DropZone-Locator lists many of the drop zones in the United States. A drop zone is a place where you can learn to skydive, or do a skydive for fun. Most of the drop zones listed here are members of the United States Parachute Association, an organization for skydiving schools (drop zones) and individual skydivers. Most experienced skydivers are members of the United States Parachute Association. There are three basic methods of learning to skydive, tandem, static line, and accelerated freefall. Tandem Tandem skydiving refers to a type of skydiving where the student is connected via a harness to an experienced skydiver (known as a tandem master). A student generally needs only minimal instruction before making a tandem jump. Tandem skydiving is a popular training method for first time skydivers, but it is usually more expensive than a static line skydive. It exposes first-time jumpers to the entire skydiving routine with minimal effort on the part of the student. All modern tandem skydiving systems use a drogue parachute, which is deployed shortly after leaving the plane in order to slow the freefall speed of two people down to that of a single skydiver. Tandem skydiving systems also use larger main parachutes to support the extra weight of two passengers. Tandem instructors are required to pass an instructor certification course for the system they jump before skydiving with students. The FAA requires each potential instructor to have over five hundred individual skydives and three years of skydiving experience. Individual manufacturers' certification courses usually have additional requirements. Static Line The static line is a line connecting the deployment bag of the parachute to the aircraft from which the parachutist jumps. After falling away from the aircraft, this short line (rarely more than a few yards) then pulls the parachute deployment bag from its container. After that, the parachute deploys. The static line separates from the parachute, and remains in tow behind the aircraft. It is subsequently pulled in and stowed away by the jumpmaster. Static lines are used in order to make sure that a parachute is deployed immediately after leaving the plane, regardless of any actions taken by the skydiver. Accelerated Freefall Accelerated Freefall (AFF) is the fastest way to experience solo freefall, normally from 10,000 to 14,500 feet above the ground. In most AFF programs, two instructors jump with the student during their first three AFF jumps, although some programs may use only one instructor. On the initial levels, the instructor holds on to the student until the student deploys his own parachute. The AFF instructors have no physical connection to the student other than their grip on the student, so once the student's parachute is deployed the instructors fly away and deploy their own canopies. If the student experiences trouble in the deployment of his parachute, the instructors first use hand signals to remind the student to "pull". If the student still experiences trouble, the instructors will assist their student by physically putting the student's hand on the pilot chute, but if the student still has trouble, the instructor will deploy the parachute for the student. Once the student has proven he can deploy his own parachute on the first few jumps, the student will be released on subsequent levels and will have the opportunity to prove to his instructors that he has the basic flying skills required to skydive without assistance. On release skydives there is a possibility the instructor may not be able to dock and assist at pull time, so it is important that the student has already learned the skills required to pull on his own. Instructors on all AFF levels have a hard deck where they must pull their own parachute and save their own lives. If they have not been able to assist their student by this altitude, the student's rig is equipped with an Automatic Activation Device (AAD) that will deploy the reserve parachute if the student passes the activation altitude at freefall speeds. As the instructors freefall with the student, they are able to correct the student's body position and other problems during freefall by communicating with the student with hand signals in freefall and debriefing the student and conducting corrective training after the jump. Later levels only require one instructor and involve the student learning to perform aerial maneuvers such as turns, forward movement, flips, and fall rate control. The purpose of the maneuvers is to prove to the student and instructor that the student can perform a disorienting maneuver causing intentional instability followed by regaining control. The instructors determine when the student has passed the requirements or targeted learning objectives for each level. During the AFF jumps, the student may have radio contact with ground personnel who direct the student's maneuvers under their parachute, however, the student must have the skills for a solo landing in case the radio fails. References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ |
