The
following checklist would be useful for AFF students in choosing an AFF
school. We encourage you to ask these questions to competitors. These
questions relate to experience of the people who will teach you and help you learn to skydive.
1. How many instructors does your school have? We have six permanent instructors on staff. This means that even for large groups you can do the course 1-1 and qualify with the minimum of fuss.
2. How many jumps on average do your instructors have ? Students tend to do things in freefall that an inexperienced instructor might not be able to predict. Our instructors have an average of 5000 jumps. This is very important and we feel often overlooked untill its too late.
3. How long have your instructors been in the sport ? Our most experienced instructor has been in the sport 20 years and has owned his own dropzone. Another instructor is responsible for the certification of BPA AFF instructors. Our average is twelve years in the sport. Time as a skydiver and as an instructor is important also , seasond instructors have a better general knowledge to pass on, possibly better judgement and have a better awareness of situations to avoid. People in the sport a long time tend to be more confident with people who are possibly nervous.
4. How many students has each of your instructors trained ? Again this would be an indicator of experience. These finer points you might not consider in advance of your training can and do make a difference. Some of our instructors have hundreds of graduates , others have thousands.
5. Do you have a BPA instructor on your dropzone staff who can issue me with a BPA signature for all my qualifications from Packing , AFF, Category eight, FS1 , FF1 , FF2 etc ? We dont just have "British Instructors" on staff , we have BPA rated instructors on staff for every discipline , including AFF.
6. Will my freefall instructor do my ground school ? Yes. We do not use the coach system whereby a skydiver with 150 jumps may complete your ground school and "pass you over" to an AFF Instructor . This may work well in some centres , but its not one we are fond of in any way. Your trust in the method of teaching begins with the bond formed in the ground school.
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