NickyCal

So quick question from a Protec wearer: I like open face, am still a brand new novice, and the small Protec fits me well, so its what I bought. However, I'm hating taking it on and off to deal with goggles and notice that the Benny has a goggle track. I just use the clear soft tube type goggles. Does that goggle track work well enough to bother investing in a second open faced cheap helmet?

Just a quick update that I had my first day at a big drop zone at Skydive San Diego yesterday and it was wonderful. I got in two coach jumps and one fun jump. I crossed off the rest of my in-air coached requirements from my A license sheet. Its amazing how much more you can accomplish from 13K! The setup was so well organized and easy to understand once I had a little talk with the lovely Sarah in manifest. Jumping from the Otter was so comfortable and fun. I was able to finally perfect my dive exits. It was really good learning how to land a pattern at a whole different DZ. Knowing that you *can* do this and it doesn't have to be only at your own airport! That actually builds a lot of confidence, that you have learned something along the way, being able to just jump someplace brand new and land where you're supposed to land without any help. You old timers will laugh at that, but the newbies might get where I'm coming from. And most of all, everybody was just so friendly and welcoming, even to the dork from the Midwest who was wearing her mother's big white tennis shoes (I'd traveled with my Docs and didn't even think about bringing a proper pair of sport shoes!). It was a great day and I accomplished so much. I will be back as a licensed fun jumper with my gear this summer. Can't wait!

I am booked for a full day of coach jumps on Friday. Wish me luck! I'm a little bit nervous and a lot excited! I'll finally be able to get rid of that unlucky 13 over there in my jump numbers!

That's the problem. It will be my first jump in about 50 days, so I'd rather be at altitude with time to regain the feel of free fall. Not to mention totally new gear, and a nice high pull will give me time to mess with that as well (hopefully not necessary, but, you know!). I've also only ever jumped from a 206, so the exit and door will be super different. So many new things to be thinking about that I don't want to add hop n' pop to that list. I'd rather do that from my usual plane with my usual gear at my usual DZ.

Not to leave you all hanging, but I still haven't done one. Our DZ ended up not opening at all for a long stretch (other than Thanksgiving weekend when I was out of town!), so I haven't had the opportunity to give it a go yet. February and March will no doubt bring a few open DZ jump days, though, so I'll let you all know how it goes!

Sorry, I should probably have stated that I'd already emailed the DZ and checked to make sure that it was ok to get out there and continue working towards my license. They said for sure, just make sure to book a coach ahead of time. I didn't realize that some dzs might not take a student, so good to keep in mind. Thanks!

My hope is to come out for two full days, getting four or five jumps a day. I've been working on packing, so with a couple of solid coach jump days, I could be ready for my A quite soon after we open for the season again out here. It may be different in the UK, but once I finished AFF, there wasn't really any more "training program". Its up to me to find coaches and work towards the license requirements. I've had trouble at our little dz finding coaches who could float with me, so I think that doing some coach jumps at a larger dz might be beneficial. Albeit insanely expensive!!!

I am a student at a little tiny Cessna dz in the chilly wintry midwest. Haven't been able to jump since November. I will be home in San Diego for Christmas and am planning to get a couple of good coach jump days in at the San Diego dz. This will be a steep learning curve for me, having never been in the air with more than two other people on a load (we have a max of 5 and usually at least a couple get out at 5k). I will obviously have a nice long talk with my coach/instructors when I arrive at the new dz and stress that this will be a big first for me. However, since I'm an advance planner, I thought I'd also ask you all what would be some good tips/hints and things to really watch out for. What do I need to know? I'm working towards my A, and since we're not really getting many jump days in here in the midwest right now, I'm hoping to get lots of good coaching while I'm home and continue in my progression. Thanks for any suggestions that you guys might offer!

I am in the same position as you are and did a lot of research before also deciding to go for the low priced option. I actually bought a Protec because I knew from using them at the DZ that the size "small" was a nice comfy fit for my head and because they really do provide excellent protection should it be necessary. I wanted an open face for sure, after seeing visor issues firsthand around the DZ. I don't have the skill to deal with something like that right now and have no desire to add complications while I'm still working on the basics. My Protec and I have been very happy together so far. I figure that when I'm much more advanced and feel in need of a fancy helmet (if that day comes), I'll also have a lot more knowledge about what I really want to spend that chunk of money on.

Many thanks for all of the encouragement and advice. I will report back once I've done it. Looks like our DZ is going to be closed this weekend after all (not enough people willing to jump in the cold), so it may be a few weeks off, but I'll let you all know how it goes!

Plan A was the plan. I'd intended to do a couple more stable exits from altitude before I did my first hop n' pop, but with the high this weekend topping out at 30 degrees, I don't know that anybody will be going to altitude (or that I want to!). And I'm not allowed to go by myself yet. I can do solos of course, but I have to be in the plane to altitude with somebody licensed for the spot. I think that I may be relegated to hop n' pop or nothing this weekend.

I am 13 jumps in, working towards my A license, and haven't done a hop n' pop yet. I know, I know. I just love free fall! However, the high temps this weekend are forecast to hit 30 degrees if we're lucky, so I'm thinking that its time to aim low for a little while. So, for a newbie to the 5000 ft exit, what should I know? What are some really important things not to screw up? I've never been great at that darn step exit (though its getting better), so what if I inadvertently do one backflip before I get stable -- do I have time for that? Or is this a big problem? I feel better about my exits now, but is it a problem if I'm not 100% perfectly poised right out of that door? I do get stable quickly, but quickly at 12,000 ft might not equate to the same level of speed required for a successful 5000 ft jump. Nervous? Me? Yep! But I think that this weekend is the big day. I can't put it off any longer. And probably need to suck it up for the winter and get used to the low exits. Thanks in advance for any good words of wisdom and advice on making this another successful part of my jumping knowledge.

Another newbie here who never wants to be in this situation! Why is tracking off early a problem? In my untutored mind, tracking off takes you away from the group. Apparently, not so much. Can you guys give a super quick explanation for us beginners as to how a situation like this might have arisen?

I am heading into my first winter in the sport and have had my first few coldish jumps (I'm in IL, so it will get much worse!). I am wearing the SquareOne gloves with glove liners underneath and have been reasonably toasty so far. The liners have a back pocket where you can fit those little heat packets. I've only used the hand warmers once, but it worked really well and doesn't affect grip or dexterity since its on the back of your hand.

I don't have any practical help to offer, but this thread is *exactly* where I stand right now as well. On both points. I've had three jumps beyond my AFF now, all of them just "fun" jumps with no instruction (still trying to work out the coaching situation for my floaty self). My initial goal is the A license and attainment of the skills required to get there. I'm not really enjoying these solo trips, though of course I love the jump, but I just feel like I went from learning and advancing with every single jump during AFF to sort of being left stranded in this in-between student status. It is definitely very self-directed at this point, but when you've only got 11 jumps, its hard to know where to direct myself! As for downsizing, I've been jumping a 190, but just purchased a great deal used rig at my DZ (with much advice/input form my instructors and its a perfect fit for my smaller frame which has been an issue since day one with the student gear) that has a 170 in it. Obviously, I'm not jumping it yet, but was hoping maybe by jump 20 or so that I'd be good to go. I calculate that this will put my wing loading in around .85, so I'm reasonably confident that it will be a good first rig. Anyway, I realize that I offered no advice here, but I wanted to say "hello" from another student who is in a very similar place.

Just finished AFF and I wear glasses. The regular old bendy goggles fit right over my glasses. For $15 a pair, you can't beat that. If your glasses aren't too big, you probably won't need the boxy over-glasses goggles. The standard cheapies may fit just fine. And they work a treat! Good luck and have fun, fun, fun

As a current AFF student, I have to say that this sounds like a far better program! I definitely have the feeling with AFF that you kind of finish your 7th jump and you're left to it. Find coaches where you can, pay as you go sort of thing. I would love to have had a longer and more structured course.

As a current AFF student, I just want to tell you old pros that having a radio on the first few jumps was incredibly helpful for a newbie. I knew the process in my head, I'd studied the overhead, I knew the numbers and where I was supposed to make those turns -- BUT everything looks very different from the air to what you expect on those first few flights and, personally, I thought that 1000 ft. was going to look a whole lot closer to the ground! Also, where to flare. Yes, you can figure it out on your own, but having somebody yell "FLARE!" on those first few jumps is super helpful in teaching your eyes and mind to recognize that spot. On my most recent jump, I landed with minimal radio input (in fact, I was already doing each of the steps before he gave instruction over the radio, so was annoyed when the instructions came -- "I know! I'm doing it!") and I flared before he said anything (new canopy so technically I flared a bit early, but still landed smoothly and safely). Sure, if there had been no radio from day one, I'm sure that I would have figured it out, but having that radio input for a few jumps made it a lot easier to understand the mechanics of canopy flight and landing. I don't like hearing this, "If you need radio help, then you should take up a new sport!" nonsense. Technology makes life easier and is a wonderful teaching tool. Why not use it where available? Good luck with the rest of your AFF! I'm heading into my Cat D1 jump on Sunday, blue skies permitting

As a current AFF student recently moved on to single instructor jumps (and having the time of my life!), my instructors told me that no, I should NOT pull just because the instructor gets away from me. As long as I am stable, I should continue on with the dive and pull at the correct altitude. Now, I'm a slightly older student, very cool-headed, and required no assistance on my beginning AFF jumps. Maybe it depends upon the student, and hopefully I'm not going to get anybody into trouble here, but they very clearly stated that I should carry out all maneuvers and pull on schedule *as long* as I am stable. Although, we don't have a camera person, so I guess they'd have to take my word for it on the ground that I successfully completed the moves

So now I feel like a tool. I admit to not even considering a tip when I did my tandem. I think that they need to invent an app for my phone that I can point at things and it will tell me if you're supposed to tip or not! We're in farm country Midwest and I wouldn't say that tipping is a big part of the culture here. It honestly never even crossed my mind. A sign would definitely have been appreciated! For those DZ owners who don't like the idea, clueless customers like me do appreciate being reminded when a tip is appropriate.