Category A : First Jump Course

Introduction to Skydiving

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-tzu
Chinese philosopher (604 BC - 531 BC)

Making the decision to learn to skydive is an exhilarating commitment, and that first jump is a pivotal and memorable moment in virtually every skydiver's life.

Your training begins with a 6- to 8-hour ground school, where you will learn how the parachute system functions, the basics of freefall aerodynamics and control for stability, how to use your altimeter, how to fly your canopy and land where you choose, and what to do in case of an emergency. You will learn how to receive communication from your instructors - we use a simple set of hand signals to communicate information to you.

After your training is complete - weather and daylight permitting - you can make that first jump the very same day.

The freefall portion of the jump is concentrated on stability and awareness. You exit the plane in a body position designed to maximize your stability and quickly gain a belly-to-earth position. You will perform a Circle of Awareness (COA) - checking your Heading, Altimeter, Reserve Side Instructor and Main Side Instructor. Then you will complete three Practice Pulls by touching your deployment handle three times and returning to your neutral body position. For the remainder of the dive (you have almost a whole minute of freefall!), you check your heading and altimeter and watch for corrections from your instructors.

At 5,500 feet you deploy your parachute, fly back to the landing area, execute your landing pattern, and get your feet back on terra firma.

Your instructors will meet with you on landing and review the dive. You'll begin your first logbook, and (pending successful completion of all your learning objectives and satisfactory performance on the dive) you can proceed to Category B.

Next (Category A - Airplane Safety) >>

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