AStack75

All of my jumps so far have been at my home DZ. Going on vacation in a month and plan on jumping during my trip. Being my first jump away from my home DZ, I believe I owe beer to the DZ I am visiting. Correct? Also, do I owe beer the first time I visit any new DZs or just the very first one that I visit?

Cool. Thanks for the additional info. I'll be sure to contact the visiting DZ in advance with all the details of my training/equipment to make sure I'll be able to jump.

Excellent. Thanks!

Follow up question. After I complete AFF training and before I get my A license, will DZs other than your home DZ even allow you to do solo jumps there?

Here's a newbies perspective... 1.) What made you want to go skydiving It was one of those things I kinda always wanted to try once. A friend organized a whitewater rafting/skydiving trip a couple years ago and that's how I did my first jump. 2.) What did you feel prior to jumping out of the plane That crab walk while hooked to your tandem instructor was probably the most terrifying thing I ever did. It's not every day you walk to the open door of an aircraft at 14,000 feet. 3.) What was the free-fall like Insane. But first, the visual of seeing an airplane that you were just inside, slowly drift away from you is a visual that you will never forget. Free fall was loud, fast, and amazing. Although you don't really notice how fast you are going because it's not like driving 120 mph on the highway where you have trees, guardrail, other cars, etc. to give you visual cues as to how fast you are going. Then a minute or so later, the chute opens and it's another really cool experience. 4.) When you touched down how did you feel That was f**king awesome. 5.) Anything else you want to say about skydiving It went from a 'once in a lifetime' thing to a 'once a year' thing, to a 'I'm gonna get my license' thing. It's a very addictive sport.

Here's another one... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRe3T6HGSiY

Thanks. I'll keep my sheets with my log book.

Do I need to get my A License Progression Card and Proficiency Card filled out (initialed) as I go along in my training, or is this all typically done at the end?

Great thanks for the quick response!

Quick question. Do all AFF jumps and/or jumps towards your A License need to happen at the same DZ? Was thinking about doing a jump while on vacation later this year. I might still be in the middle of my AFF training or possibly just finished with AFF. Will there be any problems doing this assuming my log book is adequately filled out? Or do some DZs only count jumps that happened at their own DZ?

Well, I successfully passed my AFF Level 1 course this weekend. Thanks everyone for your responses. I understand your answers now after learning about the equipment. My complete lack of understanding of the different components of the equipment and how they work with each other made it difficult for me to understand the answers. But I get it now. A couple hours of doing malfunction scenarios in the hanging harness did the trick.

I'm still listening. It's information overload at this point. The training for my tandem jumps was minimal. Watch a few vids (mostly disclaimer type videos) and real basic training with my TM on body position during jumps and leg position on landing. Equipment was really not covered other than how we are connected to each other. The AFF1 training is supposed to be much more detailed. What I've taken from this thread is ask my instructor about the gear I will be using and don't ask for advice on DZ.com.

Thanks for the responses. I'm in the US. Profile updated! I'll be sure to ask lots of questions in my class.

I've only done tandems so far so I'm not sure if the TM typically teaches cutaways to tandem students. I'm doing AFF1 next month and just want to try to learn a little bit before my actual class.

Been watching YouTube vids of some cutaways. My beginner question is when you do a cutaway, does the reserve automatically deploy?

Congrats. Where can I find the requirements on keeping current? I'm going to start an AFF/A-License course next year.

I guess I need to get a log book. I did two tandems already. Didn't realize those counted towards any licensing. Do I need to have my TI sign off on anything? I can probably track them down if need be.

Do tandem students really keep logs of those jumps? If so, do those jumps count for anything?

I just thought of one more question. I tipped my tandem instructor $20 after my two tandem jumps. Not sure if that is normal or not. Is it customary to tip the AFF/A-License instructors after each jump also?

Thanks everyone for the great feedback. One more question... Any advice on how far apart I should space my jumps so that I best retain what I will have learned from previous jumps? I plan on doing AFF 1 early in the season so that I have all year to do additional jumps.

Thanks for the quick response. Yeah I kinda figured that was under ideal conditions. As far as the AFF jumps go, I'm sure the front flips and back flips are the most nerve racking manuevers for an AFF student to make.

I plan on doing my AFF 1 jump next year. I'm contemplating doing the entire course and whatever else is necessary to get an A License. My question is do the AFF jumps count towards the 25 jumps required for the AFF license? Also, do people people usually get their licenses after 25 jumps or does the average person usually need to make more jumps in order to pass all of the requirements?