Training

Beginners seeking training have a number of options available to them: tandem, static line, IAD, and AFF.

Tandem

Tandem jumps are perhaps the most common type of jump selected by first-time or one-time skydivers. The jump is usually done from 10,000+ feet, although this can be as high as 14,000 feet.

The jumper is strapped to the front of another jumper, known as the "Tandem Master," who has been specially trained and certified for the specific brand of tandem equipment to be used.

This method is popular with those who only want to make one skydive, since it requires very little training to experience freefall. If desired, someone who starts off with a tandem jump can progress into student training to become an experienced jumper.

Static Line

In a static line jump, students exit the plane on their own and their parachute is activated as they exit by a static line attached to the aircraft. These initial jumps are usually conducted from 3,500 feet and the student receives one-way radio guidance from an instructor on the ground from deployment until landing.

If the student desires to continue training using this method, the first few jumps are static line jumps. After a few static line jumps, students are introduced to new equipment allowing them to deploy their own parachutes; generally, most modern parachutes are activated by removing a small parachute, about 3 feet in diameter, called a "pilot chute" from a pocket on the rig and throwing it away from the body. This small parachute is inflated and drags out the main parachute.

Before allowing students to activate their parachutes on their own, they generally conduct one or two static line jumps simulating throwing out their own pilot chutes. Then, students are gradually introduced to freefall with gradual increases in altitude, first activating after a five-second count. Once students are comfortable activating their own parachutes, they are gradually introduced to use of altimeters and further increases in altitude.

IAD

Instructor Assisted Deployment, or IAD, is the successor to static line. The main difference is that instead of being deployed by a static line, the student's jumpmaster (who is in the plane with them) deploys the student's parachute by throwing the pilot chute out the door as the student exits.

Among the benefits to IAD are increased reliability and the ability to use the same parachute equipment as the students will use when they progress to deploying their parachutes on their own. This also means the dropzone does not have to invest money in a set of static line rigs as well as normal ones.

AFF

Accelerated Freefall (AFF) is a method of training preferred by many for those students...