25 jumps to your license: the complete AFF roadmap from the first course day to your first solo — with level stages, duration, cost and medical explained plainly.
The honest answer to "how do I become a skydiver myself?": you need around 25 jumps and a passed theory exam to earn your license. The standard route is called AFF — Accelerated Free Fall. The name says it all: unlike in the old days, from your very first jump you exit from full altitude in real freefall, accompanied by instructors flying beside you. That way you learn faster and more independently than with any other method.
The tandem jump was the bucket-list experience — AFF is the moment the guest becomes a jumper. In Germany this runs through the DFV under a fixed training and examination framework, in the US through the USPA's Integrated Student Program. Both are competency-based ladders: you climb level by level until you can do everything alone. Welcome to the other side of the aircraft door.
Starting AFF training needs more than a tandem, but nothing exotic: A medical certificate of jump fitness (not needed for tandem, mandatory for training). Base fitness — no special strength work, but hip and shoulder mobility for the arch helps. Time: around 1.5 days of ground school plus jump days. Budget for the course and jumps (operator- and country-dependent). * Optional beforehand: a few minutes in the wind tunnel to pre-learn the body position.
### 1. The ground course Everything starts on the ground: in Germany around 1.5 days of theory and practice simulation. Here you learn body position, altitude awareness, the procedure and the safety-critical actions before you ever jump. This part is mandatory and can't be shortcut — the safety procedures must be automatic before you fall back on them in the air under stress.
### 2. The AFF levels with instructors Your first jump goes straight from around 4,000 metres into freefall. In the early levels (in Germany levels I to III) two instructors fly beside you and hold you; from level IV to VII only one accompanies you, because you increasingly fly on your own. Each level has clear learning goals — stability, turns, altitude checks, deployment — that you must meet to progress.
### 3. Supervised solo jumps After the AFF levels come supervised solo jumps in which you consolidate your skills and work through the required tasks. In the US the Integrated Student Program structures this phase through categories A to H. You accumulate jumps and freefall time until you meet the license requirements.
### 4. The license exam At the end stands the license: in Germany the parachute pilot certificate after at least 25 jumps plus a theory exam covering seven subject areas. In the US the A-license likewise requires at least 25 freefall jumps and at least 19 minutes of accumulated freefall time plus a proficiency card. After that you may jump independently.
AFF training is the certified path to becoming a solo jumper — and it's there, not on a website, that you learn every safety-critical action. This page explains the roadmap and motivates you, but doesn't replace a dropzone. In Germany training is regulated by the DFV, in the US by the USPA; stick exclusively to licensed operators and trained instructors. Jump instructors themselves need at least 500 freefall jumps — you're in experienced hands.
Invest a few minutes in the wind tunnel before your first AFF jump. There you learn the arch and basic stability safely and with instant coach feedback — time that pays off double in the air, because your head is then free for altitude awareness and procedures instead of body position. Many schools explicitly recommend tunnel time as preparation. And if you're unsure whether to do AFF or a tandem first: in the US a tandem even counts as the first of your 25 jumps — so it's never wasted.
### What is AFF (Accelerated Free Fall)? AFF is the modern standard method of skydiving training. After a roughly 1.5-day ground course, from the very first time you exit from full altitude in real freefall, accompanied by instructors flying beside you. The name "accelerated free fall" stands for faster, more independent learning compared to older methods.
### How many jumps do I need for the license? For the license you need at least 25 jumps. In Germany a theory exam covering seven subject areas is added; in the US the A-license additionally requires at least 19 minutes of accumulated freefall time plus a proficiency card. The AFF levels and supervised solo jumps take you there on a plan.
### How long does AFF training take? The ground course takes around 1.5 days in Germany. How long you need to reach the license depends mainly on the weather, your availability and your learning pace — the bare 25 jumps can be done in a few intensive weeks in good weather, but realistically often stretch over a season.
### Should I do a tandem first or go straight to AFF? Both are possible. A tandem takes the edge off the first fear, gives you a feel for freefall and altitude — and in the US even counts as the first of your 25 jumps. If you're confident you can also start straight into the AFF course. For training you then need a medical certificate, for a tandem you don't.
Altitude awareness and the pull routine