Did you know there’s WAY More To Skydiving Than Tandem Jumping?

When you picture skydiving, you probably picture an ecstatic guest in plastic goggles falling through the sky, attached to a smiling instructor. Once you’ve checked that off your bucket list, then that’s it, right? Been there, done that.

You might not know this, but oh how wrong you are.  

Most do not even know that there is much more to skydiving than doing a tandem jump. The moment you show up to Skydive Perris and have a look around, it’ll become immediately obvious to you that there’s a world of wonderment and athleticism waiting just past that open aircraft door. It neither has to be nor should be a one-time bucket list item. Do we have your attention? We thought so. Here’s a peek.

You could be cleared for freefall self-supervision in just 7 jumps!

From the year-round amenable weather to the world-level caliber of our instructor team, our dropzone here in Southern California is the perfect place to learn how to skydive. If you make the commitment, being able to skydive solo in only seven jumps is an easy feat to accomplish.  Furthermore, becoming a fully licensed skydiver in as little as a week is totally possible.

When you join the ranks of Skydive Perris’ elite group, you’ll be going through the same program that has safely guided thousands of new skydivers to earn their solo skydiving certification. It’s called AFF (which stands for “Accelerated Freefall”). The AFF program — as created and governed by the United States Parachute Association — is comprised of vital preparatory classroom time, and seven levels of skill-building in freefall and parachute landing (parachute coaching is done via radio from the ground). From there, you’ll make several more coached jumps before being issued your full USPA A-License. It’s the “golden ticket” that allows you to jump solo (or with friends) at skydiving dropzones all over the world.

From there, you’re welcome to head to infinity and beyond

Got that license? Great! You’re off to the races now.

No matter what flavor of freefall adventurer you are, skydiving has a discipline that’ll fit you like a — well — custom skydiving suit. Once you’re licensed, you can explore them all with expert coaches right here at Skydive Perris and pick one to focus on. (Not into commitment? Dabble in a few!) 

You can make linked shapes in freefall with groups of your friends (“relative work”), you can get out there and fly your body in multiple orientations (“freefly”), you can forego the freefall almost entirely and focus on your parachute (“canopy relative work” and “swooping”), or you could even put on one of those ‘flying squirrel suits’ you’ve been checking out for years (“wingsuiting”). There’s even speed skydiving, freestyle (kind of like freefalling figure skating), tracking (gets a little complicated, ask us in person). Honestly, more than you can shake an altimeter at. 

Do you like shiny medals and hard work? Well, once you get good at one (or several) of these disciplines, you can start competing at the local, state, national and international levels!

All that’s pretty amazing, right? This author’s mind was blown when I first discovered all there is to do in the sport. And there’s only one way to get started — make a reservation and get that first jump under your belt. From there, the whole sky is your oyster!