All About AFF Skydiving

Skydiving is a mind-blowing adventure that many people experience just once in a lifetime. But for some, that check on the bucket list isn’t quite enough, and that’s where getting a skydiving license comes in. You may have heard that “AFF” is the way to go if you want to learn how to skydive … which might leave more questions than answers. For starters, what’s AFF?

AFF skydiving is the most comprehensive and efficient way to learn how to skydive, and our number one student program here at WNY Skydiving! Nothing brings us more joy than hearing that people want to learn how to skydive and join our epic skydiving family! Read on to learn all about AFF skydiving and how we do things here at WNY Skydiving!

What is AFF Skydiving?

What is AFF, exactly, and what does AFF stand for? AFF is an acronym that stands for Accelerated FreeFall. Accelerated in this context doesn’t mean you freefall faster than the average human, it refers to the efficiency of the AFF curriculum. By the time you complete your AFF training, you will be proficient in the fundamental skills required for the first skydiving license, the A License.

AFF programs vary depending on which dropzone you jump at, but most United States Parachute Association (USPA) Member dropzones follow the USPA Integrated Student Program (ISP), or at least use the ISP standards as an outline when designing their own program.

Whether a dropzone uses the ISP or not, the training program of choice must meet the USPA standards outlined in the Basic Safety Requirements and students must be able to meet all requirements listed on the USPA A-license Application.

In a nutshell, AFF is a hands-on learning program that allows new skydiving students to study safety procedures, body flight skills, and general skydiving knowledge on the ground and in the air with the support of one or two instructors.

That last bit about the instructors is key. AFF programs progress in such a way that students can learn the immense amount of skydiving knowledge required in easily consumable modules and have assigned instructors at their side at all times, even in the sky. These instructors will slowly grant the students more independence as they learn until they are ready to fly completely solo! 

How AFF Skydiving Works

The AFF Program at WNY Skydiving can be broken down into five parts and is set up in a way that flows to each student’s comfort. We’ve spent years perfecting our student program and believe that this is the best way to take you all the way from a tandem student to an educated and responsible “A” licensed skydiver.

As a Group Member of the USPA, we follow the ISP when building our unique training progression:

• Tandem Skydive Level 1: A Level 1 Tandem Skydive introduces you to the basic bodyflight position required for skydiving and gets those “first jump jitters” out of the way so that you can focus on what you’ll need to be doing while on your jump.

• Tandem Skydive Level 2: The Level 2 Tandem Skydive introduces you to some of the basic equipment such as the altimeter and the skydiving rig, while also giving you an introduction to canopy flight! The goal of the Level 2 tandem is to familiarize yourself with pulling the ripcord at the correct altitude (determined by the altimeter), deploying the parachute, and getting a feel for the canopy resistance during canopy control.

• First Jump Course (FJC) & Parachute Packing Class: This (approximately) six-hour course can be thought of as a crash course to prevent you from crashing. You’ll learn all the basics you need to know before getting in the air, including emergency procedures, how to fly your body, landing patterns, and parachute packing.

• Accelerated Freefall Program (Levels 2 – 7): Your first jumps with your parachute will be accompanied by two instructors who fly on each side of you in freefall. They will help you remain stable and give you input on how to improve your freefall technique. By the end of this progression, you’ll be flying with just one instructor and will have a lot more freedom to move – get ready for some flips!

• Skydiving Coach Program: The final portion of our student progression is the Coach program, where you’ll be accompanied by an experienced skydiving Coach who will teach you the skills you’ll need to fly with other licensed skydivers. This includes things like moving forward, up, and down in the sky, and how to create distance from other jumpers before deploying your parachute. 

This might leave you wondering, how long is the AFF Skydiving course? Like most things in skydiving, that really depends on the student. If you’re someone who has the time and the budget, you can go from the ground to a skydiving license in a month or even less. But lots of people take their time with it and spread it out over an entire summer. It’s really up to your schedule, finances, and comfort level!

What to Expect During an AFF Course

As if going tandem skydiving isn’t enough of an adventure, AFF skydiving has a whole new set of surprises in store. And, since you’ll be learning a new skill, knowing what to expect can be very helpful. 

First of all, is AFF Skydiving hard? This is, of course, subjective, but it’s certainly not a walk in the park. All forms of skydiving require physical ability, mental fortitude, and a desire to achieve goals. As long as you have these three things, AFF skydiving will be a fun and exciting experience. 

You can expect your AFF course and progression to be fun, exciting, challenging, and maybe even a little scary (that’s ok!). You’ll spend time learning in a classroom, practicing skills on mock-ups, executing drills in the air, and debriefing with your instructors. Every step of the way will be instructor-led and extremely hands-on. Think of it like a personalized mentorship. 

You’ll also have access to extra safety precautions, including multiple gear checks, student-style parachutes, and radio communication to help you learn how to land. AFF skydiving really is a tailor-made approach to learning how to skydive. 

What Does AFF Skydiving Cost?

Now that you know what AFF skydiving is, let’s look at the AFF cost.

Who Can Try AFF Skydiving?

The short answer is: anyone! But, of course, as with any physically demanding activity, skydiving has a set of minimum requirements and recommendations:

Mindset – The best skydivers are those with an open mind who want to challenge themselves, expand their horizons, and are motivated by stepping out of their comfort zone! 

Age – You have to be at least 18 years old to skydive in any form, including AFF.

Weight – Our weight limit for AFF skydiving is 235 lbs.

Health – If you have cardiovascular, joint, or back/neck issues, check with a medical professional before skydiving.

What’s Next?

Once you earn your A License, you can jump with other licensed skydivers and you can travel to dropzones all over the globe and jump! From there, you can continue your education and achieve your B, C, and D licenses. You can also learn about different skydiving disciplines such as formation skydiving, freeflying, or wingsuiting – the learning never ends!

Think you’re ready to fly solo? Learn to skydive at Western New York’s premier skydiving training center – WNY Skydiving! Blue skies!