Tandem skydiving or tandem parachuting refers to a type of skydiving where a student skydiver is connected to a harness attached to a tandem instructor. The instructor guides the student through the whole jump from exit through freefall, piloting the canopy, and landing. The student needs only minimal instruction before making a tandem jump with the instructor. As part of the Tandem Accelerated Free Fall (TAFF) program, this is one of three commonly used training methods for beginning skydivers; the others being Static Line (S/L) and Accelerated Free Fall (AFF)

AFF - Accelerated Freefall. This program will give you a true taste of modern sport skydiving. The parachute student will be doing a 40 - 50 second freefall (that's right!) on his/her very first jump. You will exit the aircraft at 10,000 - 14,000 feet along with two AFF Instructors who are there to assist you during freefall. The AFF Instructors maintain grips on you from the moment you all leave the aircraft together until opening, assisting as necessary to fall stable, perform practice ripcord pulls, monitor altitude, etc. You pull your own ripcord at about 4000 ft. The freefall program is a 9 stage program. Stages 1, 2, & 3 require either two freefall Instructors to accompany the student, unless some of these are being done as tandem jumps. These skydives concentrate on teaching basic safety skills such as altitude awareness, body position, stability during freefall and most importantly - a stable and successful ripcord pull. On stage 3 AFF, all being well (and only if all is well), the Instructors intend to release the student in freefall for the first time, to fly completely on your own. Stages 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8 require only one freefall Instructor and teach air skills such as turns, forward movement and linking with other people in freefall, back loops, dive exits from the plane, etc. Stage 9 is a clear and pull from about 3000 feet to allow the student to experience a lower exit height. Each freefall stage is designed to take one jump, and requires about 45 minutes of training plus any refresher training required.

Solo Static-Line. The Static-Line Deployment method is a Solo Freefall (SFF) method that has evolved over the last ~40 years from its military origins into a successful method for training sport parachutists. You get several hours of ground training and are then taken to an altitude of above 3500 feet for the jump. The jump itself consists of a simple "poised" exit usually from the strut of a single engine Cessna aircraft. As you fall away from the plane, the main canopy is deployed by a "static line" (S/L) attached to the aircraft. You will experience about two to three seconds of falling as the parachute opens. Subsequent S/L jumps require around half an hour or more of preparation, depending on how well you accomplished the previous jump. After 2 good S/L jumps, you will be trained to practice deploying your parachute yourself. You then do 3 more static-line jumps where you demonstrate this ability by practising the deployment yourself as you leave the plane (the S/L is still initiating the deployment). You are then cleared to do your first actual freefall. The first freefall is a "clear & pull", where you initiate the pull sequence immediately upon leaving the aircraft. Next is a 7 second delay jump, then 10 seconds, etc. Subsequent jumps go to progressively higher altitudes with longer delays. After completing the training table, and meeting certain other basic requirements (such as being cleared to pack a parachute for your own use), you receive a Certificate Class "A" and are cleared off student status.

SFF - IAD – Instructor-Assisted Deployment. The Instructor-Assisted Deployment method is a Solo Freefall (SFF) method. You get several hours of ground training and are then taken to an altitude of above 3500 feet for the jump. The jump itself consists of a simple "poised" exit usually from the strut of a single engine Cessna aircraft. As you leave the plane, the main canopy is deployed by your Instructor. You will experience about a couple of seconds of falling as the parachute opens. Subsequent IAD jumps require around half an hour or more of preparation, depending on how well you accomplished the previous jump. After 2 good IAD jumps, you will be trained to practice deploying the parachute yourself. You then do 3 more IAD jumps where you demonstrate this ability to deploy the parachute as you leave the plane (the instructor is still initiating the deployment). You are then cleared to do your first actual freefall. The first freefall is a "clear & pull", where you initiate the pull sequence immediately upon leaving the aircraft. Next is a 7 second delay jump, then 10 seconds, etc. Subsequent jumps go to progressively higher altitudes with longer delays. After completing the training table, and meeting certain other basic requirements (such as being cleared to pack a parachute for your own use), you receive a Certificate Class "A" and are cleared off student status.

Tunnel/AFF. A training program that fulfils the same aims of the Freefall Training Table using time in the wind tunnel initially to build confidence and basic body position skills. Following tunnel training, the program reverts to the Accelerated Freefall (AFF) program, with the option to return to the tunnel for improved skill development.

This is when a person is approved to take an "orientation flight" in a parachuting aircraft to observe parachuting activity but not to jump. It requires APF membership and some ground training. The training includes conduct in and around the aircraft and emergency procedures.