samdiggy2

Yeah I've read a lot that you learn a hell of a lot about weather and flying a wing (although I am aware a skydiving parachute and paragliding wing differ in many ways, some basics are the same) with paragliding which can give you an advantage over other students when learning skydiving. For me it's going to come down to convenience and money, but I plan to be either a qualified skydiver or paraglider next year. Either way I imagine i'll be happy to finally be flying haha! I have a paragliding school 15 minutes from me, and live near the sea, which is good for flying paragliders. Cheers :)

Hi, and sorry for the late reply firstly haha! I have considered an AFF in Spain or Cyrpus (ive heard they do the same programme as the BPA). I looked on the freefalluniversity website, which looks tempting too with BPA instructors. And yeah ofcourse even if i did get to the DZ and there was, as an example, high winds allowing for no jumping, i guess theres still lots to learn. And I understand that skydiving is a lot about the community too The only thing is currently in my situation, I dont know if i could make it worth the money (£50 boat plus fuel money and 3 hrs travelling for maybe 1 or 2 jumps a day to start with). I'll reassess my money situation once I have more saved up but am also now considering paragliding as I have 2 schools within 30 minutes of me, and I think the gear is cheaper (plus the flying would be way more convenient for me). If the weather is bad, it's a case of a 30 minute drive home at most, and £5 fuel (both paragliding schools are on my old work journey), rather than £50 lost out on a boat plus atleast 4 or 5 hours wasted. It's a difficult situation I am in but will look into everything in the coming months to see what's possible (never know I might win the lottery next weekend haha!) Thanks for the info anyway, blue skies :)

Thats a good point. I know I wouldnt jump in winds beyond my capability (in the end i'd rather drive home a couple of hundred pounds down, than end up in hospital hurt and with a bruised ego)

I've always thought that even if I cant afford to continue the sport into years of jumps, I could still do the AFF and consol jumps to see what it's like and if it's possible for me. It's great to see you didnt give up - even with breaks you're back into the sport! The only thing that may stop me from getting licensed ASAP is the idea of getting a paragliding license soon (next year) then maybe do my AFF in 5 years time as an example. The reasoning is that I have 2 paragliding schools within 40 minutes of me (One only a 10 minute drive). It's a lot cheaper, and also I have plans within the next 5 or so years to move to the mainland (but still closer to the Island), meaning AFF and jumping would be more convenient. I have written a huge list of pros and cons of me getting my Paragliding Club License or Skydiving A-License and it's a difficult choice (ultimately both are on my bucket list). I think my choice will depend on my money situation next year, but either way I hope to be flying next year in an aerial sport of some kind! Anyway, I really like your quote 'I wont take a single penny to my grave.' Definitely something I agree with! Thanks for the reply and you serve as proof that ignoring people who put your ideas/plans down is a good thing!

Wow thats a long journey and a long day! I imagine it's possible to get more jumps in once licensed due to less weather holds if winds are relatively high. I guess you're right in that you must make the most of good weather days! Cheers

The thought of it being an 'inconvenience' has definitely been through my mind a lot of times, giving how far I am from a DZ. One side of me says 'do AFF as soon as possible'. The other side says move to the mainland (DZ will only then be an hour away, give or take 15 mins for traffic) once I have a more secure job/future/property (im 19 at the moment). I do definitely want to jump solo but I guess I could even start at aged 25 (as an example) and then become a more current 'newbie', jumping more often and that still gives me plenty of time to do lots of interesting jumps in the space of a lot of years. I dont have a goal of becoming the worlds best swooper or wingsuit proximity pilot, I just want to have fun doing some jumps. I think maybe you're right in saying I shouldnt rush into things too early. One day i'll be up there though haha - cheers

I'd hope to book a week off for AFF and although Spain is tempting, i think i'd prefer to learn at the DZ i'd be jumping at most often. Am I right in saying Nethers has the biggest LZ in the country? Can't complain if thats the case haha, I can imagine myself landing off on the first solo jump. Good to hear there is accomodation there, I think that sounds like my best bet. I wish I lived in Portsmouth, would make it a lot quicker and easier getting to the DZ haha!

Yeah I'd hope to get my AFF done in a week or two block, rather than one or two jumps a weekend. I know there is a campsite at Netheravon so it'd save time and money on a hotel if i stayed there.

I think i'd be able to manage atleast once per month, and i imagine i'd be happy jumping at that rate to start out with (I'm not exactly desperate to do competitions, swooping etc asap anyway). If I end up moving to the UK mainland, in say 5 years time, I'd be able to jump more often but that wont be too soon.

A long journey but I guess it's worth it for good weather. I guess I could take a week off or a few days off and go to somewhere like Spain (I believe a lot of UK jumpers do this for better weather and more jumps). I think when I become a new jumper i'd be buying so much beer for 'firsts' or mistakes that I'd have to have a few adult drinks haha, but i'd be sure to make the load in the morning. Cheers for the info!

I think in the UK there is a need to go back 1 level on the AFF course if you dont jump within 30 days (although I hope to do mine within 1 or 2 weeks if weather is good). Then as an A-licensed jumper if i recall from reading a while back you need a recurrency jump every 60 days. Then ofcourse the time-gap goes up with B/C/D licenses. Thats a good point about learning though - I guess it cant hurt learning more about packing, or speaking to other bored grounded jumpers to learn haha!

Hi everyone, I have a few questions regarding jump numbers/how often you jump. I'll try to keep this short as I know people on here dont like big walls of text haha! My nearest DZ is around 2.5 hours away, and that includes a £50 boat and around 1.5-2 hours of driving, depending on traffic. I live in the UK and plan on doing my AFF in 2017 money-allowing, if not, then 2018. The UK weather isnt great, and i'd be able to get a week or two off for AFF, but after could only manage to jump one or two weekends per month. Is this enough for me to remain very current and safe? I'd prefer to avoid recurrency jumps is possible. My closest DZ is Netheravon - I've read about long manifests there - does anyone here have experience of the DZ? I'd rather spend more on AFF than do Static Line jumps. I could learn in 2017 but rent gear for a while, or save for 2018 and buy more gear sooner. Would it be worth waiting a year for more money to buy gear, or just rent for a while? If I only wanted one days jumping, beginning at around 8am, i'd have to leave home at around 5.30am - would it be an issue jumping when tired (relating to safety)? Lastly, is there anyone here that is, or knows of a jumper, who travels far to a DZ and how often do they get to jump - or how much of an inconvenience is it travelling a few hours only for there to be rain or cloud? Sorry for all the questions, Cheers :)

Unfortunately not. If they did i'd hope i was A-licensed by now haha! There is an airport 15 minutes from me that started offering tandems on about 10 days a year, and i did a tandem there last year. They dont offer an AFF or S/L course though- although I plan to do an AFF rather than a S/L course.

Yeah it is, I did a tandem there last year. They only operate about 10 days per year, as the LZ is too small for students. I actually did a trial weekend at GoSkydive in Salisbury and was offered an apprenticeship to learn all about the sport with the intention of becoming a tandem camera flyer then eventually a TI there, but turned it down because of financial reasons (really regret my decision to turn it down!) - but yeah it seems Nethers is the closest DZ to me to offer to train students solo. Thanks for the reply anyway :)

Hello everyone I'm a new member on the forums although have been reading articles and forums for about a year now. I have done a lot of research into skydiving by reading books, articles, and looking at photos and videos. I havent yet jumped solo and am planning to do my AFF next summer in the UK. I live on the Isle of Wight so my nearest DZ is about 2 and a half hours away at Netheravon. I will be able to travel up and jump most weekends so I can remain current and therefore a safer jumper. My question is, is anybody here an active jumper living on the Isle of Wight, or does anybody know someone in that situation? If so, how often do you get to jump? Cheers, and I hope to see some of you jumpers up in the sky next year! PS - Feel free to give me abuse for being a whuffo and I also expect to spend a lot of money on beer when I become a new jumper haha!