Articles: Articles

“Congratulations, you’ve just earned your skydiving A license!” “WooHOO! … “…now what?” When a skydiver graduates from our Skydiver Training Program, some hit the air flying hard and never look back. Often, however, a graduate will wonder a little bit about what to do next. Your skydives up until this point have...

Getting ready to board an aircraft for skydiving is more than a little different than boarding a plane for commercial travel or getting in a car for a drive. There are concerns for personal safety, the safety of others in the plane (and the plane itself), and efficiency. Stay safe and efficient with these loading tips! Personal Safety Complete your gear checks...

Brian Roye as the Abominable Skydiver. :p We may be in southern Texas, but the weather is definitely cooling down! Skydiving in wintertime brings a few challenges we don’t have in summer, namely how do we stay warm while staying safe? The heavy winter clothes you need to avoid frostbite can bite you in other ways, especially those big, bulky hoodies we...

Nov 5, 2012

“What’s the weather like today? Is it good for students? What about experienced jumpers?” If we had a dollar for every time we got that phone call, text, or Facebook message, we’d all be retired. And as you know, the answer is usually a variety of “You can’t jump if you’re not here.” In all seriousness though,...

It’s one of the most common questions we get about the Skydiver Training Program (other than price): How many training jumps can I do in a day? How many SHOULD I do in a day? While the ideal number of jumps in a day will of course vary with the student’s fitness, goals, and budget, there is one very strong recommendation we make for everyone: Every time you...

When you’re about to graduate from our Skydiver Training Program, it’s time to start thinking about getting your own gear, and the accessories (helmet, goggles, altimeter) are the best place to start. We provide everything you need during the program, but afterwards you will need to rent our gear or buy your own. It’s a great idea to go ahead and get your...

No one likes to wait for anything—doctors, prescriptions, someone to get the right size of shoes out of the stockroom, or even the 60 seconds you’re supposed to wait before spitting out your mouthwash. While they say all good things come to those who wait, some good things can come without waiting, especially if you plan ahead. When it comes to Skydive...

Sep 20, 2012

How often have you heard this at the drop zone? “Hey, let’s go track!” Tracking dives are increasingly popular at any drop zone in the world, and with good reason: They’re a ton of fun! But they are most definitely not just another skydive; they have a high potential to interfere with other groups exiting the aircraft if certain precautions are not...

Are you ready to skydive? If you show up for a Skydiver Training Program jump without having completing your paperwork (dive flow quiz) for each jump you intend to make that day, the answer, sadly, is “not yet.” Why is this quiz important? It tells us that you have studied your student manual and that you are mentally prepared for your skydive. This...

Birds and worms aside, the Skydiver Training Program student who checks in early definitely gets the jumps. Aside from just having more time in the day to skydive, there are a number of other benefits to early morning check-ins: Winds are usually lower. Wind conditions are usually less turbulent. Temperatures are cooler. You get on the schedule early and can...

The Skydiver Training Program at Skydive Spaceland gives you a lot of detailed information to help you become the best skydiver you can be. You can increase your success and fun on each skydive by studying the dive flows before you come out to the drop zone. Study as many dive flows as you plan to do for the day, and if you have any questions for your instructor...

May 17, 2012

If there is anything consistent among a group of skydivers, it’s the fact that we all want to make more skydives! Often what stops us is money or time, but other times it’s just plain running out of daylight. We can’t hold the sun up in the sky to get more time, but every skydiver can work to make aircraft boarding more efficient and thus allow...

May 16, 2012

What line type should I have on my parachute? This is a question that rarely comes up until someone has already decided on what canopy to buy, but then causes a reason to pause because no one wants to spend that much money and make a wrong decision. But who do you ask? What’s the right answer? Skydive Spaceland’s Pro Shop has more than 15 years of...

Have you ever landed your parachute just a little closer to an obstacle than you would have liked? Of course you have. All of us do as we begin to learn how to skydive and fly parachutes. So how do we NOT land too close to or on top of obstacles? We need to understand a number of things… what kind of performance our chosen parachutes provide, how that...

Wind conditions anywhere can be extremely inconsistent… from 30mph to dead calm conditions, it’s important that we have a consistent canopy landing pattern plan that keeps everyone safe. Following are several guidelines we follow here at Skydive Spaceland to keep traffic moving consistently and predictably, thereby reducing the chances for a...

Let’s take a quick pause on rules, and discuss the various judge’s roles and who can help you with a question or a problem.  For starters, take note that a judge’s rating and their role are not the same thing.  Judges are rated (in the U.S.) as Regional, National or FAI Judges.  This rating is indicative of the level of training a judge has completed...

Editor’s note: “From the Fishbowl” is a series of short articles by U.S. National Judge Randy Connell, and it is intended to educate competitors about commonly misunderstood or little-known rules of formation skydiving. References will often be made to the Skydiver’s Competition Manual (SCM). At the USPA Board Meeting in February, the USPA...

You know how the first time you came to a busy drop zone, it seemed like all the parachutes were flying randomly around the sky? But now that we are skydivers and understand flight plans, we see some degree, at least, of order in the chaos. We’d like to further increase the amount of order in our canopy flight traffic by reminding everyone that we have...

Are your parachute landings not as nice as you’d like? Have they gotten a little worse over time? The problem may be with the pilot… but then again, it might be with the brake lines you use to control your parachute. As the parachute opens, the friction from the slider grommets traveling down the lines heats the lines, and over time and hundreds of...

Want to be a hero? Keep an eye on your friends’ gear when they’re getting ready to skydive or sitting in the plane. It can be easy to misroute a chest strap when you’re inexperienced, in a hurry, or just plain not paying attention, but this error can be caught with a careful inspection. Here are a few examples of misrouted chest straps, which...

Riding in the copilot’s seat is a treat, but this seat requires a bit more attention to safety than a spot on the benches in the back of the plane. Here are a few tips on right seat safety from air boss Rabbitt Staib: No helmets in your lap–they restrict movement of the yoke. Don’t touch any aircraft controls at any time. Stay low when...

The three-ring parachute release system was brought to the skydiving world by Bill Booth (the guy with the ZZ Top beard from the tandem video you probably watched at some point) to replace the Capewells that were in common use. For any more questions about history/function, feel free to drop into the loft to see Kyle or Rory. Q: How often should I service my...

Have you ever felt like your leg straps were sliding up your legs while sit flying? It’s a horrible feeling! Maybe it’s because, like many skydivers, you’re not putting your rig on quite right. If you tighten up your leg straps before your chest strap, chances are your container and hip rings will sit lower on your body, making it easier for...