AFFI

Problem I have had with the tongue/bite switches is they wear out or break too fast and too easily. The guy that told me to change over to the blow switch had several thousand jumps on the same blow switch. Now I have over 1,200 on mine and it still works fine. I already had enough plugs laying around from my bad luck with the other switches. The experienced camera flyers at the DZ I work at use blows for the very same reason. - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Radio Shack?

My last has been a while too, somewhere around 5 years/2600 jumps ago. I have a good friend that went nearly 20 years of full time skydiving with no cutaways period, then had a tandem streamer a couple years ago. He still has not had a chop on his sport rig, so over 20 years now. No matter how long, always be ready, could be on this next skydive... - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Heh... I am so immature! Duty...

Post Copied From: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2465155#2465155 This is a good question: I trained in AFF as a student, worked some AFF but mostly working at a tandem progression school for over 5 years. Popsjumper is totally correct about the pros and cons list. Like anything, what is best for Joe-blow might no be the best for you. In my limited experience teaching the tandem progression method I see the best results is when a student makes 1 or 2 tandem(s) then takes the FJC (first solo jump course) during the week. Soon thereafter, while everything is still fresh, make a tandem and fly the dive flow for the first solo (Cat A). This is a “working” tandem where the student deploys and is in charge of flying a correct pattern, the instructor is just there to back up the student at this point and will use their discretion as how much to allow the student to be in charge of the tandem. Aggie Dave is right on the money about learning how to "fly" the parachute. Canopy piloting with an expert there with you can really accelerate the learning curve with what has become an overlooked yet very important aspect of our sport -proficient canopy piloting. After landing and debrief, train for and go make your first solo – you will be fresh, you will have gotten over the excitement of the first jump of the day and you will have a real world practice run on your first dive flow. Remember that if you feel you are not ready to pilot your canopy solo you can always decide you need another “working” tandem. I am not giving you a recommendation; I am just telling you what technique I have seen the best results with in terms of student performance, this has been in my experience as a solo freefall instructor at a busy tandem progression school. Fit a little tunnel time if you can, but the tunnel is not a substitute for actual freefall. Out of 500 student jumps I can only think of a couple that absolutely needed tunnel time to proceed. Like Pops said – more attention to detail concerning the landing. - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

What happens when it floats out during deployment and wraps around some of your lines? Perhaps this is not the best place for it eh?

This is a good question: I trained in AFF as a student, worked some AFF but mostly working at a tandem progression school for over 5 years. Popsjumper is totally correct about the pros and cons list. Like anything, what is best for Joe-blow might no be the best for you. In my limited experience teaching the tandem progression method I see the best results is when a student makes 1 or 2 tandem(s) then takes the FJC (first solo jump course) during the week. Soon thereafter, while everything is still fresh, make a tandem and fly the dive flow for the first solo (Cat A). This is a “working” tandem where the student deploys and is in charge of flying a correct pattern, the instructor is just there to back up the student at this point and will use their discretion as how much to allow the student to be in charge of the tandem. Aggie Dave is right on the money about learning how to "fly" the parachute. Canopy piloting with an expert there with you can really accelerate the learning curve with what has become an overlooked yet very important aspect of our sport -proficient canopy piloting. After landing and debrief, train for and go make your first solo – you will be fresh, you will have gotten over the excitement of the first jump of the day and you will have a real world practice run on your first dive flow. Remember that if you feel you are not ready to pilot your canopy solo you can always decide you need another “working” tandem. I am not giving you a recommendation; I am just telling you what technique I have seen the best results with in terms of student performance, this has been in my experience as a solo freefall instructor at a busy tandem progression school. Fit a little tunnel time if you can, but the tunnel is not a substitute for actual freefall. Out of 500 student jumps I can only think of a couple that absolutely needed tunnel time to proceed. Like Pops said – more attention to detail concerning the landing. - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Over the years I have used and tried every type of switch I could find. Then some guy with 10,000 jumps recommended the switch I have used for the last several years. "The Blow Switch" lasted the longest and as been the most durable as well as reliable. So I pass on the advice, the Blow Switch is durable and reliable. - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

With all due respect, Before I became a full time skydiver and had a regular job, I would not accept anyone paying my slot, not even for shooting video of their SCR. I would pay for coaching received, their slot and pack plus tip when I needed to. After I became a full-time skydiver? Maybe at first it was easy to cover my slot, sure, but when my savings ran out a couple years into the adventure things changed. Now? I just couldn’t afford even my own slot to go have a fun jump much less to coach someone. Forget it. It’s tougher than some might think to be a full-time skydiver living on very little just to do something for a period in life they are passionate about. It is embarrassing to ask for handouts like paying my slot but I simply cannot afford the luxury of jumping much outside of work jumps. Night jumps are my favorite and I can barely ever do them because I cannot afford the 2 jump commitment. Last time I made a night jump, it was because a friend insisted - because he said I needed to have fun once and a while and he paid my slots – it was embarrassing to me that I couldn’t afford my own slot. It would seem that this is common (living in poverty) amongst many full time skydivers I have been around. Before you start condemning me for having to have someone pay my slot to coach them, consider the whole picture, try walking a mile in my shoes, having to beg for jumps. I take responsibility for my predicament though, because I choose to live in poverty to be a full time instructor. It is hard to stay rolling with the fun jump crowd when you are amongst the poorest of the poor demographics at the DZ. Ya know that night jump my friend bought for me? A night jump with no responsibility but to relax and have fun might seem like no big deal but it was one of the most memorable jumps ever and I will never forget how much the generosity of my friend affected me for the better. It would not have happened if it were not for him because after 4 years of full time skydiving, I just couldn’t afford to pay my slot for a night jump. It was one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me even though to him the expense was nothing, no big deal, just a couple slots, well it meant the world to me. Thanks Eric… And now, after 6 years of full time skydiving I am sitting at home recovering from 2 major consecutive surgeries on my spine with no income. Just the other week a small group of skydivers helped my wife and me out with a couple months of rent and a little food money. Most of them were full time skydivers and knowing how much they sacrificed from their already limited incomes to help out my wife and me, it just brought me to tears. The kindness was despite the fact that I can sometimes "Be that asshole". Sometimes... We have to make it through another 10 months before I can start working again and we are somehow going to be provided for because like Lisa said: It is embarrassing to admit all this in public, but that is the bottom line truth of it. Honestly, I would not change a thing - some of the most wonderful people I have ever met are skydivers. Really great friends, one of the greatest blessings in my life ever... If you have a full time instructor at your DZ who you think highly of, maybe they went the extra mile to teach you or you learned a lot from them by looking over their shoulder, well, it just might mean more to that person than you could imagine if you bought them a jump ticket just to be nice. If they are as full of pig headed pride like I am they wont take the offer, just do it, dont take no for an answer and deep down they will never forget it. Whenever an instructor is down with an injury, if a hand full of others just put two slots on their account per pay period, it makes all the difference in the world to that person who has dedicated a portion of their life to teach others to skydive safely. I will never forget the generosity a handful of skydivers have extended while I am down with health issues and I cannot wait to get back to where I can contribute back to the community that has been so good to me. Thanks for yet another great post Lisa, _ Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Another great post by the skybytch, well worth reading... I wonder what topics shall arise out of this one? - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

I know a pretty damn good instructor that took about 30 AFF jumps, an another one that took 12 tandems before the first solo! Hang in there, you are just getting started.

I'll second that... Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Confused?

Right, gotcha... Every now and again a natural comes along... - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Wow, you might be a prodigy. Andy raises a good point. I am curious about the "if he could". Which of your TLO's did you not meet in your performance? - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

I understand your frustration... Working in a tandem progression creates the feet up for landing idea that students seem to find difficulty leaving behind. I went out to the DZ on Saturday and just sat and watched the student landings and the vast majority had "feet and legs up" at 100' in preparation for a hard landing. After a feet up tailbone first landing by a low level student that put him out the rest of the day (and possibly to the doctor) he then became very interested in discussing in more detail the PLF landing. We go over it and over it, we practice and what to they do? Feet up for landing... Pain is a great motivator I guess, all you can do is you best to train them properly and hope they don’t get injured while they figured it out for themselves. - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

There might yet be a good hard working and honest person that blossoms out of thief. People change. Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Naw, sounds like you did a good, professional job. Do you think another male instructor would have been less affected by her? I doubt that. Maybe a female instructor would have been a good choice, but I don't know if you had one available. Practicing self control is good for the soul.

Stupid things I have done? Read this thread: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2458894#2458894

Laugh my ass off... Sounds like a ren and stimpy skit...

Blllaaahhhhhh yuck... Having visions of a hairless spelunking hamster. “Sammy the Spelunker” Getting lowered in a bucket, veins on the cave walls that you can see only by the headlamp that Sammy is wearing while he works away mining hairs…

Sounds like you might be flirting. j/k - really - See an oppourtunity, take it... I just feel left out, dont have any male friends that I can talk to about my balls - I want in!

Here is a link to a link to the old guys doing it: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2458413#2458413

Strange thing for guys to talk about, but okay. As a guy, I would recommend stopping at the skin... [Quote]I relate it to the actors in gay porn that I accidentally saw on the internet.... Yet you watched closely enough to notice the shaved nut-sack and dingleberry free chocolate starfish? I would just say that I saw Peter North (the 12 ounce choke) and his were bare. Don’t give skydivers the chance to get you "relating" to gay porn rumors floating around. That would be a hard one to shake.

You can go to the BBB Online to check em out: http://www.bbbonline.org/