Is there a state close to massachusetts that allows minors under the age of 16 to skydive?

Question

I would imagine NH, but is there a fairly close state that would allow a 14 year old to skydive and participate in a training school with parental consent? I cant wait two more years.

Answer 1

yeah and you wont be able to wait to pack your parachute properly either....... chillout

Answer 2

Most dropzones around the country will require that you are 18 to jump.  Some will let you jump at 16 with parental consent.  However, I don’t know any by name.  I started my jump career when I was 22 so it was non issue for me.  The best thing for you to do is check out the USPA website and find all the phone numbers for all the dropzones in your area and call them directly.  Good luck!  Until you get to jump here is some info about the sport.

There are a few websites you need to check out to get good info on skydiving.

http://www.uspa.org is the website of the United States Parachute Association, the governing body for sport parachuting in the United States.  There is a list of member dropzones on the website along with all sorts of great info on the sport.

The official site for the British Parachute Association is: http://www.bpa.org.uk/links.htm

The official site for the Canadian Parachute Association is: http://www.cspa.ca/

The official site for the Australian Parachute Federation is: http://www.apf.asn.au/

http://www.dropzone.com is another great resource for everything about skydiving, including dropzones in the United States and the rest of the world, and some BASE too.

http://www.bigairsportz.com is the web site for Brian Germain, one of the best people on the planet to get information on canopy flight from.

http://www.skydiveradio.com is just fun and a good place to feel like you’re at the drop zone when you can’t physically be there.

http://www.azarsenal.com/ is the website for the top vertical relative work team right now.  Arizona Arsenal won the 2007 USA Nationals.

If you’re not sure about skydiving, or you are too young to jump right now, but want to fly you should look at the vertical wind tunnels.  http://www.skyventure.com/ is the website for skyventure which operates many tunnels in the United States, Europe and Asia.  I love flying in the tunnel.  I don’t do it very much, I’d rather spend my money on skydives, but it is a great place to learn, work on my flying skills and just have a lot of fun!

What type of skydive should you do?  Tandem or student training…?  While, if this jump is just a one time thing, a “check it off your life’s to do list,” then go for the tandem jump.  If you know you want to get into the sport then I would suggest that you start with the tandem just so you have been in the air once before you start student training.  But if you know that you will be jumping as a hobby, the going right into the student training would be a good idea too.

The different in first jump courses is quite a bit.  For a tandem you need very little training, five to 20 minutes depending on the dropzone and a few other factors.  Student training will start with about 8 to 10 hours of ground training before your jump.  Either way you will be jumping with professional, rated skydivers who have been trained to teach and fly with new jumpers.  You will not be able to jump solo until you’ve been cleared by going through a training program.

Make sure that you contact the drop zone you want to jump at directly.  There are a few scams out there, one of which is 1800skyride.  They will take your money and send you to any dropzone they want too but only about three dz’s in the country except skyride tickets.  So please, please, please contact the dropzone directly.

What does skydiving feel like?  -- Freedom. For 45 to 60 seconds there is nothing but me, the air and my friends. Flying your body in the sky is the greatest feeling I have ever experienced. Flying and landing a parachute is a lot of fun too. I'd say it is kinda like driving a race car and landing an airplane all at once.

For me I find relaxation in free fall. I know no better way to relax then jumping out of plane and back flying solo.

It is very easy to breath in free fall. There is a lot of air up there. Being relaxed and just flying and having fun.

By the way, if you are afraid of heights you have nothing to worry about for skydiving.  After about 2000 feet of climb it will all look the same.  When you are in free fall you do not have the feeling of falling because there is nothing to tell you how fast you are falling.  Think about as driving down the interstate and looking at an overpass two miles away.  You’re doing 100mph towards the overpass but it does not seem to be getting any closer until you’re right up on it.  Same thing in skydiving, the ground is far enough away that there is no ground rush.  It took me about 100 jumps before I could see the difference between 12000 feet, 7000 feet and 3000 feet.

The length of a skydive depends on the type of skydive. a low altitude jump I may have 5 to 20 seconds of free fall. Full altitude I can have 45 to 60 seconds of free fall. If I’m free flying then less free fall because the speeds are higher.  If I'm on my belly then more time because the speeds are lower. The canopy flight time depends on how you fly and the type of canopy.  It can be anywhere from less than 60 seconds under canopy to 5 or 6 minutes for a normal jump.

My first jump was a tandem and I don't remember being in the door, but I remember the rush and how i felt like i was floating during free fall. My first jump as a student I remember climbing out of the plane and getting the shake from my instructors telling me they are ready. I thought, "What the F am I doing?" then I just took a deep breath and gave the exit count. Letting go of the plane and starting the dive flow. What a rush! It was so much fun to fly my own body!

Now when I jump I think about the next point to turn. I think about flying faster in a track. I watch my friends’ body position and try to help them get in a better position with hand signals or I get coaching from someone else and work on my body position. Under canopy I think about my set up points and how and where to enter the landing pattern and where I want to land. But more than anything I think about how much fun and wonderful this sport is.

The tandem is a great jump.  I’d get video too.  I made one tandem in June of 2005.  If you are looking at skydiving as a one time thing, something to check off your life’s to do list then go right for a tandem.  If you know you want to be a skydiver right now then go for a tandem or start student training.  Either is great.  I started skydiving by going for a tandem, thinking it was a one time thing and loved it so much that I have made it a major part of my life.  In August of 2005 I started student training (good info about student training at uspa.org) and got my license.  I’ve been jumping as much as I can and have a few hundred jumps.  I have earned the USPA Coach Rating and plan to continue to jump for fun and help teach others how to fly and be safe in the air.  There is nothing better than flying your body through the sky with your friends.  The canopy is a lot of fun to fly too.  It only gets better and better.  Every weekend seems to be more fun than the one before.  You will get into the sport for the rush, but you stay because of the people.  I love this sport and I sincerely hope that you’ll become a full time skydiver and I’ll be able to make some jumps with you at a boogie!  

Blue Skies! Black Death! And EFS!!!!

Answer 3

At the airport visit with the pilots.  They are friendly.  My brother hangs around and gets free rides to other cities.  I bet there is a pilot who will take you up and let you jump out of his plane if if if   your parents say ok and you swear that you won't blame her if you get hurt.

I jumped and i loved it.  My friend, Brad, broke his leg on our 2nd jump.

Answer 4

i wish. im 14 and my mom is going skydiving and she wants me to go with her :( unfortunatley no. u have to be old enough to sign ur life away.

Answer 5

As a skydiving instructor who used to actually teach near you in CT I can tell you for certain that there is nowhere nearby you at all that will train someone under 16. Many places avoid the liabilities of training anyone under 18 (it's illegal in fact for tandem jumping, but there is still AFF or S/L).

To directly quote the Basic Safety Requirements to the United States Parachute Association Section 2.1-D:

Age requirements

    1. Skydivers are to be at least either:

        a. 18 years of age [FB]

        b. 16 years of age with notarized parental or guardian consent [FB]

The [FB] means that in order for a USPA dropzone to bypass this rule there would have to be a waiver filed and granted through the entire USPA full board of directors.

Second, there is no dropzone located in NH. There is one in Pepperell MA located near the NH border and a couple more in Maine near the NH border. You can however, train in indoor skydiving all you want. There is actually a new facility that is one of the top 5 best in the country to do so located in Nashua, NH. Check out:

http://www.skyventurenh.com/

I have flown there myself and it is a very nice facility. If you are die hard about skydiving before 16, it can be very difficult to do. Because of the USPA regulations, you will have to find:

1) A non-USPA dropzone

2) Instructors at that dropzone that are willing to take on the liability of training you.

3) Travel outside of the US to a dropzone in another country that uses a different national governing group with a tolerance for underage skydivers.

You will find none of these in New England. Non-USPA dropzones can be pretty hard to come by, but I do know there is one in Florida, one in Texas, and one in California. There are probably a couple more sprinkled here and there, but again, you won't find one anywhere near New England.

Good luck!

-Simon

www.myspace.com/skeletalfreefly