LEARN HOW TO SKYDIVE
Information
Created in 1985, the Ecole de Parachutisme de Château d'Oex
(EPCO) was the third professional school in Switzerland. It is recognized
by Swiss Skydive and is also a "foreign group member" of the United
States Parachute Association (USPA).
Since 1995, EPCO teaches at the "Aérodrome
de la Gruyère" in Epagny. We also propose training
courses abroad several times a year (see our Jump
Agenda)
EPCO teaches skydiving following the most modern methods
and with top quality and leading edge equipment.
AFF (Accelerated FreeFall)
Training Course
In this course, you can learn how to skydive alone through a series
of seven jumps. At the end of the training, you will know how to:
exit the plane, freefall in a stable position for one minute, perform
a number of basic figures, open the parachute at the correct altitude,
pilot the parachute, land and fold the parachute.
The course begins with two sessions of theory, then
on to the plane. For the first three jumps you are accompanied by
two instructors. Begining from the first jump you have your own
parachute (contrary to tandem) and are
held during freefall by the instructors. You are taught how to open
the parachute and are coached through the landing by radio assistance.
As the course leads you progressively towards freefall
alone, in the second jump you are only held by one instructor. For
the third jump, both instructors release you and they simply remain by your side.
For the remaining four jumps, you are accompanied
by only one instructor and begin to discover the various movements
(barrel rolls, back loops, front loops, etc…) that freefall allows.
Based on the good results obtain previous years, all our AFF
camp would include 15' in a wind tunnel.
And then?
At the end of the AFF training course, you have acquired the basic
knowledge allowing you to jump alone safely. After that, you work
on your technique individually towards completing the various examinations
required by Swiss Skydive. When all the tests
are passed, you can go for your license examination. This examination
includes a practical and a theoretical part. For the theoretical
part, you can register for free on the Swiss Skydive website to train.
Schedule of AFF Courses 2024
All of our AFF courses are organized in a week's training
or over long week ends.
| No |
Dates |
Location |
Comments |
Theoretical course |
|
1 |
Mar. 29th-Apr. 1st |
Piscina (I) |
Easter Course |
Mar 26-27 |
19h00-23h00 |
FULL! |
| 2 |
May 9th-12th |
Gruyères |
Ascension Course |
May 7-8 |
19h00-23h00 |
|
| 3 |
May 18th-20th |
Piscina (I) |
Pentecost Course |
May 19-20 |
19h00-23h00 |
|
| WE 1 |
June 21th-23th |
Gruyères |
WE Course 1 |
June 19-20 |
19h00-23h00 |
|
| WE 2 |
July 5th-7th |
Gruyères |
WE Course 2 |
Jul 3-4 |
19h00-23h00 |
|
| 4 |
July 15th-21th |
Gruyères |
Summer course |
Jul 14th |
9h00-18h00 |
|
| WE 3 |
Aug. 2nd-4th |
Gruyères |
WE Course 3 |
Jul 30-31 |
19h00-23h00 |
|
| WE 4 |
Aug. 16th-18th |
Gruyères |
WE Course 4 |
Aug 14-15 |
19h00-23h00 |
|
Price
AFF Course (seven jumps) : 2,900.- CHF
Notes :
- For courses in Italy/portugal, travel, accommodation and subsistence are not included in the price!
- For the WE courses, depending of the number of participant, theoretical course could be "grouped" together.
Contact us for more informations ...
Conditions of participation
- The minimum age to start an AFF course is 15 years old.
- The maximum age is 55. For candidates over 55, please contact the secretariat to see if a "waiver" can be granted.
- The candidate must be in good health. The following are mainly excluded: injuries (present or recent) to joints, inner ear problems, balance problems, etc. If in doubt, call the secretariat.
Registration
To sign up now, download our registration form in PDF (in French), fill it and mail it back to us: :
AFF Training Course (168 K)
Testimonials
"Gruyère is the best place to complete the AFF course
in Suisse Romande. The site is ideally located, offering unique
scenery. Why not do things all the way? At EPCO you jump at 4000
meters (and not 2500 as it can be the case elsewhere). You land
at a safe drop zone, away from highways and high-tension lines:
ideal for beginners. The quality of the course is perfect, with
top-level instructors and good spirits! Same goes for the equipment
and supervision. Many thanks for the moist grand finale!"
- Rea Kalavasis, AFF Summer 2001
"EPCO is the place to go if you have decided
to take the plunge - learn how to skydive that is! The instructors
are friendly, eager to share their experience, knowledgeable and
saftey conscious. The location is amazing, tucked into the swiss
alps with views of mountains, lakes and forests. And the course
can be completed at your own comfort level: fast, slow or somewhere
in between. I guess my favorite part about EPCO, is the family atmosphere
that you find on the DZ each weekend - people are welcoming and
really just enjoying the blue skies."
- Amy Maines, AFF Summer 2001
