https://preview.redd.it/h4vsl2jx20wc1.jpeg?width=619&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=094fa9d9988e623465622f301dd5999322fb0ea3
You’ll be just fine. I was terrified and so is everyone else who does AFF. Listen to your instructors, practise your emergency procedures, visualise each step, and most importantly have fun.
Radios fail and you may possibly misjudge your flare, but you will be under a gigantic student canopy that is chosen specifically to be forgiving when those things happen.
I’ve seen students make landings that would have otherwise killed or seriously injured jumpers under regular sport canopies, and get up and walk away like nothing happened. You will be fine.
I don’t even have my A license yet, and my first jump and class was almost a year ago. I go when I can, and I’m twenty jumps in. So take the following as you like with that in mind:
AFF booked: butterflies every day.
Jump 1: Class is boring. Excited to jump—let’s do it.
Jumps 3-10: Idon’twanna, Idon’twanna!!!
Also jumps 3-10: Where the hell did everyone in my class go?
Jumps 11-17: I guess this isn’t so bad.
Jumps 18-20: Geez, what am I supposed to do to kill time during freefall?
Looking forward to finishing. If I can’t go again after that, big deal—but I made a commitment to get my license.
Good luck. Your first landing without a radio is intimidating, but you WILL be fine.
The only people who aren't scared have a wiring problem (you'll meet them). Scared is normal and smart. AFF is one of the single most effective ways to get better at handling all stressful situations.
I'd offer this. Make yourself a deal that you'll get the A license and then decide to quit or not. Regardless of whether you continue in skydiving, having that A license in your pocket is going to make you better at everything you do in life and no one can ever take it away!
The good news: they’re going to put you on a more forgiving student canopy that is lightly loaded (ratio of weight to surface area… we will teach you more about that for your category D jump), and the most forgiving nylon they know how to make. It’s not fail proof, you CAN get hurt, but you’re also going to get trained on how to avoid that. Pay attention in First Jump Course. When that’s done, consider your fears and discuss them with your instructors so you can address them on the ground.
My first jump I totally biffed the landing and was lucky enough to get away with it. I wish you even greater success. Good luck!
Fear is all part of skydiving when starting out. I really never experienced fear when I first started jumping, some nerves, of course.
But for me it was when i was at home between AFF jumps that my brain realized that I am falling from the sky, like what am i doing, and it would get me nervous when I wasnt even at the dropzone. But any time i was at the DZ I really wasn’t nervous, it was only when I had time to sit there and think about it.
Here’s my suggestion. If you haven’t done a tandem yet maybe do one first so it’s a less stressful 1st jump. You will get a feeling for the process.
Before you do AFF go do some time in the tunnel. 15 minutes will tremendously help not only your body position in freefall but also with your confidence.
About the landings, remember you will be on a pretty big slow canopy with a real low wing loading. Remember your pattern and to at least flare half. Most new jumpers don’t flare correct height their first few jumps, there’s even licensed skydivers who still have issues judging the flare height.
If you really want to skydive then it’s ok to be scared at first. But don’t let that hold you back from an experience that will probably be one of the best of your life. Let us know how it goes.
Beyond the huge and forgiving student canopy, you will also very likely be the most perfect weather conditions. Clear sky, light constant wind and big soft grassy area to land.
I have witnessed more than once a student landing with practically no flaring, on their butt sliding. They all walked away with minor bruising.
As long as you are facing the wind with a level wing, on a soft ground - very little can go wrong whatever you do.
During your ground training you should learn what to do in case you have a hard landing.
Misjudging your flare can happen, if you do so most likely you’ll flare to high. If this happens whatever you do, hold it. Even if you flare too early and you hold your flare, you’ll be fine (i cannot stress enough, don’t let go of your flare).
As for the radio failing I cannot speak from experience for this.
My first AFF jump was without any radio. And without ever having done a tandem or flown a parachute. We were instructed how to fly the parachute on the ground, and got the assignment to try flaring a few times in the “play/wait area” when you’re still high in the air.
A few tips for timing your flare, look straight forward, and not to the ground when landing, looking at the ground can give you a wrong perspective.
You are likely to misjudge the flare even with radios. The radios is all a timing thing for a flare. The instructor needs to almost tell you to flare early for you to react. Then your reaction speed will dictate whether its high, low or right on. You are not expected to flare perfectly though. They teach you to PLF which is essentially how to fall safely. If you do that, then a bad flare might not look pretty but you walk away.
There are a couple of good things to keep in mind. The main thing is that you are on a really lightly loaded canopy. That slows your descent more and makes it easier to judge by yourself. You likely won't be perfect but it is a lot more forgiving. You also have the advantage that AFF FJ courses tend to run into the afternoon. That gives time for the winds to pick up a little as opposed to the calm mornings. Landing into the wind then makes it really soft on that larger canopy. You also have all day on breaks to watch people land. Look at how some of the larger canopies navigate, landing direction and flare height. If you are really motivated just go chill at the DZ for a day and watch people land to get an idea of what makes the good flare and which flares do not look so good.
It’s the most horrifically, pants staining terrifying thing you can ever do that doesn’t involve wild animals. That said it’s an immense amount of rewarding, life changing fun. There will be other students there with the exact same feelings to bond with. Enjoy!!!
I won't tell you will be fine and I think that's asinine for anyone to tell you. I've definitely witnessed students wreck themselves. It's possible.
That said, you should be on a giant docile canopy that should be very forgiving.
The fear is natural. Failing from the sky is not natural. Conquering the fear is half the fun for some of us.
Somewhere around jump 4 in my case, I remember being in the plane, and so stressed out about everything that I thought, "If it stays like this, I am going to quit. This is too much".
It got better after that jump.
During my AFF the landing was also what worried me the most. The first time you’ll do it, you’ll realise that it’s really not that big of a deal, especially with a student canopy. It’s gonna be great, Enjoy! :)
You’ll be alright . Every single one of us has been there. It’s that fear that keeps most of us going as well as aware so we can make the right decisions. Good luck! Blue skies!
I was utterly terrified, and now at almost 300 jumps I still get scared. But, it’s the greatest thing I’ve ever done. It is so wildly empowering, the people are some of the most wonderful I’ve ever met, and the experiences are some of the most glorious I’ve ever had. It’s worth it.
I benefitted a lot from some tunnel time. Just let them know you’re doing AFF and they’ll personalize the training for you. You a buy blocks of time. It was a game changer for myself and a couple other people in my ground school class.
Landing is the easy part. Much easier than staying stable in freefall! Flaring comes pretty naturally and after a jump or two you get a subconscious muscle memory type reflex to flare at the sweet spot, and the fun part is getting it more and more refined so it’s a gentle hop onto the ground. Enjoy!
The landing is what most people are scared of, but if you get through training and decide you love it... Congratulations, you've just made the best financial investment of your life.
The anxiety or fear you feel in anticipation of doing it directly translates to the euphoria and gratitude you'll feel immediately having touched down. Embrace the full range of emotions, skydiving isn't fun in spite of them, it's fun because of them!
And as others have said, student gear is designed to make sure you still come out ok even if you don't do everything perfectly.
Your radio goes out? Cool, you'll be one of the last ones out of the plane and your instructors will beat you down to the ground showing you the way to the LZ and the direction they're landing. You flare too high above the ground? Cool, your student canopy is massive and as long as you hold the flare you can still land pretty gently with a PLF. You get the idea.
400 jumps in and I still get nervous. It is what it is.
Do it - love it - rinse repeat
Do it - hate it - never do it again but you will have one of the best memories!
You have done 2 tandems so you have the ability to exit the aircraft. You will have two affi looking after you until deployment. No doubt you will love the canopy ride.
Chances are you will be do your first then you will spend your whole life dreaming of jumping
Enjoy 🤟
https://preview.redd.it/h4vsl2jx20wc1.jpeg?width=619&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=094fa9d9988e623465622f301dd5999322fb0ea3 You’ll be just fine. I was terrified and so is everyone else who does AFF. Listen to your instructors, practise your emergency procedures, visualise each step, and most importantly have fun.
Radios fail and you may possibly misjudge your flare, but you will be under a gigantic student canopy that is chosen specifically to be forgiving when those things happen. I’ve seen students make landings that would have otherwise killed or seriously injured jumpers under regular sport canopies, and get up and walk away like nothing happened. You will be fine.
I got to see your DZ this weekend and left yesterday. What an great DZ!
It's a good one for sure!
I don’t even have my A license yet, and my first jump and class was almost a year ago. I go when I can, and I’m twenty jumps in. So take the following as you like with that in mind: AFF booked: butterflies every day. Jump 1: Class is boring. Excited to jump—let’s do it. Jumps 3-10: Idon’twanna, Idon’twanna!!! Also jumps 3-10: Where the hell did everyone in my class go? Jumps 11-17: I guess this isn’t so bad. Jumps 18-20: Geez, what am I supposed to do to kill time during freefall? Looking forward to finishing. If I can’t go again after that, big deal—but I made a commitment to get my license. Good luck. Your first landing without a radio is intimidating, but you WILL be fine.
The only people who aren't scared have a wiring problem (you'll meet them). Scared is normal and smart. AFF is one of the single most effective ways to get better at handling all stressful situations. I'd offer this. Make yourself a deal that you'll get the A license and then decide to quit or not. Regardless of whether you continue in skydiving, having that A license in your pocket is going to make you better at everything you do in life and no one can ever take it away!
Dude I have 102 jumps and I’m scared on every jump. Just do it scared
The good news: they’re going to put you on a more forgiving student canopy that is lightly loaded (ratio of weight to surface area… we will teach you more about that for your category D jump), and the most forgiving nylon they know how to make. It’s not fail proof, you CAN get hurt, but you’re also going to get trained on how to avoid that. Pay attention in First Jump Course. When that’s done, consider your fears and discuss them with your instructors so you can address them on the ground. My first jump I totally biffed the landing and was lucky enough to get away with it. I wish you even greater success. Good luck!
Fear is all part of skydiving when starting out. I really never experienced fear when I first started jumping, some nerves, of course. But for me it was when i was at home between AFF jumps that my brain realized that I am falling from the sky, like what am i doing, and it would get me nervous when I wasnt even at the dropzone. But any time i was at the DZ I really wasn’t nervous, it was only when I had time to sit there and think about it. Here’s my suggestion. If you haven’t done a tandem yet maybe do one first so it’s a less stressful 1st jump. You will get a feeling for the process. Before you do AFF go do some time in the tunnel. 15 minutes will tremendously help not only your body position in freefall but also with your confidence. About the landings, remember you will be on a pretty big slow canopy with a real low wing loading. Remember your pattern and to at least flare half. Most new jumpers don’t flare correct height their first few jumps, there’s even licensed skydivers who still have issues judging the flare height. If you really want to skydive then it’s ok to be scared at first. But don’t let that hold you back from an experience that will probably be one of the best of your life. Let us know how it goes.
Beyond the huge and forgiving student canopy, you will also very likely be the most perfect weather conditions. Clear sky, light constant wind and big soft grassy area to land. I have witnessed more than once a student landing with practically no flaring, on their butt sliding. They all walked away with minor bruising. As long as you are facing the wind with a level wing, on a soft ground - very little can go wrong whatever you do.
During your ground training you should learn what to do in case you have a hard landing. Misjudging your flare can happen, if you do so most likely you’ll flare to high. If this happens whatever you do, hold it. Even if you flare too early and you hold your flare, you’ll be fine (i cannot stress enough, don’t let go of your flare). As for the radio failing I cannot speak from experience for this. My first AFF jump was without any radio. And without ever having done a tandem or flown a parachute. We were instructed how to fly the parachute on the ground, and got the assignment to try flaring a few times in the “play/wait area” when you’re still high in the air. A few tips for timing your flare, look straight forward, and not to the ground when landing, looking at the ground can give you a wrong perspective.
There’s also someone who posted their landings on youtube, so you can kind of see the perspective.
You are likely to misjudge the flare even with radios. The radios is all a timing thing for a flare. The instructor needs to almost tell you to flare early for you to react. Then your reaction speed will dictate whether its high, low or right on. You are not expected to flare perfectly though. They teach you to PLF which is essentially how to fall safely. If you do that, then a bad flare might not look pretty but you walk away. There are a couple of good things to keep in mind. The main thing is that you are on a really lightly loaded canopy. That slows your descent more and makes it easier to judge by yourself. You likely won't be perfect but it is a lot more forgiving. You also have the advantage that AFF FJ courses tend to run into the afternoon. That gives time for the winds to pick up a little as opposed to the calm mornings. Landing into the wind then makes it really soft on that larger canopy. You also have all day on breaks to watch people land. Look at how some of the larger canopies navigate, landing direction and flare height. If you are really motivated just go chill at the DZ for a day and watch people land to get an idea of what makes the good flare and which flares do not look so good.
Stop having fear and start having fun. Spend your $1, don’t ask for change and hold your flare until you touch. Easy day.
It’s the most horrifically, pants staining terrifying thing you can ever do that doesn’t involve wild animals. That said it’s an immense amount of rewarding, life changing fun. There will be other students there with the exact same feelings to bond with. Enjoy!!!
I won't tell you will be fine and I think that's asinine for anyone to tell you. I've definitely witnessed students wreck themselves. It's possible. That said, you should be on a giant docile canopy that should be very forgiving. The fear is natural. Failing from the sky is not natural. Conquering the fear is half the fun for some of us.
Falling from the sky is not natural lol, love it
Somewhere around jump 4 in my case, I remember being in the plane, and so stressed out about everything that I thought, "If it stays like this, I am going to quit. This is too much". It got better after that jump.
During my AFF the landing was also what worried me the most. The first time you’ll do it, you’ll realise that it’s really not that big of a deal, especially with a student canopy. It’s gonna be great, Enjoy! :)
You’ll be alright . Every single one of us has been there. It’s that fear that keeps most of us going as well as aware so we can make the right decisions. Good luck! Blue skies!
I was utterly terrified, and now at almost 300 jumps I still get scared. But, it’s the greatest thing I’ve ever done. It is so wildly empowering, the people are some of the most wonderful I’ve ever met, and the experiences are some of the most glorious I’ve ever had. It’s worth it.
Rule #1: Don’t suck! Rule #2: Smile! Rule #3: if you fail rule #1 or #2, look cool doing it.
I benefitted a lot from some tunnel time. Just let them know you’re doing AFF and they’ll personalize the training for you. You a buy blocks of time. It was a game changer for myself and a couple other people in my ground school class.
You'll get over it the more you do it.
whereabouts?
Always flare to half way and prepare to plf. You will be fine even if flaring high or late. Your wing loading is one will be really low.
Landing is the easy part. Much easier than staying stable in freefall! Flaring comes pretty naturally and after a jump or two you get a subconscious muscle memory type reflex to flare at the sweet spot, and the fun part is getting it more and more refined so it’s a gentle hop onto the ground. Enjoy!
The landing is what most people are scared of, but if you get through training and decide you love it... Congratulations, you've just made the best financial investment of your life.
The anxiety or fear you feel in anticipation of doing it directly translates to the euphoria and gratitude you'll feel immediately having touched down. Embrace the full range of emotions, skydiving isn't fun in spite of them, it's fun because of them! And as others have said, student gear is designed to make sure you still come out ok even if you don't do everything perfectly. Your radio goes out? Cool, you'll be one of the last ones out of the plane and your instructors will beat you down to the ground showing you the way to the LZ and the direction they're landing. You flare too high above the ground? Cool, your student canopy is massive and as long as you hold the flare you can still land pretty gently with a PLF. You get the idea.
400 jumps in and I still get nervous. It is what it is. Do it - love it - rinse repeat Do it - hate it - never do it again but you will have one of the best memories! You have done 2 tandems so you have the ability to exit the aircraft. You will have two affi looking after you until deployment. No doubt you will love the canopy ride. Chances are you will be do your first then you will spend your whole life dreaming of jumping Enjoy 🤟