|
             |
Frequently
Asked Questions....?
-
WHAT ARE
THE AGE RESTRICTIONS TO SKYDIVE?
The
minimum age is 16, if you are under 18 your parent or guardian's
consent will be required on the supplied medical declaration form. If
you are 40 years of above the supplied medical form will require your
doctors signature of approval.
Between
the ages of 18 and 40 you can simply make a "self declaration"
On the
medical and indemnity forms, this can be done on the morning of your course.
-
WHAT
PHYSICAL REQIREMENTS DO I HAVE TO MEET?
Sky
diving is a sport, most levels of health can participate. Your weight
to height ratio should not be disproportionate. The maximum weight
for both our static line and tandem courses is 15 Stone for Men and
13 Stone for Women.
If you
suffer from epilepsy, fits, recurrent black outs, heart or lung
disease or mental illness you should NOT consider jumping. If you
have suffered from chronic bronchitis or asthma, diabetes, liver or
kidney disease, chronic ear or sinus problems, severe broken bones
you should request a BPA Medical Declatation form which we will send
to you, this should then be completed by your doctor.
We
reserve the right to refuse anyone anyone who we do not consider
suitable for parachuting.
-
WHO WILL
BE TEACHING ME TO PARACHUTE / SKYDIVE?
Instructors
are Skydivers who have successfully completed an extensive and in
depth training program for certifying instructors. All instructors
are a BPA qualified Instructor / Jumpmaster
-
WHAT IF
MY PARACHUTE DOESNT OPEN?
By law,
all parachute jumps must be made with single harness / dual harness
parachute system with both main and reserve parachute. Basically if
one doesnt work you have another one. Parachuting has advanced by
leaps and bounds over recent years and the equipment has become more
reliable, simpler and durable. The reserve parachutes are inspected
and re-packed every 6 months by a certified rigger whether they have
been used or not. The main canopy s also packed by a rigger of
under the direct supervision of a certified rigger. In addition all
canopy's are equipped with an AAD which will deploy the canopy if the
student fails to activate etiher a main parachute or reserve
parachute. AAD'S however, are considered a back up device only. It is
still up to the skydiver to perform appropriate emergency procedures.
-
HOW FAST
DO YOU FALL WHILE IN FREEFALL?
When you
first leave the aircraft you are moving at the same speed as the
aircraft which is typically 80 - 110mph / 130-180km. During the first
10 seconds the skydiver accelerates to what it is called terminal
velocity. You can alter your body position to slow or speed up your
body position to slow or speed up to your decent and experienced
skydivers can reach fall rates in excess of 200mph and there are
record speed of over 300mph, however in a standard skydive the fall
speed is around 120mph. Once the parachute is open your decent rate
slows down to approx 20mph or less.
-
HOW HARD
IS THE LANDING?
Modern
parachutes allow a softer landing, these parachutes are called RAPS
(Ram Air) Canopies (Square Parachutes) which work more like an
aeroplane wing. These also offer exceptional manoverability, and with
some exceptions allow you to land pretty much anywhere you wish.
-
CAN I
BREATH IN FREEFALL?
Yes you
can breath in freefall. Due to the high speed of terminal freefall
(and much higher speeds in vertical freefall dives) The jumpers body
is exposed to 02 molecules at a much higher rate than someone walking
around on the ground. The body is able to absorb the necessary 02
through the skin. This is why jumpers flap their cheeks in freefall,
it presents a larger surface area to the airstream for oxygen
osmosis. Once under canopy the jumper resumes breathing normally.
This is also why jumpers do not jump on cloudy days or when they
might risk going through clouds. The moisure in the clouds can
condense in their exposed skin surfaces preventing the absorption of
the necessary oxygen resulting in suffocation. AAD's are recommended
for jumpers in climates where weather is a factor.
-
CAN YOU
TALK IN FREEFALL?
When
falling at 120mph, the wind makes it too loud to talk in freefall.
Student instructions includes learning a variety of hand signals for
the instructor to communicate with the student. Once the parachute is
open, tandem passengers are able to talk to their tandem master.
Other student training methods use ground to air radios which are one
way comminication between the jumpmaster and the student under canopy
to helo guide them in for landing.
-
WILL I BE
SCARED ON MY FIRST JUMP?
Most
people do experience some level of anxiety. It is normal to be
apprehensive about jumping from an aeroplane. The aeroplane ride up
is typically where most students feel the most anxiety, but few
jumpers report feeling anything but exhilaration once they have left
the aircraft. If your nervous, tell your instructor and you can work
together to work through the fear and decide if skydiving is for you.
Humans
instinctively are afraid of heights. Most people experience some form
of vertigo on the edge of a high building, but will not experience
the same fear from 10,000ft.
A static
line first jump student who is jumping from 3,500ft will only fall
for a second or two before the static line deploys their parachute,
but a tandem or aff student will fall for anywhere between 30-60
seconds based on the altitude of the plane when they jump.
This is
an illusion. When a skydiver is being filmed deploying their
parachute, the skydiver filming the jump continues to fall as the
parachute is opening, thus giving the illusion that the parachute
jumper is going up, he is mealy slowing down.
Like most
sports, skydiving can be made safer by following recommended
procedures, not trying to do stunts and manoeuvres before you have
enough experience, and by regularly reviewing your emergency
procedures. Accidents and fatalities often fall in to the category of
"this could have been prevented" For more information on
statistics and safety, please contact the BPA
-
IS
INSURANCE NEEDED ?
You are
covered by third party liability insurance through the BPA
membership, which is inclusive in the course price. This does not
cover you for injury to yourself, only the damage you may cause
during your jump such as landing on someone's car. Should you require
personal cover then please contact us on 01443-670031
|
|
Paraquest
specialise in Sky Diving, Parachute Jumps, Parachute Courses, White
Water Rafting, Shark Diving, Jet Skiing, RYA PW Courses ( Royal
Yachting Association ) RYA Powerboat Courses from levels 1 through to
the RYA powerboat level 2. & RYA VHF SRC, Water Skiing, Wake &
Boarding
We
also offer Charity Tandem Skydives and Static Line Parachute Jumps,
Charity Shark Dives, Charity White Water Rafting and much more. You
can also purchase gift vouchers on-line or by phone and post. These
vouchers have proven to be an excellent gift and they come highly recommended.
© 1999 - 2008 ParaQuest Ltd- all rights reserved.
Terms and Conditions
| Cookies &Privacy
Site Last Updated: 10th March 2008 |
