If you’re buying skydiving gift certificates for skydiving lessons, you basically have three options. There’s static line, tandem jumps, or accelerated freefall. Accelerated freefall allows you to jump and get almost a minute of freefall, your very first time out.
For over twenty five years skydivers have enjoyed an alternative to a static line jumps. Skydiving courses begin with almost a full day of ground school, which ranges from 6 to 8 hours depending upon the school you attend. The reason for the extra instruction is because accelerated freefall students jump higher and fall longer than students who learn using static line a progression.
You will be jumping from over 10,000 feet, which allows between 45 seconds to a minute of freefall before chute deployment at between the four thousand and five thousand feet. Of course you are not going to be doing this by yourself that first time. Students jump with two instructors who hold onto their harness to ensure good form and proper chute deployment.
This is the fastest way for a student to really feel what it’s like to skydive, while still maintaining an acceptable level of safety. Of course because students have dedicated instructors, accelerated freefall is more expensive than static line jumps. This is particularly true for the first three jumps at as most schools have two instructors jumping with each student.
The advantage of having two instructors with you is that you have plenty of time to practice sky diving skills, altitude awareness, and of course that all important ripcord pull. In the worst case scenario, an instructor can deploy the canopy of a student using their ripcord or by using specially modified ripcords on the student’s harness. In addition to two competent instructors, students jump with an automatic activation device, which will deploy the parachute if minimum safe altitude is passed at freefall speeds.
As the student progresses through the different levels of training, the focus the shifts from not only pulling up the ripcord, but also flying skills. New skydivers will learn to speed up, slow down, and turn. The most important skill (besides pulling that the ripcord) is the ability to recover if a maneuver results in instability and a loss of control.
Most jumps schools have seven levels of accelerated freefall instruction. The eighth level is usually reserved for practice jumps. These courses help a student skydiver complete the necessary 25 jumps to get a class A license from the United States Parachute Association. Once a student completes the 25 jumps under instructor supervision (and the necessary paperwork), the license allows them to jump unsupervised at any drop zone in the United States. Accelerated freefall is a good choice for a student skydiver to quickly learn the basics and become a competent and licensed skydiver.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
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