How to Become a Certified Skydiver

All skydivers need to first drop in for training.

Skydiving is an expensive hobby -- expect to pay as much as $2,000 for training and twice that for gear -- and only certified divers are allowed to take the plunge alone. Skydivers must have a license from the United States Parachute Association, and the license is only available to those who complete several training requirements.

Things You'll Need

• Skydiving gear

Instructions

1. Go on a tandem skydive where you are attached to an instructor via a harness. Find a USPA affiliated dropzone near you and set up an appointment through dropzone.com. You must sign a waiver to do this dive.

2. Complete a "First Jump Course" through the USPA. This ground school course teaches jumpers about potential malfunctions, proper gear, emergency procedures and hand signals.

3. Sign up for the Accelerated FreeFall (AFF) course. Course requirements change from dropzone to dropzone, but typically the AFF course has seven levels. Each level will require you prove your knowledge of skydiving safety procedures and certain maneuvers for a jump. The early levels include jumps with two instructors. The later levels have one instructor and will require the completion of several maneuvers such as flips in the air.

4. Apply for a license at the conclusion of the class.

Tips & Warnings

• Skydiving isn't a cheap hobby to get into. Expect to spend anywhere from $1200 to $2000 on your AFF, and anywhere from $2000 to $5000 on your gear.

• Don't give up. If you fail a level, it isn't the end of the world. Keep trying. Some of the best skydivers I know graduated AFF in 20 to 30 jumps rather than the typical 7. Personally, it took me 9 jumps.

• Make sure your dropzone is affiliated with the United States Parachute Association (USPA)

• Anyone under age 18 will need a parent's signature to take a parachute jumping class.

References

• Skydive
• Drop Zone