Cheap skydiving, maybe even free - part 2

Did I say free skydiving? Yes, part two of this section is all about how to reduce the cost of your skydive significantly and in some cases get it down to zero, free, nada, zilch! People on the outside of the sport don't usually realise the huge cost of skydiving when you take it up as a regular sport.

If you've landed here, maybe you missed part one of this article which is all about cheap skydiving. If that's the case do not fear because this link will take you right back to find out about cheap skydiving.

Charity skydiving

Many people start skydiving with a charity tandem jump, but did you know that you can do this for accelerated free fall too?

This is a really good option and there are plenty of charities which would be delighted to have you raise funds for them. You then have to raise a certain amount of sponsorship, after which your skydive is provided free of charge.  The deal is usually that you have to raise at least twice the ammount of your 'event'. People do this for all kinds of things, going to walk Machu Picu or walk the great wall of China. If you know you want to learn to skydve, why not set your sights on raising over three thousand pounds for your favourite charity from which a full accelerated free fall course could be your part of the deal. Of course this places a lot more pressure on you, and you may feel a bit like Simon Thomas from the kids TV show 'Blue Peter' a few years ago (dare I even say John Noakes?) who went up to do his accelerated free fall course and had some real anxiety problems at level 4. He fully impressed me by overcoming them and then going on to complete the whole course  - respect!

If you'd like to know more about how to do your accelerated free fall course or tandem skydiving for free, please check out the section on charity skydives on this site to see what its all about. It's not an easy option and it increases the amount of fund raising you have to do, but if you have a good story, a good contact list and  a willingness to talk to people and ask for their support then its a good option and you can do some good work at the same time. Of course, you'll also heap a lot more pressure on yourself because its much more difficult to back down when you know all your friends, family, colleagues and bosses are watching your progress (eagerly?). Still, you were very clear about your motivation levels even before you booked, weren't you?

Military service and skydiving

Don't laugh too hard here because its a serious option. Joining the reserve forces in any of the armed services will get you into some very special deals and there is a set of books called 'DCIs'  Defence  Council Instructions) which list (amongst many other things) all the 'external leadership training' courses. Some of these courses are for skydiving but others are skiing, scuba diving, rock climbing and lots of others. This is a way of getting servicemen and women 'emotionally toughened up' and helps them get de-sensitised  and used to managing their fear, before they face bombs and bullets. If you are studying at university, the OTC (officer training corps) counts as military service and you could get your initial course free or heavily subsidised. Oh, did I mention that you also get paid daily rates of pay as a serving soldier/sailor/airman while you're doing it and you get your food, accomodation and travel paid for too?  I don't remember when the last time an OTC unit was called off to go to war, so this may be less of an issue. Maybe this is the real definition of 'free fall'. There are separate forums to cover this aspect, such as hm forces.co.uk.

Bursaries and Grants for skydiving

The Royal Aero Club Trust recognise that skydiving is a serious competition sport, and also one that UK does quite well in. RAeCT provides a bursary of up to £500 GBP (correct at the time of writing) which can be used to offset the cost of your progression and development in sky diving. You'll need to fill in some forms but it can pay off well. The reality of this is that you'll need to have completed your level one AFF before aplying for help for the next stage, but can you really wait that long?

Some regiments, corps and units in the services may also have their own small funds which you can tap into (we're back to the option of OTC or Reserve forces again). Some of these military units even run skydiving expeditions to different parts of the world to sky dive and the they may even fund an entire accelerated free fall course.

'The apprentice' for the Drop Zone operator

How about working at a drop zone for less wages (maybe even for a second, weekend job) in order to get a special rate (or maybe free) on your accelerated free fall course  and later sky dives. This is exactly what my old friend Lefty Green did. He did anything necessary to help the Drop Zone work smoothly - clean the toilets, refuel aircraft, serve behind the bar, pack parachutes, drive the DZ truck to pick up students. Anything really! It may well be worth having a chat with the Drop Zone operator - and remember you won't be the first, or the last and there may well be an existing 'apprentice' in the system. So don't make any assumptions and prepare for the 'interview. Lefty got paid and a very special deal on jumps (pretty much free).

More ideas from you

If you have any good ideas that you'd like to share, please feel free to blog them or email to me. I'll be happy to give you full credit for your input, or if you want to remain anonimous, thats fine too. Either way, please share your experience for the benefit of others - pass it forward :)

Don't be a stranger after you've had your cheap skydive

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Perhaps you'd like to read more about Indoor skydiving? click here

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