All About Skydiving and The Elements of a Great Skydive

Published: April 20, 2017

The Elements of a Great Skydive

Want to learn all about skydiving? Well, every skydive is an opportunity to expand your comfort zone and learn more about how much you can accomplish when you put your mind to it! That said: some skydives are unequivocally better than others. When the basic safety requirements are met, you jump from a certain altitude from a certain plane, smile and get on with your life; when everything comes together for a great skydive, a jump from the same altitude from the same plane can be an absolutely spiritual experience. Here's how to line up the dominoes for a truly great skydive.

Jump with people who really care.

There are a lot of skydiving centers out there who specialize in getting the largest possible number of tandem students in and out the door. To look at it, it's like an assembly line--one jump after another, each indistinguishably different from the next, like cars on a roller coaster that only stops to reload.

The problem is, of course, that skydiving is nothing like riding a roller coaster. It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many of the people who walk through our door, and it's our responsibility to make sure that experience is the very best it can be. We really care about our students because we really care about this sport and its unique power to inspire those students. The cornerstone of a great skydive is that you're cared about as a student, so look for a dropzone that does.

Let's talk about the view.

Last we checked, there were just under 1,300 skydiving dropzones scattered all over this pale blue dot we call Earth. That means that you can skydive in just about every country, listen to Manifest talking on the PA system in just about every non-dialect language, look out over every kind of landscape and celebrate your success with a heaping plate of just about any kind of cuisine.

That said: due to restrictions on the airspace, we'd bet that 98% of those dropzones overlook some form of agriculture. We're not hatin' on corn, soybeans or amber waves of grain, but a truly great skydive has something magnificent to gaze upon while the wind is whipping by in freefall. Like, for instance, the twinkling expanse of the Atlantic Ocean and the bustling local color of a historic seaside town. (Ahem.)

Share the experience.

Inviting a friend to come along and share the experience alongside you makes an already amazing experience downright magical. There will be so much going on in your head and your heart on your first skydive--trust us on this--that having someone you care about right there to triangulate your observations is solid gold. When you land, someone will be right there to continue the breathless celebration. Long story short: It's highly recommended.

Keep it professional.

...Not you, of course. You may feel free to dance and sing and wiggle and squeal and express yourself in whatever way suits you best. Your tandem instructor, however--and the rest of the staff at the dropzone you choose--need to be at the top of their game to give you a great skydive. That status is marked by:

• Alertness (not the zombie thousand-yard-stare of an overworked professional skydiver)

• Thoroughness (not the phoning-it-in complacency of a pro skydiver who has fallen firmly into the grip of monotony)

• Friendly kindness (not the phantom eye rolls of a tandem instructor who can't be bothered to guide scared, excited new jumpers through the challenges of the process)

Remember the first bullet point about caring? This is part of it. Professionalism is how we roll at Skydive OC, because it keeps everyone safer and smiling wider. For us, there's no other way to go about our business.

Want to make a truly great skydive? You know who to call! Get in touch and we'll show you just how great a skydiving experience can be! Book your skydive today!