WHAT IS TANDEM SKYDIVING?
Tandem skydiving’ or ‘tandem parachuting’ refers to a type of skydiving where a student skydiver is connected to a harness attached to a tandem instructor. The instructor guides the student through the whole jump from exit through freefall, piloting the canopy, and landing. The student needs only minimal instruction before making a tandem jump with the instructor. In the United States most skydiving centers and clubs require that you be 18 years or older to skydive whereas in other countries the minimum age can be lower or higher. This is one of three commonly used training methods for beginning skydivers; the others being static line
Who will I be attached to?
You will be attached to a highly experienced and qualified instructor who must have at least 3 years of experience skydiving, 500 skydives, and a master parachute license issued by an FAA-recognized organization. At Paragon we require our instructors to have a minimum of 1,500 jumps , our most experience jumpers in excess of 12,000 skydives and 20+ years in the industry.
Instructors are also required to pass a certification course given by the manufacturer of the tandem parachute system to be jumped. The instructor also has an FAA Class III Medical Certificate, and complete a USPA Tandem Instructor Rating Course.
Is Tandem skydiving safe?
Tandem skydiving as with any sport or activity does have some degree of risk and anyone wanting to conduct a skydive should be aware of those risks before skydiving.
How high is the risk of getting injured or killed?
According to the United States Department of Transport and the United States Parachute Association published statistics skydiving is 24 times safer than driving a car and tandem skydiving is 3 x safer then solo skydiving.
That makes your drive to the airport the most dangerous part of your day.
(We take safety extremely seriously, visit our safety page for more detailed information)
HOW MUCH TRAINING DO YOU NEED TO TANDEM JUMP?
The benefit of tandem skydiving is that it can be done in a day. There’s a short brief that prepares you the entire experience, during the briefing you will be instructed on the correct body positions you’ll need to adopt on exit and whilst in freefall and your responsibilities for landing. We’ll educate you on the equipment you’ll be using for your skydive; though the operation of the equipment will be managed by your highly experienced skydiving instructor. Because you’re not operating your own equipment, you can be a little more relaxed and really enjoy all the sensations of freefall and stunning views that surround you.
Do not stress yourself out about the training our staff our highly experienced and will walk you through every step of the process.