What Are The Different Types Of Skydiving

Table of Contents

• Tandem Skydiving: The Ultimate First Jump Experience
• Accelerated Freefall (AFF) Skydiving: Learning to Skydive Solo
• Formation Skydiving: Teamwork in the Sky
• Vertical Formation Skydiving (VFS): High-Speed Team Flying
• Freeflying: Three-Dimensional Flight in the Sky
• Canopy Piloting: Precision Under Parachutes
• Wingsuit Flying: Gliding Like a Bird
• Competitive Skydiving
• Ready to Experience Skydiving for Yourself?

Key Takeaways

Skydiving encompasses a wide range of disciplines. Beginner-friendly tandem jumps and structured training programs, like Accelerated Freefall (AFF), expand into advanced forms that each focus on unique skills, body control, equipment, and levels of experience. From formation skydiving, where jumpers create shapes together, and freeflying with vertical head-up and head-down positions, to wingsuit flying and high-speed canopy piloting, every discipline is unique.

At Skydive Key West, we believe skydiving is more than a once-in-a-lifetime thrill – it’s a gateway into a whole world of aerial adventure, skill, and community. Whether you’re picturing stepping out of a plane above the stunning turquoise waters of the Florida Keys or imagining yourself flying in formation with a team, there are different types of skydiving that appeal to beginners and seasoned jumpers alike. From your first tandem jump to advanced disciplines, skydiving offers a spectrum of experiences that go far beyond a single jump.

Understanding the skydiving landscape helps you appreciate how rich and dynamic this sport and its roots truly is. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the most popular types of skydiving out there and take a closer look at how competitive skydiving works for those who want to take their skills and passion to the next level.

Tandem Skydiving: The Ultimate First Jump Experience

What’s the difference between tandem skydiving and skydiving? A lot of people use the word “skydiving” as if it always means the same thing, but there’s a big difference between a tandem skydive and solo skydiving. At its core, the difference comes down to experience, responsibility, and independence.

During a tandem skydive, you are securely attached to a certified tandem skydiving instructor, sharing both harness and parachute system. After a scenic plane ride to altitude, you leap with your instructor into open sky, freefall at around 120 mph, and then glide peacefully under canopy. This is a way for first time jumpers to experience skydiving without the need for specialized licenses or extensive solo training beyond the pre-jump briefing.

At Skydive Key West, tandem skydiving is our specialty. Jumpers enjoy breathtaking views of turquoise waters, island landscapes, and endless horizons during both freefall and the parachute ride down. It’s pure adventure wrapped with a safety-first approach and unforgettable scenery.

Accelerated Freefall (AFF) Skydiving: Learning to Skydive Solo

Accelerated freefall, commonly known as AFF, is the main training program for people who want to become licensed skydivers. Instead of being attached to an instructor like in tandem skydiving, students jump totally solo while instructors fly beside them during the early stages to help guide them along the way.

AFF teaches essential skydiving skills, including stable body position, altitude awareness, emergency procedures, and parachute control. Each training level builds confidence and technique until students can responsibly skydive independently.

Once licensed, skydivers are free to explore the many advanced skydiving disciplines and develop their own flying style.

Formation Skydiving: Teamwork in the Sky

Formation skydiving – sometimes called belly flying or relative work – is one of the most popular skydiving disciplines among licensed jumpers. In this style, skydivers fly belly-to-earth and work together to create shapes, patterns, and sequences during freefall. These formations can range from simple two-person grips to massive, big-way designs that fill the sky with impressive coordinated motion.

This discipline focuses heavily on body control, smooth movement, and precise timing, and strong teamwork. Every flyer must move efficiently to help the group build formations quickly and safely. Formation skydiving is often the first group-flying discipline new licensed jumpers explore because it builds excellent foundational skills while creating a strong sense of community in the air.

Vertical Formation Skydiving (VFS): High-Speed Team Flying

Vertical formation skydiving, commonly known as VFS, takes the teamwork of formation skydiving and turns it vertically. Instead of flying belly-to-earth, skydivers fly in head-down or head-up positions while building formations in freefall.

Because vertical positions create much faster fall speeds, VFS is a more advanced discipline that requires strong body awareness, precise control, and excellent communication between team members. Jumpers must approach formations smoothly, maintain stability at high speeds, and transition quickly between shapes – all while falling towards the earth at dramatically increased velocities.

VFS combines the technical precision of formation skydiving with the athletic intensity of freeflying.

Freeflying: Three-Dimensional Flight in the Sky

Freeflying expands skydiving beyond the traditional belly-to-earth position and introduces full three-dimensional movement through the sky. In this discipline, jumpers fly in vertical orientations such as head-up and head-down, along with dynamic transitions, spins, and tracking movements.

Freeflying creates much faster fall rates and requires exceptional body awareness and control. Skydivers learn to maneuver in all directions, adjust speed, and fly precisely alongside others. Many describe freeflying as closer to true flight than falling, offering unmatched freedom and creativity in the air.

Canopy Piloting: Precision Under Parachutes

While freefall often gets the spotlight, canopy piloting focuses on mastering flight after the parachute opens. In this discipline, there are three different types of parachuting:

• Swooping

In swooping, experienced skydivers use high-performance canopies to perform fast approaches, sharp turns, and long swooping landings close to the ground or a body of water. Swooping demands precise control, deep knowledge of wind conditions, and expert timing. Skydivers fine-tune speed and altitude to achieve smooth, powerful landings while maintaining safety as best as they can. 

• Canopy Relative Work (CRW)

CRW, pronounced “crew”, is a discipline where multiple canopy pilots fly their parachutes together in close proximity to create beautiful formations in the sky. CRW emphasizes smooth control, spatial awareness, and trust between teammates. Pilots must manage speed differences between canopies, communicate clearly, and maintain precise positioning to avoid entanglements. It’s one of the most technical canopy disciplines and showcases how versatile parachutes can be as controllable flying machines.

• Accuracy Landing

Accuracy landing is all about control and consistency rather than speed. Skydivers aim to land as close as possible to a designated target on the ground. Competitors and recreational pilots alike practice fine adjustments to their approach, factoring in wind direction, speed, and canopy glide to touch down precisely on the mark.

Wingsuit Flying: Gliding Like a Bird

Wingsuit flying is one of the most visually stunning disciplines. Skydivers wear specialized suits, sometimes called squirrel suits, with fabric wings between the arms and legs. This extra fabric dramatically increases surface area, thus creating lift.

Instead of dropping straight down, wingsuit pilots glide in a forward trajectory through the sky, covering long horizontal distances before deploying their parachutes. Flights can last significantly longer than traditional freefall and offer a sensation that closely resembles flying like a bird!

Wingsuit flying requires extensive experience, specialized training, and a strong understanding of aerodynamics.

Competitive Skydiving

Competitive skydiving turns flight into performance – where precision, speed, teamwork, and creativity are not just personal achievements but measurable results judged at national and international levels. In America, the United States Parachute Association (USPA) oversees the country’s competitive skydiving calendar, records program, and pathways to world-class events. 

Each year, the USPA hosts the National Skydiving Championships, one of the most prestigious events in the sport. These championships bring together experienced skydivers from around the country to compete in a range of disciplines and crown national champions. The event also serves as a selection mechanism for athletes who represent the United States in international competitions organized under the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) – the global governing body for air sports.

Competitors are typically grouped by skill level, such as intermediate, advanced, and open classes, which ensures a fair playing field and encourages progression within the sport. This makes it possible for skydivers with a range of experience levels – not just elite professionals – to participate, learn and grow.

Here are the main competitive skydiving disciplines and how they are judged:

• Formation Skydiving

Teams of four or eight skydivers build predetermined or randomly assigned formations in freefall with a set time limit. Each correctly completed formation earns a point. Judges review video footage from an in-air videographer to verify grips, timing, and clean execution. The team with the highest total points across multiple rounds wins.

• Vertical Formation Skydiving

Similar to formation skydiving, but performed in vertical positions. Teams race to complete sequences of formations, with points awarded for each properly built shape.

• Canopy Formation

Judges score based on the number of completed formations within a working time window. Smooth transitions, controlled flight, and clean docking are essential for high scores.

• Swooping

Pilots earn points across different tasks such as fastest run, longest distance, and precision gate entry. Combined scores determine final rankings.

• Accuracy Landing

Distances from the center are measured precisely, and the competitor with the smallest total deviation across rounds wins!

• Speed Skydiving

Competitors attempt to reach the fastest possible freefall speed through a defined vertical window, typically measured using electronic instruments. The highest recorded average speed wins.

• Wingsuit Flying

Pilots are scored using GPS data that measures performance in three main areas: longest horizontal distance, fastest horizontal speed, and slowest descent rate.

• Artistic Events

These events combine choreography, difficulty, and execution. Athletes perform aerial routines in freefall, and judges score based on technical difficulty, precision, flow, and artistic presentation – similar to judged gymnastics or figure skating in the sky.

Ready to Experience Skydiving for Yourself?

You don’t need years of training or competition experience to feel the magic of freefall – it all starts with one unforgettable tandem jump. At Skydive Key West, our expert instructors handle everything while you soak in the thrill of flying above the crystal-clear waters of the Florida Keys.

Whether skydiving is a bucket-list dream or the beginning of a lifelong adventure, your journey starts here. Book your tandem skydive today. Blue skies!