Doing it by myself- question?

[Hiasdamoon 0]

Before anyone says TROLL- I have been signed up here for 2 years, and just read and read, then real life happened....Was enrolled last year for AFF, but due to divorce costs had to back out- this year, I said it would be different....so here is my quick story....have done a tandem years ago, always wanted to get more out of it....

So after 4 weeks of people backing out, and trying to change plans, it looks as though I will have to do my first tandem in 10 years before AFF solo.....I really don't care, but curious, is it more fun when you enter into with friends? Since I have no friends that skydive, will I be that loaner at the DZ all the time? lol

When I was in the service we did tandems before and enjoyed it, gave us all something to talk about......Guess I am just turning to the forums to vent, since no one wants to go lol..

[jake95 0]

you will make friends quick, but you wont be jumping with anyone until u get your A license at around 25 jumps. I tried talking my friends into it without any luck. But hey its their loss. but i feel comfortable hanging at the dz and chatting with everyone before i jump. you will be fine.

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

Is it more fun to go in with people you are already friends with?

Of course.

Will you be "that loner" at the DZ?

Only if you want to be.

SkydiveJack has the sigline "In skydiving there are no strangers, only friends who haven’t met yet. "

You won't be alone for long.

Every time I walk onto a new DZ, I have more friends when I leave than when I arrived.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[Hiasdamoon 0]

Yea Jake- I know about the whole license thing before you jump with anyone, I was merely talking about relating the experience with friends.

Like I said, I guess I don't really care, its my life and you live for yourself, but.....just wondered, I've read so much that I've read everything from low jump class As have a hard time meeting people to jump with to people that will jump with anyone....

I am probably just over thinking it as usual..thanks for the replies!!

[bluetwo 0]

I basically went by myself. My girlfriend talked me into going with her to do a tandem, she'd done 2 at the time and me none, but when we got there she backed out... oh well. She told me to go anyway so I did!

I've been going every weekend since then and even though I'm usually the quiet one I've still managed to make friends with pretty much everyone there.

I'm sure it's true that you'll make friends quickly if you want to.

_______________________________________

[skymama 37]

Welcome to the forums!
By the way, if this was Bonfire, I probably would have had a naughty reply after seeing your subject line.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[ManagingPrime 0]

Did my first tandem with a friend on his 30th...Been doing it myself since then (because he's broke )...while I would like to punk my friend in freefall (soon enough) I've been content jumping by myself. If you have any social skills at all you should have no problem finding people to jump with as it's a pretty popular thing to do around DZ's and if you are a female...fooogetaboutit!

Just do it! I just got off a rant on another thread about how I don't really care for group jumps, but if it's an barrier for you...shoot, I'll jump with you when you have your A.

[Gators1240 9]

I'm in that situation right now, started aff by myself and didn't know anyone at the dz prior to going there. People are very welcoming and I myself am somewhat shy at first but still had no people meeting people.

Although I was unaware of not being bake to jump with people prior to getting my a. Is that a uspa requirement or more of a suggestion? I did a few 3-ways with a British couple last weekend after I finished my aff since I did not know about this and it helped me learn a lot that aff did not teach me, such as how to really control my fall rate within a group (during aff I just maxed my arch and I fall like a boulder)

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

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...to jump with people prior to getting my a. Is that a uspa requirement or more of a suggestion?...

Read your SIM.

After AFF, when you are cleared for self supervision solo jumps, you aren't supposed to jump with anyone but an instructor, coach or instructor-approved D-license holder.

So, depending on what licenses/ratings the Brit couple had, you may have been within the rules.

And yes, jumping with others really helps you learn stuff like that.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[The_Don 0]

Quote

Quote

...to jump with people prior to getting my a. Is that a uspa requirement or more of a suggestion?...

Read your SIM.

After AFF, when you are cleared for self supervision solo jumps, you aren't supposed to jump with anyone but an instructor, coach or instructor-approved D-license holder.

So, depending on what licenses/ratings the Brit couple had, you may have been within the rules.

And yes, jumping with others really helps you learn stuff like that.

Different DZ's have other rules, the Sim is not the end all be all.

I got to be in a 6 way at less than 25 jumps. All big time jumpers.. But you see what I'm saying......

I am NOT being loud.
I'm being enthusiastic!

[absane 0]

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is it more fun when you enter into with friends? Since I have no friends that skydive, will I be that loaner at the DZ all the time?

Join the club. Most people (my self included) went to the DZ alone and started on their own. If you sit around and wait for people to go with you, you might wait an entire lifetime. Few people have the balls to jump from a plane, and even fewer have the balls to do it more than once.

Don't forget to pull!

[scruffy 0]

Quote

Read your SIM.

Obviously from my jump numbers I have no idea what I'm talking about, but I did read the SIM cover to cover and the BSRs state that

" Student freefall training for group freefall jumps must be conducted by... a USPA D license holders provided there is a minimum ratio of one D license holder to one student with a maximum of a 4-way."

So just reading the SIM it seems as though a student fresh off AFF could do a 4-way with two other people with a fresh A given there is someone rocking a D liscense.

Does my reading comprehension suck or is it just not true that you can't jump with "anyone but an instructor, coach, or instructor approved D-liscense holder" as you put it

Peace, love and hoppiness

[Hiasdamoon 0]

I don't think I would have a hard time meeting people at the DZ, was just curious- result of too much reading on here lol...

Thank you all for the replies....don't remember who said it a few posts ago, but I really like that line "if you want for others, you may wait a lifetime"

Thanks again

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

No, your reading comprehension doesn't suck. And low jump numbers doen't automatically mean you don't know what you are talking about (high jump numbers doesn't automatically mean someone does either).

I try to keep my posts as short as possible and sometimes leave some stuff out in the interest of brevity.

There is supposed to be an instructor, coach or D-license on the jump. As you qoted, there should be one "I" per student. There can be others that aren't instructors, ect.

So, again, depending on what ratings/licenses the Brit couple had, you may well have been following the USPA rules just fine.

And, as was pointed out, some places don't follow USPA rules.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[Gators1240 9]

Well they only had a little over 100 jumps a piece so they wouldn't fall into that category. So I guess I wasn't supposed to do it but oh well. The jumps went fine and no ones seemed to mind and it was a huge benefit for me learning to control my levels.

[thrillstalker 0]

Quote

Before anyone says TROLL- I have been signed up here for 2 years, and just read and read, then real life happened....Was enrolled last year for AFF, but due to divorce costs had to back out- this year, I said it would be different....so here is my quick story....have done a tandem years ago, always wanted to get more out of it....

So after 4 weeks of people backing out, and trying to change plans, it looks as though I will have to do my first tandem in 10 years before AFF solo.....I really don't care, but curious, is it more fun when you enter into with friends? Since I have no friends that skydive, will I be that loaner at the DZ all the time? lol

When I was in the service we did tandems before and enjoyed it, gave us all something to talk about......Guess I am just turning to the forums to vent, since no one wants to go lol..

a skydiving day doesnt end till the bonfire is out. hang out after the jump day and bring some beer, friend are easy to make if you make a little effort to get to know people.

"Never grow a wishbone, where your backbone ought to be."

[Hiasdamoon 0]

Well after reading more and more I decided to go by myself today. Screw em!!!

Thanks for the replies...

[pinkfairy 0]

I like a skydiving discipline that isn't so popular where I jump, so now I'm going to the US of A from Norway all by myself to do it.

I like Bigway formation skydiving, and that apparently isn't everyone's cup of tea.

Go follow your dream, you'll meet other people who will like skydiving when you go to a dropzone, and who will want to talk about skydiving with you. Everyone else will not be so interested. But it's about what YOU want to do, not about what impresses your friends, right?

It's a very social sport, all the fun parts depend on finding someone to jump with, I think you'll have no problems finding skydiving friends.

Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet.

I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you?

[d_squared431 0]

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Welcome to the forums!
By the way, if this was Bonfire, I probably would have had a naughty reply after seeing your subject line.

I was going to reply to the OP based on the subject line but I will just say, welcome instead..

TPM Sister#130ONTIG#1
I love vodka.I love vodka cause it rhymes with Tuaca~LisaH
You having a clean thought is like billyvance having a clean post.iluvtofly

[Coreefdiver 0]

I'm no snob, I'll jump with pretty much anyone.. I'm there to have fun, damnit! ;)


when I started years ago, the DZ owner would be involved and make skydiving fun for everyone. If people are not having a good time, they wont come and skydive and if you don't take care of the newbies, they'll go away and you'll be hurting for that one more jumper you need to make a load happen (etc...) ;)

give back to the sport, help others out, I'm sure thats how most everyone else got to where they are.

you'll ID the snobs pretty quick and they usually hang out with their own kind.. which is good, you'll know who to avoid.

DS#727, DB Cooper #41, POPS #11065, SCR #13183, FA #2125, SCS #8306, HALO #309 SRA #5930

[Hiasdamoon 0]

Had a blast today at Skydive Chicago..was interesting to see some of the teams prep for the Nationals.....

Oh yea, the jump was fun as well....great time, wonder how soon is too soon to go back lol...

[Gators1240 9]

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wonder how soon is too soon to go back lol...

In my opinion the only time it is to early is before you repack

[plorensen 0]

Well they probably had their coach ratings then

[Inspired 0]

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Had a blast today at Skydive Chicago..was interesting to see some of the teams prep for the Nationals.....

Oh yea, the jump was fun as well....great time, wonder how soon is too soon to go back lol...

Well hell, why didn't you say you were jumping at SDC? That's where I jump and I've made a few jumps with people with even less experience than me and they turned out great. I'd gladly jump with you too as long as you don't mind keeping the jumps simple and well thought out. You can try out all the crazy stuff when you jump with the D license holders.

One big recommendation that I would make is to take advantage of the load organizers when they're available. SDC Rhythm XP, SDC Furies, and Jetstream Tango all do organizing events pretty often, so take advantage of them whenever you can. It's like getting free coaching and you'll get to meet new people too. Every jump I've done with them has been safe, challenging, educational, and most important, lots of fun. In the future, I plan on scheduling a lot of my jumping around their events. I can't stress enough how much good they're doing for the sport and for me personally! They can do the same for you.

PM me if you want to try to meet up some time. I'll be there the next few weekends if the weather is good, and I love jumping during the week too, so it shouldn't be hard to find each other.

Oh, and another thing... if there's money in your bank account, then it's not too soon to start jumping some more.

[Hiasdamoon 0]

That will be awhile inspired-but will take you up on that next season