Become a Skydiver

So you’ve completed a tandem or seen some exciting videos of skydivers and you want to take the next steps in becoming a skydiver.

Enjoyment, exhilaration and limitless challenge are available even to the absolute beginner. And at its highest level, skydiving is an intensely competitive sport that requires finely-tuned skills, intimate knowledge of the air and perfect body control.

There are 2 main routes into the sport, AFF and Static Line, whichever training method you choose you will embark on a structured program that will teach you all-round competence to perform with freedom and safety.

Take a look at the 2 different training systems below to see which one is best for you and contact one of our affiliated Parachute Training Organisations to book the course that will take you to new heights.

You can also view online and download a copy of the Skydive Starter mag, British Skydiving’s Essential Guide to the Sport. Packed full of useful information about training, the experiences of students, the disciplines that you can work towards and the family that you’ll be joining.

So you’ve completed a tandem or seen some exciting videos of skydivers and you want to take the next steps in becoming a skydiver.

STATIC LINE

Static Line

A static line descent can be made after usually about 6 hours of ground training and involves the student jumper leaving the aircraft at around 4,000 feet. The main parachute is deployed using a device called a ‘static line’. This is a length of webbing attached to the aircraft at one end and the bag, in which the main parachute is kept, at the other, as the jumper falls away from the aircraft, the static line pulls the main parachute out and begins the deployment.

The parachute or canopy used is a modern ‘square parachute’ made of technically advanced materials and specifically designed to allow the student jumper to steer the canopy to the landing area. A radio attached to the jumper’s helmet is often used to coach the student and assist in the landing of the parachute.

This type of jump opens the way to becoming a skydiver, further training and more descents will allow the student to skydive without the static line, deploying the parachute manually and achieving that all-important ‘first free fall’ descent.

Static Line Progression System

The Progression System will take you step by step through student status to Category 8, when you qualify as a certified skydiver and are cleared to jump on your own or with a coach.

The system has a series of 8 levels that teach the all the skills you need to obtain your British Skydiving A Licence.

After passing your Canopy Training written exam, you will be eligible for your British Skydiving A Licence and can start learning how to develop your skills in a chosen area, such as formation skydiving or freeflying.

The Static Line Progression System is ideal if you want ‘Pay as You Go’ with each jump.

ACCELERATED FREE FALL (AFF)

Accelerated Free Fall (AFF)

AFF is an intensive course, more expensive but allowing rapid progression in skydiving. Your first descent is from 12,000 feet accompanied by two highly specialised instructors who will guide you in freefall by way of hand signals and under canopy with radio communication. You will experience 40-45 seconds of freefall before you open your own, ram-air canopy at 5,000 feet. This is the real sport!

Your first AFF jump is part of a week’s course of 8 levels and a minimum of 10 consolidation jumps which will qualify you as a skydiver in your own right. If you know you want to take up skydiving, this is probably the quickest and most motivating method by which to do it.

Once qualified you can move on to learn the skills required to jump with your friends and to learn new disciplines.

AFF Progression System

Once qualified you can move on to learn the skills required to jump with your friends and to learn new disciplines.

RISE TO A NEW CHALLENGE!

Want to take the next step and begin your journey to new heights?

There are 26 affiliated Parachute Training Organisations in the UK for you to choose from. All of them follow the same safety standards so wherever you jump and whatever training method you choose, you can rest assured that an exhilarating experience awaits.

Find Your Nearest PTO Now!

British Skydiving is committed to maintaining the highest standards of safety in the sport. British Skydiving’s approach to safety management is established as good practice in the sport.

Find out more about how we ‘Stay Safe‘

Restrictions

Minimum Age
Maximum Age

Analysis of statistics compiled over many years indicates that incident rates tend to increase as student jumpers get older. This may be due to slowing reaction times and sometimes less acute senses as the years go by. Risk assessment suggests the tipping point to be when a person reaches their mid-fifties. On this basis, to avoid increased risk, the maximum age at which even a hale, hearty and healthy person can be admitted to start training under British Skydiving rules for solo parachute jumping is before they reach their 55th birthday, although some Affiliated Parachute Training Organisations (PTO) may set a lower age limit than this based on their own risk assessments. This restriction does not apply to tandem students, where the descent is in harness with a qualified instructor – although health requirements continue to apply.
Weight Limits

Weight limits apply to parachute descents for safety reasons. Each Affiliated Parachute Training Organisation will have its own weight limits derived from risk assessments of factors including the type of jump, the equipment used, and the gender of the jumper (statistics show different rates of injury for men and women, which may be to do with body shape and weight distribution).

Maximum weights are typically around 15 stone, but a few centres may sometimes be able to take jumpers weighing slightly more than this. British Skydiving does not maintain a list of current weight limits by each Affiliated PTO, so please contact PTOs direct.
Health Restrictions

Acceptance for parachute training is entirely at the discretion of the individual Parachute Training Organisation. For full information, please contact your chosen Affiliated Parachute Training Organisation.

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