Parachute-related questions are among the most pressing we get from all prospective jumpers.

By law (FAA regulations), all intentional parachute jumps must be made with a single harness/dual parachute system, with both a main canopy and a reserve canopy. In other words, you always fall with a spare canopy in case the first one fails to open properly.

It is also important to note that the technology used in today’s sport parachuting equipment is light-years ahead of the old military surplus gear used in the 1960s and ’70s. We use the best gear available: UPT (United Parachute Technologies) Micro Sigma gear. UPT makes both sport and military-grade skydiving gear.

The canopies used are drastically different from the classic “airborne” round parachutes. The materials are stronger, lighter and last longer. Modern packing procedures are also simpler and the deployment sequence is much more refined. All of these factors make for much smoother and more reliable openings.

Reserve canopies are even more carefully designed and packed. The reserve parachute must be inspected and repacked every 180 days by an FAA-rated parachute rigger, even if it has not been used.

There are also additional safety features employed to ensure canopy deployment, such as automatic activation devices (AAD) and reserve static lines (RSL), which exponentially increase the level of safety. Should you and your instructor not deploy the parachute for any reason, the AAD will “fire” it for you.