What comes after graduation from Accelerated Free Fall?
After graduation from accelerated free fall in the UK system, there follows 10 consolidation jumps on your own to put int practice the skills that you have learned. Most students tell me that they really enjoy this part because they feel “more than ready” to go and skydive without someone 'looking over their shoulder'. Even so, your AFF instructors are still available in case you need a little help, advice or encouragement. At this stage we also give you advanced briefings on
canopy handling to help you to increase your fun, enjoyment and safety for the long term. As a result of these you will achieve the Canopy Handling 1 (CH1) qualification required under the BPA system to achieve an FAI "A" licence which is recognised internationally.
You’re still officially a student at this point and therefore you are still under supervision, but you start to take over more responsibility for planning your own skydives. Sure, your Accelerated Free Fall Instructor is still around and ready to help you. He’ll probably pick up on the actual details of your progression skydives and maybe gives you some suggestions about exercises to do during your consolidation dives. This could perhaps be to work on your dive exits, tighten up the back loops maybe, or perhaps do some new stuff (barrel rolls are fu
n, so are front loops). During this time, under the UK system you’ll also do two further qualifications which will help you to be safer and enjoy your skydiving.
The CH1 is all about canopy handling, and although you were taught the basics of canopy control on your ground school, the CH1 draws on your experience over your own jumps and helps you to compensate for a number of other things such as a ‘long spot’ and for operating in different wind conditions.
In the JM 1 qualification you are given a briefing on the principles of being a Jump Master, so that you can ‘spot’ (decide on the proper time and location over the ground for you and others to exit the aircraft). You also learn about responsibilities of being a jump master, such as emergencies, communication with the pilot and with the ground, observation for other aircraft etc) and you'll receive a little practice on being the JM (under supervision).
An “A” licence is an internationally recognised qualification awarded by the Federation Aeronatique Internationale (FAI) although administered by the Parachute Association of each country (USPA, BPA, APF) which qualifies you to go and jump anywhere in the world (subject to local restrictions and regulations). At this point, you stop being a student and you are now defined as an ‘intermediate skydiver’.
OK, you’ve been having lots of fun so far, and now it just gets better and better! During your skydiving training and jumps you’ve probably spent a good few hours in the café or bar or packing area or some other part of the DZ. You’ve watched and listened to experienced skydivers, seen a good few hours of skydiving movies, some professional and some amateur and some in between. You’ve met people who are pushing the limits in different ways, who are having more fun than they really deserve J (not true, we all deserve a lot of fun, but yo get the picture). You are starting to find out that there are some aspects of the sport which are official and some which aren’t. It’s exciting and you feel a bit like a kid in a sweetshop – which to try first? This article isn’t trying to sell you on one of them, in fact it wants to sell you on them all, and then let you make the decision about which candy to eat.
Accelerated Free Fall has got you to the position of having all the necessary personal and survival skills and then being able to make your choices about which new skills to develop. It’s a bit like passing your Skiing Bronze award at Ecole de Ski Francais, which has given you tastes of giant slalom, off-piste and jumps. Now it’s up to you to decide where you will focus first (or just have fun?). Here are a few of the main aspects of the sport which you could start to get into next;
Formation skydiving (FS)
Free flying (FF)
Canopy formation (CF)
Bird Man/Wing Suit flying
Canopy Piloting
The classics; Accuracy and Style
Display jumping (Demos)
Each of these branches of the sport of skydiving have their own competitions and their own communities who tend to group and flock together. There are crossovers between groups and some skydivers may well participate in two or more. People also change over time (of course).
An example - my own transitions between the sports. From my own part, I got heavily into four way FS, then into Canopy Formation (four way rotations) and did a lot of competitions in both of these. Then I moved into 8 way FS and speed 8 canopy formation and 4 way sequential CF. Along the way I started instructing and then a year later did my AFF Instructor rating. Because I was in the military, I did quite a few display jumps into all kinds of venues and that was a blast. Military teams also compete in their own competitions and to compete for ‘overall trophies’ its also necessary to do ‘Team Accuracy’ and after all the Canopy Formation I’d done, I realised I had developed quite good canopy control, and this complemented my accuracy and display jumping. After a few years of hard core 8 way FS and teaching AFF I felt a bit ‘burned out’ and was seriously thinking of about leaving the sport (which had become more work, than fun). One of my team mates in the 8 way team heard what I was considering and he asked if I’d ever tried ‘chute assis’. This was the name given then to what is now termed ‘free flying’ (this was a while ago). Tim introduced me to Free Fly and I did about 50 jumps just on my own, having fun and without the discipline and intensity of Formation Skydiving or Accelerated Free Fall and it re-charged my batteries. I was back!
