| 1. Why do you want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane? |
| This is the question Skydivers hear most often. Why do we skydive? I can't answer for everybody, but for some insight you may want to check out our website pages and photos. Also, ask some experienced skydivers to show you some of their favorite video footage and you might get an idea of how much fun it can be to jump out of a 'perfectly good airplane.' For me personally, I love it, my whole life I have had dreams of flying my own body, Skydiving lets me do this safely time and time again. |
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| 2. How safe is this sport? |
| Skydiving is like skiing, roller-blading, skate-boarding or any other extreme sport, there are inherent risks that require careful training and execution. Failure to follow that training can lead to serious injury. Skydiving is as safe as the individual makes it. The equipment is so evolved and reliable that, when used properly, skydiving can be as safe as or safer than any other extreme sport. Statistically, you have a better chance of getting injured, or even dying, in your kitchen at home than you do of getting injured while skydiving. Just do as you were trained to and don't bend any rules and you will remain safe. At Melbourne Skydive Centre all skydiving activities are regulated and monitored by APF (Australian Parachute Federation) and all our instructors are APF Approved. (Link to www.apf.as.au) All of our equipment is regularly maintained to the highest level; Our Chief Instructor Paul Murphy has over 20 years experience and 6500 plus jumps and oversees the entire operation ensuring that we adhere to the highest standards in every aspect. Both owners and staff have one aim in mind and that is to maintain our great safety record. Our aircraft is maintained by Dave from Cam-air Aviations to the requirements of Civil Aviation Safety Authority CASA (http://www.casa.gov.au/). |
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| 3. How fast do you fall? |
| Exactly how fast you fall depends on a number of factors including body-position, weight, the type of clothing you're wearing and even the weather. An average skydiver falls at about 220 km an hour. |
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| 4. What about weather? |
| We will not jump in unsafe weather conditions. Unsafe conditions could include rain, strong winds or no winds. It is up to each skydiver to decide when the whether it is safe for him/her to jump, but for students and very-low-time skydivers this decision is made by the CI. (Please look at our Weather Information Pack for more details) |
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| 5. Do you jump when it's cold? |
| Yes. We can wear protective clothing to keep us warm on the plane and in freefall. A little bit of cold never stops a serious skydiver though. In Yarra Valley, we very seldom get weather cold enough to justify shutting down skydiving operations completely. If it's safe to fly the planes, it's skydiving time! |
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| 6. Are there any women who skydive? |
| YES! Even in the days when skydiving (or parachuting) was seen as something done as a circus trick by crazy lunatics or experimental pilots there were women involved. To this day the tradition continues and there are many women all over the world who skydive on a regular basis. |
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| 7. How do you breathe in freefall? |
| Much the same as you breathe anywhere else. Once you start skydiving you learn to control your breathing in freefall. Don't believe the stories about skydivers absorbing oxygen through the skin, that's just another silly myth. |
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| 8. Can you talk in freefall? |
| Only if you have a special helmet with 2 way radio system. |
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| 9. How long is the freefall? |
| On average we jump from 10,000 feet above ground and open our parachutes by 4000 feet above ground. It takes about 35 seconds from 10,000 feet to 4,000 feet. For a first time skydiver this is like a life time, we also have upgrades to 12,000 feet if you require more free fall time just speak to the team about it. We than spend up to six minutes coming down under our parachute and landing in front of all your friends and family. |
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| 10. What is it like to skydive? |
| There's only one way for you to really find out: try it! But if you ask me its like floating gently down a massive pillow of air, most people think of skydiving as falling straight down we don't fall, we fly and it's a sensational feeling. |
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| 11. How do I become a skydiver? |
| Have a look at our website pages. There you will see a number of ways that you can make your first skydive. Once you make your first skydive, don't stop skydiving; do it as often as you possibly can. That's how you become a skydiver. |
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| 12. What kind of first skydive should I do? |
| That's entirely up to you and is a decision that is influenced by what kind of instruction program's are available, whether you want to take up skydiving as a regular activity and which of them you can afford. At Melbourne Skydive Centre the most popular first skydive is the Tandem Skydive jump, but if you want to learn how to skydive just send us an email or ring 1300 73 44 71. We highly recommend Tandem Skydiving, you will be briefed by one of our experienced Tandem Instructors, you will enjoy a very stunning flight up to 10,000 feet and you will than feel very conformable in the hands of our instructors as they take you on one of life's best sensations landing in front of all your friends and family. |
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| 13. Why should I do my skydiving at Melbourne Skydive Centre? |
| Melbourne Skydive Centre has an experienced and dedicated staff that will do everything in their power to make sure that every single skydive you ever do at Melbourne Skydive Centre is safe and fun. Our staff also do all they can to ensure that our aircraft are always in tip-top condition and that our facilities are kept in good shape too. We our members and operate according to the Australian Parachute Federation (www.apf.asn.au) our aircraft is maintained to the highest standard and we operate with guidance of Civil Aviation Safety Authority (www.casa.gov.au) Both owners are extremely passionate about the sport and the business and that can be seen by our customer service and safety record. Our team has over 100 years combined together in the sport. We have won many state and national medals in different skydiving disciplines. Owner Nir Davidson and team mate and camera flyer Sven Peter still competes and win medals each year. WE ARE THE CLOSEST SKYDIVE CENTRE TO MELBOURNE (just go to our location page to see how close we are) so you don't spend hours driving as we are just a short trip away from Melbourne CBD. Do your home work and see how good our safety record and equipment is. WE have taken 1000's and 1000's of happy customers safely skydiving just look up our testimonial page. We offer not one view but many; see the city, Melbourne, Port Philip Bay, the stunning Yarra Valley, and the Dandenongs. |
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| 14. Do I need to make reservations for the courses? |
| Yes you do, if you want to make sure we have a spot for you on the day. |
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| 15. How much do the courses cost? |
| See our packages available page for detailed costs. |
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| 16. Are there any age, height or weight restrictions? |
| You will need to be at least 14 years of age before making your first skydive. If you have written parental consent, however, you could do your first jump at the age of 16. The maximum permissible weight for any person doing a first jump course is 100kg. If you are over this weight limit the CI can refuse to allow you to participate in the first jump course. |
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| 17. Why can't I jump if I weigh more than 100Kg? |
| The Tandem student equipment used at Melbourne Skydive Centre is designed, tested and certified for a maximum student weight of 100kg. Legally Melbourne Skydive Centre can not allow anybody heavier than this to use the equipment. |
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| 18. Do you offer discounts for students or groups? |
| We Sure Do, Please speak to our customer service on 1300 73 44 71 or email sales@melbourneskydivecentre.com.au to find out what discount we can offer you. If you have a group interested in doing the course together call the centre and find out if we can arrange a special once-off group rate. |
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| 19. What do I need to take with me to the Skydive Centre? |
| You're going to have fun so in order to do so, be comfortable. A comfortable pair of running shoes is recommended and comfortable clothing. Melbourne Skydive Centre will give a jumpsuit to use so the shoes are the most important for you to bring with. Tandems can be done in a t-shirt and pair of shorts if you wish but remember that it may be cold at altitude. Don't forget the sunscreen - it can get very hot at a drop zone in summer. |
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| 20. What should I wear? |
| Dress comfortably. Shorts and T-shirts in summer, jumpers in winter, comfortable shoes (Cross-trainers etc. Nothing with hooks!). All other required gear will be issued to you at the club. |
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| 21. What else should I bring with me? |
| We have almost everything that you will need at the centre. You might want to pack lunch or something to drink, but we do have a BBQ facilities and FREE coffee and tea. We can arrange lunch if required. Remember that we do not permit the consumption of any alcohol on the Drop Zone while skydiving operations are in progress. After your skydive that's a different story and we would love to arrange for you FREE wine tasting at one of our award wining wineries in the stunning Yarra Valley. Why not try our favorite (www.domainechandon.com.au) Domaine Chandon winery. By the way we also have packages where we can jump you into the winery and than you can enjoy a wonderful lunch and wine! |
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| 22. What if I arrive late for the course? |
| ARRIVE ON TIME! We will do our best to work with you if you do arrive late, but please understand that we have many customers during the day and if you are late you will hold up everyone else. |
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| 23. Where do I go when I get there? |
| A good idea is to report to the manifest office as soon as you arrive at the club and get yourself registered for the first time tandem course. Ask anybody hanging around on the centre and they should be able to point you to the manifest office. The manifest officer will hand you a form to fill in and call you when the course is ready to start. WE have plenty of free car park and seats for friends and family. |
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| 24. How long does the course last? |
| The first time tandem course lasts about 20 minutes, depending on the size of the class. The course covers all important aspects of your first skydive, including aircraft and exit procedures, landings, emergencies, and much more. There is also a practical section during which you will be placed into a suspended harness and be expected to demonstrate to your instructor your grasp of the material covered in the classroom. |
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| 25. I have jumped before, does that count for something? |
| That depends on when you jumped and what kind of jump you did. Talk to the instructors and he will let you know what your options are. It also depends how long ago you jumped. |
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| 26. Will I get to jump on the same day? |
| If the course runs smoothly and if the weather is kind to us. We will only get you to leave your house and come down to the centre if the weather is ok. We also get you to ring half an hour before you leave the house and speak to the centre to make sure we can jump. We will also send you a weather pack to teach you when we can and can't jump (Weather pack info). Please understand that our only aim is your safety and if the weather changes on us we will not jump. At no stage will we compromise your safety and please understand that the weather can change on us at any time. |
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| 27. I wear glasses. Will it be a problem if I do the tandem jump still wearing glasses? |
| No problem. A large, over-the-glasses goggle is available for freefall jumps. |
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| 28. I wear contact lenses, can I jump with them? |
| Yes, for Tandem jump you will get a pair of goggles which protect your eyes in freefall. |
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| 29. How many of us can go on the plane at the same time? |
| That depends on which of our planes you will be using, but besides the pilot either 4 or 5 people fit in the plane at any time. You will need a jumpmaster on all your student jumps, so that means that you can have a maximum of 2 students in the plane. |
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| 30. How high will I be jumping from? |
| Tandem jumps are done from a height of 10,000 feet above ground. This gives you up to 35 seconds in free fall and up to six minutes under canopy before we will land in front of all your friends and family. |
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| 31. How much time does it take? |
| That depends on which one of our planes you go up in and how many people are in it, but generally it will take about 20 minutes to get to 10,000 feet. You will love the ride up to height the views from the plane our stunning, you can see the stunning Yarra Valley, Melbourne, the Bay and the Dandenongs. |
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| 32. What if I have a fear of heights? |
| Some people actually start skydiving to overcome their fear of heights. It's not really a very good reason, but in some cases it does work. Fear of heights (vertigo) only really occurs at lower altitudes. Think about looking out of a window on the seventh floor of a building; that can be pretty scary. But compare that to looking out of the window of a passenger aircraft 10,000 feet above a city; not the same thing. Fear of heights does not apply in the same way for skydiving. You are so high; it does not look high in the same way that looking down from a ladder or out a high window looks high. |
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| 33. What about fear and apprehension? |
| Fear & apprehension get worse & worse until you are out of the plane and skydiving, then most of it goes away. When you come back for repeat skydives, you will find that repeat jumps made on the same day will be more enjoyable since you will get a lot of this out of the way on the first jump of the day. Don't forget our instructors are very highly qualified and would love to help you with any of your needs; there is no such thing as stupid questions so please speak to us. |
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| 34. What kind of parachute will I be using? |
| Melbourne Skydive Centre uses Icrus canopies designed and manufactured to the highest international quality and safety standards by Australian Parachute Federation (www.apf.asn.au). Over the last few years, the Icrus student main parachute has proved itself to be one of the best square tandem mains available! The harnesses are mostly Sigma Tandem harness and we find them very comfortable and most of all extremely reliable using the latest technology, We have four attachment points to secure you each one can withstand up to 2500 kg breaking pressure. |
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| 35. Is there an Automatic Activation Device on my parachute? |
| All of our parachutes are equipped with an automatic activation device which will automatically open if our parachute is not open by 2000 feet. All parachutes are checked daily and before each jump to ensure that they are safe to jump. |
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| 36. What if my parachute doesn't open? |
| You will be fully briefed and trained and drilled on emergency procedures while you are on tandem course. The instructors have and know how to deal with the situation and you are in very safe hands. |
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| 37. How long does the jump take? |
| From the time you exit the plane it takes about thirty five seconds before your canopy is fully inflated. The ride down with your instructors will typically last between four and six minutes. Before we land in front of all your friends and family. |
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| 38. How hard is the landing? |
| Our instructors have made 1000's of landings and will try and make your landing very smooth. If there is no wind the landings are little bit faster and we will slide on our bottoms, this method of landing has been done for 100,000's of landings and is very safe. |
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| 39. What happens next? |
| Once you have done your first tandem jump you can choose to come back again and do another skydive with us for discounted price or you might want to speak to us about learning to skydive. Just ask the team and they will help you out. |
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| 40. Can we get this on DVD? |
| If you would like pictures or video/DVD taken of your skydive ask your instructor, we can arrange this. We have 100% money back guarantee on any of our DVD and Photos & our customers are always giving us positive feed back on our product. We have the DVD and Photos professionally edited and you will receive a 10 minute production of your adventure with special effects and music edited to it. See the products available page for more info on the DVD package. |
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| 41. Can I get pictures (photos) of my first skydive? |
| By now you have probably seen all the great pictures of students making jumps at Melbourne Skydive Centre (go to our photo album pages for plenty of great shots). And you're wondering if you can get one of those for yourself. Well, you can! Just chat to the manifest and it can be arranged (for a small fee). |
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| 42. When can I skydive by myself (without Jumpmaster supervision)? |
| Once you have done about 10 skydives. By that time you should have done a few freefall skydives, and you should have done what is referred to as a dive exit (an un-poised exit from the aircraft). Your CI will administer an A-License test and on successful completion you will be able to apply for your 'A' License. Your A license tells people that you are capable of handling yourself in the sky and you will be permitted to skydive without Jumpmaster supervision. |
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| 43. Where is Melbourne Skydive Centre? |
| Melbourne Skydive Centre is located in Lilydale Airport on MacIntyre Lane, Lilydale, Yarra Valley. It's around 45 minutes from the CBD. (See the our location page for more detail, maps & directions). If you have any problems getting there ring 1300 73 44 71 and we will give you directions. There are also trains that run to Lilydale train station and then you can take a short 10 minute ride by taxi to the airfield. Please call 132227 (13CABS) and quote MSDC for priority pick up. |
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| 44. How do I get there? |
| Check out the our location page for detailed directions & maps. Alternately, look up in the Melways directory - Greater Melbourne Street Directory - (www.onlymelbourne.com.au). |
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| 45. What days does Melbourne Skydive Centre operate? |
| We operate 7 days a week as long as the weather is permitting and Operations can commence as soon as there is an instructor and a pilot on the premises (and enough skydivers to put on the plane). |
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| 46. What plane do you have at Melbourne Skydive Centre? |
| We have Cessna 182Â and a Cessna 206. Cessna aircrafts have been used for many years in skydiving and prove to be extremely safe and reliable. |
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| 47. Is there other accommodation nearby? |
| There are a number of places that offer discounts to Melbourne Skydive Centre. Please ask for details at the manifest office. Some include... www.yarravalleytourism.asn.au, www.greatplacestostay.com.au/yarra_valley, www.wotif.com and www.healesvillemotel.com.au. There is so many more. Just ask us and we will arrange your accommodation needs. |
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| 48. Is there video equipment available? |
| There is a television and DVD in the centre where you can view and/or download you video. Enquire at the manifest office if you need help using these. |
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| 49. Is there a place I can get something to eat/drink? |
| Here are several places in town for a great bite to eat and many great wineries around the area for lunch. From bakeries to 5 star restaurants, ask us to point you in the right direction! |
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| 50. Can I drink alcohol before the jump? |
| NO! There is a strict alcohol and drug use policy in place at Melbourne Skydive Centre (as at all drop zones) that says that there will be no consumption of alcohol at the skydive centre while there are people skydiving (even if the person is not skydiving himself he should not drink on the drop zone if others are skydiving). Skydivers are also not permitted to skydive within 8 hours of consuming alcohol. |
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| 51. What kind of payment do you accept? |
| We accept cash and we have credit-card facilities. We take all cards except Dinners and Amex. |
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