MagnoMan

Decided to continue to be patient and save up for the STP "A" license in a week thank you all for being helpful!!

Sounds good thanks for your input, I'm in no way saying that I believe that this sport is easy by no means. I know first hand how mentally challenging it is, and the amount of work, and discipline needed while progressing through the course. I don't want you to take what I say out of context which is why I'm asking these questions and why I'm taking this time to prepare before I even proceed to do these jumps. I just want to get some opinions of experienced jumpers on the route I'm thinking about taking, and whether it would be a better trade off to save the money I'd pay upfront, while still being safe, and getting good instruction. Thanks to everyone that is giving me advice and info!

Thanks for the info! I have heard that STP is a really great program, I just wish it wasn't so expensive! I can't wait to be in the skies and working towards my license, so I figure I'll probably go to Sebastian for the course, being that I have the funds to do that relatively soon. Being that I sort of made my own training with half an hour tunnel time, and 3 tandems so far, I feel that I can still get a lot out of the AFF program. Is this ignorant to think or is my thought process more or less accurate? My tunnel instructors say that I'm flying great, so I feel I can take the more expedited route, and just slowly work towards my 25 jumps after AFF. Maybe even talk to the instructors and they can change up the progression/course depending on how well I do. Is this something that is doable or is it a strict curriculum that they follow?

That sounds great! Do I have to have my license or can I go straight after my AFF course?

Deerfield Beach, FL there's a 15 minute drive difference between the two spaceland being the closer one. It's great to live in such a hotspot for the sport, with two great DZs and a tunnel close by. Miami is close by too but I haven't heard anything really about them.

Haha yeah can't lose that again that's for sure!! Spaceland was a great DZ and I will be doing my 3rd tandem there too. I've heard great things about Sebastian also (where I would take the AFF course) quality of gear, staff, not to mention it's off the coast of Florida, and they have a bar which is a BIG plus so I'm sure either DZ would be a good home for me.

I've actually done 2 tandems so far and have one tandem ticket bought (I failed my second tandem due to sensory overload forgot about altitude awareness) so I was planning on waiting til I have the STP money to do my last tandem then book my course. So if I do the AFF I will only need 15 jumps to go, I am very safety oriented which is why I was willing to save up for the more expensive and instructional course. I just lately feel like I am prepared to take the cheaper alternative and just focus on altitude awareness, tracking, and canopy, since I already have turns, forward and backward movement, stability, and speed control (moving up and down on the tunnel). What do you guys think? Also just wanted to state I am aware of taking advice online and will be taking all advice with a grain of salt and probably follow up my decision with my tunnel instructor and see what they say. (I'm doing my last 5 minutes to get up to 30 before doing the tandem and whichever course I choose to do) Thank you guys for helping out in the meantime!

Great read thanks! There were some points in there I never thought about, and will definitely keep in mind when I go do my course!!

STP is the Skydiver Training Program that is Spaceland's version of the AFF program (you need 2 tandem prerequisite to do the course). The course consists of 16 jumps with one instructor and a graduation jump with an additional of 5 jumps in the bank, the first seven jumps are pretty parallel to AFF then the other 9 are basically geared towards your weaknesses and working on your dive sequences. I've heard nothing but good things about the program however, it's pretty expensive ($2400 for the course but it'll get you to the 25 jumps needed for your license). The course helps a lot more with the learning curve instead of just letting you off the leash after just 7 jumps (so I've heard). Just wanted to get some opinions on whether I should go with the more expensive route, after doing the math I would save $400 doing AFF (including gear rentals & the extra jumps needed, but not including coached jumps).

Hey guys newbie here, so I'm kind of stuck between choosing which course I want to take. I currently live in South Florida and luckily I have 2 really great DZs nearish to me. I was pretty set on taking the STP course at spaceland due to the fact that you have 15 jumps with one instructor and it helps with your learning curve. The only problem is that it's expensive! I was willing to save up, and pay it forward because I love the sport so much but I have recently been conflicted. I have since been getting some tunnel time in (25 mins) and getting some more in while I continue to save up. My question is should I go with the AFF course (skydive Sebastian) where I won't have as much instruction as the STP? The reason I ask is because per my tunnel instructors I'm doing great and they even told me I would definitely be able to pass AFF (he is also an AFF instructor). Should I do the AFF and save the money and take the slower route to my license? Or just stick with the stp and get my license in a week but pay more money upfront?

Thank you guys for your input,
Blue skies!!