Here are some of
the most frequently asked questions about skydiving.
Please feel free to contact
us with any questions not covered here.
| 1. Why do you jump out of a perfectly good airplane? |
| 2. How safe is it? |
| 3. Is there an organization that oversees skydiving? |
| 4. Can I make a jump the same day I come over? |
| 5. How many times a day can you jump? |
| 6. What happens if I made a reservation and the weather turns bad? |
| 7. How high will we be jumping from? |
| 8. How fast is skydiving? |
| 9. How long does a skydive last? |
| 10. How long will the canopy ride take? |
| 11. How long does a parachute last? |
| 12. What do I need to wear? |
| 13. What kind of other safety is there? |
| 14. When does wind become a problem? |
| 15. I wear contacts; is this a problem? |
| 16. Does skydiving make you sick to your stomach? |
1.> Why do you jump out of a perfectly good airplane? Because nothing else in this world gives you that perfect feeling of flying and freedom. |
| 2.> How
safe is it? It's hard to put a number on it but skydiving has undergone a huge progression in terms of material and equipment used. The number of accidents related to total equipment malfunctions has gone down drastically since the early days of sport parachuting and round parachutes. Today it is unfortunately mostly pilot error that leads to accidents. Malfunctions do occur fairly frequently at drop zones and most skydivers have used or will use that cutaway handle at one time or another in their skydiving career. One research study shows that cutaways happen on average once in every 400 jumps. |
| 3.> Is
there an organization that oversees skydiving? USPA, United States Parachute Association is the self governing organization of skydivers |
| 4.> Can
I make a jump the same day I come over? Absolutely. Depending on the type of jump you'll be making, your training will be 30-40 minutes for a tandem and around 5 hours for your first AFF jump. After that you're ready to go up with your instructor(s) and jump. |
| 5.> How
many times a day can you jump? Experienced skydivers can jump as many times as they get their rig packed and get on a load, while most weekend jumpers would call it a good day if they get somewhere from 4-7 jumps in. For students in the AFF program we recommend no more than 2 jumps a day, due to heightened requirements of physical and psychological nature during student training. Of course it all depends on the student itself. |
| 6.> What
happens if I made a reservation and the weather turns bad? If that happens we will reschedule your skydive to the next possible day for you, refund your deposit if you haven't gone through ground training yet or apply it any way you see fit. |
| 7.> How
high will we be jumping from? 12,500' AGL 14,500' MSL |
| 8.> How
fast is skydiving? Average Freefall speed for tandems: 110 mph -120 mph Average Freefall speed for free flying: 160 mph - 170 mph Average Freefall speed for going head down with arms folded in: 200 mph+ |
| 9.> How
long does a skydive last? Experienced skydivers that exit at 12,500' AGL, Freefall belly-to-earth and deploy around 3,000'-2,500' AGL have around a minute of playtime. Free flyers (because of the higher Freefall speed) and tandems (because of the higher deployment altitude) have ~ 45 seconds to play. |
| 10.> How
long will the canopy ride take? Depending on passenger weight and wind speed; somewhere between 4-8 minutes. |
| 11.> How
long does a parachute last? It obviously depends on the intensity and care of flying but in most cases it's the lines that wear out first. A new line set for a canopy is due somewhere after putting around 400-800 jumps on it. The material itself is made to last and even today people still jump parachutes that were manufactured decades ago. |
| 12.> What
do I need to wear? Comfortable fitting sports clothing with sneakers or other solid footwear will be perfect; we have jumpsuits and all other gear here for you. |
| 13.> What
other kinds of safety are there? Well, let's see. There are 2 parachutes, (a main and a reserve parachute; both functioning independently from each other) an AAD that will fire the reserve, (or main if set up that way) the instructor(s) and as a last resort there is god (or any other higher power you believe, or don't believe in) |
| 14.> When
does wind become a problem? While there is no wind limit requirement for experienced skydivers, student operations will only take place at wind speeds of 14 mph or less, in accordance with the BSR's of the ISP. This does not include tandems since they, besides the fact of being piloted by a very experienced pilot, can fly much better in higher winds due to the added weight of the passenger. |
| 15.> I
wear contacts; is this a problem? Not at all; just let your instructor know so that extra care will be taken in selecting goggles for you. |
|
16.>Does
skydiving make you sick to your stomach? |