Tandem Skydiving

When you are ready to take your first jump you will have to decide what kind of skydive to take. Your options for your first skydive are AFF (Accelerated FreeFall) or Tandem jump.

Tandem jumps are a popular Introduction to skydiving since they provide the beginner, or the curious the opportunity to experience the thrill of skydiving without the stress of AFF progression training. People interested in taking a one time "fun jump" tandem provides the opportunity without extensive training. While others interested in become certified can reach this goal through "Tandem Progession".

Tandem jumping, by definition, consists of an experienced jumper called a "Tandem Master" or "Tandem Instructor" and the passenger. The tandem master rides on the back and wears an extra-large parachute system capable of carrying weights of up to 500 pounds; easily able to safely suspend two people. The passenger (or tandem progression student) wears a specially designed harness that attaches in four points to the front of the tandem master.

It should be noted that, in the United States, tandem jumping is conducted in two very-different modes: as a "ride" by manufacturer-rated Tandem Masters, and as bonafide skydiving instruction by USPA Tandem Instructors who also hold the manufacturers’ ratings. Only USPA-rated Tandem Instructors can teach tandem as a part of hybrid skydiving instruction. In most of these hybrid courses, a student makes three or four tandems and then finishes training starting with a level four AFF jump. The utility of this hybrid method is that there is never more than one instructor involved in any one skydive, thus freeing up staff to more quickly train the student load. Jumps made with a USPA-rated Tandem Instructor count towards student proficiency, those made with a non-USPA rated Tandem master do not.

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