Skydiving Travel & Destinations Guide Worldwide

Skydiving

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Origin

The Chinese may have used parachute-like devices as court entertainment as far back as the 12th century. Leonardo da Vinci had a sketch of a parachute in his dairies in the 15th century. French aeronaut Jean Pierre Blanchard claimed to have invented the parachute in 1785. But it wasn't until 1797 that Andre-Jacques Garnerin attempted the first sky dive, out of a hot air balloon. It led to him inventing the first frameless parachute, and his wife emerging as the first female parachutist and hang glider. Ironically, Garnerin’s death, although parachute related, was actually caused by a falling beam in his workshop while he was building a balloon.

It’s the one experience that can take you from an adrenaline rush to a Zen-like calm in a few seconds. You go from falling at incredible speeds, to floating through the sky taking in breathtaking views from angles and heights you never thought possible. It’s a delicious feeling: fear and calm juxtaposed. Needless to say, there’s nothing quite like it.

Get Started

If you’re itching for a go, but are still a bit apprehensive, a tandem flight is just what you need. Enjoy the thrill of the ride with an experienced sky diver strapped to you taking care of the finer details, like pulling the chute cord. This is usually the most popular option and you’re taken up after a short briefing, with a qualified instructor and a parachute fit for two

If flying solo is on your list, you need to choose between two courses—the RAPS (Parachute Association Ram Air Progression System) or the AFF (Accelerated Free Fall). RAPS is a two-day course that teaches you to jump from 3,000 feet. You can become a qualified solo diver in 16 jumps, learning both necessary theory and practical skills. The course starts with lessons on basic safety precautions and proceeds to your first jump out of the plane. And yes, you need to learn how to exit a plane properly as well, with your chest towards the air that is going past the aircraft. Your chute opens automatically on your first few jumps. You train with a dummy rip cord for your next few jumps where your chute still opens automatically, but this time, you’re learning how to pull the ripcord as well.

Soon, the altitude gets higher, your freefall descents longer and you’re able to do the following just before you finish your course: a dive exit, back loops, and tracking (fast forward movement) including controlled turning while tracking. Before you’re awarded your certificate, you need to add these to your repertoire. Your qualifying jump must demonstrate a back loop; 360-degree left turn; 360-degree right turn; straight track and end-of-dive ‘wave off’, from a minimum exit altitude of 8000 feet.

The AFF course is similar, but shorter (you could qualify as a diver in as little as eight jumps) and more expensive. A full day of ground training teaches you theory and safety procedures: how to handle your equipment, control your freefall and steer your parachute. After that, you’re taken up to jump from 12,000 feet, with two qualified sky divers guiding you on your first couple of jumps.

Equipment

It might read simple on paper, but don’t forget that the equipment weighs around 12 kilos. That’s the weight you need to be able to manoeuvre in mid-air, and possibly drag back if you miss landing at the drop zone. Reasonable good health is your basic requirement, and the minimum age allowance is 16 years. Students under 18 need a written letter of consent from parents or guardians. Don’t forget to dress comfortably. Track pants and T-shirts are your best bet. The rest of your equipment like goggles, helmets and jumpsuits will be provided at the drop zone. Keep weather conditions in mind—free falling through clouds isn’t going to be pleasant, not to mention a tad bit cold.

If you’re above 40 or suffer from any of a long list of medical conditions, you cannot consider skydiving as an option without your doctor’s signature on a ‘Declaration of Fitness to Parachute’ form, so get yourself checked out before you start.

The few injuries that do happen are usually related to an error in judgement on the part of the diver. A strict adherence to rules is therefore tantamount to the sport. If you’re still worried about the chute not opening, relax. Chances of that happening are extremely rare, but in case they do, all parachutes are packed with a reserve. They are also equipped with an automatic device which will pull the reserve parachute for you if it hasn’t been pulled by 2,000 feet.

Style

Skydiving is not just about jumping off a plane, opening a parachute at the right altitude and landing safely. Besides being a recreational activity, it’s also a competitive sport. There are different types of parachuting. Forget airplanes; try jumping off bridges, cliffs or buildings (BASE jumping). Big-ways and Canopy Formation has divers making formations while hurtling belly to earth; Freeflying involves flying in different ways, head down, flocking, sitflying; Tree-jumping, diving into a forest from a very low altitude; Speed Skydiving, the fastest non-motorised sport on earth, when you can reach in excess of 500 kmh; Sky Surfing with a board strapped to your feet; or Wingsuit Flying, in a special suit that provides extra lift - your options seem endless.

If the choices above prove too daunting, try some of the recreational bits. These test levels of skill and creativity (mostly of those who came up with the ideas in the first place). The simplest is the Hit and Rock - the objective is to land as possible to a chair on the drop zone, sit on it and rock back and forth at least once. There's also Pond Swooping, which has you gliding over a body of water testing you on speed, distance, style and of course, your efforts at not getting drenched in the process. For a cross-country jump, you must open your chute as soon as you dive and cover as much ground as possible before landing. Or you can jump out with a camera and film your fellow divers.

Lingo

Drop zone – Large open space and area where a parachutist is expected to land. Also slang for a skydiving centre.

Automatic activation device – A device that automatically opens the reserve parachute if the diver hasn’t managed to deploy their parachute in time.

Tandem skydiving – Skydiving with an instructor attached to the diver by a harness.

BASE jump – Skydiving off buildings, cliffs and bridges instead of planes. It stands for Building, Antenna, Span, Earth (B.A.S.E)

Toggles – Handles for the steering lines on the parachute.

Terminal velocity – When the force of air resistance pushing up against the skydiver is equal to the force of gravity pushing him or her downward, the skydiver falls at a constant speed, known as terminal velocity.

Rig – Skydiver gear including the parachute, main and reserve canopies and the harness.

Rip cord – A cable with a handle on the end that is pulled to deploy the parachute.

Formation skydiving – Skydivers making formations in the sky based on a predetermined sequence of freefall formations

Freestyle – Acrobatic skydiving.

Govern

British Parachute Association - http://www.bpa.org.uk/
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale - http://www.fai.org/
United States Parachute association - http://www.uspa.org/
Canadian Sport Parachuting Association - http://www.cspa.ca/en/index.htm
Parachute Association of South Africa - http://www.para.co.za/
Australian Parachute Federation - http://www.apf.asn.au/
RAF Sports Parachute Association - http://www.raf.mod.uk/skydive/

Packing

Clothes: comfortable and flexible - you'll be best to pack for the gym, take trainers not shoes.

Gear: at first this will be provided by the parachuting centre, but you may soon look for your own goggles, jumpsuits and helmet.

Camera: make it rugged, and with the permission of your instructors, you can always look to bringing a helmet cam, but always check first - safety is everything.

Registration information: medical forms, and current documentation. Once you are registered with the FAI or BPA you will get a licence, make sure you pack it.

Warm kit: as there's often time spent waiting to jump, bring a warm top, perhaps even a waterproof in case you get caught out.

Families and friends: although they won't fit in your jump bag, you can be sure they are going to want to enjoy your first jumps - from the ground!

Skydiving Travel Guide

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