Did you know?

Skydiving is a real sport!

There are lots of different ways you can fly

Lots.

No really

A lot a lot

You can compete!

Team competitions involve timed rounds where you make

formations with your teammates.

Depending on the competition, the formations could be all on

your belly or in any orientation.

Your team jumps out at 10,500-13,500 ftAlong with your video guy, who videos the whole jump

They take the video to the

judges on the ground, who

watch and count how many

formations your team made in the first 35 seconds.

The team with the most wins!

You can compete under

canopy too

Usually you compete for accuracy

But speed and distance

competitions exist, too

Or you can try to make bigger and bigger formations

instead

This can take multiple planes

There’s plenty of ways to goof around too!

And plenty of fun things to jump out of!

What equipment do you

use?

Skydivers use ram-air, square parachutes. You can flare

these, so if done right your landing should be no harder

than jumping off a step!

You have 2 parachutes – if your main one fails, you can cut it away (not literally) and pull

your reserve parachute

Most gear has an AAD (Automatic Activation Device) that will deploy for you if you

are falling dangerously fast at a low altitude (like if you were

unconscious)

Obviously the parachute’s the most important, but there are

some other good things to have!

1. Altimeter – tells you the altitude so you know when to pull

2. Helmet – Protects your noggin

3. Jumpsuit – Covers your clothes and can make it easier to control your motions in freefall

4. Ditter – beeps in your ear at preset altitudes

1

2

3

4

But is it safe?

Risks

The inherent risks of skydiving are obvious and serious

That being said, a lot is done to mitigate these risks.

Skydiving Safety Stats

In an ordinary year, there are ~3 MILLION skydives made at USPA (United States Parachute Association) drop zones, but only ~21 fatalities. This means that in any given jump, you have a .0007% chance of dying. More people die per year in the US from lightning strikes!

Of those fatalities, almost none are due to equipment failures. Most are experienced skydivers attempting risky maneuvers under fully functional canopies

So how do you learn?

This is a tandem jump! You are attached to an instructor

Your first jump will probably look like this

For some people, that’s enough. I’ve never talked to anyone who didn’t enjoy their skydive (even people who are terrified before hand), but I’ve talked to plenty who don’t want/need to do it again. That’s OK!

…but some of us need MORE.

By the end of this 7 jump course you will be allowed to jump solo!

For those of us, there’s AFF (Accelerated FreeFall)

Before your first jump, there will be a 5 hour ground course. Your instructors will talk to you about body position during freefall, emergency procedures, and how to fly and land your canopy

safely. Then it’s into the air!

AFF Levels

AFF Level 1 – Deploy your own parachute at a safe altitude

AFF Level 2 – Forward motion and turning while instructors hold onto you

AFF Level 3 – Instructors release you for the first time! Stay stable

AFF Level 4 – Released to do turns

AFF Level 5 – Bigger turns

AFF Level 6 – Exit solo, back flips, tracking (fast forward motion)

AFF Level 7 – Clearance dive: do all the maneuvers

Your first three jumps you will have 2 instructors to hold onto you and keep you safe. As your

skills progress, you will only have one instructor for jumps

four through seven.

Each level has a central “goal”, designed to help make you a

safe skydiver.

But you’re not done yet!

After AFF you can skydive solo and with one other (much more experienced) person, but you can’t jump with whoever you like or do all the types of jumps you might want to do. To be a full fledged skydiver, you should get your A-License

How do you get an A-License?

Have 25 Jumps

Learn how to pack your own main parachute

Be able to dive after another jumper and dock with them

Land accurately

Do a Hop n’ Pop (exit at 3500 feet, get stable within 3 seconds, and deploy)

Demonstrate understanding of equipment used

Etc

Yeah but what does it cost?

A lot

Numbers

AFF 1 + Ground Course - $285

AFF 2 - $200

AFF 3 - $200

AFF 4 - $150

AFF 5 - $ 150

AFF 6 - $150

AFF 7 - $150

Total : $1285

Jumps after that: $25! :D

For a tandem you should expect to pay $200-$300,

depending on where you go, cash/credit, weekday/weekend,

group discount, college discount, etc.

For a video, you should expect to pay ~$115

The good news

You don’t need to have $1285 right now!

To stay current you need to do at least one jump a month. This means you just need to scrape together $150-$200 a month after AFF 1 – very doable!

$25/jump is awesome

The not-so-good news

Yes you can fail a level (no this doesn’t mean you die, you just didn’t accomplish the goal of the jump)

You then have to repeat that level.

Taking too long between jumps may make you rusty, increasing your chances of failing a level.

Gear rental is $20/jump until you sort out getting your own gear

Sign me up!

Just a tandem nearbyFinger Lakes

Skydivers

40 minutes away

$275 weekend jump paid cash

Nice view of the Finger Lakes from altitude

I can sometimes find people a ride here

Skydive CNY

1 hour away

$229 college student weekend jump paid cash ($199 for a group of 5+)

You are on your own to get here

C-182Both of these drop zones use a Cessna 182, a small prop plane

that carries the pilot and 4 skydivers to 10,500 feet AGL

But if you’re more seriousYou should go to Endless

Mountain Skydivers.

They offer the AFF program and a Twin Beech ( holds 14 people) and goes 12,000-13,500 AGL).

They are 2 hours away (but you can crash on the drop zone for

free and stay the whole weekend!)

Tandems here are $210 cash or for college students

That’s all folks!

Questions?

I have cool videos too :D

If enough people finish AFF and are on their way to getting their A-License, maybe we can form an official club or sport club!