Skydive TAUPO

Skydive TAUPO

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High altitude jumps with a life jacket on and strict jump seat order... that's SKYDIVE TAUPO!

Airport elevation: 1 600 ft
Aircraft: PAC 750 XL
Jumpticket price 12 000 ft - 15 000 ft: 45 NZD
High altitude training: 30 NZD
NZPIA Temporary parachutist certificate:  75 NZD

First of all you have to go through little bit of paper work in order to be able to jump here! The drop zone is mostly tandem factory, but it also offers some slots for sport skydivers. Local staff is very helpful providing all important information about the airspace, landing area and rules for fun jumpers.

This dropzone showed up to be the first place that doesn't accept my European skydiver's license, but thanks to USPA membership I am allowed to apply for the NZPIA Temporary parachutist certificate. You have to fill in easy online registration, pay 75 NZD and it is done.

This biggest suprprises here were several special safety requirements. For example due to some weight & balance issue in the past, every skydiver has to be weight before jump and every load has its jump seat order. When the airplane climbes above 1 000 ft everybody can adjust according to the exit order. Due to another incident, fatal landing in the lake on a windy day, everybody has to wear a life jacktet on every single jump.

The drop zone elevation is 1 600 ft above the mean sea level and the first pass is usually 12 000 ft above the ground level. You can get here without any special requirements. If you want to go higher than that, you must be breathing an external oxygen.

The higher altitude pass is 15 000 ft and if you are fit you won't be struggling from hypoxia yet, even without the extra oxygen, but the rules are the rules! And as you can see, there are many rules around here!

Once you get through the inicial registration, exit weight check, put on a life jacket under your parachute and pass the high altitude test, you are ready to jump as much as you want!



Unfortunatelly you can't find many sport skydivers here, because everybody around here is either tandem master, camera flyer or an AFF student!
Anyway very fun experience and beautiful view, EXTREME 66 recommends!

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