Orange1

I don't think it's having someone watch "officially" but it's a small DZ with the student landing area very close so there always ends up being someone watching. (Acually - maybe it is "official" because we're told not to worry if we land out, someone will always come to fetch us.) The basic standard for landing at this stage is not so much accuracy as safety. The instructor's point in this instance seemed to be that students are nervous enough doing first FF and being more confident in landing makes it less nerve-wracking. Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

[replyYou are the first student I have heard make a comment that seems to support their claim - that with SL you don't move on until the canopy control is ready. lol - and to think i nearly left that bit out cos it was a bit, well, embarrassing Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Do you mean in terms of canopy control? Yes - but they need to be happy with your exit and stability before they let you DRCPs, and then almost 100% happy with those before you freefall. I think I kinda like this, cos when i start doing the various FF tasks I won't be worrying about those, AND the exit, AND (normal) stability, AND flying and landing... Having said all that, what I've picked up with these forums is that almost everyone is most comfortable with what they went through themselves!! I did think about switching to AFF after my first few jumps then decided to stick with SL, for the reasons above. But sure, if it's not gonna bore you all to tears, I can update the progression every so often Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

OK – other posters on the forum have said “go ahead” to stuff like this. To the experienced guys, well yes you’ve probably seen it a thousand times – so don’t read further if you don’t want another long rambling newbie account raving about something that is second nature to you by now

We manage to get first jumpers out of a 207 every weekend

newbie question - when do you realise that what you think is a sniveller is actually a streamer? We've been taught - if there is a problem and it is not improving within 5 seconds, chop Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

seems to me most people will recommend whatever they did... as with lizzieuk most people still start on static line here. (also a bit different here as you need at least 8 SL jumps before you can freefall. and a lot cheaper here at about $25 all-in per jump for students!) one advantage is that your first freefall is the hop-n-pop that seems to terrify so many AFF students! in the end, just go with what sounds right to you - the most important thing is to find a student-friendly DZ where there is enough patience going round to answer the zillions of questions you'll come up with

thanks for that - i was getting a bit confused. on my DZ students are not allowed to wear any jewellery at all when they jump... Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

I was the opposite - had done a number of tandem paragliding flights and this was something I WANTED to do by myself - didn't want to be a passenger anymore. But, I do think tandems pull in a lot of people who wouldn't otherwise jump... And - more selfishly - aren't they the bread and butter of many DZs? Would we all be paying much more for our own jumps if there weren't any tandems? Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

thanks! Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Is a flat turn completely flat? Surely you lose some height? Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

That'll be great - nothing like personal attention :-) Enjoy!! --from another static line/small DZ student Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Where you atart your flare isn't nearly as important as where you finish your flare. we were taught same height because on normal (non-student) canopies a flare much higher than that could stall the canopy and give you a very painful landing? so surely where you start it IS important? [N] Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

thanks and re reserve, I share your view - don't see any reason to go downsizing those :-) mnealtx - thanks for correction, i was talking about getting the harness AND container made up. Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Firstly, let me say that it will be a while before I buy my own kit and yes I will ask the guys on the DZ, but just wanted to get some opinions first. I've been told that i will probably have to get a harness made up for me as I am quite small and it's difficult here to find small second-hand harnesses. I've read the posts about making sure the harness and canopies are compatible etc so I am aware of those issues. My question is, it seems that "everyone" seems to downsize after a year or whatever on their first canopies. What kind of leeway is there in later putting in a smaller canopy than the size it was designed for? Would this lead to deployment problems etc? Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

It was suggested to me to look at the ground at a 45 degree angle - I find this works really well. But I was also taught that if we do flare too early to just keep holding it (this of course is on our "un-stallable" student canopies...) Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

As a newbie I have been guilty of this - but I was also "lucky" early on enough to be in a situation that made me realise that this IS the kind of sport where you can do everything right and things can still go wrong. Luckily I only came out with a few bruises - but also with a lot more healthy respect for the sport. I think it's the safest of the extreme sports, but it IS still an extreme sport... Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

all i wanted was to share with someone how amazing it was to do my first freefall!! (SL so I did it on my own

Aboslutely!! In the absence of our own forum maybe we can set up a little round robin PM grouping Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

I've found people here generally very helpful to newbies. However, where i think a "newbie" section would be nice is for newbies to share how amazing it is to have done certain tasks for the first time which are second nature to the oldtimers

Without knowing anyone involved, this thread has brought a huge lump to my throat. I can only hope that one day I will be worthy of the kind of respect and support in the community that Chris is. Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

sorry shoulda been more specific - the "just ARCH" is meant to be before you pull!! (i.e. prevention better than cure, and all that) Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

So I follow the advice of my one JM who says "just ARCH!!!!" Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

or even just a normal instructor

What is the most common cause of this - bad body position? Spent a lot of time going over the mal (what to do when it happens) with an instructor on the weekend but somehow forgot to ask that question! It really does seem more than any other mal the one you least want to happen. Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.