You've made your first jump now you want to be able to skydive on your own any time you want. At Skydive Greene County allow you to choose between methods for your student program.

Option 1 is a Tandem progression method to teach skydiving. This method has you learning one on one from an instructor along side you in freefall from your first jump.

Option 2 is a Static Line program that starts out with a tandem to introduce you to skydiving then it teaches you how to jump on your own as fast as possible.

Tandem Progression

Level One- Tandem. This jump allows you to experience freefall and the parachute ride while the instructor teaches you how to freefall, how to fly a parachute and how to safely land. The training for this level covers basic freefall body positions and basic canopy flying skills.

Level Two- Tandem. On this level you are equiped with an altimeter to measure your altitude above the ground and are taught how to read it. This time you will be pulling the ripcord at the correct altitude yourself. You will also be responsible for doing altitude checks throughout your skydive.  The instructor will teach you the correct body position for these tasks. Under canopy the instructor works with you to teach you about canopy flight and landing.

Level Three- Tandem. This level will teach you to use your body as a flying surface and you will learn how to do left and right hand turns and move forward and backward in freefall. In addition you will continue to check your altitude in freefall, do practice ripcord touches, and wave off. You will use your altimeter to determine when to pull your parachute. Under canopy the instructor allows you to fly the parachute more by yourself while instructing you on what to do.

After the completion of your third jump there is a mandatory 5 hour ground school to teach you about jumping with your own parachute. This class teaches you about exiting the airplane, common parachute malfunctions and how to deal with them, how to develop a good landing pattern, and how freefall by yourself. At the end of this course you are cleared to complete the next levels of instructor assisted freefall. 

Level Four- Single instructor. On this jump you are wearing your own parachute. The instructor will exit with you while holding onto you and will continue to hold your harness the entire length of the freefall. In freefall the instructor will assist with hand signals in any body corrections that you need to make to freefall safely and in control. You are responsible for maintaining altitude awareness, and having stability a sense of stability. At the correct altitude you are responsible for opening your parachute (the instructor will open it if you don't for some reason) and control the canopy by yourself. You glide under parachute and land with the assistance of an instructor over a radio.

Level Five- Single instructor. On this jump the instructor still exits with you but once in freefall they let you go once you demonstrate you are altitude aware and stable- so you are truly falling free!  The goal of this level is to demonstrate stability without having an instructor hold onto you, have altitude awareness, and pull on time while in a stable body position. You will continue with basic canopy skills while still getting basic radio guidance.

Level Six- Single Instructor.  On this jump you will do controlled turns in freefall with an instructor there to assist if needed. You will combine the 360 degree turns with the previous skills you have learned to have a skydive that will involve turns in both directions, altitude awareness, and a successful canopy flight.

Level Seven- Single Instructor. This jump introduces solo exits from the airplane. In freefall you will do backflips demonstrating your ability to recover from instability in freefall. In addition, basic tracking is used to gain separation from the instructor at pull time. After recovering from the last back flip the student checks the altitude and would turn 180 degrees and track for 3 seconds before opening their parachute. After a successful canopy ride to the ground most students are removed from the radio if they haven't been done so already

Level Eight- Single Instructor. This is the last of the instructor assisted levels. On this jump front flips are used to further reinforce instability recovery. You will dives out the door with the instructor following you and will do the entire skydive with no prompting from the Instructor. On successful completion of this level you are cleared to jump without an instructor.!

Level Nine- Solo. On this skydive you go to full altitude after having recievied a briefing and a gear inspection from your instructor prior to jumping. In freefall you are all by yourself to work on freefall skills and successfully land your parachute.

Level Ten- Solo. On this skydive you go to an altitude of less than 5,000 feet and exit. The purpose of this jump is for you to gain stability as soon as you exit so that you gain confidence if you ever need to exit in an emergency in the future. Many students find this both the scariest but most thrilling jump of their solo progression. After successfully completing this level you are considered Graduated and will be pointed in the direction of some of SGC's freefall coaches to meet the requirements to earn a USPA A license.

Congratulations! You're now cleared to jump on your own and work towards your USPA A License!

Static Line Progression

Level One- Tandem. This jump allows you to experience freefall and the parachute ride while the instructor teaches you how to freefall, how to fly a parachute and how to safely land. The training for this level covers basic freefall body positions and basic canopy flying skills.

Level Two - This level is preceded by a complete ground course that teaches you how to make a solo parachute jump. The ground course is a 4-5 hour course in which you learn how to exit the aircraft, open the parachute, fly the canopy and land. This jump has you climb outside the aircraft and hang from the strut. Your parachute is attached to the airplane via a static line so as soon as you let go the parachute will start to open.

Jumps 2-8 - These jumps have you demonstrating you are able to exit while stable and pull your main parachute. You will be introduced to freefall delays in this stage where you exit the aircraft and fall from 3-5 seconds before opening the parachute. Longer delays of 10-15 seconds are at the end of these jumps.

Jumps 9-11 A jumpmaster will exit with you to provide valuable information on your 20 second delays at this stage.

Jump 12 - This is your final Static line jump.

All student jump prices include all gear rental needed including altimeter, helmet, goggles, parachute and jumpsuit.

*Group Discount availble, please call for details.

**Tandem Level 4 must be paid for before you begin your Ground Course.

 This manual includes chapters on Malfunctions, flying a canopy, detailed student progression information and diagrams, spotting and freefall positions. This is a MUST READ for any students or recent graduates to keep those skills sharp.

 Download the Student Manual

Don't have Acrobat reader? No problem!