Skydiving can be the thrill of a lifetime, but is 'taking the plunge' right for you? Before you invest your hard dollars in pricey equipment and expensive lessons, read this book and find out. You'll get an expert, frank overview of the sport covering everything you need to know BEFORE you go ahead and enroll in skydiving class: the thrills, risks, basics, jump training, the cost, the time, where to go, what to do, questions to ask, and much more.

An instructor who has made more than 4500 jumps covers it all:

• What to expect in your first jump
• Explains types of skydiving: tandem, Accelerated Freefall, static line, and options such as night jumping, formation skydiving, BASE jumping, and sky surfing
• Provides a checklist of questions for comparing skydiving centers
• Tells you how to select a school or training program
• Describes simulated and computer-based options
• Answers Frequently Asked Questions

Chapters:
1. Overview
2. Training Methods
3. Regulation and Instructor Certification
4. Psychology
5. Equipment
6. Aircraft
7. Understanding Risk
8. How Skydivers Fly
9. All About Drop Zones
10. Making Your Decision

About the Author:Tom Buchanan holds Instructor ratings issued by The United States Parachute Association in Accelerated Freefall, static line, instructor assisted freefall, and tandem training. He has earned tandem equipment ratings covering the Vector, Sigma, Racer, and Dual Hawk systems. Mr. Buchanan has been appointed Safety and Training Advisor at one of the largest skydiving centers in the Northeastern United States, and serves as a Coach Course Director, training other skydivers to be instructors. He holds an FAA senior Parachute Rigger Certificate, and is an FAA certificated Commercial Pilot with ratings in single and multiengine airplanes, as well as gliders.

Mr. Buchanan made his first jump in 1979 at a small skydiving club near Buffalo, New York. Since then, he has made more than 4500 skydives, and logged more than 65 hours of freefall time.

Softcover, 222 pages, Indexed.