How to Pick a Skydiving Instructor

Skydiving is a sport that is dangerous, yet nothing can quite compare to the thrill of jumping from an airplane and soaring above the earth. Because of its inherent danger, it is crucial that you receive the best instruction available.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Look for a skydiving school in your area. These can be found in the phone book or online.

2. Go to the skydiving school and speak with the instructors there. Ask lots of questions; take note of how they answer your questions. Your life is in this person's hands: make sure you are comfortable with them and respect their professionalism.

3. Leave a school if they insist that you must do a tandem jump for your first jump. A tandem jump is not a necessity for your first time.

4. Find out if the school uses a static line jump. This method includes a ground school that teaches you how to parachute, steer, what to do in an emergency, and includes a jump at 3500 feet that is guided from the ground my your instructor. With this method, you receive a critique after the jump, a jump certificate, and a log book. It is the least expensive as it requires a smaller plane, and the instructor remains on the ground.

5. Find out if the school uses AFF to teach skydiving. AFF, or accelerated free-fall, includes a ground school, teaches you how to steer and what to do in an emergency, and will jump at 10,000 or 14,000 feet. One or two instructors will jump with you, holding onto you, until 5000 when you will pull the ripcord and jump the rest of the way alone. This is more expensive than the static jump method of instruction, as a large plane will be needed and the instructors who jump with you. You receive a jump certificate and a log book.

6. Determine if the school uses the tandem method to teach skydiving. Since the instructor jumps with you and you are tethered for the entire jump, little or no ground training is involved.

7. Pick a skydiving school that suits you. If tandem jumping is all you wish to do, then choose a school that will cater to your needs. Do not be talked into something by someone else.

Who Can Help:

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Resources

• Sky Dive St. Louis Area has an article on choosing instructors.
• Kudzu has a good article on choosing the right instructor for skydiving.

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on 1/14/2008 Actually, many dropzones require a tandem for your first jump for instructor and student safety. I'd say a dropzone that value's it's student's life and employee's life is definately worth looking at.

Static line is not cheaper. The jumps cost less, but there's more of them, so it ends up being the same price for staticline and AFF.

AFF can be done out of a small plane, static line/IAD can be done out of a big one.

There is no "tandem method" to teach skydivng.