Skydiving has given me some of the best moments — and the best people — in my life. I came into the sport the long way round, working through just about every kind of first jump there is.
My very first jump was a tandem from 16,500 feet. Jumps two and three were static-line descents from a Cessna 172 at Whenuapai. After that I did a TAFF — a tandem AFF — from 15,000 feet, before heading out to Skydive Auckland at Parakai to complete my AFF. From there I just kept jumping — a lot — both at Parakai and out of Mercer.
AFF — Accelerated Free Fall — is the modern way to learn solo freefall. You exit at altitude with two instructors holding on, work through a set of tasks in the air — heading control, turns, practice deployments — then pull, fly, and land your own canopy. Across a series of levels the instructors gradually let go, until you're flying on your own and on your way to a licence.
The footage below is from my AFF. It's self-hosted and plays right here in the page.
My AFF
Footage from my Accelerated Free Fall — played inline below.