How to Get Your Skydiving Certification in Oklahoma

To be a certified skydiver means to get a skydiving license. In skydiving, there are four skydiving licenses to achieve: A, B, C and D. The goal of a skydiving student is to attain the A license.

No. The AFF course teaches an individual the foundational skills to skydive solo in seven jumps. Thereafter, additional skills need to be acquired to earn an A license and be deemed a certified or “licensed skydiver.”

Earning an A license requires an individual to:

• Complete 25 jumps
• Complete the skill demonstration tasks on the A-license Proficiency Card.
• Complete five group freefall skydives involving at least two participants.
• Pass the USPA-developed written and oral USPA A-license exams.
• Receive the signature and official stamp on the USPA A License Proficiency Card.
• Complete and have the signed USPA A License Proficiency Card validated within 60-days of completion by sending the card to USPA Headquarters. Once validated, USPA will issue a license number that becomes a permanent record of the member.

To summarize the journey from daydream to licensure, the process can be broken down to five distinct phases:

• Complete the 7 Jump AFF Course
• Make 18 solo skydives with a coach and others to complete the requirements on the A-license Proficiency Card
• Learn to pack a parachute
• Pass the written and oral exams
• Submit your paperwork to USPA and make it official!

There is no black and white answer because it depends on multiple variables – namely the weather and your time commitment. If the weather is favorable and you have the ability to be at the DZ as much as possible, then the program can be completed in as little as four weeks.

It’s important to note that at least one skydive must be made every 30 days in order to stay current and avoid the need to repeat the last completed AFF level. If you’ve completed the AFF program, but haven’t jumped within 30 days, you’ll be required to hire a coach to make a recurrency jump.

Patience – This isn’t a fast process because weather is likely to cause delays. Don’t fight it – this is part of the skydiving journey. Remember, it’s about having fun and soaking up knowledge!

Planning – Learning to skydive is an expensive undertaking, so budget accordingly.

Being Scared is Okay – You’ll have many mental battles as you swing from “I really want to do this!” to “Am I completely crazy?” We’ve all been there and it’s part of the process. Anything that challenges you will cause you to doubt whether it’s training for a marathon to jumping out of planes!

No, you do not need to own your own skydiving equipment while becoming a licensed skydiver. The dropzone will supply you with your gear. In skydiving, it’s not recommended that you buy your equipment until after you’ve got your license.

At that point, it’s advised to only buy used gear until your skills advance because you’ll soon outgrow your skills-specific gear in a short time!

Many of today’s world champion skydivers started without enough resources to learn! The good news is there are many tasks needed to be done at a dropzone that can be done as trade. These tasks are usually associated with:

• Packing parachutes
• Running manifest
• Working with Ground Ops
• DZ maintenance