What are the physical requirements?
In general, the prospective parachute student should be in reasonably good physical shape; this is a sport after all. You will be required to wear about 12 kg of equipment, endure opening shock, manoeuvre the canopy, land, and possibly carry all your equipment all the way back to the club house. But seriously, problems may arise where a prospect is too heavy (over ~250lbs/ 110kg) or excessively unfit or if they have medical conditions which may impair them during the activity. Someone who experiences fainting spells, blackouts or has a weak heart should not be jumping. Someone with respiratory illness may have a problem due to atmospheric changes at altitude. The better your physical condition, the more you will enjoy the experience. This being said, very few people have medical or physical conditions which actually preclude jumping. One question without a clear-cut answer regards women jumping in early pregnancy.
Applicants must pass a timed physical agility course consisting of running and negotiating several obstacles which may be encountered on the job. What can I do to prepare for the physical agility course? Be in good physical condition and of healthy weight. Engage in regular exercise. Increase your cardiovascular health by doing cardio workouts.
In general, the prospective student should be in reasonably good physical shape, this is a sport after all. You will be required wear around 25 lbs of equipment, endure opening shock, maneuver the canopy, land, and possibly trudge great distances on foot. You will experience 30 degree swings in temperature, atmospheric pressure changes, 4 hours of lecture, and lots of beer after your jump! It’s grueling (:-).
For a tandem jump, you must weigh 210 pounds or less and for an AFF you must weigh 225 pounds or less. You will be weighed when you get here. The 210-pound weight limit for tandems is common at many skydiving centers nationwide, but especially us in Colorado being at 5000 above sea level. At higher altitudes parachutes descend faster and landings of heavier persons might not be as soft as you would get at lower altitudes. Thus we use a conservative weight maximum. It is not a matter of being in great shape or not, it is just total weight. Remember, at Mile-Hi, your safety comes first! There are no height requirements. As with any sport, the better shape you are in the easier it will be and the more fun you will have. However, one of the best features of the Tandem program is that is has opened the sport up to the mainstream public. Almost anyone can make a tandem skydive. We’ve taken people with many different disabilities, even those who are missing limbs or blind. We have experienced
Our Introductory Tandem Experience package is suitable for almost anyone wishing to experience flight. For launch, you will need to be able to run a few steps as you become airborne. When you come in for landing, you need to be confident that you can stay on your feet and be able to absorb an ‘impact’ comparable to jumping from your couch onto the floor. (This would be considered quite a hard landing.) For our solo programs, be aware that handling a paraglider is about finesse, not about strength. You should be in reasonable physical shape, be able to run short distances, and be able to hike up our training hills while carrying about 25 pounds of gear. Fortunately, with any of our towing programs, there is no need to hike up the training hill at all for those first flights.
