Now what?

[adventurechick 0]

So I made my 25th skydive yesterday... I need to do one more accuracy jump and I'll have my A! So what really changes when you get an A? I know you can jump in higher winds than 14 mph... but I fly such a big canopy and shouldn't jump in high winds. Is it encouraged to stop renting student gear once you get your A? How did your jumps change when you got your A??

PMS #449 TPM #80 Muff Brother #3860
SCR #14705 Dirty Sanchez #233

[Fast 0]

Your A, in the US, means that you can jump with other skydivers. You can do solo jumps. Mostly it means you are the only person who technically has to look out for you. I am sure there are other jumpers around who will look after you some because thats how cool this sport is. It should mean that you are proficent enough to go make a skydive and know what to do. How to check your gear to be safe, how to spot, how to handle problems. Think about the things they made you do to get your A and what that means you now know how to do.

I started jumping with new and different people when I got my A. I kept the groups small and the goals targeted. Set some goals, decide what you want to get good at and seek out some people who are willing to jump with you and help you get good at them.


gear wise, well that depends on your DZ. I am guessing you have to pay to rent gear. That cuts into money that you could use to jump or buy your own gear. I think its important to get gear as soon as you can afford to do so and keep jumping (once you get an A). Every dollar you spend renting is a dollar that you can't spend on your own gear.

~D
Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me.
Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

[skymama 37]

Get that last jump done, come up to the Palatka boogie this weekend and you'll find out!

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

[Spatula 0]

Boy if that's not motivation to get your license done, I don't know what is!?!?! A personal invite from Skymama!!!!

Congrats on the upcoming "A"! Well done!

[adventurechick 0]

I so wish I could... but I'm working open-close saturday and sunday.... any cool boogies coming up in june/july/august that I can go to with an A??

PMS #449 TPM #80 Muff Brother #3860
SCR #14705 Dirty Sanchez #233

[skymama 37]

I think you can probably go to most of the boogies out there as long as you don't need water training. I'd probably wait a year to go to WFFC, just because there are so many people there under canopy at the same time. Other than that, check out the Events Forum and the Calendar on the site. Figure out which ones sound good to you or which ones have people going that you'd like to meet up with and just GO! It's so much fun to travel around to different dz's and see how the other folk live. If you don't have your own gear yet, contact the dz before you go to make sure they have something that you can use.

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

[jumpergirl 0]

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any cool boogies coming up in june/july/august that I can go to with an A??

Come to SkyFest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[AFFI 0]

Rental gear, borrowed gear, buy gear (and beer) - for goodness sake, just keep TRAINING and jumping right?

Unless of course the elements are not jumper friendly - never jump in weather outside of your means and never let someone talk you into doing something in freefall you are not ready for etcetera....

Unless of course, you totally feel like it. Then you might get flowers and balloons....


Yay, Balloons!

[TMPattersonJr 0]

skip out on work!!! Or at least try to trade with someone... You're not going to have any fun knowing all the skydives your missing out on!!

JMO

Blue Skies

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www.PLabsInc.com
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[bwilling 0]

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Is it encouraged to stop renting student gear once you get your A?

You should consider purchasing your own gear as soon as you're at a canopy size that you want to stay at for a while... until that point, renting probably makes more sense.

Once you're at a canopy size you want to stay with for a while, it's certainly possible to find some nice used gear, jump it for the next hundred jumps or two, and then resell it when you're ready to downsize. If the net loss on that gear is less than the expense of renting would have been (and it usually is), you come out ahead financially.

And you've also had the benefit of jumping the same gear week in and week out, and that's personally something that I like and value. Good Luck!

"If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

[peek 21]

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I'd probably wait a year to go to WFFC, just because there are so many people there under canopy at the same time

Andrea,

This type of statement is extremely frustrating to those of us intimately familiar with Convention.

Yes, if a person goes there without a good attitude there are dangers that may exist that would not exist at their home drop zone.

If they expect to jump all day and make a lot of jumps, they will probably jump at some point where there are a number of canopies in the air, but no more than at a drop zone like Skydive Arizona or Skydivce Chicago when they are busy. (I never see anyone make a post suggesting that someone not go to a dropzone.com boogie!)

More importantly, if a person chooses the time period in which they jump, like early in the morning, they can be on the only load in the air.

Furthermore, AFF students jump at the Convention! It is extremely interesting to me to observe their attitude about canopy control. Since they have learned there, they know from the start that they must be observant, unlike those who have learned to jump at their local "safe" drop zone.

There is something for everyone at the Convention, literally.

Please do not discourage skydives from going there. It is unfair to them.