Question about Gear and Advice

[ASullivan 0]

I have made two tandem jumps and am going to start my AFF classes. I am super stoked to start and i wanted to know if any of you experianced jumpers had any advice for me?
I am 6'4 and 190 Gear advice?

[AggieDave 6]

Whoa, hold on there guy.

I know you're motivated, but hold on. The gear that'll be good for you now, you'll hate once you get your license. Hold on till you atleast finished up AFF and get onto Coach jumps and then you should talk to your instructors and the S&TA about gear.

All the advice you hear/see/read on DZ.com should be run through your instructors first, there's a LOT of bad info out there.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[ASullivan 0]

Ok i won't worry about gear until i finished AFF.
Do have any advice for me on my jumps?

[AggieDave 6]

Sure.

RELAX!

That's the biggest thing you can do. Relax and do what you're trained to do.

Think of a piece of cardboard falling from a building. How does it fly? Your body will fly similary if you get stiff and try to power through what you're doing. If you take a deep breath and relax into your arch, be smooth in your movements, you'll find it MUCH easier to fly your body.


Remember. Talk to your instructors about what you read here before you take it to heart. I tell my students what I just told you, BUT that doesn't mean you shouldn't ask your instructors about it.

Doesn't matter how many jumps they have or who they say they are, don't believe what you read for advice unless you talk to your instructors.

It can give you opportunities to learn different methods and avenues to aquire new information to ask about, though. And more importantly, you meet a lot of cool people on this site.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[ASullivan 0]

Is it common to have to repeat the levels?

[AggieDave 6]

It is not uncommon.

Skydiving is a difficult thing to master, hell, I've got 1400 jumps and I feel like a beginner most of the time. So repeating a level, don't think of it as pass/fail, think of it as an opportunity to fully learn a technique/skill so you have a better grasp of it later in your skyidiving career.

I say it that way because I had to relearn a shitload of stuff I just blew through quickly as a student because I passed everything without trying on the first try. That actually really hurt me later in my skydiving career.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[ASullivan 0]

Thanks for the advive and info i really appreciate it