Can you skydive if you weigh 250 pounds? How about 300?
If these are the kinds of questions on your mind, then it’s probably a good time to talk about the tandem skydiving weight limit. Skydiving weight restrictions have everything to do with your safety, comfort, and the quality of your first-time skydiving experience. Here are the reasons why you’ll encounter a tandem skydiving weight limit at every ethical dropzone, and why we uphold it here at Skydive Danielson.
Meticulous precision and strict compliance with safety protocols make the aviation world go ’round. And parachutes are very much a part of the realm of aviation. Like any other aircraft, parachutes must strictly conform to designated weight guidelines.
The goal in aviation is to keep a mass aloft and land it safely. Weight restrictions are calculated to ensure that the goal is reached. Any other result is, suffice it to say, harrowing. In skydiving, specifically, non-conformance to the weight limit of a parachute can mean anything from a hazardous deployment and snapped parachute lines to a dangerously swift landing. None of the above makes for a good jump, by any stretch of the imagination.
On a tandem skydive, all safety decisions count for two: not just for you, but also for the instructor who takes you up on that incredible journey. We care deeply about the well-being of our first-class team of instructors, as we care deeply about the well-being of our customers. Enforcing the skydiving weight guidelines for our tandem parachutes is one way that we demonstrate that two-way care.
The tandem skydiving harness that connects the tandem student to the tandem instructor (and, therefore, parachute) is a pivotal component of your skydiving experience. The harness is also designed to distribute the forces of parachute deployment evenly on your body, preventing potential injury.
Tandem harnesses are engineered to accommodate a variety of shapes and sizes within a specific range. Venturing beyond this threshold makes it not only difficult to get into the harness, but can also cause considerable discomfort during the skydive.
It’s a funny thing to think about, but the parachute itself is a heavy object. The fact that it is inflated and flying doesn’t magically negate the weight of the fabric it’s made of—in the same way, that the metal of an aircraft does not become physically weightless when it takes off from the runway.
Parachutes vary in design materials according to the amount of weight they are built to convey. A parachute designed to slow the descent of larger amounts of weight is bigger than a parachute designed to descend lighter weights. That material adds even more load on the system that has to bring it—and its precious payload—safely to the ground.
At Skydive Danielson, our tandem skydiving weight limit is 240 lbs. Add the weight of the gear that makes your phenomenal skydiving experience possible, and you’re looking at about 300 lbs – and that’s before you add the weight of your instructor into the mix.
Let’s say you did manage to sniff out a dropzone that circumnavigates ethical skydiving requirements and allows people to make a tandem skydive over a parachute system's predetermined weight limit. Guess what? It wouldn’t be all that enjoyable.
You already know about the issues around danger and discomfort, and there are even more considerations at hand: 1) your skydive would be over faster, 2) your parachute’s deployment would be hard enough to be memorable, and 3) your landing would invariably be too fast to feel good.
No one wants to willingly sign up for an experience that falls short of amazing! And that’s what skydiving is: awe-inspiring, empowering beyond belief, and jaw-droppingly amazing. Add to the equation that your skydive may be a once-in-a-lifetime adventure?! Pssh! We wouldn’t want that for anyone we care about, and we care about you and your skydiving experience.
If you’re standing toe-to-toe with a weight limit, skydiving might not be possible for you right now. If you’re on a wellness journey that includes the goal of losing weight and getting physically fit, maybe meeting the tandem skydiving weight guidelines can be a source of inspiration and motivation. If so, let’s go!!!
Whenever you’re ready to make your first triumphant skydive, we’ll be thrilled to celebrate your accomplishment with you in the landing area! Blue skies.