Training & Progression

To apply for a B Licence, you will need an A Licence, at least 50 jumps and to have completed the JM1 & CT1 qualifications. Achieving your B Licence demonstrates a level of competence in the sport that allows you to take on greater responsibilities, such as acting as jump master, checking equipment on the flight line and making more choices about the personal equipment you use.  If you are considering purchasing your own set of equipment, seek advice from your Chief Instructor and check the canopy size chart Form 330i before you buy. 

Download Form 330i

Once you have achieved your B Licence, you will then require at least 200 total jumps, CT2 and one further grade 1 qualification (FS1, FF1 etc.) before you can apply for your C Licence. This demonstrates you have achieved a high level of competence in the sport and are now able to begin participating in more demanding disciplines.  Once you have obtained your C Licence, you can start considering whether you want to be a coach or a Category System (Static Line) Basic Instructor (CSBI) followed by your Category System Instructor (CSI) rating.

Obtaining a C Licence also allows you to wear any auxiliary equipment approved by your Chief Instructor (CI), such as camera helmets, etc. This is also the minimum level from which you can start to coach less experienced but qualified skydivers in disciplines such as FS1 and FF1.

After obtaining 800 descents and 8 hours free fall,  you can then consider applying to become a Tandem Instructor (TI). 

Once you have achieved your C Licence and at least 1000 jumps you are eligible to apply for your D Licence. You need at least a D Licence and ten hours free fall to become an Accelerated Free Fall (AFF) Instructor.

In order to obtain your FF2, you first need your FF1, and be able to demonstrate all of the FF1 techniques in a head down (head first) body position. These include controlled fall rate, flying and turning relative to others. In order to coach people leaning to freefly you need at least your FF2.

Skysurfing is a type of skydiving in which the skydiver wears a board (resembling a snowboard) attached to his or her feet and performs surfing-style aerobatics during freefall requiring distinct skill and significant practice. The simplest skysurfing technique is to stand upright on the board during freefall and tilt the nose down to generate forward movement.

Even this basic technique is a balancing act which experienced skydivers find tricky. The extra drag of the board tends to upset the balance and make the skydiver flip upside down. Demonstrating basic control and manoeuvrability of the board during exit and freefall is required to achieve SS1. More advanced aerobatics such as loops, rolls and helicopter spins are more difficult still and covered by SS2.

Training towards CT3 & CT4 will help improve your canopy skills and gain the technical knowledge required to begin training for high-performance landings. Specific techniques for each manoeuvre and their applications, are to be taught by a properly qualified instructor/canopy training coach. 

As you gain more proficiency in canopy training, you will be able to move on to smaller and faster canopies in line with the canopy sizing chart, Form 330iii.  You will find the requirements for CT3 & CT4, in Section 2 of the Operations Manual. 

Skydiving is a sport rich with ever-evolving disciplines, and high-performance canopy flight is one of those! Commonly referred to as Canopy Piloting/CP or swooping, this discipline is all about increasing the downward speed of the canopy during the final stages of the
canopy flight, to give a much faster ground speed on landing. This can result in an extended period of fast level flight, just off ground level, before a soft touchdown. Much like birds can be seen doing, hence the nickname swooping.

You must hold CT4 and British Skydiving D Licence (1000 descents) and have a recommendation from a Chief Instructor or canopy piloting coach before being allowed to take part in British Skydiving canopy piloting competitions. 

Download CT3 & CT4 Manual

Wingsuits, when flown correctly, greatly reduce your vertical speed in exchange for horizontal speed.  To get started, you need 500 jumps or at least 200 jumps within the last 18 months. Once you can demonstrate you’ve mastered basic belly to earth techniques – those covered in FS1 – you can be introduced to wingsuiting by a coach.

The WS1 qualification covers the skills needed to safely exit, fly and deploy in a wingsuit, as well as understanding the extra flight planning that is needed due to the horizontal distance that will be covered. After WS1 you can learn the skills needed to jump with other wingsuiters, including diving down to a target, increasing and decreasing forward speed, sideways movement and recovery from instability. WS2 is the proof that you have accomplished these skills to a level where you may safely plan wingsuit jumps with others. 

Download Wing Suit Manual