SkySlut

Typical answer for a student that doesnt finish AFF. Everyone has obstacles to overcome in achieving a goal in life...some manage to jump over those hurdles while some sit, do nothing and complain about them. This topic was raised in the meeting that we had regarding the coach course directors course pilot: How much should this course cost and how often should it be held & where??? There is something to be said for the level of dedication and drive it takes to get a rating and I think that it shows in the people that make the effort to be there. It means something to them, whereas, someone who is just handed a rating with no checking of qualifications etc...it doesnt mean as much and they may or may not value the rating. Time, money and distance are qualifyers for the course. If you arent willing to spend the time getting the rating...what makes you so sure that you are going to spend the time with your students??? If you dont see the value in spending money to get the rating, then how can you expect your students to see the value in paying for you to teach them something??? If you arent willing to travel for what you love...then why ask a student to??? Not everything should be handed out to you on a silver platter. So, if people arent willing to make an effort to get a rating, then why should they expect to have all the rights and privileges of the person that went through that little bit of extra effort to get that rating??? People tend to learn how they were taught (good or bad). If I had to jump through hoops for my teacher to show my skill and knowledge to achieve a goal in life...I will have much more appreciation for the success and when it is my turn to teach someone else how to achieve the same goal I would be a bit more dedicated to ensure learning of my "student". If I was just handed the rating or license or gold star for a spelling bee without the proper skill, then I am going to be pretty likely to just hand it out to the next person when I am in the position to teach.

I would think profile (b) would in theory be a better coach, given his background. My question is...if he really enjoys coaching so much...why wouldnt this person get a rating??? or do they know it all already???

Genius, my friend... I know this guy that actually had removable covers for the AC unit in his car. He would put his beers in there to keep them cold while he was driving. Too many empties in the car to drive with, you say??? He had that figured out as well. He mounted a tube between the two front seats that went through the floorboards so he could just drop the can through. A car behind them would only think that they had ran over it. Brilliance!!! Talk about a drunk with WAY too much time on his hands.

I always wanted to modify one of those gyroscopic cup holders for your car to one that could be used by the severly balanced deficiencies that I can get sometimes. Keeps from spilling beer on myself and others. Sometimes it takes a while to get my sealegs back. Dont know if that qualifies as an invention, but handy none the less.

I agree...I think that its a nice break from the typical boring skydiving videos. But more documentary stuff would be nice. I would think that they did this video for some promotional material for the PST to get sponsors, IPC, and any other way to get a whuffo company with money to spend on advertising so they can get the sport out into the public more. Just a thought. Its eye candy for whuffos...MTV generation, the attention span of a gnat.

The ratings certification is a good thing...I would think that you agree on that, correct??? When I said crappy I or coach...I was referring to a non-aff rated "instructor" at a non-USPA dz doing aff and a non-rated coach doing coaching anywhere. That is the point I was making with the examples that I provided earlier. Without ratings there are no standards whatsoever. There need to be some standards for providing good service, otherwise its chaos. Ever met a "jumpmaster" or a student that graduated from a country that has no structured educational system for skydiving. It can be VERY scary.

Just making a point that a 800 jump person may or may not be qualified to provide quality service to a student...that is if that student is paying for coaching. If they are going up for a fun jump then, by all means have at it. I was making a comparison between coaches that have gone through formal training to do what they do...as do AFF instructors for USPA affiliated DZs. There is a certain standard that comes with getting a rating. Ratings and licenses are two very different things. What I am getting at is you get what you pay for. That is what I was getting at. Sure you can go to a non-uspa rated dz and have someone with 200 jumps doing your AFF class without ever have taken an AFF cert course or any coaching training at all for that matter...yeah, you may learn how to save your life, but is that the quality that you would expect at a skydiving operation??? Sure you can grab anyone at the dz and do a coach jump, but if they havent been trained...what kind of quality are you going to recieve? Anyways, for the most part...wether it is a crappy instructor or coach, if a student is paying for education and they arent happy with what they are recieving then they can usually figure this out over time and they will move on to a better coach or instructor. It all sorts itself out in the end. If you are a weekend warrior and want to coach for fun, then fine, but if youo are dedicated to the craft that you are honing then I would think that one would want to learn about improving their teaching methods. Never stop learning no matter how many jumps, licenses, or ratings you have...or lack thereof.

I agree, but I think that there are and should be two distinctions between paying for a coach and getting some sort of "formal" education (insert your meaning here) and doing a fun jump and perhaps learning something from it from someone who is entirely safe (800 jump A license holder). I believe that they are separate things. I know plenty of 800 jump A license holders that cant fall straight down the tube. Question: A student goes to a non-USPA DZ which practices harness hold (potentially having a JM teaching who has no ratings or qualifications other than 800 jumps/4-way all the time/good guy)...would that be equal to or safer than a student that goes to a USPA affiliated DZ that has strict requirements on qualifications and ratings of JMs/Is for their AFF program??? Just playing devils advocate.

WARNING-If you are an AFF student you may not want to read this!!! I never tell students which ones are the hardest and indeed everyone seems to have trouble with at least one of them, but there are exeptions. It is primarily pyschological with them. The toughest ones psychologically are 3 and 4. Those are the ones that freak people out the most and which most people repeat. 1 (other than the fact that it may be your first jump) and 2 are easy, not much to do and you have 2 people holding onto you throughout your freefall. 3 is when students feel a bit more responsible to fly on their own and 4 is a bit more difficult because they think "you mean I have to turn and fly without any help???". 90% of students at level 3-4 have what I call the 1,000 mile stare. If you look at them straight in the eyes, you would swear that they dont see you, but then, then...you see the light bulb go off (sometimes on L4, but usually on L5) and awareness seems to happen (some quicker than others). Its an amazing thing to see and extremely gratifying...its what the job is all about!!! Anyways, long winded answer to 3 and 4 are the most often repeated levels. But, Shhhh...dont tell any students that.

The thing with the BPA system is that I am not sure that doing 10 consol jumps is entirely necessary, it maybe for some, but certainly not all...why not get into some coaching jumps if they are pretty heads up. In some cases, I believe that doing the 10 consol jumps is a waste of the students money when it can be spent on better things, but I do agree that it is good to get out and do a few solos, again some more than others. The naturals are the ones that I think are being held back with the 10 consols, plus its just more money. USPA doesnt have consols or 10 solo jumps after AFF, we have a "20 jump program", the ISP, which has traditional AFF, coaching jumps, and 2 hop/n/pops until 20 jumps. This may take more than 20 jumps to finish however. That is really the major difference between the BPA & USPA in regards to getting coaching that I see...in the US, you can get coaching immediately after finishing your level 7 (for those DZs that only use the traditional AFF program) to attain their A license or they can take their time and do 15 solos to get comfortable...its at each individuals pace although they are still considered a student until they get their A license, for good reason. Thats the cool thing about the ISP, its flexible, although it behooves a student with 50 jumps to get their ass in gear and get their A license... For instance, I had just finished my AFF and it just so happened that Jack Jefferies was at my DZ coaching. I had 12 jumps and he started doing SDU drill dives with me...why is it that I shouldnt have had the opportunity to jump with him because I didnt do 10 solos??? If I didnt feel ready, I wouldnt have taken the opportunity (its not like I felt pressured by "who he was", because I had no clue) but I was ready so I went for it...I am very glad that I was able to have that opportunity. Never forget it. That is what I mean by flexibility between the 2 programs.

I am familiar with the CSPA program as well...its very thorough and I think that at some point the USPA will move towards a hybrid (basic coach/advanced coach) of what the CSPA has had for years and what the USPA has now. Or at least I hope so. The coach rating should set a solid foundation for teaching for everyone no matter wether they would like to do AFF or wether they want to sling meat all day doing tandems. Some roles are more involved than others but, they are all teaching and rating holders should posess the basic teaching skills that are learned in the coach course.

Typically, yes...the other 3 are instructors as well...at least here in Sebastian. I have seen a few 2 on 2, 2 FS1 candidates and 2 instructors/coaches. But that is usually how it goes. I dont agree with 10 consol jumps, but that is how they do it. It is a very structured program that they have over there. There doesnt seem to be too much flexability in it, for example...you wont see newbies that with 30 jumps and freefly friendly gear doing freefly solos or freeflying until they have shown that they have shown proficiency in RW skills. A good progression in theory, but not flexible for everyone.

Are you familiar with the BPA, FS1 rating that newer jumpers get. I am not totally sure wether I agree with it or not, but it is a good point to bring up. A post AFF student cant jump with anyone until they get an FS1 rating, which consists of about 12 one on one jumps and they must complete a 4 point 4 way to "graduate". Once they show that they can safely do RW then they can jump with another jumper...until then they are stuck doing solos. It makes them safer and it gives them some motivation to get better. The BPA also makes them do 10 consolidation jumps before they can do the FS1. If they want to freefly, they have to get the FS1 rating first and then they must get coaching to get their FF1 rating. There are some improvements that can be made but it does make better and more importantly safer skydivers. Any thoughts on that???

Yep, as a fulltime skydiver/smoker (trying to quit as we speak)...I think that it makes sense. Its not addictive, right???

I got an idea, why cant smokers trade in their Marlboro Miles for a years or months worth of health care??? Just like they do all the other crappy stuff the "give" you for your miles. Some creative thinking over a few smokes and a glass of wine.

If I was loaning gear to someone, I would make sure that they due use the collapsible slider...for my own gears sake...

I believe that the small/medium are the same shells and the large/xlarge are the same as well, just different liners. 2 different shells, 4 liners.

I believe that the norgie womens team was in Deland for a spell this season...anyone confirm if they are still there???

well as far as the keys boogie goes...the only requirement is going to be that you have live water training.

True...but a good portion of DZs dont have the benefit of having large landing areas like Deland, Sebastian, etc. Some places you have no choice but the have larger and smaller canopies in the same airspace especially in the Northeast.

Michele...you definately make me hot...for canopy control, that is... Good point.

X-Keys will take care of that...but essentially they will tape your legs together...no biggie. Have a buttload of fun!!!

Quick story...I have ran into sooooo many hook turners that believe that they do have the right to hook turn. I have even heard "you guys have bigger canopies so please dont hang over the main landing area". I have a tiny canopy....the way I figure it is that if you have a small canopy and cant deal with traffic...you shouldnt be jumping that canopy. This amazes me...

skyhook has nothing to do with spring strenght...its an advanced RSL...essentially.

Following the leader... FYI-Sunpath ripped the cut-in backpad off from a company that was making rigs in the 70s.