Tag Archive for ‘AFF’ at AFF Student Skydiver

Tag Archive for 'AFF'

Interview: Autumn Cruz from the USA

Published on February 3, 2008 in AFF and Interviews. 0 Comments

Interview with Autumn Cruz, 29 years, old from the USA

Autumn Cruz

Introduction
I am a photojournalist who works for the Sacramento Bee in California. Eventually I want to take my camera to the sky.

In which country do you skydive? United States of America

What is the name of your home dropzone? Skydance Skydiving in Davis, California

What is the number of jumps you’ve done to date? 62

Tell us about how you got into skydiving:
I met and fell in love with a skydiver while on assignment about a year and a half ago - and thus became introduced to my newest passion. I made my first tandem jump in December 2006 and wrote about my experience in my newspaper. After that, I knew I was hooked, saved some money, took a week off of work, and completed AFF during one intense week in July 2007. It was one of the hardest and most rewarding weeks of my life.

What skills and techniques are you concentrating on now in your skydiving career? I am working on my sit-flying skills. I’m really interested in free-flying and later in free style. I’m also interested in eventually taking pictures in the sky so I need to learn solid flying skills all the way around. My biggest weakness right now is my landings, so I’m trying to figure out where that sweet-spot for my canopy’s flare is so I don’t fall down so much!

About your AFF and A license experience

What year did you complete your AFF course? Lucky day of friday the 13th, July 2007.

Which dropzone did you complete your AFF course and what is it’s location?
Skydance Skydiving, Davis, California, USA.

What was the most difficult aspect of completing the AFF course? Learning how to land. The landing area at skydance is nestled between a set of power lines, a road, a ditch and a gun range… I almost walked out during my first AFF class when I was shown the map of our landing area with the sound of gunshots punctuating the lesson every few seconds. I was so intimidated! To make it even worse, I had a hard landing on my second AFF jump. I made a low turn to avoid hitting power-lines and did a somersault on a concrete road into a ditch… Fortunately I wasn’t hurt - and obviously, I didn’t let it stop me. I have a great respect for the danger of the sport and am committed to safety.

What was the most difficult aspect of obtaining your ‘A’ license?
I’m pretty lucky because my boyfriend taught me everything I needed to know during that time. He’s got more than 2000 jumps and I couldn’t ask for better coaching. So, I guess the worst part of it was the dent in my check-book! Not only paying for the jumps, but I had to buy my own rig because none of the rentals fit me. I’m 5′1″, 110 lbs. NOT an easy size to fit. I had quite a bit of anxiety related to poor-fitting gear and ended up purchasing my own by 11 jumps or so.

What words of encouragement can you give a
student beginning their AFF course training?
Try to plan it so that you can do your AFF training all at once. It’s easier psychologically that way. Skydiving is a commitment that you have to be ready for. Don’t get hard on yourself when you make mistakes, be respectful of the danger and learn from them. Respect yourself and your capabilities, push yourself, but don’t be afraid to ask questions - a failure on this test can have serious consequences. Contrary to what you may have expected, going through AFF might not be a fun experience. It’s scary and exhausting both mentally and physically. You might get banged up. But it’s an amazing experience, so soak it all in, write about it, and remember it! It only happens once in a lifetime and the rewards are second to none!

Have you got a website address? http://www.autumncruz.com
(admin note: Autumn Cruz also has some videos on youtube)

Can you suggest any website links that a student skydiver would find of interest? My blog! www.autumncruz.blogspot.com Drop me a line! And all the usual suspects, uspa.org and dropzone.com

Blue skies everyone!

I’ve finished my AFF course!

Published on January 27, 2008 in AFF and Skydiver blogs. 1 Comment

Since I’m unemployed at the moment, I’ve been able to finish my AFF course relatively quickly. I’ve yet to write about my Level 6 or level 7 (or first solo jump!). That will come later when I have the time to sort out the videos to attach to the posts. I also need to post another interview online which was completed by Autumn Cruz.

Basia is on level 6 now. I have yet to convince her to write anything down on here. She is doing great, and her canopy landings are excellent compared to mine. My Level 7 jump I managed to land in the massive temporary lake that has appeared since the Dubai downpours last week.

I have two solo jumps tomorrow on some AFF loads which means I can exit 12,000 feet. I’m looking forward to the day I can jump from 15,000 feetin the UK. Admittedly it will be -20 in the air

BTW, The AFF instructor Basia and I had is Stephan Lipp, with over 14,000 jumps. How can you not trust someone whose been jumping so long. He’s a great teacher and we feel privileged to have been taught by him.

Level 4 & 5

Published on January 20, 2008 in AFF, The jumps and Video. 0 Comments

Table of contents: Liam's AFF

Today was pretty hectic. Two jumps and then a 16km run in preparation for the Ras Al Khaimah Marathon (RAK Marathon). I can certainly tell you that in October last year I was sitting on my butt watching Prison Break or The Sopranos all weekend. This year is kinda different.

Level 4 & 5 rocked. I really got the hang of staying stable and really hanging from my arms and extending my legs. I think I’ll eventually learn how to stay stable in the Mantis body position. Mantis looks a little different (and cooler) compared to the normal box man position. I really feel like my arms are too high. But JM says that is fine, I’m stable which is the main thing. I guess I can refine it a little as I jump more. By the way, the JM in my level 3 video is doing mantis.

Level 4: Exit was ok, but I would have flipped over backwards if JM wasn’t there. I’m getting into the arch just a little too early. If I keep my legs straight and wide for the first few seconds then I can have my whole body facing into the wind and then as I gradually fall forward I can then arch. Pull sequence needs work and JM suggested that I need to concisouly look through my left hand as I put it in front of me and deploy. I need to stop looking at my altimeter as if it is a watch. When I do this my heading changes very slightyly. Stand up landing in canopy today, and I still managed to miss the gigantic puddle.

Level 5: Within 20 minutes I was up again. Exit was much better, legs straighter and wider. I have a feeling though that when I do my first solo exit (if the exit is like this) that I’m going to flip. On this jump I faced JM and then did a 360. I remember facing away from JM on 360 and looking over the horizon and all I could see was the Gulf and blue sky. It was pretty cool. On the pull sequence I reached my left hand in front and saw the horizon through my fingers and deployed. My head didn’t dip forward. So pretty happy with that jump. I felt really stable too. Another standup canopy landing, I thought I would definitely land in the massive puddle lake thing. The wind had picked up since taking off and I did not get much wind penetration so it was looking soggy for a little while. The day before I saw one fun jumper land in the big puddle. She didn’t do a standup either and fell backwards into the ankle deep water. Poor thing didn’t feel jumping again.

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