Frequently Asked Questions

We are located at Skydive City drop zone located in Zephyrhills, Florida. Our address is 4241 Sky Dive Lane Zephyrhills, FL 33542

• Must have USPA membership
• Hold a USPA Coach Rating
• Hold a USPA D-license.
• Have a current FAA class 3 medical
• Prerequisites on the USPA Tandem proficiency Card should be signed off

Yes. You need a UPT rating to jump a Sigma and/or Vector tandem system, a Strong tandem rating to jump a Strong tandem rig and a rating from JumpShack to jump a Racer system. USPA group member dropzones require all tandem instructors to hold the USPA Tandem Instructor rating in addition to the factory rating. Please go to the pages for each rating for more detailed information.

Yes. You can get cross-trained to another tandem system after you have at least 25 jumps on one system. The manufacturer must approve the rating you have. Crosstraining is a shorter process to get the rating as fewer examination jumps are required. If you need two ratings right away, it requires two full tandem rating courses for each rating.

The tandem rating course will take 2 to 3 days (weather permitting). The course consists of one day of classroom with lots of practical training and correction of the written exams.

There are 5 jumps in the course. One solo jump with the rig, one where you are the passenger and three evaluation jumps where you are the tandem instructor.

Earning the UPT Sigma Tandem rating is a 3 step process.

1. The UPT Tandem course with 5 course jumps under the supervision of a UPT Examiner.
2. 5 Tandem jumps with an experienced jumper. We offer the option of making the phase 2 jumps with Skydive Ratings staff for continuous education. We have developed a special program to further build your confidence and skill as a tandem instructor. This program is optional.
3. The probationary period, where you can take actual passengers, but are on probation until you have a total of 25 tandem jumps.

PREREQUISITES:

• 18 years of age
• At least 500 ram-air jumps
• At least 100 jumps in the last 12 months
• 3 years in the sport
• USPA D-license or foreign equivalent
• Hold an instructional rating
• Hold an FAA class 3 medical certificate or foreign equivalent

PREPARATION:

The Sigma Manual is the course book. It is recommended to print the manual from the United Parachute Technologies website prior to the course or bring your laptop or tablet. We want you to make the Sigma Tandem exam at home prior to the course. Just let us know that you need the test questions and we will send you the documents and a link to the manuals. Please write the answers on a sheet of paper and bring them to the course. Any questions you don’t know the answers to can be left open. If you need a Vector Tandem rating as well let us know. In that case, you have to make the Vector exam in addition.

We will be happy to send you the exam questions.

Yes. Please bring copies of:

• USPA membership card with D-license number and Coach or Instructor rating endorsement
• Copy of a current FAA class 3 medical certificate
• logbooks showing 500 jumps and 3 years in the sport

For the course jumps you will need:

• Baggy jumpsuit
• A full-face or open-face helmet, with NO camera mounts
• If you own one please bring your audible

Yes. To qualify for cross-training you must:

• Hold a current Tandem rating from another approved manufacturer
• Show documentation of at least 25 jumps on this system (UPT needs copies of logbook entries)
• Meet all the requirements of the initial UPT tandem course (see above)

The course book is the Sigma Tandem manual from UPT. It is available on UPT’s website. To pass the course you must make the Sigma Tandem written exam. We want you to make the tests at home, write the answers on a sheet of paper and bring them to the course.

You need to bring copies of:

• Current tandem rating
• Logbook entries with 25 tandem jumps
• FAA class 3 medical certificate
• USPA membership card with D-license number and Instructional rating endorsement

The course consists of some classroom time and a minimum of 2 evaluation jumps. The Vector and Sigma tandem written exams will be corrected during the course before the jumps begin.

To participate in a USPA AFF rating course you must meet the following criteria:

• Be 18 years old
• USPA membership
• USPA C-license. Starting January 1, 2013, USPA only accepts USPA Licenses. We can help you with the USPA License application.
• Be a USPA coach or Instructor from another discipline (IAD, S.L. or USPA Tandem)
• If you hold the Coach rating for less than 12 months you need to have at least 500 jumps.
• Documentation of 6 hours of accumulated free fall time
• Have the pre-course activities in your USPA online profile signed off

We start our AFF courses with AFF pre-course training. Skydive Ratings has developed a pre-course program which has been proven since 1993, to prepare candidates to be successful in the AFF rating course. During the AFF pre-course, you will receive coaching in the specific AFF in-air skills:

• flying hard exits,
• slot flying with a moving student
• reading the student’s body position
• properly presenting hand signals,
• stopping spins,
• rolling over an inverted student
• assisting with deployment including pulling for the student.

The pre-course will prepare you 100% for the evaluation jumps. After each jump, you will receive a recommendation from your evaluator.

After the first day of the pre-course, there is a full day of class. Once the class is completed we can start with evaluations. However, we allow candidates to continue to make practice jumps if they are not ready for the “hot jumps” yet. On average an AFF rating course takes 4-5 days to complete depending on the size of the group and weather conditions.

To pass the course you need to score “satisfactory” on:

• Category C main side evaluation jump
• Category C reserve side evaluation jump
• Category D evaluation jump
• Category C and D ground preparation
• score 80 % on the IRM written exam

To score “satisfactory” on an evaluation jump you have to score 75% satisfactory on the AFF in air evaluation form. You can find the evaluation forms in the USPA website, in the downloads section. The scoring will be explained to you during the AFF pre-course and you will know exactly what we are looking for.

Unfortunately, USPA has changed its rule and it is not possible anymore to challenge a course. If you hold a foreign AFF Instructor rating, you will have to take and pass the full course, minus the First Jump Course section.

Yes. If you like to know where you stand before signing up for a course come see us and make a practice jump with us. Besides the cost of the jump tickets, there is no charge for this service.

You may view all costs for the AFF Rating Course by viewing the AFF Instructor Rating page.

To participate in a USPA Static-line Instructor course you must meet the following criteria:

• Be 18 years old
• USPA membership
• Hold a USPA C-license. USPA requires all course candidates to hold a USPA license. We can help with the USPA license application if needed.
• Hold or have held any USPA instructional rating (Coach or higher.)
• Have the pre-course activities signed on your USPA online profile

You need to have a current SIM and IRM for the course. (current = not older than 24 months) These can be ordered from USPA.

You must have a USPA membership. As well as a USPA B-license. Since January 1 2013 USPA requires all candidates to hold a USPA License. We can help you with the USPA license application if needed. There is a minimum of 100 jumps requirement.