ARCHIVE Previous Reports JOIN US! Join Now! Supplier Registration ACTIVITIES Activity Search Crag Search Accommodation Events Holidays FEATURES On-line brochure On-line store Book Reviews TV Guide Great Gifts Sport of the Week Links ABOUT US Who we are Comments Disclaimer NAVIGATION Home			Sport of the Week - Parchuting Why Do It? On the face of it there are few more stupid things to do in life than parachuting. If it seems like this on the ground just imagine how it feels sitting in the open door of a plane with your feet hanging over 3000 feet of very empty space. However when see your fellow parachutists floating through the sky you realise that though it may be deeply irrational it is also very beautiful. Seriously it also helps that everyone else who have ever parachuted have also been petrified themselves. Knowing that you faced up to the fear and gone through it to some bird like state is immensely satisfying. Only something like 40% of first timers go on to become second timers but I have yet to meet someone who regretted facing up to the fear to make their first jump. What is it? There are 3 main ways to try out parachuting. The first and most popular is to go on a week-end course where the first day is spent ground training and the second day is when you jump. The benefit of this approach is that it gives you a formal qualification and the knowledge to go on and develop if you like your first jump. There are 2 types of parachutes you can use - round, which are old fashioned and square which are modern. If you have the choice do square even though it will cost slightly more. The second way is the accelerated freefall programme. The benefit of this is that you develop your skills and get to go freefalling (i.e. you don't have your parachute opened as soon as you leave the plane) very quickly as a result of intensive, personalized tuition. The downside is the cost and the possibilty you find out after your first jump that is not the sport for you. The third way is to do a tandem jump. This involves almost no training and going upto about 10,000 feet and then jump out attached to an instructor. The benefit is that you get to experience freefall and it only takes a few hours to do. The downside is that if you like it you have to back to scratch one and take a beginner's course. Where to do it Thanks to chooseSPORT its easy for you to try out parachuting. Firstly join up if you are not a member and then go to our search engine to find out the closest parachuting school to you. Think about the type of school you want. There are the big production style schools that often jump weekdays and may train throughout the year. Otherwise it is the smaller schools who may not jump through the winter and are much more informal, which can also mean less efficient!
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