

Jumping out of an airplane can frighten even the bravest thrill-seeker, but many first-time skydivers take comfort in learning more about their tandem instructor’s expertise and safety procedures. These certified instructors have properly trained for emergency circumstances and have devoted the time and experience necessary to perfect the freefall, and to introduce others to this amazing sport.īut what exactly do these freefall masters do to prepare for their dives? Let’s find out.
FREEFALL SKYDIVE PROFESSIONAL
This professional skydiver needs to have made at least 500 jumps (wow! talk about a lot of drops) and be formally certified by the United States Parachute Association (USPA).

That’s why tandem skydiving involves 1.) a first-time or unlicensed jumper- like you- and 2.) a certified instructor.
FREEFALL SKYDIVE HOW TO
However, it would be extremely dangerous to allow two inexperienced, first-time freefallers to jump, tied together, up to 18,000 feet above ground level- and hope they know how to deploy their main parachute. Some excited jumpers show up to the drop zone with the grand idea that they can descend alongside their buddies. In its simplest terms, tandem skydiving is when two people jump out of an airplane, strapped together. Tandem skydiving seems pretty straight forward, as the word “tandem” is often associated with two. “For some, this may also help them decide whether they want to pursue the real thing.Chapter 2: Safety Is Key: Instructor Licensing, Physical Limits & WeatherĬhapter 3: Getting to Know Your Tandem Skydiving EquipmentĬhapter 4: Preparing For Your First Tandem JumpĬhapter 5: Advice for First-Time Tandem Jumpers “We want to give everyone a chance to have the experience of being held up by a column of air, as if they are flying or floating,” Sushil says. The indoor experience in the US proved to be far less scary, and that made the brothers want to bring it here. It’s designed to not be scary, says Sushil Meda, who hasn’t yet skydived outdoors but went as far as boarding a plane once (he didn’t jump because of bad weather). She wasn’t at all scared, she says, “but it does get your adrenaline pumping”. Puli Vanaja Reddy, a psychiatrist who tried the indoor experience and has never been skydiving, says she felt “ten kgs lighter” in the wind tunnel, and very refreshed after.

The experience of being in the column of air was very similar in both experiences,” he says. “The scariest part of the indoor version was right before you enter the tunnel, as you feel the strong wind and get a taste of what’s to come. “The sensation of falling with gravity definitely felt scarier during the outdoor skydive,” he says.

They are then guided into the tunnel one by one.īusiness analyst Ram Charan Devalala, 29, who has been skydiving once, recently tried the indoor experience. Flyers then spend another 20 minutes acclimatising in a pre-flight chamber where they can feel the wind and watch other flyers in the wind tunnel. A 20-minute session offers pre-flight instruction and a short list of hand gestures to use to communicate better inside the tunnel. Additionally, it’s an experience that is not dependent on the weather, and it can be replicated so that the flyer gets the same experience every time.Īt GravityZip, flyers are given helmets, padded suits and protective goggles. Now that it’s up and running, the Medas say, GravityZip offers a few distinct advantages: it’s an experience for those not brave enough (yet) to skydive it’s a place where aspiring skydivers can try it out and get some practice. “We spent about a year just trying to understand how the wind tunnel would adapt to Indian climate or to fluctuating voltage,” Ram says. Bringing the indoor skydiving technology to India presented a completely new set of challenges, though. The brothers also run an amusement park in Hubli, Karnataka, which helped them approach this venture with some confidence, they say. They decided to set it up after enjoying a similar experience in the US. GravityZip, which opened at Gandipet in Hyderabad on April 17, is run by Sushil Meda and his brother Ram Meda. In that sense, it’s more a flying experience than a skydiving experience, says co-founder Sushil Meda. Wind speeds in the tunnel reach 200 miles an hour, creating a smooth column of air in which to float.
