Is It Safe?
Ahhh...a much better question.

Adventure Center Skydiving owns the latest student, solo, and tandem gear. All of the equipment used at Adventure Center Skydiving is serviced and maintained by FAA certified technicians of the highest ratings. The parachutes are packed by professionals, the reserves packed and repacked even if unused (it's not only a good idea, it's the law). Although an inherently dangerous sport, just as driving a car is an inherently dangerous activity (you did know that, right?), we take every precaution to assure your safety while on our drop zone. Do you drive with bad brakes and bald tires?

So, the short answer is that the sport of skydiving has been made as safe as possible. And at Adventure Center Skydiving, we take every precaution possible before, during, and after your skydive.
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What if the Parachute Doesn't Open?
Every skydiving rig is equipped with both a main and a reserve parachute. Every rig. As a tandem skydiver, you are with a trained professional who knows how to handle a malfunction and deploy the reserve chute if it's necessary. Adventure Center Skydiving takes your safety very seriously and has never had a fatality.

As an AFF student, you are taught how to deploy your main chute on time and stable. And to recognize what a malfunction looks like as well as how to deal with the malfunction in a timely manner. If the malfunction is the type that cannot be dealt with, you are taught how to cut-away your main parachute and deploy your reserve parachute, which is extremely unlikely to have a malfunction.
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What if I Panic/Pass-Out/Get Hurt and Can't Pull the Ripcord?
All of Adventure Center Skydiving's rigs are equipped with a device called an Automatic Activation Device (A.A.D.). This device constantly measures your speed and altitude during a skydive and -- if you are going too fast too low -- it will deploy your parachute for you. 
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Okay, what if both Main and Reserve Fail?
You're about to have a really bad day.

Statistically, you probably died on your way to the drop-zone in a car accident. Or were struck by lightning while winning the Lotto.

We won't kid you. Skydiving is a dangerous sport, particularly if the proper precautions aren't met. As are many things in life. But like those, if you pay attention to what you're doing, stay aware of the hazards, and prepare for the possibility of them, you'll either avoid the hazards or know how to handle them when they do arise.
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How Long Does the Skydive Take?
For an AFF level or traditional Tandem (the highest in California!), free-fall lasts about sixty seconds, depending a lot on body-weight, surface area, and a number of other factors. You will then have about five minutes under canopy to enjoy the view and the ride.

For California's Highest Tandem from 18,000 feet, free-fall will last about ninety seconds with the same amount of time under canopy. Quite a rush.
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How Long Does the Plane Ride Take?
In Adventure Center Skydiving's King Air, it takes only about fifteen minutes to get to an altitude of fifteen thousand feet. 
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Can you Breathe in Freefall?
At 120mph, inhaling is real easy. If you find it difficult to exhale, panic and scream, which is just another way to exhale. Then inhale which, as mentioned, is very easy at that speed.

In short, yes, you can breathe in freefall.

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Does it Hurt when the Parachute Opens?
Yep. Terribly. The thousands who skydive are masochists.

No, it doesn't hurt. The harness is tightened so that there's no real shock from it pulling when the parachute opens. Grab your belt and pull your pants up. Okay, it's about like that.
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Is Freefall Noisy?
Yes and no. Don't plan on carrying on a lot of conversations without first learning sign language. But you won't need earplugs, either. It's like sticking your head out of a car window. When it's moving, of course.
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Can I Have My Jump Photographed?
Yes. Still and video services -- complete with musical soundtrack (in freefall, no one can hear you scream) -- are available.
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How Do you Videotape/Photograph a Skydive?
When you leave the plane, we throw a video camera out with you. It's really expensive to video a skydive.

Just kidding. A highly trained skydiver leaves the plane with you (a little before, actually) and follows you down. You will be recorded throughout freefall and through chute deployment. Your landing will also be recorded for posterity. Try to smile a lot.
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Can I Train and Jump in the Same Day?
Usually. Call ahead for reservations and show up on time, and there's a very good chance that you'll be able to jump the very same day, barring any unforseen weather problems (heavy wind, rain, tornado, hurricane, etc.).

Tandem jumps have become very popular at Adventure Center Skydiving for a variety of reasons. Convenience, safety, location, price. And, of course, we have the highest tandem jumps in all of California - 18,000 feet!
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What if I'm Afraid of Heights?
A good deal of acrophobia has to do with relativity. No, not what Einstein talked about. But seeing objects moving in relation to one another. At 15,000 feet, the ground is a long way off and you can't really tell that you're above anything. Not like climbing a ladder where you can see objects and gauge your distance from them.

At something like 2,500 feet, the ground becomes too far away to worry about and acrophobia goes away. You probably know better than anyone what you can handle. But we did have someone who is acrophobic tell us that they'd rather jump out of a plane than climb a step-ladder. (They did a tandem and enjoyed it thoroughly.)

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Does It Feel Like You're Falling?
Briefly. A human body leaving an airplane at 15,000 feet reaches terminal velocity within just a few seconds. After that, you no longer feel like you're falling, just like you're moving down a cushion of air. Or atop a waterbed that's sprung a leak. Only not as wet. You hope.
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What if I'm Afraid of Flying?
Well...um...find a good therapist and then call us?
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What Are Your Hours?
Adventure Center Skydiving is open from 9am until sunset seven days a week, including some holidays. Call ahead (1-800-FUN-JUMP) for a reservation and make sure that we're going to be open and running on the day you plan to jump. (On a light business day, we may decide to was the airplanes.)
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What Should I Wear?
Clothing would be a good thing. Oh, you mean specifically? Well, let's start with shoes. Sneakers. That's about it. You may see some of the experienced skydivers wearing sandals, but the key word there is experienced. For the beginner, stick with sneakers -- low-top or high-top. Also wear comfortable jeans or shorts. You will be putting a jumpsuit on over your clothing, and it does get warm around the airport in the summer months, so think about it.
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What Should I Eat?
Well, some are a bit concerned about seeing their breakfast or lunch again when they do their first skydive (I know I was), so you may want to eat light. Or bring something to snack on. Or head over to the Ding-A-Ling Cafe for breakfast or lunch before or after your dive. The town of Hollister is just a few miles down the road, and there are plenty of eating opportunities there, too.
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What Should I Drink?
As mentioned, it does get warm around the DZ during the summer months, so drinking water will keep you from dehydrating. We sell water and sodas and iced teas and the like at the DZ.

Drinking alcoholic beverages before your skydive is not only not advised, we won't even take you skydiving. If you want to have a drink after your skydive, that's up to you. Skydiving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is just a plain bad idea. What you do on your own time is up to you. What you do when you're with us is our business.
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FAQ Copyright © 2005 - 2006 Adventure Center Skydiving, Inc.