May 21, 2013

Your first skydive

Tandem in freefall over Chicagoland Skydiving ... 

Image via Wikipedia

Are you skydiving for the first time? Are you apprehensive about the whole thing? Then don’t worry. You are normal. If you are not worrying on your first skydive you must be a bird or superman! Skydiving is gravity-defying. Well…literally. It takes a lot of preparation to fly in the skies, and not lose one’s sanity.

If you are a first time skydiver, you need to be well-prepared for it. Both physically and mentally. More than physical preparation, it is the mental preparation that matters.

Visualize your skydive

You need to visualize. Visualize as if you are in the skies. Visualize all possible things. Research suggests that visualization get’s the mind prepared. You would have noticed how many sportsmen visualize their matches, before getting on to the competition.

Contact the nearest drop zone

Contact your local drop zone. Ask them their hours of operation. Check with the trainers at the drop zone, and schedule your first sky dive with their help. You might need to go for some initial training classes.  During the briefing sessions, clarify all your doubts. Read over the Internet before you attend the briefing sessions. There is no harm in asking stupid questions. If you were to ask “What if I saw an aero plane in my way?”!

Choose the way you will jump

There are different types of sky dive jumps. Tandem jump, accelerated free fall, static line jump, and so on. Choose which jump suits you.

Choose the right outfit and dive

On the day of the dive, wear the right clothes. When you sit on the plane, don’t jump before you hear the call ‘jump’!

Skydiving Costs

There are some experiences in life that can have no monetary value because the experience in itself is priceless.  For many people, skydiving provides that priceless experience.  However, as invaluable as the experience may be, skydiving still cost some real money.  Here are some basic costs for skydiving.

Skydiving School

At skydiving school, newcomers to the sport can learn all of the basics that are required to have a successful first jump.  This includes lessons on safety, emergency procedures, and landing.  Also included during a basic lesson at skydiving school are a tandem jump (a jump with a certified supervisor) as well as the equipment for the jump.  The cost of all of this varies, but, can cost anywhere from $125 upwards.

Equipment

People who only skydive occasionally will not see the need to purchase equipment because equipment rental is usually included within the price of the jump.  Passionate skydivers who skydive more often may opt to invest in their experience by purchasing their own equipment.  So, with a helmet, harness, parachutes, altimeter, jumpsuit, automatic activation device, it can cost anywhere from $3000 for basic gear up to $7000 for higher end gear.

Jumps

The cost per jump to skydive depends on many different factors.  For example, a person who has their own gear and a skydiving license will usually pay no more than $25 per jump while a person who needs to rent gear can easily spend $200 for a tandem jump and their equipment.  Solo jumps through the AAF program can cost $300 or more.  Also, most places will also sell a tape of the skydive, which can cost around $50-$100.

The monetary costs of skydiving may add up, but, the experience is priceless, so people who skydive will often find that for all the money that they put into the sport, it is money well spent.