jimmy_m

Disclaimer: this review is primarily for new/aspiring jumpers. I just got my class a license this summer at SkyDance, and I can't imagine a place would have been much better to do it. The staff are great, and I met great jumpers that I was lucky enough to jump with! The vibe is very relaxed, professional, and safe. Experienced jumpers were always happy to help out, do gear checks, and discuss things with you. Some jumpers even *volunteered* to review safety and gear check with me on the way up for my first solo jumps - they were all very positive and encouraging! The location is beautiful and the weather is great most of the year. It's an awesome place to spend your weekends, and you can even camp out! I did three tandem dives here over the years before I had the money to go for a license, and my instructors were JP (now at Spaceland), Charlie Brown, and Tom - all of them were different, but each experience was great! I felt like everyone had a handle on everything, and the thorough level of safety information had me feeling confident from the ground, to the sky, and back again. My student experience was solid - I had instructors and coaches Kim, Brett, Karl, Jackson, Neil, Charlie Brown, Noah, Eyal, and Douminique. I felt like all of my instructors and coaches were looking out for my best interest. I started with Kim on my FJC and it couldn't have been better! He was extremely thorough with everything from basic safety to malfunctions, dive flow, practice PLF's, radio, and even things like how a three-ring system works so you understand what's going on if you need to cut away. We did a lot of physical practice and rehearsal to make sure the dive went smoothly. Regarding the comments on hostily and mistakes in AFF (dman415, Rickgarner2000) - my experience was completely different. I'd like to know more about what dman415 faced. I didn't make it through AFF without messing anything up, but the only time I was berated in public and/or gossiped about was when I botched up a landing pattern, putting other jumpers at additional risk. As for my other memorable mistakes in AFF and beyond - my instructors wanted me to go to a wind tunnel between jumps B and C because they were uncomfortable letting go of me in free fall. They made an excellent decision! I got the pull signal on cat C because my altimeter was wonky, so we discussed what happened in the air, and my instructors saw what was going on. I didn't pass my Category F coach jump (tracking), so my coach showed me video from his helmet cam, explained to me how to improve, and discussed with me the dangers of poor tracking in group jumps. I went out, did a few practice dives, improved tremendously, and passed the jump later. Never did I feel that any instructor was being rude, out of line, hostile, or looking out for anything other than my safety as an aspiring jumper. If you're nearby and looking for a place to start jumping, SkyDance is where it's at. You even get a free jump ticket when you bring in a tandem, so when your friends stop chickening out you can ride up in the plane with them for free!

As a brand new skydiver who just got a Class A, I'd like to share my thoughts on the matter, while my training is still very fresh in my mind. I understand why a heads-up display would be nice - especially for things like crabbing along during crosswind landings (at my DZ, we always land north or south). Aside from this, though, I'm not sure having audibles is a great idea for students. A major reason I'm opposed to audibles for students is I've already had an altimeter fail on me. It froze on me at 5800 feet on my Cat C, so I executed a landing pattern without looking at an altimeter at all (and was successful, yay). It unstuck itself somewhere under canopy, but at that point I wasn't even looking anymore - why would I trust it? My worry is this - how long would it take for a student to figure out an audible altimeter wasn't working? What are the consequences of a student not knowing their audible isn't working until they're lower to the ground than they want to be under canopy, and haven't made the necessary turns to hit their landing area? I understand some might consider this a special case - altimeters don't fail all that often, right? I disagree with this mindset - we rookies and students need to be the most aware of failing equipment, because we're the ones who take the most time to process and make appropriate judgment calls. I think a visual altimeter is far more easily identifiable as "wrong" than an audible one. A less extreme example of when I wouldn't want to be a student relying on an audible follows. This, and similar situations, have happened to me already: I've done a few jumps today with a consistent landing pattern, but the wind has picked up. On my downwind leg, I realize (a) I will gain much more ground on downwind than I originally expected, and (b) gain a lot less ground on finals than expected. If I don't turn onto my base leg soon enough, I will not be able to clear the trees on finals. I'm below 1,000 feet - no restarting this pattern now. I have a couple options. If I won't cut anyone off, I'll swing out wide on downwind to drop altitude while hitting the same target to start my base leg. Alternatively, if I won't cut anyone off, I can start my base leg above 500 feet. Because I became aware of my too-far-downwind landing patterns early on, I never had to bail to another nearby field to avoid both collisions and trees; waiting for an audible to tell me where I am may have led to a different result. This type of scenario is especially relevant for students, because they're always trying different canopies. Since each jump can be radically different, even in similar weather conditions, I think it's important for students to be assessing the situation constantly in landing patterns. I understand where you're coming from on wanting audibles for students, but I think it's more important for students to introduce them as an aid or a backup after they have mastered landing with visuals alone.

Oy! The manufacturers of the... helmets? harnesses? I would like to know this, as I have gone on three tandem dives and got only a frap hat each time! As far as the student not having an alti - that's also a big no-no! I did notice the left RSL line was out of its channel a bit - not quite where you want it.

I didn't learn this until after two AFF jumps when I went to a wind tunnel! Many men in particular tend to arch their back. My instructor said "No, stand near a wall, and push your pelvis against it without moving your shoulders - that's the arch form you want!" I think that most people who aren't familiar with skydiving technique or terminology assume "arch" = "back" -- I wish more instructors were more explicit about this! Yeah, man! My first two AFF jumps the radio didn't work at all. My third one I had gotten so used to landing that they just didn't have to say anything and cleared me off radio, and that time my alti was busted!

Thanks! For bonus points, I landed on my feet with no alti. As for staying stable, I might throw myself around a bit while learning new moves, so stability is something I can't guarantee above 6,000 feet :)

Hi Everyone, I just graduated my AFF training last Saturday, and made my first solo dive last Sunday! I've been eager to get into skydiving ever since I made my first tandem jump back in 2009, and finally have the time and resources to get into it! During the school year I won't be jumping as much, as my income will drop significantly, but I figure it'll be worth it to knock out the high start-up cost of getting a Class A license now so I can make a cheaper jump or two every couple of weeks, and go with friends! So far, I haven't been deterred by my altimeter freezing on my cat C , or going completely unstable during a front loop on my first solo jump. Skydiving is such a blast, and I fully intend to make it a lifelong hobby of mine!