What Is A Static Line Parachute Jump?

Learning to become a skydiver requires knowledge and training in several key areas. You need to learn about the equipment you need, but also the various stages of the jump process such as preparing mentally, getting into the plane correctly, exiting at altitude, the freefall part, deploying your parachute, flying back to the landing area, and touching down in the correct way. If you’ve done a tandem skydive or two, you are off to a great start and can venture to the next step in getting a skydiving license and flying solo!

There are two main ways to learn to skydive – Static Line Training and Accelerated Freefall (AFF) – both with a different approach to the order and cadence of things you need to learn. Each has certain qualities that may make it more appealing than the other. Let’s have a look here at the original way of learning to become a parachutist – static line training.

What is Static Line Skydive Training?

A static line parachute jump is the opening mechanism of your parachute is connected to the aircraft itself, and the act of falling away from the door is what releases your parachute from its container – using the ‘static line’ (about six feet of it) to do so. If you have ever seen footage of paratroopers jumping quickly one after another, this is what they are doing. You can easily notice how fast their parachutes are open after leaving the plane.

How Does Static Line Training Differ From Accelerated Freefall (AFF)?

Learning to become a skydiver via static line progression is a tried and tested method used for many, many decades. More recent times have seen the development and adoption of Accelerated Freefall (AFF) courses as a popular way to get licensed, but this has not replaced static line courses as both have certain advantages. AFF is a more intensive program that includes a freefall element from the very start but is more resource-heavy as you need two instructors to be in the sky with each student for at least the first few jumps. Static line training has you building up to longer and longer freefall durations as you progress through the course – all the while learning the other vital elements like exiting smoothly and flying your parachute.

Advantages of Static Line Training

Static line training has some advantages that mean it has been, is, and will remain a great way to get started in skydiving. Skydiving is a weather-dependent sport where static line progress can be a bit more forgiving when you need certain conditions. As you are starting out, primarily learning to exit properly and fly a parachute, you go from a bit lower, which means there are more jumpable days when you need to see the ground and can jump from underneath the clouds.

When you jump via static line you do so by yourself. Your instructor helps you to exit but they stay in the plane. This means that instead of two instructors per student for AFF training, you can have one instructor for multiple students. This makes static line parachuting a more affordable program.

Here is the full price breakdown for each skydiving training method offered at Skydive Mossel Bay.

Also, while both AFF and static line courses get you to the same place – an ‘A’ license – some prefer the steady curve of the static line course over the deep-end start of AFF. Both are great courses and it is not about which is best. They simply represent different options depending on what you feel is right for you. If you are wondering, yes, there is a system by which you can transfer between them at certain points.

Whatever Your Skydiving Goals,
Skydive Mossel Bay Can Help You Accomplish Them

Learning to become a skydiver is a hugely rewarding thing to do and static line progression represents the first step on a journey of what can easily be a lifelong passion. By far the most common way of experiencing skydiving for the first time is via a tandem jump, where you jump harnessed together with your instructor. Tandems are a super accessible way for people who want to experience skydiving, but for those who wish to get more involved, learn more about skydiving solo, and do it themselves right from the start, learning via static line progression is a great option. The very first moments after leaping from the door of an aeroplane are the ones you will remember forever – and doing so with agency only enriches the reward.

What Is A Static Line Parachute Jump?

What is Static Line Skydive Training?

How Does Static Line Training Differ From Accelerated Freefall (AFF)?

Advantages of Static Line Training

Whatever Your Skydiving Goals,
Skydive Mossel Bay Can Help You Accomplish Them

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What Is A Static Line Parachute Jump?

What is Static Line Skydive Training?

How Does Static Line Training Differ From Accelerated Freefall (AFF)?

Advantages of Static Line Training

Whatever Your Skydiving Goals, Skydive Mossel Bay Can Help You Accomplish Them

Recent Posts

Menu

Useful Links

Contact Us

Whatever Your Skydiving Goals,
Skydive Mossel Bay Can Help You Accomplish Them