experience the freefall, experience the thrill, Skydive!

14,000ft Tandem Beach Skydive

Experience amazing coastal views from 14,000ft above the beach with only 15 minutes of instruction. Attached to an experienced tandem instructor all you have to do is enjoy the rush. After some paperwork and a safety brief there is a short drive to the airport where you'll board the plane and fly to jump height. Once in position the door opens and your instructor takes control. Whoo hoo. Sixty seconds of freefall later your parachute is activated for a 5 7 minute glide to the earth. Perfect for people with no previous skydiving experience.

14,000ft Tandem Beach Skydive

Experience amazing coastal views from 14,000ft above the beach with only 15 minutes of instruction. Attached to an experienced tandem instructor all you have to do is enjoy the rush. After some paperwork and a safety brief there is a short drive to the airport where you'll board the plane and fly to jump height. Once in position the door opens and your instructor takes control. Whoo hoo. Sixty seconds of freefall later your parachute is activated for a 5 7 minute glide to the earth. Perfect for people with no previous skydiving experience.

14,000ft Weekend Skydive

Experience amazing coastal views from 14,000ft above the beach with only 15 minutes of instruction. Attached to an experienced tandem instructor all you have to do is enjoy the rush. After some paperwork and a safety brief there is a short drive to the airport where you'll board the plane and fly to jump height. Once in position the door opens and your instructor takes control. Whoo hoo Sixty seconds of freefall later your parachute is activated for a 5-7 minute glide to the earth. Perfect for people with no previous skydiving experience.

14,000ft Weekend Skydive

Experience amazing coastal views from 14,000ft above the beach with only 15 minutes of instruction. Attached to an experienced tandem instructor all you have to do is enjoy the rush. After some paperwork and a safety brief there is a short drive to the airport where you'll board the plane and fly to jump height. Once in position the door opens and your instructor takes control. Whoo hoo Sixty seconds of freefall later your parachute is activated for a 5-7 minute glide to the earth. Perfect for people with no previous skydiving experience.

20 Jump Skydive Package

The most mind-blowing, adrenalin pumping holiday you are ever likely to experience. Spend a week skydiving and achieve your A licence - your open licence to skydive. The 20 jump package includes all stages of the AFF course and an extra 11 jumps. The course also includes freefall video taken on at least two of your jumps. A compilation DVD of your nine day experience will be created for you to take home. You will also achieve your packing course accreditation and your A licence. Accommodation and breakfast is included over the 9 days.

20 Jump Skydive Package

The most mind-blowing, adrenalin pumping holiday you are ever likely to experience. Spend a week skydiving and achieve your A licence - your open licence to skydive. The 20 jump package includes all stages of the AFF course and an extra 11 jumps. The course also includes freefall video taken on at least two of your jumps. A compilation DVD of your nine day experience will be created for you to take home. You will also achieve your packing course accreditation and your A licence. Accommodation and breakfast is included over the 9 days.

3-Seater Harley, Skydive And Brewery For 2

Everything is thought of, from the amazing coastal tour from a convenient Sydney CBD location, to the fantastic food platter at the brewery and time allowed for the beach if you desire. The three-seater Harley ride for two takes you all the way from Sydney down the crystal coast to Wollongong. Enjoy the coastline, the strength of the brilliant machine and each other's company as you experience the freedom of the open road! Then... drum roll... the SKYDIVE! Using only the latest premium skydiving equipment, experience the unbelievable rush of freefall from a massive 14,000 ft and the euphoric glide back to earth. Float over the Wollongong beaches, and get a unique perspective and look all the way to Sydney, the Southern Highlands and the South Coast. As if that wasn't enough, you will then be taken from the skydiving location to a fantastic local brewery. Sample the local beers, enjoy your food platter and discuss the amazing milestone you hit in your life that day! After this glorious experience, enjoy the scenery again all the way back to Sydney, this time with two skydives and a brewery trip under your belt!

AFF (Accelerated Freefall) Body Flight Skydive, Nagambie- VIC

The ultimate adventure in Nagambie, your first Freefall Skydive only an hour north of Melbourne! Accelerated Freefall is for those that want the ultimate skydiving experience. We offer Accelerated Freefall (AFF) Body Flight training most weeks. Learn how to jump from a plane with a days thorough ground training followed by the most awesome experience of your life - your first solo skydive, accompanied by two of our expert instructors to assist you and ensure your safety and stability. What a rush! Only for the most adventurous the course consists of a comprehensive full�day instruction course, followed by your skydive from 14,000 feet with two of our expert instructors. They will assist you throughout the dive, ensuring your safety and stability. Exiting the plane is a simple procedure, but does require courage. Both instructors take a firm grip on you before you climb out and the three of you will launch together. Once in freefall you practice a number of manoeuvres that teach you to move around the sky safely (stage one jump is designed to ensure you can exit the aircraft smoothly, adopt a stable flying position, maintain altitude awareness and locate your deployment handle). When you arrive at 4000 feet, you pull the ripcord. Once the parachute has opened, the adventure continues: you take complete control of your canopy and are guided back to the dropzone for landing. It�s the complete rush� This progressive means of accelerated learning means you can jump truly solo after as few as six jumps. Most courses commence 8AM Saturday, with revision, practice and skydive on Sunday. Mid-week courses are also available by arrangement. Accommodation is also included absolutely free! Nagambie is a fantastic and beautiful place to skydive. You're in very safe hands, as collectively the skydiving team has been awarded over forty five Australian Championship Gold Medals. Being nestled on the northern side of the Great Dividing Range affords a n

Accelerated Freefall Skydiving

Learn skydiving and experience the thrill of 60 seconds free-fall on your very first jump. Undoubtedly the best way you can learn to skydive. Internationally recognised, this course involves 6- 8 hours of thorough training before you jump. Having learned the skills of free-fall and flying your parachute, you exit the aircraft with two instructors actually holding on to you, just to make sure everything goes to plan. After you pull your ripcord at 4,000ft you will pilot your parachute through the sky to put you back to the ground.

Accelerated Freefall Skydiving Course, Toogoolawah - QLD

Take part in this TAF/AFF Tandem Assisted-Accelerated Freefall Skydiving Course, at Toogoolawah Drop Zone in the Brisbane Hinterlands, only about 1.5 hours from Brisbane City.... Become a qualified skydiver and enjoy a life full of incredible fun, new friends and freefall - Yahoo! We specialise in skydiving/parachuting instruction and coaching and have been teaching people how to skydive since 1974! We take people with no experience through all levels to become competent and qualified skydivers, competitors, Instructors and even World Champions! Take part in this TAF/AFF Tandem Assisted-Accelerated Freefall Skydiving Course, which has been developed to combine the best of the original TAF and AFF programs and runs seven days a week at Toogoolawah Drop Zone. The biggest fun factor of skydiving is the freefall and the TAF/AFF courses give you plenty of that! The course is designed for beginners with no experience. All equipment is supplied. The course give�s you the knowledge & experience to become a qualified and licensed skydiver, as laid down by the regulations of the Australian Parachute Federation. This course cover�s freefall skydiving and parachuting techniques with particular emphasis on FUN and freefall sequences, body position, safety, canopy flight and landings.

The History of Skydiving

The origins of skydiving, or parachuting as it was formally known, can be traced back to the 12th Century in China. A form of parachuting was used by the Chinese as entertainment in circuses.

In 1514, Leonardo da Vinci sketched designs of a parachute but it is unknown whether the concept was materialised. In 1595, Fausto Veranzio a Hungarian mathematician designed and tested a "fall breaker". He claimed to have made several successful trial jumps from a tower in Venice.

In the late 18th Century, a Frenchman by the name of Joseph Montgolfier tested his design by dropping animals from towers. These tests were also successful and he even trialled the design himself.

From this point in time, many premeditated jumps were made throughout Europe. Parachutes were installed in some hot air balloons as a safety precaution. The first recorded use of a parachute for safety purposes was on 14 July 1808 when the Polish aeronaut Jordaki Kuparento descended safely from his burning balloon over the city of Warsaw.

As aeroplanes became popular, so to did the adventurous spirit of some and a number of jumps were conducted around the world. A patent granted in 1911 to an Italian inventor named Pino for a flexible parachute, including a pilot chute, must be considered as one of the major milestones in parachute history. He claimed in the patent, the jumper using this new device could wear his parachute in a pack like a knapsack.

When World War I began in 1914, the use of aeroplanes and balloons was significant. The German forces were the first to arm planes and balloons with parachutes. The British, French and Americans soon followed suit. An Australian in 1916 is the first recorded pilot to deploy a parachute and survive after he jumped from his damaged plane above the Russian front.

During World War II and subsequent wars around the world, parachutes were used extensively by paratroopers.

After the wars, excess military parachutes were modified for sport. Holes were cut in the parachutes to improve steering and flight. As competitions formed and grew fiercer, parachutes designed specifically for sport were manufactured.

The first World Championships were held in Bled, Yugoslavia in 1951; the 20th World Parachuting Championships were held there in 1990. Today, parachuting forms the largest internationally represented aeronautical sport within the Federation Aeronautique Internationale - the World Air Sports Federation.   © MAS 2007

Skydiving Article 2

   © MAS 2007