Skydiving is an incredible experience. For many, the opportunity to do it while attached to an experienced skydiving instructor is the most appealing, meaning they can relax and let the tandem instructor take the lead.
Other people want to jump solo, and we’re often asked how many tandem jumps need to be done before you can jump alone. And the answer is, none at all!
What do I have to do to jump solo?
If you want to jump by yourself, you can do so through one of two methods. For each of these methods, it’s completely up to you whether you want to try skydiving as a tandem first, or just get stuck in with the solo skydiver route from jump one.
The two routes to learning to skydive solo are:
- AFF (Accelerated Freefall); this is where you jump from 14,000 from your first jump, experiencing 50 seconds of freefall with the help of two instructors, then one instructor, then completely alone, learning new skills every jump and deploying your own parachute every time
- CS (Category Systems); this is where you jump from 4,000 feet to start with, using an ‘automatically’ opening parachute and progressing higher each time, learning new skills and graduating to deploying your own parachute
Both of these methods start with a full day of ‘ground school’ first. You can learn more about both here.
What if I’m not sure?
If you’re not sure whether skydiving solo is for you, the best way to try is with a tandem skydive. This is where you jump attached to an experienced skydiving instructor who will operate the equipment for you.
You can also opt for a ‘level one only’ AFF choice, and then upgrade to the full course. This option still requires you to do the full day of ground school, and you will do the exact same first jump as everyone doing the full course – just with the option to opt out after that if it’s not your thing.
Ready to jump? Book now or get in touch if you have any questions.