Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Tuesday, 19 April 2011
Skydiving School and Lesson
There is more to know than just their rates and when the next beginner’s class is. What is their safety record? Can they offer any student/customer testimonials? Do the belong to any professional organizations? The United States Parachute Association (USPA) is widely known and respected by skydivers and novices looking for a skydiving school. Think of them as the AAA to the parachute community.
Some online services promising extremely low rates have received numerous complaints from some very unsatisfied customers. It is preferable that you make your reservation directly with the skydiving school. A deposit of partial pre-payment is customary and should be anticipated. You should also ask about health and age requirements. Most schools will not allow individuals under eighteen to jump.
And you may also be prevented from participating if you have any serious health risks. Talk to your physician before making a reservation. For those who are a little nervous about going it solo, you can opt for a tandem jump with your instructor.
The Cream of The Crop In Skydiving Schools
Maybe you want to try something outrageous during your vacation. You can go to any little airport at home; you want your first time to be memorable. Depending on where you are going, you may want to make your reservation well in advance. Chicagoland Skydiving Center bills itself as the top dog in skydiving schools in the United States. Their Freefall University is considered one of the safest in the country, attracting novices and seasoned jumpers from all over the world. Package deals are offered, if you want to make this a family affair.
Whichever skydiving school you choose, make sure you are comfortable. Ask to meet the instructor beforehand. Especially if you are tandem jumping, you might feel more at ease knowing who you will be strapped to. All businesses thrive and grow from referrals; so ask friends and family if they can give you a name or two. And of course, don’t forget to have fun.
Before you ever make it into your jumpsuit, helmet, and goggles, you have some lessons to learn and tests to pass. Do you feel like you are back in junior high yet? At least no one is calling you to the chalkboard, or jamming your locker. Skydiving lessons are valuable and necessary, whether you are flying solo or strapped to the teacher in a tandem jump. You were not just handed a driver’s license and the car keys when you became of age.
There was preparation, instruction, and those fun driving simulators beforehand. There was probably even more, and continuous instruction anytime you were in the car with a parent. Everything was and is a lesson. Even shampoo has instructions on the back. There is also a help line you can call if you need assistance. And if you need to call that number, you probably should not be skydiving.
Everything you need to know will be covered in your skydiving lessons, so listen carefully. Do not be timid about asking questions. It is highly unlikely that you could ever ask too many questions. Especially when you are the newbie, you are going to be nervous and your instructor understands this. No matter who experienced some jumpers are now, everyone is born in the same fashion. Just as they were all once babies in life, they were once babies in skydiving. They also like to talk; so feel free to pick their brain for tips, suggestions, and “big fish” stories.
What To Expect In Your Skydiving Lesson
When it comes to skydiving lessons, there are really two methods an instructor may choose to teach his students: the static-line progression program and the accelerated free fall method. With the static-line option, the parachute is connected by a cord known as a “static line” inside the plane. When the student jumps, their parachute is opened automatically by the cord. The plane is flying at the recommended altitude of 4,500 feet that a chute can be opened. It is important to learn how to have a good arch position, and the static-line program makes this easier to get the hang of. It will be up to your instructor
The accelerated free fall method is attracting more popularity because of the increased speed of learning versus the static-line program. It is possible to finish training and become certified in as little as two days. Unlike the other method, your instructors are with you during the entire jump. This is to insure your safety during the time your brain is going haywire from sensory overload. Intense skydiving lessons are given on ground, and instruction via hand signals while in the air.
Above all, relax and have fun. The best way to insure success in your skydiving lessons are to just remember you are there to have a good time.
Record About Skydiving
Like any other sport, skydiving does have records. Professional jumpers aspire all the time to make and break new records. As skydiving is considered an extreme sport, the records are just as wild and awe inspiring. From blind jumps to highest jumps to largest freefall formation, skydiving records are almost without boundary. Skydiving is much less dangerous than what most people would think. It is true that there are risks involved. But this can be said for any sport or physical activity.
In NASCAR races, the vehicles are flying around the track at speeds easily exceeding 125 mph. Some might say that is risky. It is also on the insane side. This is why it is important to follow guidelines and not take any shortcuts. The proper equipment must be worn and all appropriate precautions taken. It is much more satisfying to be alive and kicking to enjoy your skydiving record breaking success.
Who Holds What Skydiving Record Anyway?
1) The record for the largest freefall formation in the world is 400 people, and was set on February 8, 2006 in Thailand. Imagine trying to organize those potty breaks.
2) Don Kellner is a man with apparently too much time on his hands. Don holds the skydiving record for most jumps with 36,000 flings from an airplane.
3) Cheryl Steams should get together with Don Kellner. In August of 2003 she made her 15,560th parachute landing and bagged herself a record in the process.
4) Capt. Joe Kittinger is just one cool dude. Over forty years later and he still holds the record for highest skydive. At 102,800 feet he began a speedy trip back to Earth. The sojourn lasted approximately thirteen minutes, with Capt. Kittinger reaching speeds up to 600 mph.
5) Jay Stokes officially became the man with absolutely nothing better to do than dive from an airplane 640 times in one day.
6) Fifty people lost their minds at the same time in April of 2000. They all agreed and executed a 50-way night jump in Elsinore, CA.
7) John Fleming and John Rossi made them some history in 2003 by setting a record for the number of blind person in a jump, by one person. Hey, a win’s a win.
8) Chuck Anderson, Paul Henley, Al Krueger, and Larry Yohn proved that sometimes amputees can do it better with a 4-way jump in 1977. Take that France.
Tandem Skydive - Skydiving Experience
This is a sport that you will never take out of your mind and we will be dealing allot of staffs that you will handle in your tandem skydive experience. This diving is the best ever and you will be the most fortunate one to experience this one of a kind sport. Will skydiving actually determines the very tough and the very most confident diver in the entire skydiving. Actually this sport aims to distinguished your strength and believe in your partner. Because this is by the way a pair sport that convince trust and believe in your tandem. You will discover here that as a partner you will be given a minimal instruction to play the sport.The tandem skydive is an ideal sport to test your very best in complying this sport. That is why we are able to produce an alternative skydiving that is really different to other skydiving that doesn't require a partner. This sky diving is very reliable sport to measure your capacity as a sport man and in order to deal with it you must be very serious and discipline to comply your skydiving experience. It is an experience that you will never regret and an experience that you will be proud of.
Stay Safe When Sky Diving: Sky Diving Information you Need to Stay Safe
Have you been itching to try sky diving but never really know where to start? If you want to try sky diving, you should never just take the plunge and leave everything else to chances. You must always remember that sky diving is a extreme sport and if you do not have the right sky diving information or if you simply did not bother to get any sky diving information before you embark into this dangerous sports, you could really into some kind of trouble.
Getting the Sky Diving Information That you Need
There are many things that you need to learn before you actually try your mettle up in the skies. First, you must understand that when you go sky diving, you should know the basic sky diving information such as what types of equipments you will need, what time of the day is best suited for sky diving, what conditions are favorable when sky diving and what are the basic dos and don’ts when executing your jump.
The best place fro you to get the necessary sky diving information you need is to go to a sky diving center and enroll in one of those sky diving classes. The good thing about enrolling in sky diving classes is that you can actually get first hand sky diving information from veteran skydivers.
There are so many things that veteran skydivers can teach you from their experiences. You should always remember that each dive you take would be unique in itself. There are so many factors that could vary in each dive that it is highly probably that no dive could really be exactly the same. Veteran sky divers understand that once you are out there preparing for a jump, many things could happen, thus it is very important that you are physically and emotional prepared for any eventualities.
Getting Ready for the First Jump
Once you have learned the basic sky diving information that is the time when you start to plan your first dive with a sky diving instructor on your side. Just because you already have all the sky diving information you need does not mean that you are already a professional and can do things on your own.
You should never be overly confident when it comes to skydiving. There are many veteran sky diver who still have accidents during routine jumps so it is really very wise for you to take all the necessary precautions before you attempt to sky dive.
Checking Your Sky Diving Equipment
Sky diving is not an activity to be taken lightly, and having the absolute best sky diving equipment is a must for obvious reasons. Many people trust their sky diving company to choose the proper equipment, after all, they know their own domain better than you do, however the other side of the coin is that it’s you who is going to jump out of that plane.
Of course, if you jump out of a plane with faulty equipment, their company will subsequently suffer from it, but in a very different way than you will. It is for this reason that you should take looking at sky diving equipment into serious consideration as you plan your sky diving adventure.
Never Take it for Granted
Although it should be a given that every company’s sky diving equipment is of top quality, unfortunately, such things can not be taken on faith. Of course, no company will want to cause problems, but companies frequently take a rather lackadaisical approach to buying and maintaining equipment. People who work in the business of sky diving are familiar with jumping every day, many times a day.
For customers getting ready to jump, sky diving is not at all an every day occurrence; the feeling of getting ready to jump is totally different for the jumper than for the people who go up with the plane every day to facilitate clients’ sky diving experience. Sky diving equipment, though high on the list of importance for safety reasons, is not a focal point for people who see sky diving up close every day of the week. Of course, they are not looking to cause accidents, but for them, a parachute is a parachute, not a magic wand.
Sky diving equipment should be of top quality to begin with as well as being flawlessly maintained and carefully checked after each jump. As you choose a company that will be your host for your sky diving equipment, make sure that quality is highest on your list of priorities.
Check and double check the company’s history with concern to their planes and everything inside them as well as the jumper’s equipment from parachute to head gear. Though ultimately, this is the company’s responsibility, every jumper should take the importance of safety and proper equipment into their own hands. When in doubt, seek a second opinion, and always get more recommendations for a sky diving company than you would for a hairdresser.
Getting the Sky Diving Information That you Need
There are many things that you need to learn before you actually try your mettle up in the skies. First, you must understand that when you go sky diving, you should know the basic sky diving information such as what types of equipments you will need, what time of the day is best suited for sky diving, what conditions are favorable when sky diving and what are the basic dos and don’ts when executing your jump.
The best place fro you to get the necessary sky diving information you need is to go to a sky diving center and enroll in one of those sky diving classes. The good thing about enrolling in sky diving classes is that you can actually get first hand sky diving information from veteran skydivers.
There are so many things that veteran skydivers can teach you from their experiences. You should always remember that each dive you take would be unique in itself. There are so many factors that could vary in each dive that it is highly probably that no dive could really be exactly the same. Veteran sky divers understand that once you are out there preparing for a jump, many things could happen, thus it is very important that you are physically and emotional prepared for any eventualities.
Getting Ready for the First Jump
Once you have learned the basic sky diving information that is the time when you start to plan your first dive with a sky diving instructor on your side. Just because you already have all the sky diving information you need does not mean that you are already a professional and can do things on your own.
You should never be overly confident when it comes to skydiving. There are many veteran sky diver who still have accidents during routine jumps so it is really very wise for you to take all the necessary precautions before you attempt to sky dive.
Checking Your Sky Diving Equipment
Sky diving is not an activity to be taken lightly, and having the absolute best sky diving equipment is a must for obvious reasons. Many people trust their sky diving company to choose the proper equipment, after all, they know their own domain better than you do, however the other side of the coin is that it’s you who is going to jump out of that plane.
Of course, if you jump out of a plane with faulty equipment, their company will subsequently suffer from it, but in a very different way than you will. It is for this reason that you should take looking at sky diving equipment into serious consideration as you plan your sky diving adventure.
Never Take it for Granted
Although it should be a given that every company’s sky diving equipment is of top quality, unfortunately, such things can not be taken on faith. Of course, no company will want to cause problems, but companies frequently take a rather lackadaisical approach to buying and maintaining equipment. People who work in the business of sky diving are familiar with jumping every day, many times a day.
For customers getting ready to jump, sky diving is not at all an every day occurrence; the feeling of getting ready to jump is totally different for the jumper than for the people who go up with the plane every day to facilitate clients’ sky diving experience. Sky diving equipment, though high on the list of importance for safety reasons, is not a focal point for people who see sky diving up close every day of the week. Of course, they are not looking to cause accidents, but for them, a parachute is a parachute, not a magic wand.
Sky diving equipment should be of top quality to begin with as well as being flawlessly maintained and carefully checked after each jump. As you choose a company that will be your host for your sky diving equipment, make sure that quality is highest on your list of priorities.
Check and double check the company’s history with concern to their planes and everything inside them as well as the jumper’s equipment from parachute to head gear. Though ultimately, this is the company’s responsibility, every jumper should take the importance of safety and proper equipment into their own hands. When in doubt, seek a second opinion, and always get more recommendations for a sky diving company than you would for a hairdresser.
Monday, 18 April 2011
What You Need To Know
Parachuting, or skydiving, is an activity involving the breaking of a free-fall from a height using a parachute. It’s performed as a recreational activity, competitive sport, deployment of military personnel and occasionally, forest fire-fighters. The history of skydiving begins with descent from hot-air balloons by Andre Jacque Garnerin in 1797. Modern skydiving has been around for about 200 years. Early competitions date back to the 1930s, and it became an international sport in 1951. Skydiving has been used in the military in the early 1900s during World War I, and used in World War II.
Flying the parachute has two basic challenges: to land where planned, often on a target; and to avoid injury. On a more advanced note, some skydivers enjoy performing aerobatic manoeuvres with parachutes. An example of this would be the “Swoop”, an extremely exciting, but dangerous skill which entails a fast speed approach towards the ground, and then levelling off a couple of feet above the ground to cover as much distance as possible (as much as 600 feet), in a fast horizontal swoop.
A modern parachute or canopy “wing” can glide substantial distances. Elliptical canopies go faster and farther, and some small, highly loaded canopies glide faster than a man can run, which can make them very challenging to land. A highly experienced skydiver using a very small canopy can achieve over 60 mph horizontal speeds in landing.
A good landing will not have any discomfort at all, and will land the skydiver within a few feet of his intended location. In competitions, champion accuracy skydivers routinely land less than two inches from the centre of a target.
Nowadays, most of the skydiving related injuries happen under a fully opened and functioning parachute, the most common reasons for these injuries are badly-executed, radical manoeuvres near to the ground, like hook turns, or too-low or too-high landing flares.
Parachuting organizations
National parachuting associations exist in many countries (many affiliated with the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI)), to promote their sport. In most cases, national representative bodies, as well as prudent local dropzone operators, require that participants carry certification, attesting to their training, their level of experience in the sport, and their proven competence. Anyone who cannot produce such bona-fides is treated as a student, requiring close supervision.
Within the sport, associations promote safety, technical advances, training-and-certification, competition and other interests of their members. Outside their respective communities, they promote their sport to the public, and often intercede with government regulators.
Competitions are organized at regional, national and international levels in most these disciplines. Some of them offer amateur competition. Many of the more photogenic/videogenic variants also enjoy sponsored events with prize money for the winners.
The majority of jumpers tend to be non-competitive, enjoying the opportunity to “get some air” with their friends on weekends and holidays. The atmosphere of their gatherings is relaxed, sociable and welcoming to newcomers. Party events, called “boogies” are arranged at local, national and international scale, each year, attracting both the enthusiastic young jumpers and many of their elders — Parachutists Over Phorty (POPs), Skydivers Over Sixty (SOS) and even older groups who have yet to choose a catchy name for themselves. Famous people associated with this sport include Valery Rozov who is a gold medallist from the 1998 “X” Games, who has had more than 1,500 jumps. Also, there is Georgia Thompson (“Tiny”) Broadwick who is one of the first American skydivers, and she made the first freefall.
Parachuting Records
World’s largest freefall formation: 400. This record was set February 8, 2006 in Udon Thani, Thailand.
Don Kellner holds the record for the most parachute jumps, with a total of over 36,000 jumps.
Cheryl Stearns (USA) holds the record for the most parachute descents by a woman, with a total of 15,560 in August 2003.
Capt. Joe W. Kittinger achieved the highest parachute jump in history on August 16, 1960 as part of a United States Air Force program testing high-altitude escape systems. Wearing a pressure suit, Capt. Kittinger ascended for an hour and a half in an open gondola attached to a balloon to an altitude of 102,800 feet, where he then jumped. The fall lasted more than 13 minutes, during which Capt. Kittinger reached speeds exceeding 600 miles per hour.
Comfortable clothes. Call ahead to see if the Dropzone provides jumpsuits. Some require them, some just offer them and some don't have them. If you will not be wearing a jumpsuit, wear heavy jeans and a shirt that will prevent your boobies from flying out. Or not, it's your video.
Cash. Pretty much everyone either requires or gives a discount for cash. Also Instructors always love tips.
Money to buy video. You want the video. Trust me on this.
Something to keep you occupied while you wait. Anytime you try to put human beings on an airplane shit gets in the way and sometimes you have to wait. Depending on where and when you go, the wait can be anything from the 10 mins it takes you to fill out your paperwork to leaving after an 8 hour wait without jumping. What will affect your wait time?
1. Weather. You can't jump through clouds, so if you live the Pacific Northwest bring a sandwich and a deck of cards.
2. The day of the week. Some places get super busy on the weekends, so a weekday jump may be preferable.
3. Your arrival time. Arriving early, in the first available slot will result in the least amount of wait time.
What will happen after you arrive?
You will fill out paperwork, watch a horrible movie by Bill Booth, one of the inventors of tandem skydiving and the guy who made your skydiving equipment. Some places will put you in a class, some places will have your instructor train you.
The training will most likely be brief. You really just need to know what to do with your arms and legs on exit, in freefall, and during the landing. The training for the landing is the most important. If you forget everything else they say, pay attention to what they say for landing.
This is the part where you might have to wait like 5 hours. It's normal.
What will happen on your jump?
It depends. There is a variety of things Instructors do on the exit. Some will do a gainer, some a flip if you ask them. Most do a poised exit, where they face their belly into the wind as stable as possible. Within 10 seconds of leaving the aircraft they will deploy the drogue parachute. It is a small parachute that both stabilizes the tandem pair and slows them to a 'normal' 120mph.
If you have Outside Video your jump will be much more entertaining. Your videographer will fly around and take some cool shots of you, and may even come in for a highfive. If your Dropzone only does HandCam, where you Instructor will wear a camera on his hand, the video is still cool, but if you don't really want it then don't get it. It's worth the cost of the Outside Video just to have another person out there with you.
At around 5,000ft your Instructor will pull the drogue release cable. Up until this time the drogue has been behind you. When the cable is pulled the drogue is not longer attached to your Instructor's harness. It will then catch air and pull your main parachute out of the container and inflate. Opening shock isn't that severe at all, so don't expect some huge jolt.
After opening your Instructor will detach the two lower connection points on your harness and proceed to burn off some altitude. At around 500ft they'll enter the pattern at the landing area and fly a downwind, base and final just like an aircraft. On landing you will do what they told you to do and then plop down. You may stand up, you may sit down, you might impact and rip your pants. It depends on about 5000 things, of which your Instructor can control about 2000.
Sometimes people say their ears hurt. If you have problems equalizing, like when you descend in an airliner, if your sinuses hurt, then skydiving may be problematic. Taking sinus clearing medication, like zyrtex, claritin, ibuprofen or something like that will help, as will cough drops or dayquil or something.
Is it safe?
No. You are jumping out of an airplane.
Will I hurt myself or die?
No, probably not. Tandem skydiving is the safest form of skydiving there is. It is safer than riding a bicycle in San Francisco or skateboarding or doing almost anything else where your body moves faster than 30mph.
How do I pick where to go?
There are a couple things you can do to make sure you pick the best Dropzone for your first jump.
Check out their reviews. Go to Yelp, Dropzone.com, Tripadvisor, etc. What are you looking for? Ignore anything complaining about the wait time. You should look for the vibe. Find a place where the reviews mention 'fun' over and over again. Avoid places where they say 'asshole' over and over again.
Find out what kind of aircraft they use and how many it seats. If the engine is piston powered, avoid at all costs. If the aircraft is turbine powered you're in luck. If the aircraft holds less than 10 people, avoid at all costs. Bigger, turbine powered aircraft mean higher altitude and a strong, healthy dropzone that has been around awhile or is run by competent people. Piston aircraft are small, noisy, uncomfortable, and should be avoided. These dropzones are generally smaller and are sometimes fly-by-night operations. Sometimes dropzones will use piston aircraft on weekdays. If this is the case make sure you jump out of a turbine.
Ask what kind of tandem equipment they use. If they say anything except Sigma don't go there. Sigma tandem systems are the newest in the industry and at this point everything else is outdated and based on a 20 year old design.
Flying the parachute has two basic challenges: to land where planned, often on a target; and to avoid injury. On a more advanced note, some skydivers enjoy performing aerobatic manoeuvres with parachutes. An example of this would be the “Swoop”, an extremely exciting, but dangerous skill which entails a fast speed approach towards the ground, and then levelling off a couple of feet above the ground to cover as much distance as possible (as much as 600 feet), in a fast horizontal swoop.
A modern parachute or canopy “wing” can glide substantial distances. Elliptical canopies go faster and farther, and some small, highly loaded canopies glide faster than a man can run, which can make them very challenging to land. A highly experienced skydiver using a very small canopy can achieve over 60 mph horizontal speeds in landing.
A good landing will not have any discomfort at all, and will land the skydiver within a few feet of his intended location. In competitions, champion accuracy skydivers routinely land less than two inches from the centre of a target.
Nowadays, most of the skydiving related injuries happen under a fully opened and functioning parachute, the most common reasons for these injuries are badly-executed, radical manoeuvres near to the ground, like hook turns, or too-low or too-high landing flares.
Parachuting organizations
National parachuting associations exist in many countries (many affiliated with the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI)), to promote their sport. In most cases, national representative bodies, as well as prudent local dropzone operators, require that participants carry certification, attesting to their training, their level of experience in the sport, and their proven competence. Anyone who cannot produce such bona-fides is treated as a student, requiring close supervision.
Within the sport, associations promote safety, technical advances, training-and-certification, competition and other interests of their members. Outside their respective communities, they promote their sport to the public, and often intercede with government regulators.
Competitions are organized at regional, national and international levels in most these disciplines. Some of them offer amateur competition. Many of the more photogenic/videogenic variants also enjoy sponsored events with prize money for the winners.
The majority of jumpers tend to be non-competitive, enjoying the opportunity to “get some air” with their friends on weekends and holidays. The atmosphere of their gatherings is relaxed, sociable and welcoming to newcomers. Party events, called “boogies” are arranged at local, national and international scale, each year, attracting both the enthusiastic young jumpers and many of their elders — Parachutists Over Phorty (POPs), Skydivers Over Sixty (SOS) and even older groups who have yet to choose a catchy name for themselves. Famous people associated with this sport include Valery Rozov who is a gold medallist from the 1998 “X” Games, who has had more than 1,500 jumps. Also, there is Georgia Thompson (“Tiny”) Broadwick who is one of the first American skydivers, and she made the first freefall.
Parachuting Records
World’s largest freefall formation: 400. This record was set February 8, 2006 in Udon Thani, Thailand.
Don Kellner holds the record for the most parachute jumps, with a total of over 36,000 jumps.
Cheryl Stearns (USA) holds the record for the most parachute descents by a woman, with a total of 15,560 in August 2003.
Capt. Joe W. Kittinger achieved the highest parachute jump in history on August 16, 1960 as part of a United States Air Force program testing high-altitude escape systems. Wearing a pressure suit, Capt. Kittinger ascended for an hour and a half in an open gondola attached to a balloon to an altitude of 102,800 feet, where he then jumped. The fall lasted more than 13 minutes, during which Capt. Kittinger reached speeds exceeding 600 miles per hour.
What should I know about skydiving before going?
What to bring?
Comfortable clothes. Call ahead to see if the Dropzone provides jumpsuits. Some require them, some just offer them and some don't have them. If you will not be wearing a jumpsuit, wear heavy jeans and a shirt that will prevent your boobies from flying out. Or not, it's your video.
Cash. Pretty much everyone either requires or gives a discount for cash. Also Instructors always love tips.
Money to buy video. You want the video. Trust me on this.
Something to keep you occupied while you wait. Anytime you try to put human beings on an airplane shit gets in the way and sometimes you have to wait. Depending on where and when you go, the wait can be anything from the 10 mins it takes you to fill out your paperwork to leaving after an 8 hour wait without jumping. What will affect your wait time?
1. Weather. You can't jump through clouds, so if you live the Pacific Northwest bring a sandwich and a deck of cards.
2. The day of the week. Some places get super busy on the weekends, so a weekday jump may be preferable.
3. Your arrival time. Arriving early, in the first available slot will result in the least amount of wait time.
What will happen after you arrive?
You will fill out paperwork, watch a horrible movie by Bill Booth, one of the inventors of tandem skydiving and the guy who made your skydiving equipment. Some places will put you in a class, some places will have your instructor train you.
The training will most likely be brief. You really just need to know what to do with your arms and legs on exit, in freefall, and during the landing. The training for the landing is the most important. If you forget everything else they say, pay attention to what they say for landing.
This is the part where you might have to wait like 5 hours. It's normal.
What will happen on your jump?
It depends. There is a variety of things Instructors do on the exit. Some will do a gainer, some a flip if you ask them. Most do a poised exit, where they face their belly into the wind as stable as possible. Within 10 seconds of leaving the aircraft they will deploy the drogue parachute. It is a small parachute that both stabilizes the tandem pair and slows them to a 'normal' 120mph.
If you have Outside Video your jump will be much more entertaining. Your videographer will fly around and take some cool shots of you, and may even come in for a highfive. If your Dropzone only does HandCam, where you Instructor will wear a camera on his hand, the video is still cool, but if you don't really want it then don't get it. It's worth the cost of the Outside Video just to have another person out there with you.
At around 5,000ft your Instructor will pull the drogue release cable. Up until this time the drogue has been behind you. When the cable is pulled the drogue is not longer attached to your Instructor's harness. It will then catch air and pull your main parachute out of the container and inflate. Opening shock isn't that severe at all, so don't expect some huge jolt.
After opening your Instructor will detach the two lower connection points on your harness and proceed to burn off some altitude. At around 500ft they'll enter the pattern at the landing area and fly a downwind, base and final just like an aircraft. On landing you will do what they told you to do and then plop down. You may stand up, you may sit down, you might impact and rip your pants. It depends on about 5000 things, of which your Instructor can control about 2000.
Sometimes people say their ears hurt. If you have problems equalizing, like when you descend in an airliner, if your sinuses hurt, then skydiving may be problematic. Taking sinus clearing medication, like zyrtex, claritin, ibuprofen or something like that will help, as will cough drops or dayquil or something.
Is it safe?
No. You are jumping out of an airplane.
Will I hurt myself or die?
No, probably not. Tandem skydiving is the safest form of skydiving there is. It is safer than riding a bicycle in San Francisco or skateboarding or doing almost anything else where your body moves faster than 30mph.
How do I pick where to go?
There are a couple things you can do to make sure you pick the best Dropzone for your first jump.
Check out their reviews. Go to Yelp, Dropzone.com, Tripadvisor, etc. What are you looking for? Ignore anything complaining about the wait time. You should look for the vibe. Find a place where the reviews mention 'fun' over and over again. Avoid places where they say 'asshole' over and over again.
Find out what kind of aircraft they use and how many it seats. If the engine is piston powered, avoid at all costs. If the aircraft is turbine powered you're in luck. If the aircraft holds less than 10 people, avoid at all costs. Bigger, turbine powered aircraft mean higher altitude and a strong, healthy dropzone that has been around awhile or is run by competent people. Piston aircraft are small, noisy, uncomfortable, and should be avoided. These dropzones are generally smaller and are sometimes fly-by-night operations. Sometimes dropzones will use piston aircraft on weekdays. If this is the case make sure you jump out of a turbine.
Ask what kind of tandem equipment they use. If they say anything except Sigma don't go there. Sigma tandem systems are the newest in the industry and at this point everything else is outdated and based on a 20 year old design.
Sunday, 17 April 2011
About Tandem Skydiving
Tandem skydiving or tandem parachuting refers to a type of skydiving where a student skydiver is connected via a harness to a tandem instructor. The instructor guides the student through the whole jump from exit through freefall, piloting the canopy, and landing. The student needs only minimal instruction before making a tandem jump. This is one of three commonly used training methods for beginning skydivers; the others being static line and Accelerated Freefall (known as Progressive Freefall in Canada).
Tandem skydiving is a very popular training method for first time skydivers, but it is more expensive than a static line skydive. It exposes first-time jumpers to skydiving with minimal expectations from the student. The training may consist of many of the activities performed by any skydiving student, for example, how to exit the aircraft, how to do maneuvers in freefall, and how to deploy the main canopy themselves. However, the tandem master remains primarily responsible for safe and timely parachute deployment.
It takes a certain kind of person to jump from an aircraft at 15000ft into thin air. It takes courage. Harnessed by space age materials to an experienced qualified Jumpmaster, you step out that aircraft door and for some 60 seconds you plummet towards the ground at 200KPH, Terminal Velocity. The Jumpmaster will deploy the reinforced tandem canopy controlling your entire skydive.
Expect sensory overload as your mind/soul/body fight against every natural self preservatory urge.
15000ft = “Achievement doesn’t come sweeter.”
JUMP ALTITUDE FREEFALL HEART RATE PRICE
15000 feet 60 seconds NZ$395.00
12000 feet 45 seconds NZ$295.00
9000 feet 30 seconds NZ$245.00
The personal challenge is immense. Immense, because the only thing preventing you from enjoying this, one of the most primal life shaping experiences, is your own mind. You must choose. To go through life able to say ’yes, I did it’, or to go through life knowing that you had the opportunity, but you turned it down and walked away from becoming the complete person you could have been.
We operate 7 days a week - All year round
Departures: Hourly (weather permitting)
Duration: Allow 3 hours to make your tandem skydive
Transport: Courtesy transport provided from NZONE Shop 35 Shotover Street, Queenstown or your accomodation in Rotorua.
Clothing: All outer clothing and equipment supplied
Additional: Receive a personal achievement certificate upon completion of your skydive
Tandem skydiving is a very popular training method for first time skydivers, but it is more expensive than a static line skydive. It exposes first-time jumpers to skydiving with minimal expectations from the student. The training may consist of many of the activities performed by any skydiving student, for example, how to exit the aircraft, how to do maneuvers in freefall, and how to deploy the main canopy themselves. However, the tandem master remains primarily responsible for safe and timely parachute deployment.
It takes a certain kind of person to jump from an aircraft at 15000ft into thin air. It takes courage. Harnessed by space age materials to an experienced qualified Jumpmaster, you step out that aircraft door and for some 60 seconds you plummet towards the ground at 200KPH, Terminal Velocity. The Jumpmaster will deploy the reinforced tandem canopy controlling your entire skydive.
Expect sensory overload as your mind/soul/body fight against every natural self preservatory urge.
15000ft = “Achievement doesn’t come sweeter.”
JUMP ALTITUDE FREEFALL HEART RATE PRICE
15000 feet 60 seconds NZ$395.00
12000 feet 45 seconds NZ$295.00
9000 feet 30 seconds NZ$245.00
The personal challenge is immense. Immense, because the only thing preventing you from enjoying this, one of the most primal life shaping experiences, is your own mind. You must choose. To go through life able to say ’yes, I did it’, or to go through life knowing that you had the opportunity, but you turned it down and walked away from becoming the complete person you could have been.
We operate 7 days a week - All year round
Departures: Hourly (weather permitting)
Duration: Allow 3 hours to make your tandem skydive
Transport: Courtesy transport provided from NZONE Shop 35 Shotover Street, Queenstown or your accomodation in Rotorua.
Clothing: All outer clothing and equipment supplied
Additional: Receive a personal achievement certificate upon completion of your skydive
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