HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO DO MY SKYDIVE?We generally try to service each customer within the time frame of an hour. However we ask that you be flexible on this, as things often occur and may set the operation behind schedule. The fact that skydiving is a weather dependent and safety is of higher priority means that keeping to a schedule often takes a back seat to servicing everyone in a safe manner. To prevent any agitation we ask that you plan for your skydive to take 1-3 hrs.
WHAT IF MY PARACHUTE DOESN'T OPEN OR WORK? Parachutes almost always open. They operate in hurricane force wind, for nothing to happen is extremely odd, and unheard of in this day of skydiving. However, they do sometimes fail to open properly with no fault to anyone. This is also fairly rare but does occasionally happen. Not to worry tho as this is why we jump with 2 parachutes, so if one fails you go to another one. What if that one fails as well? Well that is extremely unlikely as lightning never strikes the same person twice, but not only is the mathematics and laws of probability highly against you, but you can rest assure that the reserve parachute was packed and inspected by a highly trained FAA licensed rigger who took meticulous care in packing it. As well as a reserve parachute is different from the main parachute. In the name of safety much of the performance and comfort that a main parachute has, has been sacrificed to ensure a more reliable deployment with the reserve parachute.
CAN I BREATH DURING FREEFALL?Yes, you can breathe during freefall regardless of speed. You will hear of tandem passengers experience difficulty breathing during freefall. If a problem with breathing occurs, this is usually associated with the anxiety that can occur while skydiving with candidates or independent parachutists who are new to the sport. When put in a situation where they feel frightened, panicked and nervous, some people have a habit to stop breathing, and unfortunately forget to breathe until they start to run out of breath. For them, a tandem parachute jump is an experience they literally find breathtaking. The secret is just to breathe normally on board the aircraft and throughout the jump, the same as you do here, on solid ground. Your tandem instructor will help you remember to breathe while flying in the airplane.
What happens if the weather is poor or unfavorable?
Every day we make a weather call roughly 3 hrs ahead of time before the first skydive. the call can go one of 4 ways, they are:
you will not incur any financial lost if the weather did not permit you to skydive. However that determination is not made by you and made by the Maui Skydiving staff. What's with the Tier system?
We find that very often we do not have a full day of good weather and sometimes have to cancel many of our bookings that day. So we decided to go with a tier system to help us achieve that in what we find to be an objective way.
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WHAT SHOULD I WEAR?We recommend wearing comfortable athletic wear. Preferably nothing too "baggy" or loose fitting. We also ask you to wear something you don't mind getting dirty in. As well as comfortable running shoes. No high heels, skirts (unless grass skirts because you know we can't ban those in Hawaii), or high platform shoes.
HOW SAFE IS SKYDIVING?Tandem Skydiving is very safe. The USPA (United States Parachuting Association) estimates that you have a %0.003 chance of an accident occurring during a skydive, including a injury. While Tandem Skydiving is even safer as many accidents occur with sport skydiving where jumpers are pushing the limits of the sport, while a Tandem Skydive is an introductory jump that is very routine in nature. That said Accidents can still occur and we like to acknowledged this for the sake of full disclosure.
HOW FAST WILL WE GO? AND HOW HIGH DO WE JUMP FROM?
This varies from person to person but 120 MPH is the generally accepted answer to this question. We will have about 35 seconds of free fall jumping from just above 10,000 feet. The free fall time is directly related to how high we jump. We like to jump from a little over 10,000 feet but sometimes this may change due to weather or air traffic. Regardless you are guaranteed to jump from at least over 8,000 feet.
How old do you have to be to skydive?
unfortunately in the USA (which Hawaii is part of) you need to be 18 years old. This is a fairly new rule and one that Maui Skydiving does not like but must oblige to. maybe one day we will manage to get rid of this requirement but for now it is the rule. 18 years of age no younger no exceptions.
Weight limit?
There is no exact weight limit, we take up to 230 pounds with no issue typically. Above 230 pounds it depends on the instructor and others in the aircraft. There is a charge of a dollar a pound over 200 pounds.
Can you bring your own camera on the skydive?
Unfortunately, it is not only against company policy but also against USPA (United States Parachute Association) regulation to allow student skydivers to bring a camera on a jump. This has been put in for good reason, as the advent of the “GoPro revolution” where the use of cameras exploded. They have been proven to be fairly hazardous. They are snag hazards and a major distraction for the student's attention. They can snag on the aircraft, in equipment, or on parachute lines. They also take the attention away from the student in an environment where students are already mentally overwhelmed. The idea that “it’s just a camera” has lead to many accidents which lead to standards be set for who can bring one on a skydive. To a minimum of 200 skydives or 100 tandems for tandem skydiving.
Why can't I book the time of day I want?
We find that due to weather we often have to impose scheduling changes, to the point that we feel the arrangement of more precise hourly check ins, to be better left done the morning of. You can request anytime you want, on the intake form during booking; and we will try to accommodate.
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