Skydiving statistics have proven that tandem skydiving is a safe activity. In fact, relative to other recreational activities that are often perceived as safe, skydiving has a significantly lower incident rate. Skydive Santa Cruz has a perfect safety record. 

Skydiving does involve risk. 

Skydive Santa Cruz is informing you that skydiving, parachuting, and flying are inherently dangerous activities, which may result in serious injury or even death. All passengers need to be willing and able to accept these risks.

The skydiving industry has dedicated significant resources to mitigate the risk through the innovation of safety equipment and devices, increased proficiency requirements, and rigorous training standards. So, what can you expect from us to mitigate the risk and ensure safe skydiving operations?  

Instructor Standards 

Skydiving is regulated in the United States by the United States Parachute Association (USPA) and the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA). Skydive Instructors must meet and adhere to strict regulations set forth by the USPA, including possessing a minimum of 500 skydives and successful completion of a Tandem Instructor Rating course. Our instructors have completed, on average, more than 7000 skydives each. 

Pilot & Aircraft Standards & Regulations 

Our pilots, aircraft operations, and aircraft maintenance must pass the standards by the FAA, the same association that governs major commercial airlines such as Delta, United, and Alaska.

Skydive Equipment Standards 

Our tandem skydiving is serviced and maintained by FAA certified parachute riggers. In accordance with FAA and USPA guidelines, our reserve parachutes are inspected and repacked every 180 days. The main parachutes are packed by trained skydiving professionals under a rigger’s supervision. Each of our packers have packed well over 5,000 parachutes each. 

We purchase brand new gear from the manufacturer, and swap out aging equipment. Our parachute gear is amongst the top of line within the skydiving industry.  

Skydive Santa Cruz Standards 

We have implemented our own additional safety procedures above and beyond the requirements set forth by the USPA and FAA. This has been a key component to maintaining a perfect safety record. We will only fly in safe skydiving conditions. You may not be pleased at the time as that could mean your skydive has to be delayed or rescheduled. However, when safety is concerned it trumps your needs, wants, or requests. 

Your total expected activity duration time for a jump at Skydive Santa Cruz is 2-3 hours (although weather or operational issues could further delay that timeframe). That includes check-in, registration, training, gear-up, airplane flight, freefall, and parachute descent. 

Training & Gear Up 

A tandem skydive requires minimal training as you’ll be paired with an extremely experienced, USPA certified tandem instructor. We will review aircraft safety, aircraft exit procedure, freefall body position, and landing technique. The training and your harness fitting typically require about 10-15 minutes.  

Scenic Flight

We have a fleet of extremely well-maintained aircraft. They are small, personal aircraft commonly used in skydiving operations. On board, it will typically only be the pilot, you and your tandem instructor, and another tandem skydive pair.  

The flight up will be a smooth, comfortable, and visually stunning 20-minute flight to jump altitude. We typically fly over the Santa Cruz beaches and Santa Cruz (unless weather or air traffic dictate otherwise). The flight itself is an awesome experience.  

Freefall 

Freefall lasts up to 45 seconds at Skydive Santa Cruz. The length of freefall depends upon the exit altitude, parachute opening altitude, and the body weight, body position and surface area of the tandem pair. At Skydive Santa Cruz, we jump between 10,000-12,000 feet (depending on conditions and air traffic) which generally translates into 35-45 seconds of blissful freefall. 

Parachute Descent 

Your tandem skydive instructor will deploy the parachute at approximately 5000 feet above the ground. Parachute descent times vary depending upon the flying style (fast turns or slow chill descent), and the amount of suspended weight under the parachute (heavier pairs will descent faster). Parachute descents last between 3-8 minutes. 

Yes. Despite popular misconception, breathing during freefall is easy. We do it on every jump.  

Air density is not an issue given the altitude and minimal time at that altitude. Nor is the wind speed an impediment to normal breathing. After all, you can put your head out of a car window while driving down the highway and still breathe. 

You may have heard or read that sometimes first-time skydivers have challenges breathing during freefall. That is exclusively related a nervousness response in which people either hold their breathe or breathe extremely rapidly. Breathing in a normal fashion through your nose will ensure normal breathing and aid in relaxation. Sometimes we encourage people to yell if they are experiencing breathing problems as it forces exhalation and thus inhalation.