Skydiving is popular because people love the sense of freedom and the adrenaline rush that it gives. Few other activities even get near to skydiving in terms of the buzz and excitement that it offers.

Should you not yet have tried skydiving, then you really are missing out. It is a very accessible sport though, so if skydiving is an idea that interests you, then there is no reason why you can not give it a try. If skydiving is of interest to you, but you want to know more about it before committing yourself, then read on…

When you first exit the plane whilst skydiving, the resistance of the air is far outweighed by the force of gravity, and this causes you to rapidly accelerate downwards. 3-5 seconds later, by which point you will have fallen a few hundred feet, these two forces re-balance, with the result being that you maintain a steady decent speed of 120-180 mph (193-290 kph). Once you pull the cord attached to your parachute, and your main canopy releases and fills with air, you will then begin decelerating because of the sudden increase in air resistance, and you will eventually reach a speed of around 10mph, which is a perfectly safe speed to land at.

The risks involved when you go skydiving (parachutes not working, equipment malfunctioning, collisions, etc.) are relatively low, with only about 1 jump in every 100,000 leading to a fatality, but it is important to be alert and safety conscious at all times. The weather is something to be particularly aware of though, and you should not skydive in windy or potentially stormy conditions.

The most important thing to do is to be aware at all times. If you are constantly aware as to what is going on with you, your equipment and the environment around you, then you are in a position to pre-empt or rectify any problems before they become serious. A good piece of advice is to never relax until you have two feet safely on the ground.

Depending on the type of skydiving that you want to do – Tandem, Static Line, AFF (accelerated free fall) – you will spend anywhere from an hour to eight hours training, which will teach you: how the body and parachute work together (essentially basic physics); how to use the various pieces of skydiving equipment; how to safely exit the plane; the various falling / flying techniques that can be implemented; how to land safely.

Read On : Go Skydiving

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