By Christina Montanios
If you are one of those who got the chills when they saw Keanu Reaves and Patrick Swayze jumping out of the plane during the skydiving scene in Point Break then this is definitely not your thing. Skydiving is one of the most exciting and dynamic sports of modern times, offering both men and women total mastery of the air and the freedom to make the skies their own. Part of the thrill is just leaping forward without giving it too much thought. It's a natural high. It's putting yourself at the scariest point and confronting your fears head-on. Apparently it gives you a newfound appreciation of life. Many people describe it as a life-changing experience. Although the total dive time, from exiting the plane to reaching the ground is not long, when you touch the ground, you feel like you’ve conquered the world.
Where to do it
The Cyprus Combined Services Parachute Club
The Cyprus Combined Services Parachute Club (CCSPC), is a military parachute centre affiliated to the British Parachute Association located at Dhekelia, in the Eastern Sovereign Base Area near Larnaca. Highly experienced instructors provide excellent training and support for both beginners and experienced enthusiasts. The activities were predominantly provided for the British service personnel nearly 40 years ago, but the Centre is now open to anyone who wants to skydive in Cyprus and as a result of continued interest, a club was formed to allow participation and progression in the sport. During the week, military Basic Freefall courses are run. Civilian jumping will take place along side these courses, providing there are enough jumpers to fill the aircraft (a BNI piston Islander). At the weekends the drop zone operates as a club, with club jumping and one jump courses being provided. For your first fall you have the following options:
1 Jump Course- The Static Line
A static line descent can be made after about 6 hours of ground training and involves the student jumper leaving the aircraft at 3500 feet. The main parachute is deployed using a device called a ‘static line’. This is a length of webbing attached to the aircraft at one end and the bag, in which the main parachute is kept, at the other, as the jumper falls away from the aircraft, the static line pulls the main parachute out and begins the deployment. The parachute or canopy used is a modern 'square parachute' made of technically advanced materials and specifically designed to allow the student jumper to steer the canopy to the landing area. A radio attached to the jumper’s helmet is often used to coach the student and assist in the landing of the parachute. This type of jump is the first step on the path to becoming a skydiver, further training and more descents will allow the student to jump without the static line, deploying the parachute manually and achieving that all important ‘first free fall’ descent.
Training is usually undertaken on Saturdays. The jump will take place on the following day, weather permitting. You will exit the aircraft from 3500 feet, the parachute will open automatically and you will guide yourself to the safe student landing area. Canopy control coaching is given using a radio whilst you are in the air. The cost of this course is €250 for civilians and €200 for British Militaries.
2 AFF Course
Accelarated Free Fall (AFF) is an intensive course, it is more expensive, but allows for rapid progression in skydiving. Your first descent is from 12,000 feet accompanied by two highly specialised instructors who will guide you in freefall by way of hand signals and under canopy with radio communication. You will experience 40-45 seconds of freefall before you open your own, ram-air canopy at 5,000 feet. This is the real thing.
There are 8 levels to complete together with 10 consolidation jumps after which you will qualify as a Category A licensed skydiver.
If you know you want to take up skydiving, this is probably the quickest and most motivating method by which to do it - although of course it is not cheap.
The price, which does not include consolidation jumps, is €1600.00 for civilians and €1400.00 for British military personnel.
3 Tandem Skydive
Tandem parachuting offers a quick and easy introduction to free-fall using a dual harness system. You are securely attached to an experienced tandem instructor who takes charge of vital functions such as opening the parachute and landing safely. The briefing takes just 25 to 30 minutes then it's off to 10 or 12 thousand feet. At 5,000 feet, the instructor deploys a huge ram-air parachute designed for two. You can have your choice of a gentle or thrilling flight to the ground, where you should have a soft landing The freefall will take about 30 seconds and then a canopy ride of about 5 minutes before landing gently back at the drop zone. Free from responsibility, you can relax and enjoy the skydive knowing there is a qualified instructor in charge.
Tandem parachuting allows many disabled people, subject to a satisfactory risk assessment, to experience the thrill of skydiving.
For a Tandem parachute descent, one must call the parachute centre at least 5 days before hand and book ahead. The event can be filmed for a €70 fee for a video, and €100 for an edited DVD. The cost for a tandem is € 280.00 for civilians and € 250.00 for British military personnel.
An alternative
If you don’t like the idea of jumping of a plane but you still want to experience flying of some sort there is always paragliding. Paragliding is different in that it doesn’t involve a free fall from an airplane, it is nevertheless still considered a flying sport. The pilot sits in a harness suspended below a fabric wing, whose shape is formed by its suspension lines and the pressure of air entering vents in the front of the wing. The paraglider is a free-flying, foot-launched aircraft. After catching the wind while running the paraglider will find himself in the air.