03 What are the physical requirements?
Description
This article is from the Skydiving FAQ, by Barry Brumitt with numerous contributions by others.
03 What are the physical requirements?
In general, the prospective student should be in reasonably good
physical shape, this *is* a sport after all. You will be required
wear around 35 lbs of equipment, endure opening shock, maneuver the
canopy, land, and possibly trudge great distances on foot. You will
experience 30 degree swings in temperature, atmospheric pressure
changes, 4 hours of lecture, and lots of beer. It's grueling (:-).
But seriously, problems may arise where a prospect is too heavy (over
~250lbs/ 110kg, see below)) or if they have medical conditions which
may impair them during the activity. Someone who experiences fainting
spells, blackouts, or has a weak heart should not be jumping. Someone
with respiratory illness *may* have a problem due to atmospheric
changes at altitude. The better your physical condition, the more you
will enjoy the experience. This being said, very few people have
medical or physical conditions which actually preclude jumping.
Most dropzones will try to work with you. If you have a question, ask
them, and as always, ask your doctor. You may be surprised at the
relatively few physical constraints involved.
Concerning weight restrictions, there are two primay concerns. First,
does the drop zone have a parachute system which you can both legally
use and safely land? Second, if you are going to be at the top-end of
the safe weight range for a particular parachute, are you in
relatively good shape? An imperfect landing will be much less liekely
to injure an athletic person. If this is unclear, consider the
difference between a 5'10" linebacker who weighs 240lbs, and a 5'10"
channel surfer of the same weight. If the former has a bad landing,
he'll probably brush himself off and get up. The latter may very well
injure himself substantially, lacking both the strength to withstand
landing and coordination to do a good Parachute Landing
Fall(PLF). With this in mind, use the following table as a guide.
Weight Comments
< 200lbs Almost every DZ should be willing to let you jump.
200-230lbs. The majority of DZ's should be willing to let you
jump. Being being in relatively good shape is a
plus. Beyond about 230lbs, most reserves canopies
are no longer strictly legal for you to use.
230-250lbs. Some DZ's may take you, but will likely insist that you
be in good shape, i.e. not a couch-potato. You must
recognize that there is a greater chance of injury,
particularly if you are not somewhat athletic.
>250lbs. Very few DZ's will be able to let you skydive. They are
likely to use converted Tandem gear. Without this
type of equipment, you will need to be in excellent
physical condition, and be willing to accept a
greatly increased chance of injury in case of a bad
landing. Please note that this table is only a
guideline. Call your local Drop Zone and discuss the
matter with them. Also, there are experienced
skydivers who are quite heavy -- however, they
likely learned when they were lighter and had
mastered landing before they gaining the additional
weight.
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