Types of Airborne Jumps

Airborne jumps from an airplane, known as sky diving, is an exhilarating sport as divers plummet toward the ground at high speeds before releasing their chutes. For individuals looking to begin skydiving there are multiple tiers of airborne jumps, ranging from jumps that require little training to styles which require multiple days of lessons.

  1. Safety Basics

    • Although there are many safety precautions taken in sky diving, it is still a dangerous activity that should never be completed above a jumper's skill level or without regard to safety procedures. Before a chute is used it should always be double checked to ensure that it is properly packed. Similarly, the harness system used by jumpers must be checked to lower the risk of mechanical failure on a jump. Sky diving also should not be completed by those at risk for health complications on a jump, such as heart problems or pregnant women.

    Tandem Jumps

    • Tandem jumping is the most basic style of sky diving that a jumper can partake in. A beginning jumper is paired up with an experienced jumper and the two are connected using a tandem harness. The beginner is given instructions on how to safely behave in the air; however, the responsibility for working the parachute is on the instructor. The two leave the plane together and a drag chute is dropped, then after the designated free fall time, the instructor unfurls the main chute and guides the tandem.

    Static Line Jumps

    • A static line jump is the most basic style of individual jump. Although the jumper is not paired up with a professional instructor the responsibility of opening the parachute is still taken off the shoulders of the jumper. Instead, a static line on the parachute is connected to the plane jumped out of which deploys automatically when the jumpers fall to the end of the line. Once the chute deploys, the jumper must then steer himself to the ground.

    Solo Jumps

    • An individual jump is the most advanced style of sky diving jumping. Before an individual can jump solo, she must first undergo several days of training. Jumps are then performed with a professional that free falls by her side and instructs on when to deploy the chute. After enough practice jumping with an instructor a jumper may finally graduate to solo jumps without a professional instructor falling with them.