Jumping with other people poses a new challenge for recently qualified skydivers. On our course we teach you how to fly with others safely and effectively.
Our philosophy is simple, “skill and awareness”. We teach you how to engineer a dive in advance, how to take account of your own skills and those of your partner. A well planned jump will always be more successful and thus much more rewarding for you as a skydiver. “Hot” dives are not just for the pros!
From getting the most out of your track to developing an awareness of where the boundaries are, you will be a safer and more confident skydiver, equipped with the skills to set yourself new challenges and evaluate your own performance. Once you’ve decided to start skydiving the earlier you take this course the better. This is because you won’t have had time to pick up bad habits with your body position, which can often prove a difficult thing to “train out”.
You’ll start with the basics of formation skydiving, beginning with how to move forward and backwards relative to another person, changing levels and then finally moving from side to side. Once you’ve mastered this you’ll learn how to turn while staying close or “proximate”. These skills are broken down into bite-size lessons and you’ll progress rapidly. We will also be helping you to work on your track, an important skill that helps you make a safe “getaway” from the formation before opening your parachute.
A milestone in your course, this jump is designed to ease you into jumping with more than one person. You’ll be actively participating in the engineering of the dive as well as its debriefing. Your coach will participate closely with you through all phases of your first eight jumps, assisting you where needed. Your first four way is a challenge you will be ready for. You and your coach will prepare the dive jointly and practice it a number of times on the ground. You will be proactive in leading the dive because by this stage you will know exactly what you are doing and why.
For most European countries there is no formal qualification available to be awarded. But, of course, you will still be equipped with a tangible new skill (and DVD to prove it!) For the UK, our Instructors have the official authorisation of the British Parachute Association to award the BPA FS1 qualification. For Ireland, the six jump course license can be issued. To be awarded the BPA qualification you will need to have completed a six point four man formation. If all that sounds a little daunting right now, don’t worry, most graduates end up doing ten or more points.
