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The Essential Skills Course is a five-jump program with classroom training between each jump. During the jumps I usually stay on the ground to observe the jumpers under canopy and videotape their landings. After each jump there will be a video debrief and classroom training session for the entire group. These classroom sessions last approximately 45 minutes. Each session focuses on a different skill area, and builds on the skills discussed in previous sessions.
During the Essential Skills Course jumpers learn to have more fun under canopy while practicing important safety
and survival skills. We will discuss basic aerodynamics; practice effective flaring techniques; and work to
improve each jumper’s flight planning, traffic pattern, and accuracy skills. Jumpers will learn to be more aware of
their surroundings and create a safer landing environment for themselves and others. They will learn more about
their canopies’ performance characteristics and develop a better understanding of various flight modes,
particularly low-speed flight. We will discuss problems such as bad spots and off-field landings, and learn how
to deal with them more effectively.
This course can help novice jumpers develop good habits and good basic canopy skills, and can be especially
useful for jumpers who are having problems with canopy control. Experienced jumpers who aren’t having any
particular problems often attend these courses simply to learn more about canopy flight and sharpen their
existing skills. Many coaches and instructors have attended an Essential Skills Course to improve the way they
teach canopy control to their own students.
Anyone can attend an Essential Skills Course as long as they have been "cleared to self-supervise" and can jump
without an instructor. This usually means the person has completed Category E of the ISP, AFF Level 7, or the
"graduation jump" of an equivalent training program. This is my only requirement, although some DZ’s require
participants to hold at least an “A” license. Participants must also meet USPA’s “currency” requirements: if
anyone needs refresher training they should complete it before the day of the course.
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