AFF Cat A Training

(backdated post)

I had a 6 hour AFF instruction class with Mike from somewhere around York, PA. JR Sides did most of the instruction. Toward the end of the class, Dr. Larry and John stepped in to finish it off. Unfortunately, we had bad weather. The radar showed thunderstorms coming in quick from the west, so there was no chance of making the jump.

6 hours sounds like a lot, but there's a lot to learn. The Chambersburg Skydive Center teaches the jump in reverse. The first thing we learned was how to do a parachute landing fall (PLF) so that we didn't end up with injuries. Then we talked for a long time about what we had to do in freefall, and how to fly the parachute. Too may details for here, but this part included the activities to pass the Category A requirements, and how to handle parachute problems. We also learned how to safely exit a small Cessna. We went over the dive flow multiple times.

This was time definitely well spent!