REPEAT SKYDIVE - CERTIFICATION INFORMATION
8 AM weekend AFF start time!
Get 6 Free skydives ($510 value) when you graduate the training program! OR -
| NEW! - GET 12 FREE GRADUATION SKYDIVES ($1,020 VALUE!) with parachute rental included and $100 off when you Prepay your 25-jump A-license package! This 37 - jump package is a tremendous deal |
Congratulations on making your first jump at Skydive Orange!
So, what’s next?
Skydive Orange follows the United States Parachute Association (USPA) Integrated Student Program (ISP). If you want to know more about USPA (and as you progress, you will be required to join the association).
If
you made a Tandem skydive, then you will probably want to continue AFF. Contact us to
schedule. Your first AFF jump starts with 5-6 hours of AFF ground course training, usually
offered Saturday and Sunday mornings. The next 7 AFF jumps require progressively less
training. The following applies to those going through the AFF or Static line
programs after they’ve made their first jump, or if you are using Tandem jumps
to go towards category A & B:
Join
the progressing student email list!
Your Job
(Important)
Your USPA-rated staff, which includes USPA Coaches, Jumpmasters, and Instructors, are for training, but it’s really up to you to schedule and attend the training classes. They are offered at no charge on Saturday and Sunday mornings, beginning at 8:00, but plan to arrive by 7:45. If there are no students registered, the course will not be held.
If you can’t make the morning classes, you may arrange for private lessons with one of the instructors (the going rate is $15 per hour, with a one-hour minimum charge). You will also need to arrange with a packing instructor to help with packing lessons. The packing instructor must be approved by your instructor.
It will also be your responsibility to preview your training for the next category, as well as study the assigned sections (“Book Stuff”) for your category quiz. Some of the same questions will be asked again during the A license check dive.
Bring Your
Books!
1. Your training syllabus -USPA Skydiver’s Information Manual (SIM)
2.
Your logbook
3.
Your USPA A-License Proficiency Card (Yellow Card)
Training Syllabus: You will also need your own copy of the training syllabus and all the associated study material. Almost everything you need is in the USPA Skydiver’s Information Manual, available for $25 at the student manifest desk. We highly recommend buying the bound copy, which is compact, durable, and easy to use.
Logbook: You may already have a logbook, or you will be issued one soon. You can use the small free one the school issues, or you can buy a larger one from the student desk. This is a very important document used document your jump history. All skydivers keep a logbook, and if you ever jump at another drop zone, you will need to present it.
A License Proficiency (Yellow) Card: The school will also issue you this four-page yellow card free. It marks your progress towards your USPA A license, which is required for you to jump without staff supervision. Once you have completed all the performance and knowledge requirements on the A License Proficiency Card and have completed a minimum of 25 freefalls, you can apply with one of the USPA AFF or Static-Line Instructors to make your A-License Check Dive. When the instructor signs and stamps the card, you have your A license. You can follow the instructions on the card to register it permanently with USPA (a very good idea in case you ever lose the card).
Put your NAME and
contact information on each of these so you don't lose them!
Checking In
Arrive on time a little before 7:45AM Saturday or Sunday. Ask us about weekday progressing training jumps. As soon as you get to the drop zone, go to the same desk where you signed in for your first jump. You must get on the student manifest and training list to be in the system. There are several visits to the leaning harness simulator with the instructor scheduled over the course of your training program, but you will always be expected to practice your emergency procedures there at least once every weekend that you come to jump.
Other Resources
As you progress, you are expected to read and understand the user manuals and other information concerning your skydiving equipment. We try to keep copies on hand, but you can also get your own. Email us when you are ready to buy, but try the following websites for basic information for Category C & D equipment information:
Main and reserve canopies: www.performancedesigns.com; www.icaruscanopies.com; www.aerodynamics.com
Harness and container systems: www.rigginginnovations.com; www.sunpath.com; www.relativeworkshop.com; www.miragesys.com. A measure of how seriously certain parachute harness / container manufacturers - Relative Workshop and Sunpath - take their commitment to their customers.
Automatic activation device: www.airtec.cc and www.sskinc.com. The Cypres automatic activation device owner’s manual is available only from the school.
There is also a handy diagram of the names of the basic parts of a parachute we use in the first jump course on http://www.skydiveorange.com/parachute.htm
Don't buy a parachute system without consulting with your instructor(s) first! There are many things available on the market that would be inappropriate for you to buy. Here's a link to a few considerations for buying the actual parachute system. Rainbow Parachute Inc can usually get you an outstanding deal on new or used equipment. email Ned when you are ready to buy.
Coaching
(Advanced Students)
In Categories G and H of the program, you will study and practice the skills necessary to jump safely with other skydivers. These basic skills can be performed during jumps under the supervision of a USPA Coach. The USPA Coach always works under the supervision of a USPA Instructor. Your instructor will assign you a USPA Coach, and you may jump only with the USPA Coach your instructor assigns. See Coaching and Coaches
Equipment
Always check with an instructor before jumping any piece of equipment. You could borrow or even rent parachutes from the school that are very dangerous for you to jump if you were to take one inappropriate to your level of experience. You will want to purchase your own altimeter, clear goggles, and gloves (in cold weather) by Category E. From Category E on there is a $5/ jump Altimeter rental, $1/ jump goggles rental, and $2/ jump glove rental.
We stock Helmets, and when you are ready for a Jumpsuit, contact our instructor Theresha Thames from Unfeathered.
Don't Bring any pets. And definitely leave the kids behind! Skydive Orange is not the place for them. You will not be allowed to make repeat skydives if you brings your pets until they are removed.
Currency
Skydiving is an unusual activity that demands skills you don’t encounter in everyday life. For that reason, your safe progress depends on your jumping frequently. Plan to jump at least every week or two and more often if possible. USPA recommends that students who wait 30 days between jumps should review training and jumps at the previous level. Longer periods may require backing up a few steps. We know skydiving is expensive, but in this case, safety is more important than your financial situation.
Working
Together for Safety
Let’s face it: Skydiving is a dangerous sport, but it can be done safely. The USPA-rated staff at Skydive Orange will guide you through the USPA program, but the final responsibility for your proper training belongs to you. This skydiving instructional program at Skydive Orange, Virginia is for skydivers who want to learn to skydive in a relatively safe learning environment. Take responsibility and let’s work together towards making your entire skydiving experience fun and safe.
Explanation of a few skydiving terms-
Licenses- A, B, C, D - Categories A-H - AFF Levels 1-7 - Coaches - Skydive University - Comparing our Categories A-H with other skydiving centers Explained Here
In the summer, Repeat AFF jumps are available Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday! WEEKEND REPEAT AFF STUDENT ARRIVAL TIME IS 7:45 AM SATURDAY & SUNDAY, but weekday arrival time varies, ask when you call and schedule.
The total cost to get an A license varies from person to person since AFF is performance based. Please note that the prices below are PER JUMP, not necessarily per Category! We strongly recommend the program on the right (white background) for most skydivers.
8 AM weekend AFF start time!!
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8 AM weekend AFF start time!!
| NEW! - GET 12 FREE GRADUATION SKYDIVES with parachute rental included and $100 off when you Prepay your 25-jump A-license package! This 37-jump package is a tremendous deal! |
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NEW JUMPSUITS IN STOCK! I just got in a bunch of new standard jumpsuits in assorted sizes and colors. If you need a new jumpsuit, ask at Student manifest to see what we have in stock. This is much easier than ordering (and waiting for) a custom suit. $200 tax included, ready to put on and jump! (Sorry, you can't jump it till it is paid for!) updated 05/21/2009 |
When looking at prices, be sure to consider that the above total prices are for your "A" License which includes the improved version of the old (now obsolete) "Level 1-7 AFF program" PLUS all the coaching jumps to get your "A" License under the new "Integrated Student Program". Up to this time, AFF training was just the first 7 jumps followed by several coached jumps often with unrated experienced skydivers.
Details for each of the Categories A - H above can be found in the Integrated student Program (ISP) in the Skydivers Information Manual (SIM) which you can buy at the student sign in desk at the hanger, or download or buy from USPA.
*In order for Tandem to count towards Category A, you must meet the learning and performance objectives (altitude awareness, open the parachute at assigned altitude, learn the landing pattern /parachute steering and control), and be sure to get this logged in your logbook as such. If your goal is to progress in the sport, tell us when you sign up since many first time skydivers rather just go along for the ride and let their tandem instructor take care of most of the details. Ask about confidence-building discounted pre-AFF repeat training tandem jumps! These have proven instrumental in helping some skydiving students progress past their license and into the works of skydiving.
**Cat B Tandem /AFF requires $80 deposit on first Cat C AFF in Leu of a $125 first AFF ground school; the $380 AFF first jump price includes this 6-8 hour ground school, which is necessary before you do your first AFF (non-tandem) skydive.
| WHAT IS INCLUDED IN, WHAT IS NOT in
the above prices:
Above cash discounted prices/ Jump include parachute rental! Visa/MasterCard/Amex/Discover - are about 5% more. No personal checks 1) Gear rental - parachute, jumpsuit, goggles, altimeter, gloves, radio, is included, except that by Category E, you are expected to own your own altimeter ($155) & goggles ($14), and if it is cold, gloves. Otherwise additional rental for Category E and later jumps is $5 / jump and Goggle rental is $1 / jump, but you prolly want your own goggles sooner anyway. 2) All ground instruction and jump mastering for the above training program is included, as long as you arrive at the required check in time, usually 7:45 weekends unless we indicate otherwise, weekdays we decide on a start time depending on what we think will be scheduled for each day, so ask when you schedule weekday jumps. Later or private category training classes might cost you a bunch more, so we suggest you sign in on time for the free ones. 3) USPA membership is included 4) First jump certificate 5) Starter logbook and yellow license check off card. Later you'll want to buy a $10 "Precision Freefall Logbook". 6) 6 Free skydives including parachute rental ($510 value) when you graduate the training program! Or prepay the training program, save $100 and get 12 free skydives with parachute rental included instead! NOT INCLUDED: 1) Rejumps - Skydiving is performance based; you might need to repeat jumps at the posted price if you fail to meet the learning requirements to pass the category. 2) Altimeter and goggle rental for Category E and beyond, see 1 above. 3) Skydiver's Information manual - you'll need to download, borrow, or buy a $25 copy from us. We stock them at the student sign in desk.
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You learn many of the same skills on a Tandem first jump as on an AFF first Skydive. Repeat Tandems, if completed within 30 days, are $245 each.
For Safety Sake, all AFF and Static Line progression Students must be in the air early enough to jump at least 1 hour before sunset until they have been cleared by an instructor to supervise themselves.
WE SKYDIVE WINTER SATURDAY AND SUNDAYS AND SOMETIMES A FEW WEEKDAYS TOO!
We can usually arrange weekday Tandem and repeat AFF skydives in addition to our usual weekend jumps Email or call me and tell me when you want to jump and I will try to arrange it. Click HERE for planned WEEKDAYS OF OPERATION.
I am usually near the phone Monday through Friday 9AM till 8PM.
skydive@cfw.com
Experienced skydivers having fun. This photo has nothing to do
with student training, I just thought it was cool so I put it on this page.
Skydive Orange is helping to lead the way with a comprehensive training program that takes you all the way from first jump to your "A" License & beyond, we are proud to be among the first to institute USPA's Integrated Student Program (ISP) which adds increased formal instruction and supervision of student skydivers in certain areas that were lacking under the old training progressions to better prepare students for the environment they will encounter as A- licensed skydivers and to improve students knowledge of parachute handling principles to minimize injuries.
The new instructional program (ISP), is clearly a winning proposition for the student of Skydiving with mentorship through achievement of your "A" License, but the coached freefall skydives needed to get you to the "A" License are $95 including the ride up, coaches pay, and rig rental (you are responsible for packing, and if you still haven't purchased your own altimeter and goggles by this time, rental is extra for these things.,
If your goal is to progress in this wonderful sport, for safety you need to make repeat jumps within 30 to 90 days. This keeps us in good standing with the United States Parachute Association, and close to your heart, keeps you from having to incur additional expense of retraining.
If the learning requirements are not met on one of the training jumps above, it will have to be repeated. Once you are licensed, you will no longer be required to be under direct supervision of a USPA certified jumpmaster. The price for experienced jumps will then be $25 to 13,000+' from the big plane, (Check out weekday jump rates) plus $25 parachute rental assuming you pack it yourself until you have your own altimeter and goggles. That's $50 for a 60 second freefall from 13,500'.
We at the Skydive Orange Club are proud that our parachuting operation has been described as very friendly and extremely helpful to those who are advancing in the sport.
Take the initiative to make use of nights & bad weather days to get ahead on ground instruction. No sense burning daylight on the ground when we can use it in the air instead! Ask us for the oral quizzes when you are ready to take them (the Integrated Student Program has a quiz after each category). It is OK to take the quizzes for several categories ahead, and to fill in bits and pieces on the proficiency card when you have the opportunity to sit in on a section even though it might be in a higher category than you are in. Examples:
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- Open Canopy Orientation
Pilot Briefing
- Open Canopy Orientation
The Integrated Student Progression includes comprehensive
instruction in parachute packing. Amazingly, we have licensed
skydivers come from far away skydiving centers who have yet to learn
this skill! When you pack a student parachute for yourself, put your
name tag on it. Only you are to jump the parachute you have packed.
See Parachute
Packing Classes and Parts
of a parachute.
"A" license requires 25 freefalls, 5 minutes of freefall time, $20 application fee to USPA, 5 landings within 20 meters of target center. These requirements are met by going through the training program and are items we initial on your yellow check off card. So many folks ask about "Getting certified to freefall on their own". What they are looking for is to get their "A" License so they will be recognized as not requiring supervision by a jumpmaster when they go to any USPA Skydiving center. The student program involves going through Categories A-H. After you have completed these categories, passed your check dive, and applied to USPA, you will qualify for your A license, the first of the 4 USPA skydiving licenses (A, B, C, D) used to classify skydiver's experience. As a student skydiver, you will want to get a copy of the detailed student progression (ISP) which is in the
Skydiver's Information Manual available at student manifest for $25. Compare what we consider to be a skydiving "graduate" to what the other skydiving places consider a "graduate".
Skydive Orange Inc. (SOI), is a growing club and we hope that you will continue jumping with us. We, as most drop zones, are a United States Parachute Association Affiliated Center. In order to jump at USPA Affiliated Centers, one must join USPA, As an AFF or Static Line student skydiver, you must join USPA prior to Category D in the student training progression. USPA Affiliated Centers use only USPA Certified Instructors and Jumpmasters.
The United States Parachute Association (USPA), is the national organization representing skydiving as a sport in the USA. Without USPA, skydiving would have been legislated out of existence long ago.
See Rating Definitions and Skydiving Definitions, too.
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Of course, we never stop learning! Consider continuing Skydive University training here at Skydive Orange. Or Advanced Parachute Flying Lessons with Rahlmo Meegan.
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All Skydiving photos on this page were taken at skydive Orange!
