Why Skydiving Should Be Your Next Hobby

Looking for a fun new hobby? A pastime to challenge your body and mind? An activity where you can learn, grow, and bond with peers who share the same passion? A skydiving hobby might be right for you!

Absolutely. Skydiving doesn’t have to be a one-and-done affair. Some folks like to traverse mountain trails while others take up bowling, but a special lot dedicate their time to a skydiving hobby. In fact, there are nearly 42,000 people pursuing their skydiving hobby in the United States alone!

The journey to making skydiving your hobby will begin with working toward your United States Parachute Association A License.

At Skydive Carolina, the first step to pursuing skydiving as a hobby is to sign up for a First Jump Course. The First Jump Course at Skydive Carolina involves 6 hours of classroom instruction and hands-on training. The course will cover parachute gear and how it works, correct freefall body position, identifying and handling emergency procedures, and flying the canopy. After the course, you will complete a tandem evaluation jump with a multi-rated Tandem/AFF instructor. After demonstrating proper skill and awareness on this jump, you will move on to your CAT A level one jump.

The CAT A level one jump is your first “solo skydive” sporting your own parachute. On this jump, you are accompanied by two freefall instructors. These instructors will be alongside you during freefall until it is time to deploy the parachute. Once the parachute is deployed, a member of the ground crew will provide additional instruction via wireless radio if needed. After successfully completing this level, you will move forward throughout the other levels of the Accelerated Freefall program building strong freefall and canopy skills.

Upon successful completion of the Accelerated Freefall program, an individual will need to make additional solo skydives to reach the mandatory 25 total skydives to qualify for an A license, learn to pack a parachute, and pass a written and oral exam.

While the journey to attaining the USPA A License is an enjoyable, challenging pursuit, when you have your A License is when the real fun begins! An A license enables you to jump with other licensed skydivers and travel to nearly any dropzone around the world!

If you aren’t quite ready to take the leap solo, there’s no reason why you can’t make a skydiving hobby out of tandem skydiving. Many of our cherished customers return year after year to celebrate a special occasion or even several times in the same season by taking advantage of our “jump again” tandem offer. To qualify for this offer, individuals must purchase their next jump on the same day as their initial skydive. They will receive a gift certificate that is valid for up to one year from the purchase date.

Aside from the thrill and excitement of leaping from an aircraft in flight, skydiving is so fun because there is always something left to learn. Even skydivers with tens of thousands of jumps train and work diligently to improve their skills. The envelope is just waiting to be pushed, will you be the one to take skydiving to the next level?

Admittedly, skydiving isn’t a cheap hobby. The initial investment into obtaining your USPA A license with Skydive Carolina is about $3,760. Once you are a licensed skydiver, you only need to pay for your lift ticket and gear rental, should you need it.

Skydiving gear can also be quite pricey. However, it is life-saving equipment and is well worth the money! Piecing together a used skydiving rig (container, main, reserve, and Automatic Activation Device) will cost about $3,000. If you choose to go brand new for your first rig, though few rarely do, the cost is closer to $10,000.

As often as they want! Licensed skydivers can jump as frequently as they choose; however, there are currency requirements for each skydiving license. Essentially, each skydiving license/experience level has a maximum number of days that can go between each skydive. For example, A-licensed skydivers must make a jump every 60 days, while D-licensed skydivers can have an interim of up to 180 days between each jump. Although, few ever wait that long!

Once you’re bitten by the skydiving bug, it’s hard to stay away! Some jumpers visit the dropzone once a month. Others are frequent flyers and visit every weekend! On average, on a good weather day, a skydiver can easily make anywhere between 3 and 8 jumps.

There’s no other hobby quite like skydiving. It’s thrilling, challenging, and not to mention, tons of fun! If you’re looking for something different and the opportunity to join an amazing community, a skydiving hobby is the way to go!

Book your jump today!

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