What makes an experienced skydiver?

I remember a mention about the 100 J "experienced" freeflyer who went in, and poster(s) saying he was not "experienced" in his view.

I thought to myself at the time, "He was experienced. He had experienced 100 Jumps, enough for the USPA Coach rating. If the USPA trusts someone with 100 J to be a Coach, that means they trust them enough to give advice/answer noob questions, which in my view means they are experienced."

Experience is a difficult thing to capture in a jump number, and even to be a Coach means getting a B licence (freefall body control and canopy control ability) and the completing the Coaches course (answer questions/perform checks ablility).

I can't comment to much on skydive experience, but on software programming experience, we often say at work: "We need an experienced programmer" This really does not mean we want someone who has written X lines of code or has been a programmer for Y years, it means "We want someone who knows his/her shit, who writes tight code and can meet deadlines." I have worked with programmers who have been coding for years and they can't write worth crap.

So I think experience is way more than a jump number, its ability, attitude, etc. But if forced to put a number on it, I think in the wuffo/noob (like me) mindset, 100 J would be considered experienced.

Seth

there are some things you can only learn from jump numbers.
there are somethings you can only learn from time in sport.
the important part is to keep learning and become a better skydiver after every day and every jump.
i like to think we are all experienced students, and while some of us are more experienced, none of us are completely experienced. there is always more to learn.

blue stuff,
p.j.

me i just consider myself a journeyman in the sport but would say no to being experianced.

maybe you become experienced when you realize that you dont know all the answers and never will :-P

(not digging at anyone just know that we are all still learning...)

Dave

Here's how I gauge whether or not someone is experienced, it's pretty easy:

Inexperienced skydivers will always give you their opinion.

Experienced skydivers will only give you thier opinion when asked for it

Well, that's true to a certain extent.

I'm a newbie myself - two and a half year in the sport, 890 jumps or so. Even so, I've already been unfortunate enough to watch some bad stuff.

I'll say "that's pretty small, considering your weight and experience" to someone who's radically downsizing at an early time. Even if he or she doesn't ask. Maybe I'm being a little dumb there, considering I myself don't have much experience to base it on. I'd feel pretty shitty if I didn't and something happened though.

I understand your point though and am just nitpicking. You're right when you say the lower timer tend to be very outspoken with opinions and experiences whereas the veterans are more laid back.

For relative newbies such as myself it can sometimes be a struggle to not let the ego get in front of experience and skills. I'm constantly wondering whether it's the case with myself and my friends.

I asked a similar question a few months back... you might find the thread interesting.

I know one thing: I am *not* an experienced skydiver. I don't know when/if I'll ever consider myself one. I hope I've always got something new to learn.

We should be careful not to confuse "experienced" with "good". They are not tied to each other.

Any skydiver is only as good as his last landing, no matter how much experience he has.

I am always amazed at how many experienced people with time in the sport land like absolute crap.