shorehambeach

+ 1 As a low number jumper - I went to a new dz and they had one instead of a wind sock - IMO much better as they give the dominant wind direction rather than constant variable it tends to be on the ground. A GREAT invention (as a newbie) would be an automated PACKING machine ;)

Mac, I did AFF at Deland and stayed for a week at: COMFORT INN 400 E ISB Blvd (RT92) 386-736-3100 $72 1-4 people All rooms w/ fridge, microwave gm.sl266@choicehotels.com Mention that you are a skydiver for discount. Get the room with the jacuzzi - Good hotel, eat 2 doors along at the Seafood place. 5 mins from the DZ. Blue Skies.

Vivid, Its amazing how that freefall seems to go so fast when you first jump - but after a while time seems to slow down. Even as a low jump number (30+) newbie its amazing how long this freefall seems now compared to when i did AFF. I guess its just becoming acclimatized to the new environment and your body and mind adjusting to this new environment. I no-pulled on L2 so had to repeat. Don't be concerned about how many jumps it takes you to get through AFF - I had to repeat some levels, but each jump (pass or fail) was a great learning experience as I learned a lot more about getting out of the plane, stability, canopy control and landing and getting my 'head' in the right frame of mind. :)

Welcome Vivid I wish I did as well (and could recollect) as much as you did on Level 1. I am a new jumper just got my A license. Well done on everything you completed

For me personally it really helped doing tunnel with AFF. The tunnel helped me get the feeling of stability which really helped with both physical (carrying out the simple tasks during freefall) and mentally knowing that I could get stable as I'd done it in the tunnel :) Good luck - keep us posted !

Superb skills in that video.....thanks for posting the link.

NWFlyer. Great post :)

Climber71 I did tunnel & AFF in Deland. For me it was excellent. The tunnel has a habit of breaking down there but its really worth the investment. There are some very good tunnel instructors from Deland who coach there most nights. PM me if you want the details. Although i am a low number jumper - the tunnel has enabled me to be far more confident and skilful than you'd expect with less than 30 jumps. Although it clearly doesn't improve your canopy skills - if you've had a good time before you pull you'll feel more confident once the canopy opens. Also, during the plane ride, if you know you'll have no issues on stability once you've exited, then there's less stuff going around in your mind before the doors opens. JMHO. Blue Skies (I am in the UK)

I think its easy and understandable for TI's to sometimes forget the impact for the 'passenger'. For some people it is life changing. I am 39 and did a tandem for my wife's 40th. In the past 12 months since doing the tandem I am now on my way to my A (even though i live in the UK and have never jumped here).... but more importantly.... My 11 years old daughter has now spent 30 minutes in the tunnel belly flying and will do AFF when she's 16. My boy is 3 and he wants to skydive...and he will when he's older. At the moment he jumps from the stairs with my benny helmet shouting "Skydive / Pull Parachute / Land" All this came from a brilliant TI who I met for 20 minutes in Vegas ! Bless you TI's :)

I saw you guys there !! Great DZ.

Thanks SkymonkeyONE and all the other responses.

Thanks for all the great replies. This is a great insight, for a newbie, into the bigger world of skydiving.

Hello All, Just did some fun jumping in France and while there I saw, for the first time, the plane come back with a tandem student TI and Camera flyer. He didn't want to jump once the door had opened. They were very cool about it and he sheepish left the dz. I guess this is a rare occurance...but I was wondering... What do you do/say if a tandem student won't jump ? Does this happen when the door opens? (I started jumping after a brilliant Tandem in Vegas in July - I was nervous but had a great laugh with the TI. Tandem are life changing !)

Hey Chuckles, Where are you in Sussex ? Have you found a place for your AFF yet? Cheers

Here is an update 2 years on from my first visit. I travel each summer from the Uk for France for a month ans spend many days at the DZ. This is a very busy DZ but is VERY welcoming and friendly to both newbies and groups. I've done more than 100 jumps here including Beach Jumps and its a SUPERB DZ! They run a Porter from dawn til dusk and fly in another Porter if very busy... This was my fist DZ to visit since I complete AFF in Deland Florida. Its on the West Coast near Royan. Run by Joinville Francis, 22000 jumps who is the french team coach. They run 2 Pilatus aircraft that get to 14000ft in 14 minutes. One runs all day long with the second brought out when it is very busy. DZ is very nice, great landing area...lots of outs and an easy clear pattern to follow depending which way the wind blows. Being on the cost the views of the beach (5 miles away) is superb and very scenic. 2/3 full time packers operate there. Manifest ran really well and they helped me out as my French is ok but not great. Lots of rigs for hire. Packers wokred very well and safety briefings and checks very thorough. I will be back !

Thanks. Am in Royan in August. Steve

Took a last minute flight last month to finish AFF in Florida. Virgin from Gatwick. Hire car to Deland. Brilliant DZ (Ok the only one i've jumped) Hot sunshine. Great $/£ rate. Rained since I got home. No brainer! Steve (on Shoreham Beach)

Ha ha ha ! Watched this and saw myself (the Student @ 5.09)

Hello All, I am spending 3 weeks with the family on the beach near Royan France. Luckily there's a dropzone nearby ;) I have been looking at consolidation jumps towards my A - Has/does anyone jumped in Royan - any pointers appreciated towards local instructors. My French is pretty basic but I can get by.... Thanks, Steve

Here we go. I knew (and still know) nothing about Skydiving but manages a tandem and thought about AFF. I live in the UK so thought..."well, if I'm going to jump out of a plane, I'd like to be at the best place in the world to learn" All road lead to Deland, but more importantly, Skydive University based at Skydive Deland. I rang around several Dropzones asking about AFF - as a complete newbie scared out of his pants, it was important to get the initial vibe from the people who answered the phone..... By far the best initial reponse was from Rob Laidlaw and the team @ Skydive University @ Deland. They called me - spoke through the course. Answered my silly newbie questions without laughing at me :) .... I was given a dedicated instructor who sent me a rough outline of the course.... I booked my flights and turned up. They were waiting for me. Its not easy to turn up at a DZ as a newbie - I arrived on the day of Shamrock Showndown - the DZ was full of international teams - but the vibe at Deland was welcoming, positive and pretty unique. Robert Chrome (Chromy) was my dedicated instructor with Lindsay Widdall as well. After the initial ground school my thought went from... Skydiving is an unsafe sport done by adrenalin junkies as they love fear... Wow.. This is 90% about safety. Anyway - PM me if you want to know more about choosing Deland. All I can say is that EVERY single instructor at both Skydive U and Skydive Deland went out of their way to chat to me as I made an effort with them.. Lindsay, Frasier, Nikki, Carl Robby to name just a few ... The food is great at the restaurant.. The shop is friendly (if slightly confused with their accounting !) I even managed to shower there before I left I FEEL THIS IS MY HOME DZ EVEN THOUGH I AM 5000 MILES AWAY!

From twitter Russ Ray Rollins RRR @RussRollins Video: This is Nick Vujicic after he jumped out of a plane at Skydive Deland. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=anTxNZwcoWY

Any idea who Nick will tandem with at Deland ?

Divingfool Managed to squeeze as much as I could into the few days at Deland - I am officially hooked ! Seems like I have travelled a long way since that first post :) Deland and Chromy and Lindsay were superb :) I am going to do the last bit of AFF and consolidation jumps in the UK then plan to get back to Deland later in the year. Blue Skies.

Hello again Divingfool ! Hey its a small world ! Great bumping into you today - Level 4 so far :-) Great DZ and great weather !

Thanks Divinfool.