Learning how to become a skydiving instructor in South Africa through a training course is both exciting and interesting. One thing you can do is speak to the skydiving school where you learnt in the first place. Many people start skydiving because of their first initial jump.
The adrenaline pumping through your veins when you are standing on the edge of the plane waiting to jump can become addictive. And as a result, those people who thought they would only do it once become skydiving junkies.
This however can become quite an expensive exercise. So some people who are really passionate about the sport look for a course to make a career out of skydiving.
For those of you who can afford it however, it is a very rewarding sport and is one of the safest in the world. So here is a breakdown of what to expect.
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Your first jump course usually starts with a static line jump. This involves training on the ground where the basics of how the static line jump works and the process.
Once the instructor feels that you are competent enough, you will be getting in to the plane.
From here you will go up in the place to approximately 3500 feet and you will jump from the plane which will have a static line attached to it.
This static line will open your parachute for you without you have to touch a thing.
However the jump does not involve free falling of any sort as the parachute opens as soon as you jump out of the aircraft.
Moving on to the Skydiving Instructor Courses
Once you have successfully completed a static line jump. And the instructors are confident of you landing skills. You will be able to move on to the next stages of freefall.
According to the P.A.S.A (Parachute Association of South Africa), the accelerated freefall (AFF) course is one of the best ways to learn how to skydive.
They also state that it is the most intensive training that you can receive.
This differs from static line jumps as you will jump from a plane at 11000feet with two qualified AFF instructors. That will hold on to you from the moment you leave the plane until your parachute begins to open.
Once your parachute is opened the instructors will guide you through a number of movements that you will have been taught on the ground.
They will monitor your performance and ensure that you are controlling your parachute in the right way in order to land safely.
This kind of jump involves approximately 35 to 40 seconds of freefall and is not for the feint hearted.
Once you have completed this level, you will be able to move on to the next ten levels of progression. Each of which consist of ground training and a minimum of one jump.
You cannot move to the next level unless you have met the requirements set in the previous level.
Training levels as part of the course to become a skydiving instructor
Levels 1 – 3
During these training levels, you will be assisted by two AFF instructors.
These levels focus on refining the skills associated with jumping. Such as altitude awareness, stability, body position and so forth.
These levels additionally involve ensuring that you can deploy your parachute correctly and safely. As well as teach you the various movements and maneuvers such as turns.
Levels 4 – 7
These levels are focused on teaching you solo skills and only require one AFF instructor to help you.
Also these levels help you further with the movements involved in skydiving. Such as front and back loops, forward movements, and combining different maneuvers.
Levels 8 – 10
Levels 8 to 10 are done solo and require you to do a minimum of three solo jumps per level successfully.
In Summary
To summarize learning how to become a skydiving instructor in South Africa is quite intense and not for everyone. Because you need a lot of common sense and commitment to finish the skydiving course.
So only once you have successfully completed each of the above mentioned levels will you be able to conduct a jump master course.
Once this is completed, you will be able to enrol for a skydiving instructor course.
Therefore as you can see, learning how to become a skydive instructor is quite a lengthy process in South Africa. Which can require a lot of time and money to qualify for your certification.