Keith Buell: Better instruction & a stronger safety culture

I just completed my skydiving A license at Orange and had a great experience. I began AFF at a different dropzone and went through six jumps there. The difference between that dropzone and Orange was night and day. At the first place, the instruction was good for ground school, but after eight jumps, students are mostly on their own until they do a couple coach jumps and get their license. The gear was also a little long in the tooth. At Orange, they follow the current ISP program that has many coached jumps after the first eight AFF jumps. The coaching at Orange was fantastic. Each jump had a thorough pre-jump review and a post-jump debrief. At the place I started, I was lucky to get five minutes of instruction from an instructor who had just run in from landing a tandem. Also at Orange, each day begins with a thorough hands-on review of simulated emergency procedures–another thing that was lacking where I began.

I ended up paying more at Orange to get my license than I would have had I continued at the first dropzone, but I was paying for better instruction and a stronger safety culture–both of which are invaluable to me. The AFF director at Orange, Steve, knows his stuff and his safety consciousness was frustrating at first when I drove 90 minutes and couldn’t jump because of winds. Steve knew that even though the ground level winds were just under the 14 mph limit for students, they were stronger at 1000′ and it wasn’t safe because it may have been difficult to reach the landing area if I ended up downwind. Steve has the unenviable job of keeping eager students within their safety limits.

All the instructors and coaches that I jumped with were knowledgeable and friendly–Henry, Billy, Tammer, Monica, Mario, Matt, Adam, David, and Carey. I can’t wait to continue jumping and to hang out around the bonfires after a fun day in the sky.

One more thing–Orange has a Twin Otter, which is comfortable and quick on the way up to 14,000′. And it has a nice big door for easy exits.