At Skydive Arizona, we use tandem equipment built with several layers, including backup systems. FAA regulations require every tandem rig to have a main parachute, a separate reserve parachute, harnesses for you and your instructor, and an automatic activation device that can help deploy the reserve under specific conditions. Throughout your jump, our instructors use these components alongside the drogue and other deployment systems, so the tandem system does not rely on a single piece of equipment.
In this guide, we will walk you through what you and your instructor are wearing, what happens after you leave the aircraft, and how the equipment works alongside your instructor’s training and experience.
Before the Jump: The Harness and Container System
We call the complete skydiving system a “rig.” A tandem rig comprises two parachutes – a main parachute and a reserve parachute – plus two backup devices which will operate your parachutes in the highly unlikely event manual operation isn’t possible. It is much more than a backpack containing a parachute.
For your tandem skydive, your instructor wears the tandem rig and you wear a separate passenger harness. We connect your harness to your instructor’s system at four attachment points so you function as one tandem pair during exit, freefall, deployment, and canopy flight.
United Parachute Technologies builds sport and tandem harness-and-container systems, including the Sigma II tandem system we use for our tandem operations.
Step One: The Tandem Drogue Manages Freefall
Shortly after you and your instructor leave the aircraft, your instructor deploys a small ‘parachute’ behind you. This is called the ‘drogue’.
You and your instructor are heavier than a solo skydiver, so you move through the air differently. The drogue creates extra drag to help manage your speed, reducing the load on the equipment and making it possible for an external camera flyer to fall with you and capture your experience in videos and photos.
It has two important jobs:
- It helps manage speed during tandem freefall.
- It becomes part of the main parachute deployment sequence.
When it is time to deploy the main parachute, your instructor activates the release system. The drogue then pulls the main parachute deployment bag from the container.
All of this happens behind your back. You can focus on the experience of freefall while your instructor manages the equipment and timing of your jump.
Step Two: How Your Instructor Tracks Altitude
While you’re falling and enjoying your experience, your instructor continuously tracks your altitude — how high above the ground you are.
We use visual altimeters worn on the wrist or hand to track altitude. These can have traditional analog faces or electronic displays. Audible altimeters inside the helmet provide alerts for your instructor at programmed altitudes.
Alti-2 Technologies manufactures analog and digital altimeters for sport and tactical parachuting. Modern electronic models can provide altitude information, programmable warnings, and recorded jump data.
You may not notice this monitoring at all. You will be taking in the view and the sensation of freefall while your instructor monitors altitude and manages the equipment.
Step Three: The Main Parachute Deploys
At the planned deployment altitude, your instructor releases the drogue so it can begin extracting the main parachute.
The main canopy is packed inside a deployment bag. As the drogue pulls the bag from the container, the suspension lines extend. Once the lines reach full length, the canopy comes out of the bag and begins inflating.
A slider moves down the suspension lines during inflation. This helps control how quickly the canopy opens and reduces the forces placed on the jumpers and equipment.
The rectangular parachutes used in modern skydiving are commonly called ram-air canopies. Openings along the front edge allow the canopy to fill with air and take on a wing-like shape. This lets your instructor steer it, control its flight path, and guide you toward the landing area.
Performance Designs manufactures main and reserve parachutes for different types of skydiving, showing how canopy design is matched to the equipment, weight, and purpose of each jump.
Once the main canopy is open, your instructor performs a canopy check to confirm it is properly inflated, controllable, and suitable for landing.
Step Four: The Main Canopy Is Piloted to the Landing Area
Your instructor controls the main parachute using steering toggles connected to brake lines near the back of the canopy.
Pulling one toggle changes the canopy’s direction. Pulling both affects its speed and angle of descent. During the final stage of landing, your instructor performs a flare, applying both toggles to convert forward speed into lift and reduce the descent rate.
A flare is similar to the way an airplane raises its nose as it approaches the runway. It helps slow the descent as you and your instructor reach the ground.
You may be invited to help steer the parachute for part of the ride. Before landing, however, your instructor takes full control and tells you exactly how to position your body for landing.
The Reserve Parachute: A Separate Equipment Layer
Our tandem rigs contain two full-sized parachutes: the main parachute used for the planned descent and a separate reserve parachute.
We keep the reserve in its own compartment with its own deployment system.Your instructor checks the main canopy as soon as it opens. If it does not meet the conditions needed for the planned descent, your instructor follows a practiced procedure and deploys the reserve parachute. Our tandem instructors train regularly for this procedure so each step is familiar and clearly defined.
Reserve parachutes are packed by FAA-certificated master parachute riggers and are subject to federal packing and inspection requirements. They are designed, tested, and packed specifically for this role.
How the Equipment Supports Reserve Deployment
Our tandem equipment includes systems that open the reserve parachute when needed.
One system, called a Reserve Static Line (RSL), helps start the reserve deployment automatically when the main parachute is released. Another system, called a MARD (Main Assisted Reserve Deployment), uses the departing main parachute to pull the reserve parachute out.
Your instructor still controls the procedure. These features simply add another built-in layer of support to the tandem equipment.
The Automatic Activation Device: A Backup System
Inside our modern skydiving containers is an electronic device called an automatic activation device, or AAD.
The AAD monitors altitude and descent speed. If we are falling too fast, too low to the ground, the device will deploy the reserve parachute automatically.
It does this by cutting a small closing loop that holds the reserve compartment shut. Once that loop is cut, the reserve pilot chute launches and begins pulling the reserve canopy from the container.
CYPRES produces AAD models configured for different types of jumping, including models designed for tandem student equipment. The company has been involved in electronic AAD development for more than three decades, and we’re proud to feature Cypres AADs on all our tandem rigs.
During your jump, the AAD operates in the background. It adds an electronic reserve-activation layer based on specific altitude and descent-speed settings. It provides a backup in the unlikely event manual operation of the equipment is not possible.
Gear Inspection, Maintenance, and Rigging Matter Too
Skydiving technology is only useful when equipment is correctly inspected, packed, and maintained. We maintain our equipment according to manufacturer instructions and applicable regulations. Before every tandem jump, our team checks that everything is in order.
We complete equipment checks at more than one stage. We inspect and maintain rigs between jumps, our certificated riggers handle reserve parachutes, and our tandem instructors check their equipment before taking you into the aircraft.
Technology and Training Work Together
From the passenger harness and drogue to the main canopy, reserve parachute, altimeters, and AAD, each part of the tandem system has a specific purpose. Together, this equipment supports your instructor from aircraft exit through landing.
You do not need to understand every piece of equipment before making a tandem skydive. Our instructors are trained to understand and manage these systems for you. Knowing how the equipment is organized can make the experience feel less mysterious and show you how much care goes into every jump.
At Skydive Arizona, we combine instructor expertise, carefully maintained equipment, and specialized technology to support every stage of your tandem skydive.