What is tandem skydiving?

Skydiving or tandem parachuting

Refers to a type of skydiving where a student skydiver is connected to a harness attached to a tandem instructor.

The instructor

Guides the student through the whole jump from exit through freefall, piloting the canopy, & landing. The student needs only minimal instruction before making a tandem jump with the instructor. At UK Parachuting we require that you be 16 years or older to skydive with no upper age limit. Aged 16 & 17 you will need your parents consent. This is one of three commonly used training methods for beginning skydivers; the others being static line (not offered by UKP) & Accelerated Freefall.

Tandem skydiving is a very popular training method for first time skydivers.

It exposes first-time jumpers to skydiving with minimal expectations from the student. The training may consist of many of the activities performed by any skydiving student, for example, how to exit the aircraft, how to do movements in freefall, & how to steer the main canopy themselves. However, the tandem master remains primarily responsible for safe & timely parachute deployment.

How does it make you feel?

Although it is very much the exception, few have commented that during a tandem skydive they experienced nausea, which starts after the canopy deployment (never occurs during freefall) & goes away immediately after landing… It is believed to be due to exhilaration & an overwhelming feeling of excitement.