Intrested in Skydiving

[MTC15 0]

at what age can you actual start skydiveng / what age do you recomend?

also what are the costs involved in starting up?

[Jackpunx 0]

I dont know the legal answer.. but if you want to go to a AFF school.. I believe you have to be 18..
I have seen a few pre 18 jumpers here on the boards...
Hopefully someone with the real answer will post

[MTC15 0]

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I dont know the legal answer.. but if you want to go to a AFF school.. I believe you have to be 18..
I have seen a few pre 18 jumpers here on the boards...
Hopefully someone with the real answer will post

Thanks for the quick reply, i noticed you have only been in the sport for 1 year if you dont mind me asking how much roughly did it cost you to start up?

[Mr17Hz 1]

In most places, either for insurance reasons or because of laws, 18 in the age you need to be to skydive. There are exceptions but you ussually need to be a special case. In certain places like mexico, it's more common to see people younger than this going. That doesn't mean it's impossible in the US, just that most places won't.

Getting an A license will cost you around $2,000 - $2,200. Gear will cost you between $3,000 and $6,500, and at that point you can jump for around $17-$23 a jump... So it's not cheap, but it's also not impossible for someone with a low income to handle, if it's what they really want to do. You can also take a slower route, renting gear for around $70 a day, after you're licensed, and there is always the possibility that you find someone to loan you gear.

Hope that helps.

Matt Christenson

mattchristenson@realskydiving.com
http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software.

[MTC15 0]

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In most places, either for insurance reasons or because of laws, 18 in the age you need to be to skydive. There are exceptions but you ussually need to be a special case. In certain places like mexico, it's more common to see people younger than this going. That doesn't mean it's impossible in the US, just that most places won't.

Getting an A license will cost you around $2,000 - $2,200. Gear will cost you between $3,000 and $6,500, and at that point you can jump for around $17-$23 a jump... So it's not cheap, but it's also not impossible for someone with a low income to handle, if it's what they really want to do. You can also take a slower route, renting gear for around $70 a day, after you're licensed, and there is always the possibility that you find someone to loan you gear.

Hope that helps.

is the age the same for UK people i forgot to mention im from the UK

[Jackpunx 0]

Quote

Quote

I dont know the legal answer.. but if you want to go to a AFF school.. I believe you have to be 18..
I have seen a few pre 18 jumpers here on the boards...
Hopefully someone with the real answer will post

Thanks for the quick reply, i noticed you have only been in the sport for 1 year if you dont mind me asking how much roughly did it cost you to start up?

I have really only been involved for a couple of months.. I just go my license yesterday..
I have a race boat and my DZ sponsored my last race.. We won 1st out of 39 boats .. so we traded the sponsorship for my AFF school..
I think it would have cost about 1700.. I did some tunnel time too

[Mr17Hz 1]

You'll get your best answers about UK laws from this website:

http://www.bpa.org.uk/

to find the closest drop zone to you go here:

http://www.bpa.org.uk/dropzone/dzone.htm

Give them a call and ask!

:)

Matt Christenson

mattchristenson@realskydiving.com
http://www.RealDropzone.com - A new breed of dropzone manifest software.

[rideclimbfall 0]

18 or 16 with parental waiver at most places I think.

I got my a licence this year and the cost was around 1,400 took 28 jumps. I did static line which is like IAD (most don't do static anymore). AFF will cost more I'm not sure how much. How many jumps it takes make a big difference most seem to take 27-35 jumps. My student jumps were $45 which is on the cheap end

[MTC15 0]

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18 or 16 with parental waiver at most places I think.

I got my a licence this year and the cost was around 1,400 took 28 jumps. I did static line which is like IAD (most don't do static anymore). AFF will cost more I'm not sure how much. How many jumps it takes make a big difference most seem to take 27-35 jumps. My student jumps were $45 which is on the cheap end

is that for a full licence? how much for a provisional or cant you get one and how long do they last?

[kelpdiver 2]

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Getting an A license will cost you around $2,000 - $2,200. Gear will cost you between $3,000 and $6,500

prospective students should plan on $3000 for the A unless they live in a lower cost region, or live very near to the DZ. Don't want to run out of money just short of the license. Gear might be a bit better than you suggest, under 5k for even all new. Used gear can be a lot cheaper, but availability varies by body weight - best for those in the 140-175lb range.

[Sled14 0]

So far I have 12 jumps and have spent $2,488 on the jumps and training, goggles, altimeter, USPA membership, SIM and log book. Will be buying helmet and jumpsuit soon, plus have 13 jumps left until I can get an A license, so probably will be around $3,500 to get my A with required gear. After that gotta start saving for my first rig.

[TrickyDicky 0]

It can be hard to transfer prices to the UK from all these messages in $$s and US prices are often alot cheaper than the UK, but Im from the UK so Ill give a rough Idea of prices. Minimum age is 16 with parental consent, 18 otherwise. Over 40s need a drs note and over 50s need one every 3 years (IIRC). You cannot start skydiving over the age of 55 other than a tandem without special permission from the safety and training committee (they meet once every 2 months).

AFF in the UK at a UK DZ is usually around £1300-£1400. This covers all of your training/kit hire/instructor fees for 8 jumps (enough to pass all the tests). Redoing any of these 8 costs around £200/jump-£80/jump (depending on which level, earlier ones are more expensive as you have 2 instructors). After you've finished AFF jumps are about £30-£40/jump until you have your A licence. AFF can be done abroad cheaper, but be careful you do a course that is run under BPA rules and make sure you FINISH THE COURSE abroad. Its a massive hassle not finishing abroad and trying to finish at home. Some centres will make you redo alot of jumps. the BPA system is one of the strictest in the world, but fairly compatible with USPA rules. Ive had friends not finish AFF abroad and with all the hassle end up paying more than they would have done staying at home to do all of it.

An alternative is RAPS. Almost all centres in the UK teach this. Fewer dropzones teach AFF than RAPS. Its a static line progression system, so you do a minimum of 5 static line jumps followed by progressively longer freefalls with more interesting exercises on later jumps, but you cover all the same stuff as AFF. this method takes alot longer (possibly by several months, took me 18 months/48 jumps to get my A) but can work out alot cheaper. It takes a minimum of 18 jumps to get an A licence (same as AFF). First jump courses run most weekends at most dropzones and costs is around £180 (depending on DZ) then further raps jumps cost between £30-40 (again, depends on DZ). This coveres all slots/kit/instruction.

Once you've got your A, jumps cost about £20/jump from the top. Rig hire costs vary but normally about £10/jump.

The cost of buying a rig varies due to the fluctuating $$ but new kit is normally £3000-£4000 for a rig, £200 for a jumpsuit, £90 for an alti, helmets range from £40-£300. You can normally get 2nd hand stuff for 50%(or more) less.

I hope all this info helps.

UK Skydiver for all your UK skydiving needs.

[mr2mk1g 10]

Where abouts in the UK are you?

There are two main ways to get into skydiving in the UK. 'RAPS' and 'AFF'.

First lets cover a 'RAPS' course. This costs about £175 for a the first jump course (although prices can vary significantly by say £50 each way). This is the most expensive part of the course. It's expensive because it encompasses a full day long training course in everything you need to know to do your first jump. You also get all your kit in the price (a short skydiving career otherwise would be predicted) and a ticket in the plane up to about 3,500ft. It also includes your provisional BPA student licence including third party liability insurance. Once there you are invited to get the hell out of their plane.

Your first jump will be a static line jump. That is to say a solo jump where you have a rope going from your parachute to the plane. As you fall away from the plane the rope pulls the parachute out of its container and deploys you (just like you see military jumpers do except you have a rectangular parachute you can fly like a wing as opposed to the round parachutes the army guys use). You then fly the parachute down to the landing area using the skills you learned in your day long jump course. You are also fitted with a radio for further assistance.

Subsequent jumps generally cost around £30 or so and again includes gear and instructor time. RAPS is a stage based learning system so each new jump you do you have something new to learn. Your first 5 jumps are static line jumps as your first one. Your sixth you're on your own and you will have to deploy your own parachute with your own ripcord. This jump is 'free' though as you have to buy your full skydiver licence at this point. I think this is like £50 or £75 – I completely forget. After this the fun really starts.

There's no set limit to how many jumps it requires to become qualified through RAPS. You have to demonstrate a set list of skills. Each jump you learn and demonstrate one of those skills. If you fail to demonstrate a particular skill to your instructors satisfaction you have to re-do the jump. Generally a good number to think about is about 20 jumps although you may well require more if you have to repeat jumps. A rough guess at prices would therefore be 20x£30+£150=£750. Remember each trip to the DZ takes petrol money, a whole weekend of your life, food etc. so put this bill well above that figure.

The great thing about RAPS is that you can spend what you have when you have it. So long as you never go more than 3 months between trips to the DZ your licence doesn't go stale. It may be far from the best way to learn (with weeks between jumps) but at least you keep ticking over. If money is a problem this could be the way to go. You only have to find £30 every couple of weekends or so. It could end up taking a while to get qualified though.

Then there is AFF. Here you pay up front. It costs something like £1400 (again prices vary greatly and check what you get for your money – some courses also include basic gear or other perks). You again get a full days training, gear and plane tickets etc. This time though you get taken all the way up to 12,000ft and exit the plane with two instructors hanging on to you. Over the course of just 7 jumps you demonstrate the basic skills you need to learn. As with RASP before each jump you learn all about what you're about to do with an instructor and then get de-briefed afterwards. Then you have to do a further 10 jumps on your own to practice what you've learned. One last jump – this time a low exit at 3,500 (same as you would do on your first RAPS jump) and you have your full skydiving licence. (note that there are various new training methods creeping in here where your first jump is a tandem where you are strapped to the front of an experienced jumper – these have obvious advantages but also obvious costs implications).

Once you have an 'A' Licence you are qualified to jump anywhere in the world. You may encounter problems however as an under 18 in a number of countries however.

[TrickyDicky 0]

One point not really made is the social element.

As you will be hanging around at a DZ alot AFF and RAPS have other advantages/disadvantages.

As RAPS takes alot longer, you tend to learn other subtle things just through hanging around, talking to people and generally getting to know people better.

With AFF, you get qualified quicker, but often at the expense of getting to know anyone. Ive known AFF students get qualified and get bored quite quick cos they dont really know anyone.

UK Skydiver for all your UK skydiving needs.

[MTC15 0]

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Where abouts in the UK are you?

Darlington, any sugestions of a good drop Zone near me?

[mr2mk1g 10]

Your best bet is probably Peterlee then: http://www.skydiveacademy.org.uk/ just up the A1 by Durham... in fact talk to Trickydicky above - IIRC he's in the Durham Uni skydiving club.

[TrickyDicky 0]

Darlington aint far from peterlee at all.

But I think they're dropping AFF (other than just level 1s) as its alot of hassle for the owner (not enough people do it and only himself as regular aff instructor so he has to get people in). But a great bunch of RAPS instructors who are always in the plane and easy to grab.

But Its a great bunch at peterlee. Alot of the people there are students from Durham or Newcastle, so theres alot of younger people.

I just graduated last summer so I left. But I really miss the guys up there.

UK Skydiver for all your UK skydiving needs.