Excerpts from June edition/product review by Kevin Gibson
The title, JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy sounds like something from a "Far Side" cartoon. However, New York Safety & Traning Advisor Tom Buchanan breaks the sport into manageable bits for readers ranging from the actively curious to those who have already jumped a few times.
The 228-page paperback describes the sport in 2003 for the uninitated. Buchanan's broad experience as an active skydiving instructor, rigger and pilot gives this book a solid technical base. But he never mires the reader in endless minutia or tries to impress potential skydivers with how much he knows. Too much detail has plagued many beginner skydiving books published int he past, especially about equipment and techniques changing so quickly as to make them obsolete beofre printing. JUMP! won't have that problem for a long time.
Rather than providing a string of information from start to finish, this book more resembles a website in structure. Buchanan organizes his information so any chapter provides a broad overview of the sport while focusing on one aspect. In order, he covers training methods and progression, regulations and certifications, psychology, equipment, aircraft, risk, body flight, drop zone life and choosing a school. For readers really pressed for time, an FAQ section in the back gives some brief answers and page numbers for more information...
...every drop zone owner should read this book to see what questions students might ask as a result of reading it. Buchanan provides some good ones: Who packs the student parachutes? What experience and ratings do your pilots have? How many students are trained at a time? How old is your student equipment? Does it have an AAD and RSL? Will I get an altimeter? Are you a USPA Group Member? Are all your instructors USPA rated? ...
Also Buchanan gives potential customers solid tips on what they should expect when visiting, giving...in general, his empathy for the studnet reader makes a good review for any skydiving instructor or drop zone operator. Marvelously, Buchanan has managed to remember and convey his own mindset in 1979 when he made his first jump.
Some DZs will want to carry this book in their equipment cases, while others won't want their students to discover it. JUMP!...is destined to affect how people shop for skydiving schools and what they'll expect when they choose one. Buchanan says he's already working on a second edition. (Parachutist (official publication of the U.S. Parachute Assoc.) 20030216)
Excerpts from article by Susan Tuz
Whether he's jumping 3,200 feet from Angel Falls in Venezuela or taking his 65-year old mother on a tandem jump near New Paltz, N.Y., Tom Buchanan loves to take to the sky.
Buchanan has translated that love of skydiving adventure into a book, JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun & Easy...this book will give you the do's and don'ts of the sport. It was written with the novice in mind....
Today, at 44, Buchanan has made more than 4,500 skydives and logged more than 65 hours of freefall time. He holds instructors rating through the United States Parachute Association in accelerated freefall, static line, instructor-assisted deployment and tandem training...
His jumps also include jumping from the wing of a bi-plane and jumping form the Family Channel blimp...
Buchanan estimates that there are about 34,000 active skydivers in the United States, with some 300,000 people making their first skydive every year in this country.
Many more consider the sport but never try it, and Buchanan hopes to reach them with his book, JUMP! (The Ridgefield News-Times )
Grade: 4 out of 5
Skydiving how-to books seem to keep betting better...Here's a new book for somebody who hasn't even thrown a rig on yet, but is considering it.
If you could take a three-dimensional snapshot of the sport's current state and put it between two covers, you'd have Tom Buchanan's JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun & Easy...pleased with the content of Buchanan's book.
Buchanan, an instructor, rigger, and pilot, has written an elaborate yet basic introduction to skydiving as it exists today. He explains training methods, aircraft equipment, skydiving disciplines etc. in easy-to-read layman's terms.
For example, in addition to discussing the tried-and-true methods of learning how to skydive, such as static line, tandem and advanced freefall (AFF), Buchanan goes into detail about the recent advancements in ground-training methods available to the beginning skydiver, such as wind tunnels and virtual canopy flight simulators.
Buchanan tells the prospective student how to size up a skydiving training facility. He also includes a cross-referenced list of frequently asked questions, which direct the reader to the appropriate chapter of the book.
What I like most about JUMP! is how Buchanan spends plenty of time on topics that seem to get overlooked in other skydiving guidebooks. The unforeseen physical, psychological and social effects that beginners may encounter, like sinus problems, sensory overload and the beer rules, get covered in a friendly, matter-of-fact style.
In short, it's a fine little primer, and would be the perfect book to loan or give to a whuffo who has expressed interest in the sport. Drop zones might want to keep a copy around. (Skydiving Magazine )
Writing for those who seek real skydiving insights, a skydiving author (Tom Buchanan) provides a complete overview of the sport, discussing basics, thrills, risks, jump training, safety training, the cost, the time, where to go, what to do, questions to ask, and much more. This book is written for prospective students who have never made a jump, and it will also appeal to those who have tried tandem skydiving and want to know more about the excitement of advanced training. Jump! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy is a must read for beginners, and great for gift giving by expert skydivers. (DropZone.com )
BEFORE YOU EVEN THINK OF PULLING THE RIPCORD READ THIS BOOK!
Skydiving can be the thrill of a lifetime, but is "taking the plunge" right for you? Before you invest your hard earned dollars in pricey equipment and expensive lessons, read this book and find out. You’ll get an expert, frank overview of the sport covering everything you need to know BEFORE you go ahead and enroll in a skydiving class: the thrills, risks, basics, jump training, safety training, the cost, the time, where to go, what to do, questions to ask, and much more.
An instructor who has made more than 4500 jumps covers it all:
* What to expect in your first jump
* Explains types of skydiving:
tandem, Accelerated Freefall, static line, and options such as night jumping, formation skydiving, BASE jumping, and skysurfing
* Provides a checklist of questions for comparing skydiving centers
* Tells you how to select a school or training program
* Describes simulated and computer-based options
* Answers Frequently Asked Questions
