0
amihan07

What's the best skydiving school in the world? (if ever there is such a thing)

By amihan07, in General Skydiving Discussions

Recommended Posts

amihan07    0

amihan07
Hi all!

I'm just a newbie here. So sorry for the newbie question. :| But I would like to know what skydiving school you guys can recommend? I mean what's the best skydiving school/s in the world? Best in terms of training, facilities and people. Is there a list? I've tried googling it and searching this forum, but I found none.

I have tried only 2 skydives before (both static line) and I can say that I love it sooo much and I want to become a good skydiver (first to become an A licensed skydiver --- take AFF, accomplish 25 skydives and meet other requirements). I'm from Asia, and where I am from the existence of a skydiving school with licensed teachers is close to none. I have 4 choices based on my research and I hope someone can shed some light to me.

1) Skydive Source Taupo, New Zealand
- since I read that it was named by some as the Skydiving Capital of the World plus it really has excellent views based on the pictures and videos I saw.

2) Skydive Deland
- some people recommend Skydive Deland in this forum and I read that they are the Skydiving Training Capital of the World, plus they host this year's Skydive Expo. I also read from their site that Tandem and AFF were both developed in Deland.

3) Skydive the Farm
- since I notice a lot of people mention it here plus they are 3rd in the top 20 DZs here in Dropzone (based on user ratings)

4) Start Skydiving
- they place 1st in Dropzone's top 20 DZs but I found their prices to be really more expensive compared to the others.


What do you think guys? My sincere thanks in advance to those who'll reply. :)

Share this post

Link to post
Share on other sites

NWFlyer    2

NWFlyer

Where do you live?

You can go to the "best" school in the world (and that's going to be subjective at best, particularly considering that people will judge "best" on a wide variety of criteria).

But going through your initial skydive training is only a tiny fraction of what you need to grow to be a really good, safe skydiver. The overwhelming majority of what you'll learn to be that comes from 1) your own desire to learn and ask questions and seek knowledge (and willingness to absorb it) and 2) from the people that you'll be spending time with on the dropzone day in and day out and jumping with and learning from AFTER you get your license.

All that is a long-winded way to take you back to my first question. Where do you live? Find a quality dropzone within a reasonable drive from where you live. That place is most likely to become your home dropzone (or you may have multiple nearby options depending on where you live). Would you rather be the person they've seen from jump #1, getting to know everyone and making friends who are excited for you to get your license so they can jump with you? Or would you rather be the person no one on the dropzone knows who shows up with a brand-new A license from the "best" school in the world?

With few exceptions you should be able to find a good dropzone near you. B|

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Share this post

Link to post
Share on other sites

tdog    0

tdog
In general, every school has good and bad instructors. And in general, every school does a good job.

Some times, the generally good instructor will be bad for you because you don't "jive" with them.

Some times, the generally bad instructor will be good for you because you work well together.

So, I am sayin' - this is highly personal and there is nothing anyone on the Internet can help you with. You may hate any one of those DZs you put on your list. You may love them all. Your opinions will be different than mine.

All are good on your list (except the one in New Zealand I know nothing about, so I can't vouch for that one).

There are many other good schools.

Heck, I think just about all DZs do a good job. It is hard to find one that doesn't, although I could be negative and give you that this, but I won't.

So, my advice... Pick one and go jump.

As someone else said, you will learn about 10% in AFF of what you will need to know. The 90% remaining will be learned over the next 10,000 skydives and will be what you make of it, as you travel around, meet new people, and try new things.

However, if I was going to make a trip out of it, I would pick a city with a windtunnel. Not required, but you learn so much in the tunnel it is a good tool. Eloy (Skydive AZ) is a good example of a DZ with a tunnel on site, but my home DZ has a tunnel 1 hour drive from the DZ. There are tunnels all over the world, so you can pick one close to you.

Share this post

Link to post
Share on other sites

davelepka    4

davelepka
Quote

I'm from Asia, and where I am from the existence of a skydiving school with licensed teachers is close to none. I have 4 choices based on my research and I hope someone can shed some light to me.



You have way more than 4 choices. Deland, Start, and the Farm are all on the east cost (mostly) of the US, and 3000 miles further away from Asia.

If you're coming to the US, pick from Perris, Elsinore, or Skydive San Diego. All three are in southern California, and you can fly direct to LAX or San Diego and then drive less than an hour to get there. Any of the east coast DZs involve another flight across the US, and then a longer drive from the airport to the DZ.

There is no 'best' skydiving school like, Harvard or Yale. There are some better ones, and it's based mostly on the facilities. Modern equipment and nice ariplanes are the result of being busy and making money. amd that's easier to do when you can jump all year. However, some of the best instructors in the world work at smaller, seasonal DZ, because they're close to where they live.

BTW, the 'ratings' on DZ.com are not to be taken to serisouly. They're not based on a large number of people voting, so a DZ could organize a ratings 'flood' by getting a dozen jumpers to post positive ratings, and suddenly that DZ is 'the best'. I'm not suggesting any of the DZs you mentioned are bad places, far from it, just that they're not that different from most DZs in the US.

Share this post

Link to post
Share on other sites

amihan07    0

amihan07

Wow, thanks TDog! That was a very nice and good advice. It somehow shed some light on me. :)

Yup, I totally agree with what you said that "you will learn about 10% in AFF of what you will need to know. The 90% remaining will be learned over the next 10,000 skydives and will be what you make of it, as you travel around, meet new people, and try new things." because I have the same opinion from my current hobbies/sports. Probably I just want to have a good training/foundation of skydiving. B|

I will take note of what you said regarding wind tunnel. Kinda makes me consider Skydive Perris. Aside from having a wind tunnel, I saw from their website and youtube they make excellent videos too which is a good thing for newbie skydivers. Hehe.. :)

Share this post

Link to post
Share on other sites

Squeak    17

Squeak
Quite a few people from Asia come to Australia to learn to skydive. We have excellent facilities here and we are a lot closer.
You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

Share this post

Link to post
Share on other sites

virgin-burner    1

virgin-burner
Quote

Quote

Skydive City/Z-Hills www.skydivecity.com



Thanks for the reply! I will check this out. :)


:D:D:D

would you expect the DZO of said DZ say anything different!?

:D:D:D

having said that, TK seems like a really nice chap with healthy views on the world n'stuff, i'd expect that to be reflected on his DZ. :)
“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

Share this post

Link to post
Share on other sites

NWFlyer    2

NWFlyer
Quote

Hi NWFlyer!

Thanks really for the reply. I appreciate it. :)



That does change the equation, but as others have noted, check out Australia or the west coast of the U.S. Good options in both places. B|
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Share this post

Link to post
Share on other sites

nigel99    143

nigel99
You want to look for dropzones that have a similar set of rules to your country. There is no point going somewhere only to find that your 'home' dz doesn't recognise the training. Without doubt the US is the cheapest place to learn and due to USPA rules you will get sometimes as many as 4 jumps in for the cost of a single jump elsewhere.

You absolutely must plan on jumping through to your A license if doing it in another country (normally 25 to 30 jumps). So a dz that jumps everyday is best.

Also think about language, it is really important that you can communicate easily.
Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Share this post

Link to post
Share on other sites

DSE    3

DSE
Quote



Thanks for the info. Yup Skydive Perris looks like a great DZ. :)



The SoCal area is a good place to work on your license; three powerhouse DZ's within an hour of each other, lots of aircraft, near the beach, tunnel(s), generally good weather, lodging on-site (at two of them), Los Angeles not far away, lots to do in the area.
Not to mention 5 major airports that you can access, so fares are usually reasonable.
Perris and Elsinore are very close (you can see Elsinore from Perris vice-versa). Check em' both out and you can't go wrong at either one.

Share this post

Link to post
Share on other sites

amihan07    0

amihan07
Quote

Another option that is having a lot of popularity right now is Dubai. They have attracted a lot of the top talent from around the world to that location.



Wow! I never thought about Dubai. I only know they have attracted talents from different sectors/industries but it never crossed my mind they would attract top talents in skydiving. Would check it out. Thanks for the tip PhreeZone! :)

Share this post

Link to post
Share on other sites

amihan07    0

amihan07
Quote

Without doubt the US is the cheapest place to learn and due to USPA rules you will get sometimes as many as 4 jumps in for the cost of a single jump elsewhere.

You absolutely must plan on jumping through to your A license if doing it in another country (normally 25 to 30 jumps). So a dz that jumps everyday is best.

Also think about language, it is really important that you can communicate easily.



You're totally right on that. I was amazed at first how a lot of skydivers have hundreds and thousands of jumps under their belt that is why I was really shocked when I discovered how much expensive the cost of one jump (succeeding jumps) in this part of the world compared to the US. Makes me think sometimes I live in the wrong location. Hehe.. Just kidding. :P:)
Yup, I always consider the language and accent barrier. LOL. B|

Share this post

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
0
Go To Topic Listing