As an AFF
(Accelerated Free Fall) student you will be wearing your own parachute
rig during Freefall and will be piloting your canopy all the way to
landing.
All the information you need for your first skydive is organized in
the FJC (First Jump Course) and taught by one of our rated instructors.
This program takes you from your first jump all the way to your 'A'
License, using USPA's Integrated Student Program.
Overview The
AFF program is today the most widely used method of training new skydivers.
Students go through a progression of skydives, first with two jump masters,
then one jump master and after being cleared for self-supervision, with
a coach who introduces different disciplines, maneuvers and exit techniques
to you.
During
training you will become familiar with different aspects of skydiving,
learn all about the equipment used and go through emergency procedure
drills over and over with your instructor.
The
ISP provides the structure for the training process by assigning different
learning objectives and tasks to each jump, divided into the free fall
portion and the canopy flight to landing.
Every jump is then debriefed in detail and plans are laid out for the
next skydive.
After completing 25 jumps (levels) you earned your 'A' license and are
officially off student status.
USPA
issues 4 different licenses, 'A' through 'D', with progressively more
requirements for each.
(Number of jumps, water landings, night jumps etc.)
Issued ratings (AFF Instructor, Coach, PRO etc.) can then be obtained
by skydivers who meet the rating specific criteria and license requirements
and go through courses or qualifications.
USPA
governs student training at group member drop zones by implementing the
ISP in connection with the BSR's.(Basic Safety Requirements)
The BSR's aim to minimize skydiving risks especially for students, by
setting forth wind restrictions, landing area clearance, AAD requirements
for student rigs and so on.
Skydiving
has evolved dramatically in the past couple of decades and brings with
it the development of better and safer equipment, stronger material and
quality instruction.
So...
...when you're ready to fly, make a reservation for your First Jump Course
or ask us about more details or questions that might be coming up.
The
First Jump Course
The
FJC
takes about 4-6 hours during which you'll be taught everything necessary
for your first successful, fun and safe solo skydive.
The
following will give you an idea of the topics covered in preparation
of your first jump.
Note: If you don't see any buttons below
this text on the left side in this image: -right
click on it and press play
AFF
Progression Chart
The most
important part of any skydive is the deployment of your main parachute.
While instructors have a little lee way in evaluating the skydive in
terms of meeting the learning objectives, they have no choice but to
make you repeat a level if they have to take certain actions because
you flubbed on one of the following:
>Pull
>Pull at the correct altitude
>Pull at the correct altitude while stable
These 3 things
listed are (in the correct order) the priorities of any skydive and for
the obvious reasons your instructors will emphasize them on EVERY jump.
What do they mean?
>Pull Meaning that YOU (rather than one of
the instructors, or the AAD) have to be the one to initiate deployment.
>Pull
at the correct altitude Means that you're aware that pull time
is coming up and give the wave off signal followed by the pull by the
time you reach your preset MINIMUM deployment altitude.
>Pull
at the correct altitude while stable Should be obvious; you don't want to
be tumbling or pitching over when it's time to pull.
The correct body position takes care of that. (Arched and relaxed; left
hand compensates by reaching over the head while you reach with your right
hand)
Flying
is the greatest thing if you know how to land, and pulling your ripcord
at the right altitude while stable is of paramount importance to a good
landing. :)
A-License
Program
After completing the first seven levels of the AFF program, you continue with your training with a coach all the way up until you're done with level 25.
The
program addresses all the subjects important for your future skydiving
career as well as the test subjects for your 'A' license.
We
can't go into too much detail here but below you'll find a sample of our
outline.
Naturally, it's only a guide line and many times the actual skydives are
more tailored to the specific needs of the student.
Level / Jump #
Jump description
AFF 7
cleared by instructor for
self-supervision
L 8
Low altitude exit >
Solo, 5-second delay after exiting at 4,500' AGL
and pull
L 9
No pressure jump >
Solo, determine exit point, smooth diving exit, heading maintenance,
pull at 4,500' AGL, under canopy work on turn control, cross control
(floating turns)
L 10
No pressure jump >
same as above
L 11
Gear transition dive
> Transition to hand-deployed BOC
pilot chute
L 12
Three point 360 deg.
Turns> w/ Coach, diving exit, turns stopping
at 90deg, 180deg, 270deg, redock with instructor 'old picture
- new picture', under canopy S-turns and approach
L 13
360deg turns and open
accordion docks > After establishing
a two way with the instructor student practices 360deg turn and
redock w/ instructor, tracks in direction indicated by instructor,
rear riser steering above 1,000'.
L 14
Fall rate exercise
> after initial contact student practices
intentional floating and sinking movements relative to the instructor,
more rear riser steering under canopy
L 15
Side body sequential
> after exit and approach the student
practices side body docks, under canopy practice a braked approach
L 16
Seated exit, back flips,
front loops > exit sequence, student
floats up a little and performs backflips and front flips with
intermittent docking on instructor, front riser turns above 2,000'
L 17
Seated exit, barrel
rolls > sitting exit, recovery, floating
up 3' and executing a barrel roll, redocking w/ instructor, unassisted
canopy accuracy to within 20 meters of target
L 18
Seated exit, orbiting around
instructor and redocking > after exit
and redock student orbits around instructor in close proximity
before docking again, canopy control, accuracy
L 19
Challenge dive >
diving exit, faces off w/ instructor, backloop,
barrel roll and two 360deg turns, fall rate control, landing within
20 meters of target
L 20
2-way exit >
student facing out, instructor outside facing in,
side-body dock, flying around to other side, again side body dock,
under canopy fly pattern with 50% brakes before letting the canopy
pick up speed for 8-10 seconds before landing
L 21
Tracking dive > 2-way
linked exit w/ student in rear float position, tracking along
prearranged route w/ attention to direction of jump run and altitude
awareness, accuracy to within 20 meters
L 22
stair-step and BI-pole
docks > 2-way linked exit with student in front float
position, practice 'stair step' and 'BI-pole' docking, work
on accuracy under canopy
L 23
Compressed accordions
> 2-way linked 'compressed accordion'
exit, in Freefall changing sides from left to right compressed
accordions with eye contact and on level, front riser control
under canopy
L 24
Flying
the burble > 2-way linked exit, get parallel
with instructor and fly through each others burble, approximately
3 feet above, under canopy steering canopy with stowed brakes
above 2,500', collision avoidance techniques
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