Skydiving for Beginners

If you dare try the extreme sport of skydiving then you will face the challenge of quite literally diving down from the air and enjoy the spectacular bird’s eye view of the world but not without some safety measures.  Typically this sport requires you to jump from either a helicopter or an airplane from a small airbase called a drop zone.

Falling Back to Earth

Before getting into this spectacular sport you must know that skydivers jump off a plane at the height of 13,000 feet which is equivalent to 4,000 meters.  But that’s not all you will experience a state of free fall temporarily before you can open your parachute which will serve as your break to soften your descent until such time you attain a safe and slow speed to land.

In fact, your parachute doesn’t fully inflate itself until it reaches the height of 2,500 feet.  Part of the reason behind this is that every skydiver follows the rule of having two parachutes.  The first parachute is considered the main one while the second is just back-up just in case something happens to the first.

After your parachute gets fully inflated you can now steer it in wherever direction you want and control your speed using the parachute’s steering lines.  If you’re an experienced diver steering your way accurately to a safe landing is an easy task.  The basis of skydive competitions are the exactness of your landing in a specified spot and the technique of how you landed.

Aside from preparing yourself for a dive from the plane, activating your parachute and free falling down to the surface, there are actually different areas of specializations in this sport.

Group Formation

Diving in a formation with a group is considered an art.  This works by diving and creating a formation while in the state of free fall before breaking off and then opening up your parachute as you land back to the surface.  An interesting trivia on this sport is that the world record of skydivers who have performed this is 400 and they were able to stick with their formation for about 4.25 seconds from the height of 25,000 feet in Udon Thai, Thailand.

Free styling Solo

This is considered the most entertaining kind of skydive.  This is where skydivers can perform some tricks by doing some acrobatic stunts like rolling, tumbling and other aerial tricks while on freefall before opening their parachute and landing.  Usually skydivers performing this would need a partner skydiver.

The second skydiver won’t be performing stunts but instead their purpose is to film the entire performance from a video camera lodged in their helmet.  This type of dive is in fact a registered competitive sport since 1996 by the FAI.

Free Flying Your Way

This kind of skydiving is also considered an art by which you get to control your body to move in different static positions while on freefall before opening up your parachute and landing safely.  Some moves you need to learn before performing this dive are Sit Flying, Back Flying and Head Down. This will help you control your speed and flight.

Before opening up your parachute you will need to do some exit rolls as you end your free fall so you can land safely.

FAQ’s About Skydiving

There is no doubt that skydiving is an extreme sport. After all, you are jumping from a high altitude and there is a chance that you could plunge to your death. But there are measures to prevent that from happening and usually one of the many questions people ask about this activity.

First, is skydiving safe? Skydiving is considered to be safe when there is only an average of 35 fatalities or even less per year. There are more than 2 million skydivers in the US so that is a very small figure. The cause of most of the fatalities is carelessness on the part of the jumper and not faulty equipment. This is why the equipment used needs to be checked and rechecked before a jump is made.

Is there a minimum age limit for skydiving? Here in the US, you must be at least 18 years of age. In other countries like the UK, the age limit is much lower since you can jump at the age of 16. There is also no limit to what age you can jump as long as you are in good physical condition which means someone who is pushing 60 of higher can still do it.

Do skydiving centers enforce a weight limit? The answer is no. Anyone can make the jump but if they weigh 226 pounds and above, there are additional charges that need to be paid.

Can you jump if you have a health condition? It depends but you will not be allowed to do should you be epileptic, have heart ailments or obese.

Is there special equipment you need to go skydiving? There are 5 basic things you need to go skydiving. These are namely the backpack, jumpsuit, helmet, altimeter and parachute. All of these should be in good working condition so you will not encounter any problems when you make the jump.

What happens if the parachute does not open? Fortunately, all skydivers carry a second parachute in their backpack. Once they pull the cord, this will deploy so you will descend safely into the ground.

What are odds that you need to use your second parachute? The good news is that this is very rare because the equipment that you rent is inspected by a certified FAA or Federal Aviation Administration rigger.

Are bad landings often in skydiving? The answer is no but they do happen. This is why you are trained on the ground first to teach you how to land safely but sometimes the wind or carelessness on the part of the jumper may cause this to occur.

Skydiving is a safe extreme sport which you should probably try out if you want to experience the thrill of jumping from a high altitude. There are many skydiving centers around and they are committed to make this experience a safe and memorable one so you can do it again.

If you just want to try it out, you can visit one and sign up for tandem skydiving where an instructor will be the one to wear the suit and guide you the moment you jump off the plane so you enjoy the view. The rates of the jumps vary so you should compare the prices of the different skydiving centers before taking the plunge.