Skydiving

Have you ever wanted to try skydiving? If you fancy a really fun day out, a tandem parachute jump is a great way to get your adrenaline pumping. You need no skills and just need to be of relatively good health and sound of limb. There will be few minutes’ briefing and some skydiving instruction and – before you know it – you’re firmly strapped onto an experienced tandem master and taken up in a plane. After reaching your jump altitude, you exit the plane together while the tandem master controls the whole process. You have anything from 30 to 60 seconds of freefall, depending on the jump altitude, after which the tandem master opens the chute and then, after a short canopy ride, you land. Simple. Now you just have to slow your heart rate down to about 300 beats per minute.

If you have a penchant for extreme sports and outdoor adventures and want to get a bit more serious about skydiving, you will need to do a training course at any of the registered skydiving schools. Here you have two choices. You either start off doing normal static line jumps, during which the parachute is deployed by a static line attached to the plane. After a min of 8 static line jumps, you will be cleared by your intructor to progress to freefall and then to higher and higher altitudes. 

The alternative is the accelerated free fall (AFF) option. Here you also undergo basic training, but instead of doing static line jumps, you exit the plane firmly held and stabilised by two instructors. You are not physically attached to them, so you get to experience free fall on your first jump and, once you are stabilised and have reached the right altitude, the instructors tell you to pull your ripcord. If you fluff it up, they are there to open it for you, and then track away to open their own chutes and meet up with you again once you are safely on the ground.

The purpose of this is not just to fall out of the sky. Skydiving does involve some work, which is far more fun than it sounds. First you need to learn to control your flight, in other words, track to left or right, or speed up or slow down your descent. Once you can do that, you can play around in the sky with other people, connecting up, forming circles and stars and generally having fun. When it comes to skydiving, the ground is the limit.

For the ultimate feeling of the wind through your hair there is no better thrill than skydiving, and tandem skydiving means that you needn’t worry about the controls but are free to enjoy the fall. Let’s face it, when you’ve jumped out of a plane at 10 000ft and are hurtling at deathly speeds towards the earth, the last thing you want to have to think about is when to release your chute. In a tandem skydive this is all taken care of, so you can enjoy the jump to its fullest.

There are numerous skydiving operators around the country, so wherever you are you can enjoy a tandem skydive. Listed below are some of the areas that offer skydiving:

Gauteng: As well as offering tandem skydiving, skydiving facilities in Gauteng also stock all the equipment and accessories that you may need for skydiving and other similar air-based activities. The Icarus Air Wear & Skydiving School provides instruction for first time jumpers and instructors are fully qualified. From solo jumps and static line courses to accelerated freefall and tandem skydiving, these can all be found in Gauteng.

Mpumalanga: The Witbank Skydiving Club in the Mpumalanga province is just one hour outside of Pretoria and Johannesburg. You will climb aboard a Cessna 206 and will fly up to 10 000ft, at which point you and your guide will jump. Jumps are offered on weekends only, and include static line courses, accelerated freefall (AFF) and tandem jumps.

Free State: A mere ten minutes’ drive outside of Bloemfontein, you will be able to partake in skydiving activities at Skydive Central that cater for all experience levels: tandem skydives, static line courses, accelerated freefall courses and progressive freefall training. We can also do display jumps anywhere in the Free State and Northern Cape.

Limpopo: Tandem Skydiving at Skydive Xtreme in Modimolle offers you one of the most thrilling experiences known to mankind. First you will receive a short briefing, and then we will enter the aircraft and rise up to 12 000 ft. Once we reach this height you will jump and experience the feeling of freefall. It will change your life forever!

Garden Route: The Garden Route is one of the most beautiful areas in the world, and there can be no more thrilling experience than that of the rush of 35 seconds of freefall over stunning Skydive Plettenberg Bay. View mountains, ocean, riverine forest and the stunning Plettenberg Bay as you sail to earth.

KwaZulu Natal/Durban: Skydive Durban offer tandem skydives over Durban’s magnificent coastline. You will exit the plane while securely attached to an instructor. After an exhilarating 35 seconds of freefall, the instructor will open his chute and the two of you will float gently down to earth. You may even fly the canopy during your descent. A wheelchair friendly stance means that those otherwise-able can enjoy this heart-racing activity as well.

Cape Town: If you are one of those people who get bored doing the same, everyday things all the time then take a leap on the wild side – literally! Just 35 minutes’ drive outside of Cape Town will have you in prime skydiving country at Skydive Cape Town. Fully operational seven days a week (weather permitting) you can enjoy tandem skydives, fun jumping, static line and accelerated freefall. All of which are guaranteed to get your adrenalin levels as high up in the sky as you are.

Eastern Cape: Grahamstown is not just home to a number of students; E P Skydivers is located there too. They invite you to experience the thrill of a tandem skydive with one of their highly experienced tandem instructors. From a height of 10 000ft the views of Grahamstown are breathtaking. After 35 seconds of freefall the instructor will open the parachute. Your descent will take about seven minutes, giving you ample time to take in the area.

One of the many benefits of a tandem skydive is that you don’t need any prior experience as the controls are taken care of by the instructor you’re attached to. So you can literally walk in, sign up; don the harness and jump, which makes for a pretty thrilling afternoon adventure activity. Check out our list of providers in your area and plan your tandem skydiving excursion today.