How Much Does It Cost to Become a Skydiver?

We’ve already talked a lot about how much it costs to tandem skydive. But maybe you’re thinking bigger! Maybe you’re thinking about the total cost to, y’know, learn how to solo skydive, kit yourself out and start a whole freefall love affair. Exciting stuff! So let’s cover the nuts and bolts of … how much does it cost to become a skydiver?

The Cost of Your Solo Skydiving Course

Of course you could do it piece-by-piece. We have all the rates posted right here.

That said though: it’s more economical (and smarter, from a currency perspective) to go for one of our Accelerated Freefall course packages. You’ll save the price of a few precious jump tickets when you purchase our full AFF package! This includes your all-important First Jump Course ground school, as well as a class where you’ll learn how to pack your parachute, your new sport logbook and six jumps. You will have two instructors with you in freefall, plus radio assistance to help you during the parachute descent and landing phase of the jump. 

Rugged individualist? Cool! You don’t have to do a tandem skydive to enter our AFF Program. We’ve built a specialty package just for you. It includes the ground school, ten minutes in the “indoor skydiving” wind tunnel at iFly Toronto with a WNY Skydiving AFF instructor at your side, and one skydive, wearing your own parachute. (Don’t worry — you’ll still have the instructor support described above.) This package is the lowest price option of all – and a super great way to keep the cost to become a skydiver at an entry level minimum.

Interested in booking one of those packages? Give us a call at least 14 days ahead of time and we’ll roll out the red carpet.

The Cost of Skydiving Equipment

We don’t encourage new students to buy equipment. It’s generally better to rent ($35 per jump, here at WNY) until you’re proficient and knowledgeable enough to select gear that’s right for you.

A used complete skydiving kit — including a main parachute, a reserve, and a container system — will run you around $2,500 at the very low end. It’s possible to spend considerably more (like, three or four times that number) for a brand-new, state-of-the-art kit — though folks rarely do. Most skydivers have a mix of used and new gear, depending on what’s most important to them.

The peripheral equipment won’t cost you more than a couple of big nights out. Some examples: A used skydiving jumpsuit will run you at least a couple hundred dollars. A used visual altimeter won’t cost much at all (especially the older, analog versions). You can jump with a student helmet until you get excited about picking up a more comfortable (perhaps, full-face) version for a around 300 bucks.

The Cost of Jump Tickets

Once you have what you need to skydive, the last part of the puzzle is simply to get into the air. Here at WNY, it’s kind of a Goldilocks question. We have three different altitude “sizes” to choose from: big (10,000’ for $26), medium (5,000’ for $20) and small (3,500’ for $16). No matter what you’re working on, there’s a “feet fit.”

Our best advice for the whole experience: trade retail therapy for the immense investment in your adventurous self that skydiving represents. Ultimately, the cost to become a skydiver cannot be compared to the price of happiness. You’ll be glad you made the choice!

Questions? Call us today or start your journey with that first tandem skydive.