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What’s an AFF Course? Insights from our Skydiving School
Friday, November 13, 2020
Intro
A very important part of Skydive Spain is our Skydiving Course, also known in these days as AFF course (Accelerated Free Fall course). We take a great amount of pleasure watching as our skydiving course students transform from a new customer with only 1 tandem under their belt, or quite often zero jumps, into a fully qualified skydiver, usually in a matter of a few days.
The learning curve for skydiving students is aggressively steep to say the least. The acute mental and physical capacity required to attend the school everyday, retain an abundance of new and sometimes technical information, not to mention navigate around the unfamiliar skydiving lingo, can get a little exhausting and occasionally frustrating. Our skydiving instructors are not only masters in their skills at training the students, but a large part of their task is to mentor their students through the entirety of the course. Each student needs a different kind of support and attention to draw out the best that they can do.
With this article, we hope that future skydiving students can use it as a guide on what to expect during their AFF course, making them familiar with most of the aspects of the course to get the most out of their experience.
So, what does it really take to be able to offer this transformation?
basics of the AFF course
The AFF course is a skydiving course drafted to teach how to skydive in a quickly and safely manner.
The goal of the program is to allow people with zero or very little experience in skydiving to gain all the necessary skills to be able to jump solo after only 8 jumps. This means that, especially in locations like ours – great conditions for skydiving throughout the year – students have all the necessary competences to start jumping solo (without the supervision of an instructor in freefall) just a few days after they arrive for the first time to our center.
The AFF program and the teaching techniques used have been specifically designed to help students progress as quickly and as safely as possible.
Before you get started
Safety comes first. We mean it.
Our company has more than 25 years of experience in the skydive industry. We can say that we have seen it all, and when we say that safety comes first, we mean it.
We are proudly certified to make you gain your British (BPA) or American (USPA) skydiving license. We have built a very strong reputation over the years and our goal is to maintain this for all the years to come.
Anybody who gets started in our sport have some doubts about how things can go, and rightfully so. Skydiving is an extreme, but safe sport, and we are responsible to take all the necessary measures to make our students be as safe as possible. Any learning curve improves with a higher level of comfort of the students, and we make this a priority for them. We strive to convert nervousness into confidence.
Weather conditions and experienced instructors are essential to provide safety to students. At Skydive Spain you will find that both factors provide one of the best odds in the market to make you a licensed skydiver in a very short period of time.
Safety statistics in skydiving: What the numbers say.
All extreme sports comes with some prejudices. Although this can be considered as a normal first reaction, looking closer at some official figures makes these preconceptions dissolve. Here are some of the figures to put things in prospective:
Probability of fatality through:
- Motor collision: 1 in 114
- Chocking on your own food: 1 in 3.461
- Bike-related incident: 1 in 4.486
- Coming in contact with a hornet, wasp or bee: 1 in 63.225
- Dog bite or attack: 1 in 112.400
- Lightning strike: 1 in 161.856
- Skydiving: 1 in 220.301
At a rate of 0.004 skydives fatalities per 1,000, that’s 1 fatality in every 167,000 jumps. This means it’s more likely you’ll “depart this life” from a lightning strike, dog bite, wasp sting, bike accident, choking or a motor vehicle crash.
For injuries, in 2019, USPA members in the U.S. reported 2,522 skydiving injuries requiring a medical care facility. That’s approximately 1 injury per 1,310 skydives.
With all of these figures, we consider to be fair to categorise our sport as extreme and safety precautions should be taken, but not “risky”.
Sources: America’s National Safety Council & USPA
Get familiar with the basic lingo before you get here
You will notice that once you get to a skydiving centre for the first time, you will start hearing some words that may be unfamiliar. Take this opportunity to start getting comfortable with our lingo:
- Drop zone (DZ): This is basically the skydiving centre where you’ll make skydiving. It´s mainly consists of a huge grassy field and some aircraft hangars.
- Ground school: 6 hours’ classroom training to be completed prior to start jumping.
- Jumpsuit: A full body suit that you wear over your clothes when you go skydiving.
- Freefall: The most exciting part of your jump, falling through the sky till it´s time to open your parachute.
- Canopy: The term used for the parachute above your head.
- Rig: “Backpack” where the canopy is placed properly packed.
- Altimeter: Instrument used to measure the altitude of an object above the ground. It is worn on your wrist.
- AFF Levels: First set of jumps where the student jumps along with two AFF instructors who will assist during freefall.
- Hop ‘n’ Pop: Low altitude jump performed after successfully completing the first 7 levels.
- Consolidation jumps (consols): Solo jumps performed after all the level jumps have been successfully completed.
- Dornier G92: Our awesome skydiving aircraft. Top of the line in our industry and very popular.
- “Tortilla de patatas”: Not a skydiving related term, but we strongly recommend this typical Spanish dish! 🙂
Nervousness? It is good and natural
If you are a bit worried about getting nervous while you are reading all of this, that’s very natural place to be. We even encourage you to be there! Here is what most students go through in their AFF journey:
- Stage 1: Arrival – Getting to our dropzone with a pinch of nerves is quite common, keen to know everything all at once.
- Stage 2: Between level jumps – Overwhelmed. Going through the ground school and performing the first level jumps can be mentally challenging. It’s completely normal.
- Stage 3: Last levels and consolidation jumps – I am the king/queen of the world!! Being overwhelmed pays off right away.
This is of course a generalisation which doesn’t apply to everybody, but our point is that is completely OK to feel nervous and insecure while making the decision of taking the AFF course and the first couple of days after you get here.
We have your back. Always.
Structure of the AFF Course
Ground training
The AFF course starts off with a classroom theoretical session of 6 hours. During this training, students go through orientation of the DZ, landing area and their equipment, the instructions of how to perform their jumps and fly their canopy, and all emergency procedures required to stay safe.
All the information seen during the ground school may look like a hurdle to overcome at first, but little by little, performing the first jumps with the close guidance of our instructors, everything begins to look a lot clearer. Needless to say, staying focused during the lectures and various practical classes and asking questions during the ground training, will make your whole AFF experience more successful and enjoyable.
AFF Tandem & level jumps (1-8)
After completion of your ground training, students are ready to take on their AFF tandem skydive.
The AFF tandem skydive is very different than a regular tandem. While the student has the opportunity to take their first skydiving attached to an instructor, which gives a great sense of security for first timers, all aspects of the skydive will be linked to the training you have just taken on the ground; gearing up, boarding the aircraft, during the aircraft’s ascent to altitude, exit, free fall manoeuvres, altitude awareness, opening of the parachute, flying the canopy according to skills learned and preparation for landing.
For those students who have already experienced a regular tandem skydive in the past, the AFF Tandem is an invaluable learning tool to accomplish before attempting the AFF Level One skydive. All our students agree, it really opens their eyes to what they need to prepare for on their skydives.
Students then get started with their Level Jumps, normally the day after the ground school. These jumps are designed to introduce the basic practical concepts of skydiving while enhancing the confidence of the student.
Levels 1 through 3 are perform with 2 instructors alongside, while levels 4 through 7 are supported by one instructor, before, during and after each jump. The student develops capabilities progressively through the different levels until they reach the level 8, which is a low altitude exit executed solo, under the supervision of an instructor. This level is known as “Hop ‘n’ Pop!”
In order to pass each AFF Level, it is necessary to satisfy all the key requirements involved with safety aspects, freefall manoeuvres, canopy flying. These key requirements will be made clear to you before each skydive. What happens if you do not satisfy them..? A repeat jump of that level is necessary in order to prove the skills called for. It is possible that more than one repeat jump of the same level is needed until the instructor has witnessed all the key requirements and he is confident the student is ready to advance. Although there has to be a cost to the repeat jumps, rest assured that our instructors will do their very best via de-briefing and ground training sessions to have you as prepared as possible for your next skydive, it it never our desire to see a student stuck on any particular level. Everyone is different and their path to get to the completion of the skydiving course are unique.
All the AFF level jumps, are filmed by the instructor so he can review each jump on the ground in order to provide constructive feedback and points for improvement to the student.
Consolidation jumps. The path to obtain your skydiving license.
After successful completion of the 8 AFF levels, there is a set of jumps that enables students to reach the minimum requirements to apply for an international skydiving license.
These consolidation jumps are performed “solo”, under the supervision of an instructor in the aircraft.
Skydive Spain provides instructors certified by the British Parachute Association (BPA) and United States Parachute Association (USPA) to take students to their desired skydiving certification. You can find all the necessary requirements to be able to achieve both skydiving licenses here.
We provide different AFF courses packages, tailored to meet the needs of our students depending on their goals and availability.
What sets Skydive Spain apart
Being a top Skydiving School takes a lot of work, commitment, empathy and love for our sport. Here is what makes Skydive Spain’s AFF School a great place to start your path on the wonderful world of skydiving:
High performing and caring personnel
All our staff is carefully selected to provide at all times Skydive Spain’s core value: Offer the adventure of skydiving to every kind of participant, new or experienced, in a professional, passionate, and safe environment.
The AFF course is the gateway for inexperienced people to enter our sport and therefore our staff takes great responsibility and care in making this process as safe and enjoyable as possible. We are a group of professional skydivers who know from experience what a student goes through during their first steps in skydiving, we have all been in their shoes before, and we strive to be empathetic and reassuring with them.
Each student is unique, and needs a different kind of support and attention to draw out the best that they can do. We are here to adapt ourselves to the uniqueness of each student.
Great landing area for Inexperienced skydivers
When it comes to learning to skydive, size matters. We provide a huge, hazard free dedicated landing area, ideal for skydivers that are taking their first steps in their progression.
Furthermore, there are no obstacles surrounding this area, and therefore in the eventuality of landings taking place outside of the dedicated area, landing safely is still possible.
With much more than 550.000 m2, our broader anding area creates a safe setting for our students. That’s the equivalent of about 75 football pitches!!
Perfect weather for Skydiving: Welcome to Andalusia
We are very lucky to be located where we are. The Southern part of Spain in known for its very stable weather conditions. This allows us to run AFF courses throughout the year, with students graduating from their AFF course often in just a few days, even in the middle of the winter.
These conditions are absolutely essential to provide a stress-free learning environment. There are enough things to pay attention to when you are taking your skydiving course. Taking non ideal weather conditions out of the picture makes the whole learning experience more effective and enjoyable. We cannot say that we never suffer unsuitable weather conditions, we are in Europe after all. However, we always say that we get the best of the all the weather in Europe due to our southerly location.
When we do sometimes have days of rain or windy conditions that don’t allow jumping there are a lot´s of things to do around our area. You can see the “social and fun side” of Skydive Spain’s courses if you continue reading after the next couple of sections.
Top skydiving aircraft for skydiving students
Our Dornier G92 are very popular among skydivers. We’ve got a limited edition Dornier modified especially for skydiving operations in the mid 1990’s. They can fit 15 people comfortably seated on benches, which enables smooth operations with fun jumpers, students and tandem jumpers sharing the same ride.
The Dornier G92 is a turbo propeller, high wing plane with a large sliding door, which provides a perfect setting for student´s exits alongside their instructors.
Reaching 15.000 ft. in just 12 minutes provides the possibility of running back to back loads, minimising the waiting time on the ground.
worrY-free TRAVEL! transportation included for free with our residential package!
We offer two ways of taking the skydiving course:
- Flexible dates: Students can start their course at any of the dates offer in our AFF calendar. We are flexible with our dates, so if you don’t find one that suits you, don’t hesitate to contact our booking office info@skydivespain.com / +34 955.766.056.
You will be able to attempt to finish your AFF course in one go if you can stay for a few days in a row. Or you can do it at your own pace, if you prefer to come just during the weekends for example.
- Residential Package: Once a month Skydive Spain offers the opportunity to people from all over the world to stay at our Dropzone’s accommodation, and transportation is included. You can check the calendar with the upcoming dates here.
The Skydive Spain house is located just 6 km. away from the dropzone. A fully equipped house where students can relax after their days of jumping. A great and affordable option for people who prefer to take care of their own meals, with a couple of supermarkets just 5 minutes away from the house. For those who prefer to experience the local cuisine, there are lots of very interesting options walking distance from the house too, where skydivers and our staff tend to gather most nights to have some food and drinks together.
The transportation included with the Residential Package includes pick-up and drop off at Seville airport (SVQ) and daily shuttle to and from the dropzone.
This whole package only adds 229€ on top of the cost of your AFF course.
The social and fun side of our AFF course
Our company believes that going through the skydiving course should not only be focus on the jumping. While this is of course the main goal of the course, from our experience, students who are relaxed and have time to put their minds on other things than their learning process, perform better during their course. And not only this, they go back home with the unforgettable experience of having passed their course, plus a lot of fun moments shared with their course-mates and other people they meet during their time here.
This “fun operation” is led by our social butterfly, Jeralee Cullen. With barbecues, nights in Seville or afternoons at our nearby beaches among other activities, Jeralee knows firsthand what AFF students need during their stay. She is an expert on bringing people together for the first time to engage in fun experiences when the jumping is finished for the day.
There are plenty of things to do if you prefer venturing on your own in our area too.
Equipment from leaders in the market
At Skydive Spain we strive to offer the best equipment to our students.
Our parachute equipment is the most advanced on the market today. The containers are United Parachute Technologies Vector SEs with Skyhooks. The main and reserve canopies are Performance Designs Navigators and Icarus respectively, specifically designed for student skydivers and their progression. The AADs are Vigil´s Cuatro.
We have a range of canopy sizes that can accommodate almost anyone. The largest main canopy at Skydive Spain is a Navigator 300 square foot, and our student rigs go all the way down to 220 square foot. Our goal is to have our students start their AFF course on a large docile main canopy and as they gain experience, they can progress to our smaller and more maneuverable canopies, always under the direct guidance of our instructors.
Our parachute system is highly specialized for AFF. Jump suits, helmets, radios, goggles and altimeters are also provided by Skydive Spain.
Skydive Spain Mission & Values
Our organisation has a crystal clear path that we are keen to follow to provide what we consider the best skydiving experience, regardless of where you are on your journey.
Our Mission:
To inspire through the experience of skydiving.
Our Values:
Offer the adventure of skydiving to every kind of participant, new or experienced, in a professional, passionate, and safe environment.
Our Core Value Fundamentals:
1. Offer an experience that WOW’s our customers
2. Continue to grow and change in order to be leaders in our industry.
3. Maintain high standards of safety
4. Build a positive team and family spirit
5. Show integrity in all acts of customer service and teamwork
6. Work hard, work smart, enjoy the rewards
7. Enjoy our successes as a team: we are all part of this company
8. Be passionate
What some of our students say about our Skydiving course
We follow up
At Skydive Spain we know that starting the path in skydiving can be sometimes challenging from a financial standpoint. That’s why we want to offer our students to have a good head start.
After you graduate from the AFF course and once you are in possession of your skydiving A-licence, you will be eligible to receive 3 jump tickets, for FREE!!
We have designed this package to help you with your progression once you have gone through the skydiving course. So yes, 3 jumps are on us once you come back to our dropzone as a licenced skydiver!
We love seeing our AFF students become expert skydivers.
*To be eligible you must complete they full course at Skydive Spain.
**Rig rental is not include.
Still have questions? We understand!
Most people´s minds start popping out questions when they face the possibility of taking an AFF course to become a skydiver. If you have any, no matter how strange you think it might be, please don´t hesitate to contact us. Our booking office team is here to help with in any way they can: info@skydivespain.com or (+34) 955.766.056.
We hope that this article helps you understand the nature of the AFF course. Deciding to take the AFF course is something that shouldn´t be taken lightly. The are many factors to be taken into account as we have shown you in this article. So we encourage you to do some research if you need to and ask all the questions that you may have. Our Skydiving School is here to serve you if you need us.
Wherever you decide to take your skydiving course, we wish you the best and we welcome you to the incredible sport of Skydiving.
Blue skies!
The Skydive Spain team
Are you ready to book your skydiving course?
You can book you AFF course online now!
Choose between a regular AFF Course or an AFF Course Residential below.
*And remember, if our dates don´t match your availability, you can contact our booking office and we will try our best to accommodate your dates.
Below you can watch a video where you will be able to see some of our instructors and students in action.
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