Starting out.

[civvystreet 0]

Hey, I live in the UK and would like to start skydiving. I have no experience whatsoever.

Are there any guides, etc I can have a read through? I've looked about and couldn't find anything.

[jverley 0]

This is a nice place to start.

http://www.dropzone.com/safety/Learn_to_Skydive/index.shtml

John
Arizona Hiking Trails

[mr2mk1g 10]

Where about's in the country are you? You could always just pop down to your local DZ, share a couple of beers with the locals, chat to an instructor or regular - approach us... we don't bite.

There's loads of good info squirreled away on this website: http://www.bpa.org.uk/progress.htm (follow the links from that page also).

You can pick up a free starter magazine at any DZ and probably from the BPA direct (I think).

There's also a UK specific web forum like this one at http://www.ukskydiver.co.uk/cms/

Alternatively, if you have any specific questions, post here - you're sure to get loads of input.

[RandomLemming 0]

It's quite common for UK students to train abroad. Many choose Spain.

A lot of students have really good experiences by doing this, but there are a couple of things to watch out for:

1. Make sure that you contact the dropzone that you plan to jump with back here and see if they have any issues with the school that you plan to use.

2. Make sure that the school you choose really has BPA instructors. While many people will put you through a UK AFF course, they'll do it with USPA instructors. This isn't a big deal, just something to be aware of as it may mean having to do your CH1 (Canopy handling course required for A license) here under BPA instruction.

One thing that you WON'T get training abroad is the sense of community and being part of your dropzone back home, and it may take a little while to break into that. Unless you jump at Hinton.

If you're going to be in Northern California at any point soon, I can recommend a fantastic AFF instructor who got me all setup, and I came back and just carried on my jumping career at a couple of southern DZs and all over spain.