At the end of the month, I'll be making my first tandem jump for my 34th birthday. It was a spontaneous decision. Maybe I'm going through some early midlife crisis. Anyway, I'm an anxious guy and this is way out of my comfort zone--I'm pretty terrified, but that's all part of the package. Do you guys have any suggestions on making your first jump awesome?
I should be dropping out of the plane between 5-6 Chicago time. I want to make the most out of this jump; a zen-like, truly in the moment experience. I've already had three weeks to think about my jump, so I've been reading a lot of articles on the sport and watching a lot of tandem and AFP videos.
The more I read and watch, the more respect I have for the sport. If I enjoy skydiving, I'm fully prepared to join an AFP program to get my A license. My only goal for my first tandem is to enjoy myself, maintain body position during free fall, pay attention to the altimeter, and to open the parachute myself.
If this might be a good outlet for me, I'll go ahead and schedule my second tandem, with the intent of obtaining my A license. The DZ offers a program in which you can obtain your A license within a week. It looks like an intense course. Which comes to my second question: What are the pros and cons of getting your A-license within a week, vs. spreading out the classes over a longer period of time, maybe a couple months?
Eight more days until I make that first jump and I'm getting excited. Thanks for the advice.