Winnipesaukee Forum - View Single Post

TheNoonans · 01-23-2009, 07:57 PM

"Two have decided to wait for it to come out on Wii."

That is one of the funniest things I have read in a long time.

Hi Pontoon Goon,

You've posed a really interesting question.

I think the primary difference you will see in our operation regarding work ethic, versus say a pizza shop employee, is the passion that we have for what we do. Most employees and even alot of business owners may enjoy thier job, but it is still a job. Given the option to work or do something else they enjoy doing, most people will opt to do something else. We are very fortunate in that our jobs are our passion.

The other part of the answer has to do with the responsibility of being a skydiving instructor. When we work with skydiving students, 100% of thier well being is in our hands, similar to a CFI. It is an awesome responsibility and one we take very very seriously. Outside of this business venture proposal, I am the Tandem Training Program Director for one of the largest tandem equipment manufacturers in the world (located in Orlando, FL). I am responsible for the continuing education and training standards of thousands of tandem instructors around the globe. I say this only to offer to the readers that my professional skydiving career is based in large part on my ability to effectively communicate safety protocols and training methods to others.

To answer your other question about potential student panic, one of the things that we point out in the beginning of all our training is that you can change your mind about skydiving right up until you leave the plane. You can go through the entire pre jump training, climb in the plane and go all the way up in the plane ride, and still have the opportunity to change your mind. After your instructor has you hooked up and your exit time is near, they will ask you "Are you ready to skydive?". If the answer is "No". They will bring you back down in the plane, no questions asked. No pressure, no problem. As for any possibilities of a student not performing well in freefall, we train everyone to participate as fully as possible on their first skydive from body positions to even opening the parachute. If a student forgets everything they have learned or panics when they exit the plane, the tandem instructor is trained to handle any and all occurances such as that calmy and professionally. Part of my job as Tandem Training Program Director is that I am the first tandem passenger that my tandem instructor candidates take skydiving during their training courses, so I can speak from first hand experience that when an instructor graduates our tandem training course, they are prepared to handle whatever they encounter in a calm, professional manner.

We look forward to your visit and thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and offer your support. We also encourage anyone that is interested in what we do to stop by and visit us, even if just to hang out, watch the parachutes land and let us talk your ears off about anything and everything skydiving related.

Blue skies to all and to all a good flight,

Tom

01-23-2009, 07:57 PM	#45
TheNoonans Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Daytona Beach, FL - Bedford, NH Posts: 136 Thanks: 0 Thanked 219 Times in 57 Posts	Skydive Laconia "Two have decided to wait for it to come out on Wii." That is one of the funniest things I have read in a long time. Hi Pontoon Goon, You've posed a really interesting question. I think the primary difference you will see in our operation regarding work ethic, versus say a pizza shop employee, is the passion that we have for what we do. Most employees and even alot of business owners may enjoy thier job, but it is still a job. Given the option to work or do something else they enjoy doing, most people will opt to do something else. We are very fortunate in that our jobs are our passion. The other part of the answer has to do with the responsibility of being a skydiving instructor. When we work with skydiving students, 100% of thier well being is in our hands, similar to a CFI. It is an awesome responsibility and one we take very very seriously. Outside of this business venture proposal, I am the Tandem Training Program Director for one of the largest tandem equipment manufacturers in the world (located in Orlando, FL). I am responsible for the continuing education and training standards of thousands of tandem instructors around the globe. I say this only to offer to the readers that my professional skydiving career is based in large part on my ability to effectively communicate safety protocols and training methods to others. To answer your other question about potential student panic, one of the things that we point out in the beginning of all our training is that you can change your mind about skydiving right up until you leave the plane. You can go through the entire pre jump training, climb in the plane and go all the way up in the plane ride, and still have the opportunity to change your mind. After your instructor has you hooked up and your exit time is near, they will ask you "Are you ready to skydive?". If the answer is "No". They will bring you back down in the plane, no questions asked. No pressure, no problem. As for any possibilities of a student not performing well in freefall, we train everyone to participate as fully as possible on their first skydive from body positions to even opening the parachute. If a student forgets everything they have learned or panics when they exit the plane, the tandem instructor is trained to handle any and all occurances such as that calmy and professionally. Part of my job as Tandem Training Program Director is that I am the first tandem passenger that my tandem instructor candidates take skydiving during their training courses, so I can speak from first hand experience that when an instructor graduates our tandem training course, they are prepared to handle whatever they encounter in a calm, professional manner. We look forward to your visit and thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and offer your support. We also encourage anyone that is interested in what we do to stop by and visit us, even if just to hang out, watch the parachutes land and let us talk your ears off about anything and everything skydiving related. Blue skies to all and to all a good flight, Tom