So...you have made your first jump and you say you loved it? Well I'll be! You say you are interested in this whole sport skydiving thing? You want to know what's next?
Well if you made a tandem jump, you are going to have to make a static-line jump...gotta go solo at some point.
Your first five jumps will be static-line jumps before graduating to 'freefall status'. Here you will make progressively longer freefall delays
Skydiving Licenses
Like many other activities. Sport skydiving has a licensing method as a rough estimation of experience. The first license a skydiver receives is their class A license. For this the jumper must complete:
Complete 25 skydives.
Show their ability to pack their own main parachute.
Show their ability to judge winds and select the proper point on the ground in which to exit the airplane. (Called spotting.)
Show very basic control in freefall.
Show the ability to land within a prescribed distance from a target.
After the first static-line jump we offer additional jumps towards an A-license for $50 each. This price includes instruction and equipment rental. Everything to make the next jump.
To help progress in the sport we offer a couple of packages.
5 Jump Package, static-line course plus five jumps: $350
A License package, 25 total jumps: $1,250 (includes: First jump course, training and up to 30 skydives, first year of USPA membership, first year of MSC membership, logbook, and Skydiver's Information Manual book.)
What Keeps Us Doing It?
As all who are involved in airsports know, the sky is a playground. Skydiving is different things to different people and there are all sorts of disciplines skydivers can pursue.
During student training we generally work on flying in the face-to-earth position because this is the position we always revert to simply to open our parachutes. But some skydivers fly in ways that is anything but face-to-earth, averaging speeds in the area of 160 to 200mph! Some skydivers enjoy competition. Some attach skyboards to their feet. Some wear suits with wings on them to glide long distances. Some skydivers focus on flying their parachutes in formation and faster and more precisely.
Many skydivers pursue instructional ratings as a way to help introduce new jumpers into the sport. It also helps offset some of the costs of their newfound addiction.
