Namowal

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yesterday I learned, somewhat belatedly, that I was supposed to take and pass oral quizzes corresponding to each jump level.

What oral quizzes? I don't recall that being in Elsinore's AFF (though I went through my AFF 3.5 years ago). If you mean the A license progression skills, you can do those as you continue on to 25 jumps.

I believe they refer to the quizzes listed here.

One of the paragraph at the link says:

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When a student completes the requirements for each category, the USPA Instructor records it on the student's USPA A-License Proficiency Card and Application and administers an oral quiz. Especially in Categories A-D, the student should complete all the objectives of one category before making any jumps in the next.

(emphasis added)

For some reason, I had it in my head that the quizzes (and the card check offs) happened post AFF. so I never expected any. Plus I have had several instructors and nobody threw a former quiz at me (with the exception of my first jump). That being said, the material in those quizzes is more or less stuff we've gone over anyway, sans checklists and signatures.

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Good cartoon again, you are making good progress....

Thanks. I'm afraid I'll have to downgrade "good progress" to mediocre progress- as yesterday I learned, somewhat belatedly, that I was supposed to take and pass oral quizzes corresponding to each jump level.

I only have level "A" signed off! D'oh! Feeling rather stupid about that...

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And just a few jumps ago I was "only" doing simple turns.

It's amazing how time flies, huh? Or to put it more correctly: Amazing how fast you progress
BTW: Sitting in a crammed 206 (three tandems for example) will make you longing for that door to open...

Thanks!
I was supposed to try level 8 today, but it was too windy and cloudy for students all day so I was out of luck. I hope the weather is better next week...

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I love sitting by the door. I would always finagle to be there. That was almost as good as the jump. Watching everything. After takeoff, laying on my tummy with my head hanging out all the way to altitude. It makes me happy, just thinking about it.

I never thought of doing that. I do like to watch the ground fall away out the window. Maybe someday I'll get brave and try your head-out-the door flight.

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So once I started going up in Otters it was like looking at a map instead of looking down at an altitude that you'd actually jump from.

Well, you do have a point there. When I got to AFF levels that included spotting, I thought I'd get dizzy or panicky by actually looking down. But it turned out to be more like "Say, it looks like Google Earth!"

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OP - nicely done! If the rain stays away, I hope to see you around this weekend!

Thanks! I'm keeping my fingers crossed about the weather.

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Great job! Don't worry about the nervousness caused by the door. That's totally normal. The door used to freak me out too, especially when I was the one opening it. Over time I got more comfortable with it and now I have no problem sitting on the floor next to the open door.

That amazes me the way people sit by that open door like it was as benign as a television set. How long did it take to outgrow the door jitters? I think it's a combo of things that trigger it for me- there's the "don't fall off the ledge!" instinct, the noise, the novelty, the awkwardness with the heavy pack and the ever fogging goggles... ...falling out of the plane is a relief!

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Good luck for level 8, though that sounds interesting to me as we only have Levels 1 to 7 in Germany, then students are handed a leaflet labelled "Level 8 - Solo skydiving, what now?" But if I guess correctly your Level 8 should be pretty much the same

At this DZ, level eight is similar to seven, with less flopping around. I think it goes something like this:
Dive exit, front loop, barrel roll, 360 turn, dock on to instructor, release, turn 90 degrees, track away... Yikes! And just a few jumps ago I was "only" doing simple turns.

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Nitpicks:
- "I'll try this level and well see about the others..."
Correction: "Well" should have an apostrophe: "we'll".

- "I was ready to the dreaded level seven."
Correction: Should be "ready to do the..."

Good catch! Thanks.
p.s. Did you notice the flip drawing was missing a strap and the cutaway pillow. I caught the error last night and fixed it... ...only to upload the old cartoon by mistake. D'oh! I take lots of liberties with the equipment, but it still bugs me when I leave out the obvious.

Here's the cartoon about AFF level seven.

Part of me still can't believe I did it... ...or that I'm trying level eight this weekend (weather permitting).

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I'd say its 70% useful in the sense its informative and you feel more part of the skydiving community.

30% makes you go "what the hell are they talking about?"

I've been listening in since my original post, and I have to agree with you. Useful and interesting stuff , but boy, I have a lot to learn.

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Also, to the OP, I am loving your learning-to-skydive blog.

Thanks! I'll be posting what happened for AFF seven later today. Keep an eye out for it.

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It has made me ask more questions and learned from others mistakes.

My work just blocked it so i am going to have to mass download and bring them in now... Mad

Your work blocked it? Bastards!

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#1 - Be nice to the airplane. It gets you safely to altitude. Your "Door Fear" isn't the planes (or the door's) fault.

In all seriousness, I have no plans to kick, slap, scratch, slander, libel or otherwise harm the door or the airplane.

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#2 - For RW purposes, taking "grips", they are "grippers". For AFF purposes, "handling" out of control students (spin stops, roll overs, et cetera) I think "Handles" is perfectly appropriate.
Thanks again, these are wonderful.

You're welcome. Thanks for calling them "wonderful."

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Its so strange to see little kids doing a tandem.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5f6EgWiU_w

Part of me thinks, Oh, that's wrong. The other part thinks, It would have been way easier for me to adapt to freefall (without being frightened out of my mind) had I been exposed to it as a kid.

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Im glad you got the middle finger rather than her front bumper! Look, and be safe(r)

Good advice on the ground and in the sky.

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I can't wait to see the duck get his SCR ceremony.

SCR ceremony? Please tell me that isn't some weird kind of hazing...

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I like it - this episode we got to see you wake up and drive to the DZ NAKED...

I guess it's kinda like Donald Duck with no pants but a shirt - you have a jumpsuit on the skydives

Seriously – I really Love your cartoons… Thanks for putting all the work into them.

Naked!? No wonder it seemed kind of chilly that day!

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This morning I was confronted yet again with trying to walk across a street and a vehicle coming the other way stopped at a sign. So I start walking. Imagine my surprise when I get yelled at...

The rudeness (and stupidity) of some drivers is amazing. Once I was (legally) crossing the street in a crosswalk when someone zoomed right through. Not only did she almost hit me, but she gave me the finger because she had to swerve around me.

The other half of the problem is, yes you have the right of way, but if a car was about to hit you, you weren't paying attention either.

I see it all the time in San Francisco, people just walk across the street without looking both ways first because there's a law.

Well, you have a point there. Stepping into a crosswalk without checking for traffic is asking for trouble. In that instance, I'd waited for traffic to clear before I stepped into the street, but the speeding finger lady zoomed around a corner and tried to flatten me.

edited to add: (Well, I suppose everyone who survives being hit by a car says there weren't any cars coming and that the offending vehicle "came out of nowhere"

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I think she should give the door a little kick while she's climbing into exit position. That'll show him.

I like that idea, but the pilot may have a few things to say about that...

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(Should we tell her the jumpsuit handles are called 'grippers'?)

Grippers? Since they get gripped, they should be called Grip-ees, no?

p.s. At least I didn't call them the "little yellow sleeve thingies..."

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This morning I was confronted yet again with trying to walk across a street and a vehicle coming the other way stopped at a sign. So I start walking. Imagine my surprise when I get yelled at...

The rudeness (and stupidity) of some drivers is amazing. Once I was (legally) crossing the street in a crosswalk when someone zoomed right through. Not only did she almost hit me, but she gave me the finger because she had to swerve around me.

Here's the cartoon about my AFF level Six

Sorry it took so long!

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BTW: Looking forward to your next cartoons. I'm collecting duck stuff (figurines mainly) so I really appreciate skydiving duck stories.

Thanks! I'm still drawing these, but I was crunched for time recently so I'm still working on the cartoons for jump number six. Since posting this I've taken a crack at jump number seven- but you'll have to wait for the cartoon to find out what happened.

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Seriously love the cartoons! I live in the LA area too and hoping to start my AFF soon at Elsinore. !

That's great! Go for it. If they can teach me to skydive, they can teach anyone to skydive!

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Maybe we'll get the chance to jump together once we are both licensed, safe and confident (relatively) skydivers. Keep 'em coming!

I'm sure we'll run into each other. The skydiving "world" is remarkably small.

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Keep 'em coming!

I'm working on the next installment. It may be a few days late (it's been a busy week). Stay tuned!

Also, thanks for the friendly words, Devildog and Joellercoaster!

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Congratulations!

The AFF classes I'm taking have level 8 as the last one, so there's two more for me to conquer.

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Sit flying? I don't think there's sit flying in AFF (at least I haven't done any).

The Flash animated tutorial shows the character exiting in the sitting position (and holding it), but the videos I've seen of students doing the jumps pretty much have them tumbling around until they stabilize with an arch.

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Its level 7 then 2 (completely) solo dives then emergency 5,000 feet exit then exam dive right?
...ohh and the absolute best moment in AFF imo is when you finish the the 2 solo dives.

I believe the solo dives start after level 8, as does the hop and pop.

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What do we care? Whatever happens, we'll get a cool cartoon out of it.

Thanks.

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In the early stages it isn't so much about whether you can do a nice barrel roll or backloop, but whether you can attempt one and then get back nice and stable no matter how the attempt went. That's what's important in progressing you from being with an AFF instructor to doing solo jumps or jumps with coaches.

So the important things are the basics like countering unwanted turns, trusting in a good arch if not belly to earth (rather than flailing at the air), and maybe the roll out of bed technique (IF that's what your instructors teach for dealing with ending up on one's back during roll or loop attempts).

Since I posted the original question I did level 6 and found myself on my back right after exit (d'oh!) I remembered you could roll by bringing one arm in and soon returned to the correct position. I remember thinking, gosh, that wasn't hard at all. Now I'm looking forward to level 7!

This has me curious too. What are the disadvantages of a full face helmet (aside from the "doesn't feel right" factor?)

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I think I was okay in the air because Fear Personified was still up in the plane. He won't go out that door.

It's pretty amazing what you can do when you leave fear behind

Now if I can only figure out how to keep "him" from following me onto the plane. He ruins the ride!

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There are a few from the Great-Soon-to-be-White North who are following the exploits.

Great job on Level 5 and looking forward to the next one!!

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and some in Malaysia as well!

Thanks!

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Congrats, and keep up the good work. Love the aura of calm keeping the fear at bay, and the smiles in the video.

I think I was okay in the air because Fear Personified was still up in the plane. He won't go out that door.

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See you around the DZ!

The last time I was there a few strangers come up to me and say "Hey! Skydiving Duck!" Maybe I'm getting notorious.

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Your feet and lips look much smaller on video.

The wide angle lens does weird things.