Skydiving AFF
skydiving faq

What are the benefits of AFF?
Before the (AFF) Accelerated Free Fall came along to learn to skydive was a bit of a slog. It took sometimes the best part of a summer just to qualify (RAPS/Static Line) for your skydiving license.

Accelerated Free Fall has changed all that, this revolutionary way of teaching is the quickest, easiest and most motivating way to learn the sport.

It gives you time in freefall to get used to the surroundings and start to learn, coupled with the sense of security you feel having an instructor right there with you correcting any problems with in-air instruction. AFF, Accelerated Free Fall, is the way forward.

What Qualifications do AFF Instructors need?
In the UK, the AFF instructor must have at least 1000 jumps and 10 hours in freefall. In most other countries the instructor only needs 6 hours in freefall, (Our instructors have over 80 hours in freefall and are vastly experienced.) The instructors will also have passed the AFF instructors course, which is extremely demanding and tests the ability of the instructor to not only skydive but also to teach and get the best out of people, with safety as the overriding factor. Our Instructors are some of the most experienced in the World.

How much does it cost?

A deposit of 10% is to be paid when booking an AFF.

What do I get?
Level 1 - 8 AFF (Accelerated Free Fall), includes all instruction and coaching
All kit hire for the AFF course
Video of all skydives
"Pack Jobs" for the duration of the course
Free instruction during consolidation jumps

How long does the course take?
7 to 10 days will give you time to finish your Accelerated Free Fall course and make your consolidation jumps. Some people qualify in 3 to 5 days.

What do I have to do?
A five to seven hour ground school prepares you for your first AFF (Accelerated Free Fall) skydive. You will skydive from 11,000 - 13,000 feet, with your own parachute system, accompanied by two skydiving instructors. After almost a full minute of freefall, you'll pull your ripcord and experience the deceleration from 120mph as the canopy opens above you. You're on your own now to fly your parachute back to earth with guidance from an instructor via radio. As you progress through the AFF course, you will be released by theinstructors and be asked to perform manoeuvers in the air. By your seventh level, you will be jumping out of the airplane unassisted. The AFF program consists of 8 levels of instruction and is the quickest way to become a BPA licensed skydiver.

What is 'Ground School'?
The ground school will cover all that you need to know to make your first Skydive and many more after.
We will take a look at the equipment that you will be wearing: Helmet, goggles, gloves, altimeter, jump-suit and of course your parachute. This is all state of the art equipment. Both your main and reserve parachutes are square cellular canopies which will give you total control and a nice gentle tip toe landing.
After this we will look at body position for the skydive and how we will communicate while in free fall, with the use of in-air signals.
Then we will take some time "Dirt Diving" (practising the Air Work of the Skydive) so that you perform well in free fall.
After this, and a cup of tea to let it all sink in, we will learn how to exit the aircraft and then do more Dirt Dives just to make sure you haven’t forgotten what’s going to happen in the sky.
We will then discuss how yousteer the canopy down to the Drop Zone for anice soft landing. Just in case you forget everything under canopy, your equipment contains a radio system so we can stop you before you reach the next country!!
This finally leaves Malfunctions. Although they are very rare we still have to tell you about them and what you should do should something happen. (The last one I had was well over 1000 jumps ago.) Once we have spent time going through all of the drills and you are happy to progress you will be ready to make your 1st skydive, and jump level 1.

O.K. So what happens when I jump out of a plane?

Jump 1
Jumping with 2 Instructors. This skydive will concentrate on body position, altitude awareness and being able to pull your own ripcord. Easy...

Jump 2
Skydiving with two instructors, this will also concentrate on body position, but wewill introduce forward movement, and there will be more time to relax, and look around and enjoy the view. Remember to give lots of smiles to the cameraman!

Jump 3
This is the first skydive where both instructors will release you in free fall. Yippee!!

Jump 4
This is the first Skydive with only one instructor. We will exit together (The Instructor is holding you) then we concentrate on heading control, orientation and make some small turns. Easy peazy!

Jump 5
On this skydive you exit without the instructor holding you, the instructor stays right with you as you leave the aircraft and eases you into some 360° turns and you practice forward movement

Jump 6
A dive exit with back loops and tracking (controlled horizontal movement at speed). This will prove to the instructor that you can get stable from an unstable position during a skydive. The tracking is to show that you can move away from other people, in order to open your own parachute in a safe area.

Jump 7
This is the skydive where you put it all together. You do a nice dive exit followed by a back loop then a 360° left and right turn followed by a track, wave (to let others you are about to pull) and a stable pull.

Jump 8 (a.k.a. Hop'n'Pop)
You're on your own! This skydive is easy. All you have to do is exit the aircraft and deploy your main canopy within 5 seconds. Enjoy the canopy ride.

Congratulations you have just graduated!! You are a skydiver...

What happens next?
After the course has finished you will be able to skydive on your own in total control and safety.
When you have finished the course you will then have to do 10 consolidation jumps just to practice the skills we have taught you during your Accelerated Free Fall course, and to become more relaxed in free fall.You get to do your own thing – without the pressure of having to attain specific skills & tasks.

Note: The price for these and any further fun jumps will be charged to you directly by the Drop Zone & will vary (depending on time of year, what equipment is hired etc.) Budget for £18-£25 for the Jump Ticket & £15-£20 for equipment hire.

However, free instruction will be provided for the Consolidation jumps.

After the 10 Consolidation jumps, you’ll be fully licensed to skydive anywhere in the World (BPA Cat 8 & FAI ‘A’ Licence).

Is that it?
Absolutely not! After this there are many different ways you can go with the sport - FreeFlying, Skysurfing, Formation Skydiving or Canopy Relative Work. Plan a further visit to us at ESC and find out what exciting and challenging activities are out there!!
You’ll also need to think about equipment – Hire it? Buy it? We can help here as well.

Are there any hidden extras*?
No. There is a lot of flexibility built into the course. However, should you not meet the performance requirements on some levels of the course they may need to be re-jumped.

*We have not raised our price for the accelerated free fall course in Spain now for over 5 years. The only 'hidden extra' this year (if you can call it that) is that we ask you to pay your own 3rd party BPA insurance. You can either pay £26.08 for short-term insurance whilst doing the course, or pay for a years membership, which includes a subscription to the BPA magazine (Skydive The Mag) for the year, and will also cover you back in the UK. That costs £117.00.
Both payments are made direct to the BPA using forms etc. we provide and can be done using a credit card in Spain.

What if I have to re-jump a level?
You may not progress on a level as much as you and your instructor would like and you may agree to "re-jump" a level before moving on to the next stage, the cost for re-jumps are shown below. If you want to re-jump levels 1 to 3 these are the most expensive because there are two instructors with you. Many people just breeze through the eight levels, others need the odd re-jump before they are happy to progress to the next level.

The cost of re-jumps is detailed below:

Levels 1 – 3: £120
Levels 4 – 7: £90

Why jump out of a perfectly good airplane?
Because the door opens ;-)