NWFlyer

The overwhelming majority won't do more than one jump. Using USPA licenses as a proxy (admittedly quite imperfect) - they're up in the mid-50,000 range for A licenses; and just issued D-30000 today. That gives you a very, very rough idea of the number of people who get their first license and drop off in the next few years. Of course, many people get an A, B, or C license and never have a need to get a higher license but are still active skydivers. And a lot of people do more than one jump but don't ever get to the point of getting an A license. Still, I think those responses are coming from a good place - I've only been in the sport 5 years and I've seen a lot of people come and go, people who believed they were going to be in this for ever and ever and ever. Skydiving can be a big infatuation for a while, then life gets in the way for an awful lot of people. Doesn't mean that they didn't truly believe it at the time, just means that maybe waiting a while to get the tattoo is well-advised. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

And it's been discussed in General Skydiving for a few weeks... though I know a lot of Bonfire denizens never set foot in the topical forums. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Well, I just got the USPA Update via email (a new newsletter sent to members, apparently). It's official (and I figure since they blasted it in an email to all members, it's okay to post it here): And, more detail from the USPA web site: VERY cool that they had D-1 on the line, too. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

See post #43; since (I assume) you'll be there, you could just buy tickets at the boogie. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

I heard a couple more items showed up on your doorstep today. Velocity Sports Equipment - 50% off a new custom rig United Parachute Technologies - 30% off base price and 15% off options on a custom Vector3 Aerodyne - Three chances to win 25% off coupons for any Aerodyne product Flite Suit - Two 50% off coupons and two 25% off coupons. EG Suits - 3 chances to win a 50% off coupon for a new freefly suit. Larsen and Brusgaard - One Altitrack electronic altimeter, one VISO altimeter. Square1 - Hawkeye camera helmet, blk, med. Alti-2 - 50% off coupon and a 25% off coupon for a new Altimaster N3 Hypoxic - Hypeye D photo kit and Hypeye D Pro camera control kit Performance Designs- 2-liter PD Hydration pack by High Sierra and PD t-shirts. Bonehead - $75 off coupon for any Bonehead helmet. AeroSports USA– A new reserve ripcord & a new cutaway handle DSE - DVD's, Wingsuiting 101, Wingsuiting 102, Canopy Control with Chris Gay, Tandem Videos Made Easy with Chris Warnock. Mirage Systems 2x 30% off base/15% off options on a Mirage rig iFlySFBay 2x 10 minutes of tunnel time Skydive Wings 2x 50% off a Wings rig.

My experience: 1) Repeated some early S/L jumps. 2) Switched to AFF and wound up doing a hybrid AFF/Static Line program 3) Repeated more jumps, did extra jumps, etc. 4) Took 37 jumps to get my A license. Yeah, it costs more but it's not a race. And of the 3 people in my FJC who went on to get A license (both of whom were faster/better students than me) I'm the only one still skydiving 5 years later. Just got my D license and coach rating. I'm still far from the world's greatest skydiver but I figured out a thing or two along the way, and I'm looking forward to working with students now, especially those who may be down on themselves because someone told them "you shouldn't ever have to repeat a jump." I figure I can relate to their experience pretty well. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Damn, I should look into a cheap flight to Portland. I had a blast at this last time I went with you guys! Anyone who's near Portland should definitely connect with Bill & Company. How often do you get to see a greenie in a balloon hat? "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

From http://uspa.org/USPAMembers/Safety/SafetyTrainingAdvisors/tabid/80/Default.aspx Notice that says USPA member, not USPA group member. S&TAs are there for the individual jumpers, not the dropzones. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Have you met the skill requirements outlined on the B license requirements? Then you "deserve" a B license. At 50 jumps, no one expects you to nail every exit, or have flawless fall rate, or be able to bust out 20 points on a four-way. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Maybe it's just not time yet - if you don't have full strength/range in your leg yet, the anxiety of worrying about that is going to make it hard to enjoy things. As for me: Nunya:2:1 owed for my brand-new coach rating.

I'm USPA 196755 - got the number in Sept 04. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Quit bugging them and maybe they'll have time to get to it. I should add that less than a week is pretty fast for USPA - I was surprised - I expected 2-3 weeks. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

My card came in less than a week (I did fax my application in - it might take longer if you mailed it). You should know soon. You could ask a group member to look you up but if it hasn't been processed yet you won't be in the system. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Added two more that have been received ... and I know of at least one more on the way that we can add when you guys receive it. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Well, sea level's the same wherever you go, but the altitudes above sea level might vary. All other things being equal, canopies move faster at higher altitudes. The instructional staff at the dropzone in Utah may recommend that you jump a larger canopy at the higher altitude, or they may feel that you'll be fine under the same size if your wingloading is light enough. Your best bet would be to discuss it with them either before you go or when you get there. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Not exactly what you're looking for, but there's 400+ posts of people who have done stupid shit and lived to tell about it in this thread: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=1130378 "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Yes, we have that but we've been a little back logged at the moment. We'll get that up on the web page here shortly too! Tell your kids web development team that you'll stop providing food and lodging paying them if they don't get on it. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Psst... forgot Bonehead, and there's two each of the Flite suit coupons. You're right, John, what WOULD you do without me? "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Canada is going to cost more than the U.S. because fuel prices are generally higher (I assume that's the primary driver of the higher costs). You'll have to do the math as to whether adding on travel costs will still work out in your favor. Also, you'll want to make sure you understand the differences between CSPA and USPA licensure requirements and know which path you want to follow towards licenses - you may find Canadian dropzones that only follow CSPA's path or ones that offer both. You may want to look at other DZs in the Vancouver area, or, as others have suggested, possibly those in Washington (Skydive Snohomish north of Seattle will be your closest, with Kapowsin Air Sports farther south, on the other side of Seattle). CSPA may have a listing of dropzones, and there's a listing on here (though the listings aren't always up-to-date, it may help you identify other options to look at in BC): http://www.dropzone.com/dropzone/North_America/Canada/British_Columbia/index.html If you do start contacting dropzones, make sure you're comparing apples to apples. Figure out how much it will cost to get licensed, not just "graduate AFF" or "reach solo status." Are the gear rental costs baked into the cost of the training jump, or is it extra? Do you have to pay for a packing class? How much does it cost to repeat a jump? Also, there are different training methods (AFF/Static Line/IAD), all of which can get you licensed, just in a different manner. http://www.dropzone.com/content/Detailed/519.html "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

You can call the local AWOS. Even our pilots call that here. Here's the website that has all the available AWOS/ASOS numbers: http://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/weather/asos/ "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Made a couple corrections . C'mon, people, this is your chance to support the Leap for Lupus Foundation (and "Skydiving's Superwoman," star of the inaugural issue of Blue Skies Magazine. Edited to add that there are a couple more cool prizes in the works ... stay tuned as this raffle is getting better every day. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

So true. I was just reminiscing about my FJC that was 5 years ago in August. There were 15 of us, most of whom just wanted to do a jump on their own (static line). 3 of us went on to get our A licenses - I was by far the slowest of the three of us and had a lot of struggles getting there. It took me more jumps and more time. As far as I know, I'm the only one still in the sport today. It's a marathon, not a sprint. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Start here: http://www.dropzone.com/safety/resources/handbook/gloss2.shtml "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Show up relaxed, well-fed, and well-rested. Keep yourself hydrated throughout the day... the FJC can be a long day with a lot of new information to absorb, so coming in feeling good helps a lot! "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

SIM page 153 has a good explanation. (Section 6-11). "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke