I took my AFF course with Kip in the first week of September 2009. I came from a unique background in that i had witnessed a lot of Kips courses as a newbie. I had 120 jumps the first time i saw his candidates go through and at the time, i was in awe. Watching the critique and debriefings made me think that i wasn't going to be able to cut it for a looooong time. Fast forward about 3 years, 500 jumps and a couple hours of tunnel time, a coach rating (also taken with Kip) and i was ready; i hoped. There were several options for AFF courses in my area, but i knew that if i wanted respect from my peers and the best instruction available, I needed to see Kip. I took a week vacation and traveled 850 miles to Florida . The week started with Kip putting us through some pretty "normal" exercises. It got progressively more difficult throughout the week. There was some extra tunnel time during the week and I got to practice spin stops and super-positioning DURING the week. The most impressive part of Kip's instruction is the fact that he has no problem telling you that you aren't ready to be there. He will not waste your time if he doesn't think you can cut it. If he can tell that you do have the ability, he will do everything in his power to help you develop the skills; be it flying skills or ground instruction. I will admit that I failed one ground prep and one ground evaluation. I thought that I could half-ass some of this but Kip recognized what I was doing and he called me on it. With one fail each, I had to be perfect on the re-tries. This gave me renewed focus and a drive not to screw up again. Seven long days later, my partner and i completed the course. I am now 100 percent sure that i can handle what future students will throw at me. I know that the reason people get "bad" students is because they half ass the ground preps (hmmm kinda like what i failed) You can go to an AFF course that will be easier You can go to an AFF course that is cheaper You can go to an AFF course that is closer But you wont be half as good of an instructor than if you see Kip Lohmiller at Air Rage Skydiving Services
