After the initial thrill and excitement of booking a skydive, the jump day comes and perhaps a little bit of anxiety creeps in. Everyone is scared when it comes to their first skydive – it’s completely natural. After all you are having to do something your whole body and mind is telling you not to –that survival instinct has to kick in at some point. Be honest about your feelings and talk to your instructor about them, they will be able to share their initial fear too – working through your anxiety like that helps you be calm and switch off to some extent when it comes to that first big step out of the plane. Do the study, learn the procedures and then let go a little, after all you are there because you want to do a skydive.

Here is some basic information which surrounds skydiving and what´s involved:

So what is meant by freefalling?

A freefall is when you jump out of a plane from a height between 1000 and 4000 meters and you don’t deploy your parachute immediately thus freefalling for a minute or so usually. This is often what is classed as the most exhilarating part of the skydive and where formations occur when professionals take to the sky.

Do you have to jump from an Aircraft?

The first skydive was out of a hot air balloon and was part of a stunt display, so yes you can jump from a hot air balloon, a plane or even a helicopter - Although planes are the most reasonable and practical.

Once the parachute has been opened

The fun doesn’t stop after the free fall as at about 800 meters you will pull your parachute cord and it will open to allow you to control speed and direction. Just like paragliding really, with this control you are able to land perfectly where you want to on the dropzone and manage it so you come down comfortably. Of course this takes a bit of practice but it’s just as much fun as freefalling – a skydive offers the diver a wonderful variety of experiences and plenty of time to enjoy the views.

Speed

It doesn’t need to be pointed out that skydiving is ideal for speed junkies with exit speeds of approximately 90mph or 140kmph the sensation of falling doesn’t quite become apparent initially. Once you are more experienced speeds can rise to 150-200 mph or 240–320 kmph for daring head down formations! The speed alone is an adrenaline rush but with the sensation of falling, the views and the wind resistance, it all adds up to an intoxicating, exciting experience that only a skydive can offer.