FAQs
If you have a question not covered here, please feel free to contact us on 08 9652 1320 or email here.
How fast do you go?
It takes one person about twelve seconds or 1000 feet to reach terminal velocity of 200 kms per hour. A tandem pair would go faster except for the small pilot chute or drogue thrown by the tandem master shortly after exiting the plane. The drogue slows you both down to the speed of one person.
What are the age limits?
The minimum age to do a tandem skydive is fourteen, but you need your parents permission until eighteen. Very soon, the minimum age is lowering to 12. If you are younger than that, but have a compelling reason to jump, it is possible to apply for an exemption to the minimum age through the Australian Parachute Federation. The minimum age to undertake your solo course is sixteen. There is no maximum age. Pete, our chief instructor has taken many people in their late eighties!
What are the physical requirements?
Only a tiny percentage of people cannot skydive for phycial reasons. If you weigh more than 100 kgs, please inform us at the point of booking. Very few people have medical conditions which prevent them from tandem skydiving, but you will be required to lift your legs for the landing, and if you have a weak heart, experience feinting or dizzy spells, you should get your doctors advice before you decide to jump. Many pregnant women jump in their first trimester. If you have glasses or contact lenses, that’s no problem, just let your tandem instructor know. If you have a shoulder that dislocates easily, you should also let your instructor know. If you have an injury or disability, please contact us to discuss the possibility of a jump. You should be reasonably fit if you plan to jump solo. You will have to wear about twelve kilos of equipment, manoeuvre your canopy, and carry your equipment. Skydiving is a sport, and you will be using muscles that you don’t normally use. Arching in freefall will strengthen the muscles in your back!
What does freefall feel like?
Believe it or not, it doesn’t feel like you’re falling! It’s more like flying, but extremely windy! We can achieve complete directional control. That’s what we teach you on your solo course, how to fly your body! It’s usually pretty difficult to wipe the smile off your face in freefall, and you completely forget about everything else.
How hard is the landing?
Today’s parachutes are rectangular and are steered with right and left toggles, which also act as brakes on landing. We land into the wind, so the more breeze, the slower the landing. On a tandem, you are reguired to lift your legs, so the tandem master takes the weight of the landing, and you can just gently put your feet down. Almost all landings are a gentle touchdown.
What should I wear?
The main thing is to wear a pair of running shoes or joggers. No thongs, high heels, or heavy boots with hooks, please. Longish style shorts or pants are the best. Try not to wear really short shorts or a singlet, as you will have a harness on, and it can chafe if it rubs on your bare skin. Also try to avoid a collared shirt, at 200kms an hour you might feel a flapping collar. Dependent on the season and the time of day, you may want to wear a long sleeve T-shirt and pants, or something with a bit of warmth in it.
How long does it take?
The whole process should take about an hour for one, two or three people, but we recommend to give yourself some leeway in case of poor weather conditions, or other delays which may be beyond our control. We recommend you give yourself a full day without time constraints.
How many people go at once?
We have one plane which takes three tandem pairs, and one plane which takes two. So if you had a group of four people, for example, we would take two up, while the next two were being harnessed up. They could watch the first two land, then we would whisk them away to the airport for their turn. If you had five people, we would take a group of three, then the group of two etc.
Is it cold up there?
It is definitely cooler up there than it is on the ground, so in Winter or early morning or late afternoon, it might be as cool as zero degrees. You’ll feel a blast of cold air when the door opens, but it is only for a few seconds, and your adrenalin is keeping you warm by then. You won’t feel cold in freefall, you can’t feel anything but great!
What is the best time of year to jump? When do you go?
We jump all year round. In Summer, we only take bookings in the mornings because of the strong sea breezes in the afternoons. The earlier you book in the morning you book in Summertime, the more guaranteed you are to jump. Even throughout the rest of the year, it is good to book before lunch time because then we get the maximum options with the weather. Sometimes we have to wait a little while for weather conditions to become suitable. We are open seven days a week, and there is no minimum number of people required. One person is fine. The only days we do not operate are Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
Can I take my own camera?
In freefall there is no way you will be thinking about taking photos, and you will need both your hands to have a go at steering your parachute. As we skydive over a populous area, we cannot take the risk of you taking your camera in case you were to drop it and injure someone in the town below.
What if my parachute doesn’t open?
By law, every parachute harness must carry a main and reserve canopy. The main is packed by a qualified person with an Australian Parachute Federation ‘Packer B’ rating. The reserve is meticulously packed and thoroughly inspected every six months by a qualified ‘Packer A’ or Parachute Rigger. If you familiarise yourself with the design of a parachute system, you will understand that the laws of physics make it impossible to just not open, and human error has just about been removed in the systems used to pack reserve parachutes. In addition, every parachute you may jump is required to be fitted with an Automatic Activation Device which calculates your speed and altitude and deploys your reserve parachute, in the event that no one else does! Skydiving fatalies do no occur simply because “his parachute failed”. It is instead always a series of events, and the most common factor is pilot error.
So is it safe?
Tandem skydiving is about the safest form of transport there is when you look at the fact that there are around 70,000 tandem skydives carried out in Australia every year. Skydiving is a highly regulated sport, and we are extremely focused on safety. A skydiver must always follow the rules, in the same way a driver has to. Common sense is paramount!
But I’m scared of heights!
Don’t worry, so are lots of skydivers! Many people try skydiving to cure their fear, and then fall in love with it, still fearing heights!. It’s not like standing on the top of a building. You are travelling so fast that’s it’s impossible to get that tummy wobbling vertigo feeling, and you are so high up that you can’t get any perspective, so the earth just looks like a big pizza. Once you have jumped you will wonder what you were worrying about.
I’m scared of planes!
You will never feel so safe in a plane as when you are wearing two parachutes!
And last but not least, the most frequently asked question of all…
Why would you want to jump out of a perfectly good aeroplane?
If only I had a jump ticket for every time I had been asked that question! There are almost as many answers: “Because it has a door”, “Because I can”, “Because I’ve got two perfectly good parachutes”, “There is no such thing as a perfectly good plane”, and “Because I’m in love with my parachute and it’s the only time we get to spend quality time together”… But seriously, it’s impossible to think about work or any of your worries when you’re in freefall. It’s the anticipation on the ride to height, the burst of adrenalin when the door opens, the absolute focus on flying your body, the smiles on your friends faces in freefall, and the silence under canopy as you take in the views and wonder how you got this lucky. Afterwards, it’s the confidence and openness you gain in every aspect of your life, and lastly, it’s the wonderful friends you make from all walks of life. Doctors and garbage collectors alike share a bond after jumping together. Skydivers are a giant family united in their love of flying and freedom. It’s a beautiful thing.
