretching it. I don't know how much the instructors earn but the ones I've spoken to don't have another job, and they live in an actual house and eat food they purchased rather than grew or caught. Well of course, yes. I've already started jumping - still very low numbers but now 6-7 months after my AFF L1 I'm just wondering about ways to make skydiving give as much back to me as possible. I'm reluctant to spend too long insisting that I love the students and love the sport and would do anything in the world just to lick the paint on a hangar door. Currently I don't know if I'd like it, but before I commit a HUGE amount of money to training towards it I need to know if it's practically feasible as well. On my ground training day I was jokingly moaning about the cost to one of the staff and he said not to focus on what skydiving costs, but what it can give to you. And he did mean financially/materially - he explained how once he got to 200 jumps the DZ had him do camera work, and then eventually tandems, and so on. Rough figures? Yea, it's definitely very expensive to get into and then not at all secure. *** Despite it all, there are instructors working everyday and new ones in the making as we speak. It's not about the money. Thanks for everyone's replies. I'm just "young" (ish) and in a dead-end job (like everyone else) which I want to leave fairly soon, and am investigating various different possibilities.

Very odd situation - definitely worth thinking what happens if you physically manipulate someone's hand/arm into position. At my DZ some of the student rigs I do my best to avoid because it's a great strain on my shoulder to reach the handle - it feels terrible. I'm not surprised to hear that reaching behind one's back like that, probably quite quickly, can dislocate a shoulder if it's perhaps prone to that. (I'm sure those rigs could be adjusted finely to make them fit me, but the point is that they never were and I doubt many DZs take the time to fit the rig to the student - since one size kind of fits all and it would take a lot of time to sort them out) Also, the way I was shown to reach around for the handle was very stressful to my shoulder, and I later developed my own motion that was much more comfortable.

Don't be ridiculous, everyone wants to earn money from their job and I very much doubt that tradition compromises their safety while doing it. What alternative do you propose, only unpaid instructors who have to work elsewhere as well to make ends meet? Or just instructors who get paid but "totally promise" that they don't even care about money at all?

I do actually quite like teaching - I've taught some hobbies before and I think I have a good manner with people. I'm not very "sociable" and as crazy/energetic as the stereotypical skydiver but I'm calm and sensible and, imo, pretty good at pitching things to different people in the right way. I reckon I'd manage alright. Now, I'm wondering about it because basically I have a pretty acceptable but dead-end job right now and don't want to stay here forever. I live in England and am considering going abroad for a while to see what happens. It's kind of played-out but I know people who have done well for themselves in NZ or Australia, working in mining or farming mostly, and it does appeal. I know there's a lot of skydiving in NZ and it occurred to me that that could be a way for me to make a living over there. I'd have to spend a LOT of money here first of all to get my jumps in and get qualified but it would cost less than most training schemes leading to another job. But tbh if it would only let me scrape by and make ends meet while bumming around at the DZ it probably wouldn't be my thing. My instructors at the DZ earn very good money from what I hear, and they're hardly slaves to the place. I guess the total cost of going from nothing to, say, a TI, would be around £15,000 or more :/

I got that distinct impression from my DZ, yes. There seems to be a pool of instructors, of differing experience and qualifications, and the DZ basically just picks them up and uses them as required. Most days there are 2-3 times as many staff on site than students or club jumpers!

Just a general question here - I'm very new to skydiving and this doesn't concern me directly. I'm wondering how an instructor (of any sort, tandem, AFF, or anything else) becomes employed once their training is complete. Is it, as I assume, that the person will likely already be linked with a DZ (as a long-time club jumper perhaps) and will undertake their training with the blessing of the DZO etc. on the understanding that they would have a job there if they qualify? Or do people do the training and THEN go to seek employment at a DZ much like how people look for jobs anywhere else? Perhaps it differs between countries, as well. Thanks for any info. I'm just trying to see how it all fits together.

I would use a different term. I would go with when did I feel confident in the air. The answer to that was after my first AFF jump without the instructor holding on to me during exit. I botched it a little and ended up falling back down. I instantly and without difficulty flipped myself. After that I had no worries as I knew I could always get into deployment position. Same here, going fully unstable and bringing yourself back gives you great confidence and a sense of control.

I sat in on the introductory meeting of a university student skydiving club. It was being hosted by several of the existing members. One guy who was talking to us at the time showed us his closing pin necklace: "... yea, I wear this to show that I'm a skydiver, that I'm passionate about the sport. It will always be part of me. It means a lot - this thing saved my life twenty times." On that emotional note he handed the floor to his colleague, who began by clarifying, "Cool, well I don't wear one of those because I'm not gay."

I can't give any real numbers BUT I've seen a whole lot more AFF students around than regular club jumpers, most of whom I would recognise by now. I suspect that like most sports, a significant majority become occasional participants (visiting the DZ once per month or less?). It's hard to say. I don't plan to go more than about once per month, primarily because of the cost. I earn about 30 skydives per month, and most of those I need to trade for food and rent. I've done 12 jumps so far. I remember nothing from 1, 2 or 3, basically - absolute blurs. I was overwhelmed and not at all relaxed. Jump 4, level 4, was nice, that's your first one with only one instructor. I remember a lot of it. Unfortunately then I had a long break and my next jump was a bit shit, but after that they got ok again and the big increase in confidence and comfort came around level 5-6-7 and then BOOM, con 1 is amazing. No problem, grinning the whole way up and then just hurling yourself out and watching the plane flying away, seeing that you've got 8000ft to play with and just swimming around in the air. No comment I'm keeping my eyes open for cheap accessories (everything but a rig) right now and will purchase them when I see something at a decent price. I guess until I buy a rig I might as well keep borrowing the other gear because it's all included in the rental cost. Build a wind tunnel?

As someone mentioned earlier, out beyond near-future changes in regulations and so on, as we continue to merge with technology there will come a time when real-life experiences can not compete with virtual ones. This is already happening to a significant extent, with many people preferring to play a computer game than do a similar activity in reality. It won't be long before immersive computer entertainment will trump any physical sport or adventure activity, though.

The theory has been discussed further than I can usefully add to, but if I may offer my practical experience for anyone scanning the thread and wondering what they might feel: As a novice with only ten skydives to my name, I've never felt "that droppy feeling" when leaving the aircraft. The only time I have during the jump is when releasing a strong flare under canopy (high up, not for landing) and when you then surge forward it feels like that. I haven't done any BASE jumps but I have jumped from high bridges into deep water, and I most certainly felt it then.

Sitting cramped up in a tiny plane for 15 minutes, usually in the cold, and then having to leap out and perform quite athletically, is a real demand. I'm in my 20's with a few injuries from sports in my past but I'm in alright shape generally. It must be tough when you get older, for sure. I warm up before boarding the plane, and under canopy I loosen up my ankles and knees to prepare for a bumpy landing.

Nearly everyone I've seen at my DZ on the few visits I've paid it so far wears a jumpsuit of some sort or another. A handful just wear street clothes, essentially. Trousers and a t-shirt, maybe. Those of you who routinely or occasionally don't wear a jumpsuit to skydive, what do you wear and why? Thanks,