Skydiving sounds like a thrill, but it also seems completely out of reach. You want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane, but you don’t have any friends who skydive, so how do you break into the parachuting scene?Like so many things, once you get pointed in the right direction, it’s very easy to become a skydiver. The first thing you’ll need to do is to find a dropzone near you. Use that global communications network we call the internet to find a listing of dropzones near you and see which ones have schools that offer AFF (in America) or similar training. A good place to find a comprehensive listing is on dropzone.com. Most often, dropzones are out in the middle of nowhere; they need to have an airstrip, be far enough from the coast to have dependable clear skies, and depend on cheap land. The bigger and better funded a dropzone is the better. A big dropzone will have larger, better planes and attract more experienced divers to instruct there.Some dropzones operate as “tandem factories.” They work around the notion that most skydivers are one-time thrill seekers who want to experience freefall much like they would experience a roller coaster ride. If that’s what you’re looking for then a tandem jump may be for you, but if you want the experience of true freefall, flying your own canopy, and learning aerial maneuvers, then you need to find a school that offers a course in Advanced Freefall (AFF). If you’re not in America you’ll want something else that is affiliated with Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI).If you haven’t worked up the bravery to jump, but you want to learn the skills involved, you might want to find a wind tunnel near you; this may be tough as tunnels are expensive buildings and usually only constructed at large, popular dropzones.Now that you’re ready to begin your AFF training, be prepared to pony up two to three thousand dollars in lessons. Did anybody say that skydiving is cheap? Well after you’re certified, have your own rig and can pack your own chute you’ll be able to jump for about $25, but while you’re learning you need to pay for instruction on the ground, instructors to jump with you (and you need to buy their seats on the plane) and pay enough to make the school a profitable business. Your first level of AFF should include a full day of training and a jump with two instructors. Expect to pay in the neighborhood of $350 and experience the closest feeling there is to flying. Subsequent levels of the AFF program become cheaper Category:Home › Other • Pomegranates: A newly discovered superfood • Where did the joke why did the chicken cross the road come from and why is it funny? • Can mothers diagnosed with bipolar disorder make good parents? • Spiritual evolution of human consciousness • Tips for getting a college basketball scholarship • Living with Pseudotumor cerebri (PTC) • Caring for the caregiver • Technologys impact on society