Is Learning to Skydive Hard?

TL;DR

Learning to skydive is challenging, but you don’t need to be fearless or an extreme athlete to succeed. Solo skydiving training starts with ground school and progresses through instructor-assisted jumps as you develop freefall, canopy, and safety skills. To earn the USPA A License, you must make a minimum of 25 jumps and complete specific proficiency requirements. With consistent training, preparation, and a willingness to keep learning, becoming a licensed skydiver is an achievable goal.

 

If you’re thinking about learning to skydive solo, you’re probably wondering just how difficult it is. Yes, skydiving training is challenging – but probably not for the reasons you expect.

For most students, the most significant challenges are learning unfamiliar skills, managing adrenaline, staying focused under pressure, and continuing to show up even when the nerves kick in.

But you aren’t expected to know everything on day one. Learning to skydive is a progressive process, with each jump building on the skills you learned before it. We’ll walk you through how to start skydiving, what you’ll learn during training, and what it takes to earn your first skydiving license.

Is Learning to Skydive Hard?

Is skydiving difficult? Physically, learning to skydive is generally manageable for someone in good health with a reasonable level of fitness. You will need enough strength and mobility to wear and move around in your equipment, operate your parachute controls, perform emergency procedures if necessary, and land safely.

At Skydive Orange, students must:

• Be at least 18 years old
• Weigh no more than 225 lbs
• Be reasonably fit
• Be able to pull at least 22 lbs of downward force from overhead to arms fully down

For many skydiving beginners, however, the mental side is the bigger challenge. Skydiving can be quite scary at first.

Jumping from an airplane is outside the norm, and being nervous about it is completely reasonable. You may have to work through those nerves every time you arrive at the dropzone, board the airplane, and prepare to exit again.

Adrenaline and sensory overload can also make seemingly simple tasks more difficult at first. As you gain experience, the environment becomes more familiar, and you have more mental bandwidth to focus on the skills you’re learning.

And sometimes, a jump simply doesn’t go as planned. Repeating a level isn’t unusual and doesn’t mean you aren’t cut out for skydiving. Skydiving has a way of keeping everyone humble. Learning is about putting in the reps. Different skills click at different times for different people.

What Do You Learn in Skydiving Training?

Before making your first student jump, you’ll complete a comprehensive ground school. At Skydive Orange, ground school typically takes about six to eight hours and prepares you for far more than simply getting out of the airplane.

You’ll learn about: 

• Equipment
• Freefall body position
• Altitude awareness
• Parachute deployment
• Canopy flight
• Landing patterns
• Recognizing problems
• Performing emergency procedures

This portion of your training is quite literally teaching you how to save your own life if something doesn’t go according to plan. Once you’ve successfully completed the required ground training, you’ll begin putting those skills into practice in the air.

You won’t be expected to master everything at once. Student programs are designed to be progressive: you start with the fundamentals and gradually take on more responsibility as your skills and experience grow.

How Do You Get a Skydiving License?

In America, the United States Parachute Association (USPA) establishes the minimum requirements for earning your first skydiving license, the USPA A License.

To earn an A License, you must complete at least 25 jumps and demonstrate a required set of freefall, canopy and ground skills. You’ll work through these requirements with instructors and complete an A License Proficiency Card along the way.

The basic USPA requirements are the same regardless of where you learn, but the training program used to get you there can vary from one dropzone to another.

At Skydive Orange, you’ll begin with a tandem training jump before progressing to jumps where instructors assist you in freefall. From there, you’ll continue working through your remaining jumps with USPA-rated Accelerated Freefall instructors and coaches, gradually building your skills and independence until you complete the requirements for your A License.

How Long Does It Take to Learn How to Skydive?

Skydiving is largely self-paced, so there isn’t one set amount of time it takes to earn your license.

Some students dedicate a significant amount of time to training and progress through the program relatively quickly, while others spread their jumps over several months. Your availability, weather, resources, consistency, and whether you need to repeat any levels can all affect your timeline.

Currency makes a big difference. Longer gaps between jumps can mean refresher training or repeating skills. More importantly, jumping regularly helps you retain what you’ve learned and build on it from one jump to the next.

Preparation helps too. Review your objectives, visualize your jump, practice what you’ve been taught, listen to your instructors, and take advantage of wind tunnel training when appropriate. 

The more prepared you are before you get on the airplane, the more mental bandwidth you’ll have once you’re in the air.

Is Learning to Skydive Worth It?

We certainly think so. Learning to skydive takes commitment, time, money, and a willingness to keep learning. You don’t need to be fearless, and you don’t need to be a natural. You just need to be willing to show up, put in the work, and take it one jump at a time.

For many of us who work at the dropzone, learning to skydive changed the trajectory of our lives. What starts as a desire to jump from an airplane can turn into a sport, a community, and something you’re still learning from years later.

Ready to start your own journey? Register for your first skydiving course at Skydive Orange today. Blue skies!