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Becoming
a skydiver: first steps
The are a number of steps to becoming a qualified skydiver, but you may be surprised to learn that it can cost you less than £1,600 (18 skydives) before your very first solo jump!
AFF Level 1
Before you are allowed to jump out of an aircraft (with a parachute) you need around five hours ground-school training. Instructed by a fully qualified Accelerated Free Fall (AFF) instructor with many thousands of jumps behind them, you will be taken through all you need to know for your first solo descent. Then, often on the same day, you will take your first jump - accompanied (but not attached) by two AFF instructors. You will be expected to control yourself and pull the parachute before navigating (under coaching over a two-way radio) around the sky and then landing on the Drop Zone (DZ).
AFF Levels 2 – 8
Once you have the confidence of your first descent, and after debriefing, you will be given additional instructions for each of the following levels of the full AFF course. As you progress you’ll be accompanied by one instructor and on your eighth jump you will be completely on your own (yes, after only eight jumps)!
Consolidation jumps
Having passed all eight levels of the AFF course, and to fully qualify to be able to parachute from any drop zone in the UK or around the world, you need to complete 10 solo ‘consolidation’ jumps. You will be watched carefully in the aircraft during your ascents and during your freefalls and landings. After a total of 18 jumps you will be awarded your AFF certificate and worldwide Parachute ‘A’ Licence.
Once you have your ‘A’ Licence
After obtaining your ‘A’ licence, further jumps can be purchased and kit hired at relatively little cost. At our drop zones, a skydive with full kit hire is just £32 - a fraction of the price of a tandem skydive. If you progress to buying your own ‘rig’ the price reduces to only £22. Think what a weekend you could have at our drop zone where accommodation is free to club members!
From then on, it is up to you how you progress and to what level.