Our Mission
SkyVault was built by a team of USPA-rated instructors and experienced skydivers who believe every jumper deserves access to professional-grade tools and knowledge — regardless of their budget or location. We've been where you are: sitting in the manifest office wondering if conditions are right, standing at 14,000 feet questioning our gear choices, and lying awake the night before our first solo jump.
We built SkyVault because when we were learning, we had to hunt through scattered websites, forum posts, and outdated PDFs just to find basic calculations. There's no reason for that. A sport as technical as skydiving deserves a centralized, accurate, free resource for the fundamentals.
What We Offer
SkyVault provides 40+ free skydiving calculators covering every major category: exit weight and gear planning, freefall physics and altitude calculations, canopy performance and wing loading, weather assessment and jump planning, safety and maintenance tracking, and instructor and progression tools.
Each calculator uses actual skydiving physics formulas — not approximations borrowed from aviation or generic engineering. Our exit weight calculator accounts for the specific density of modern skydiving rigs. Our freefall time calculator uses actual terminal velocities for different body positions. Our hypoxia risk calculator uses FAA-recognized time-of-useful-consciousness data.
Beyond the tools, we have 40 expert-written guides covering AFF training, canopy piloting, formation skydiving, weather planning, gear maintenance, and safety procedures. Every article is written by someone with hundreds or thousands of jumps who has been exactly where you are.
Accuracy and Safety
We take accuracy seriously. Every formula in SkyVault's calculators has been verified against manufacturer data, FAA standards, and real-world skydiving experience. Where there is ambiguity (and in skydiving there often is), we err on the side of caution and include clear disclaimers.
But here's what we won't do: we won't tell you that a calculator replaces proper training, professional gear inspection, or FAA-compliant procedures. These tools are aids to decision-making, not replacements for expertise. Always verify critical calculations with your instructor, rigger, or drop zone operator. When in doubt, ask.
The Team
SkyVault contributors include USPA D-licensed skydivers with over 15,000 combined jumps, ranging from first-year students to competition veterans and AFF instructors. We don't claim to know everything about this sport — nobody does. But we've seen enough to write guides that actually help people progress safely.
Our contributors have experience across the full range of skydiving disciplines: formation skydiving, freeflying, canopy piloting, wingsuit flying, and high-altitude jumps. We've jumped in California, Florida, Arizona, Switzerland, Spain, Australia, and dozens of other locations. We've experienced equipment failures, adverse weather, and everything in between. We write about what we know, and we're clear about what we don't.
Our Philosophy
Skydiving is dangerous. We don't pretend otherwise. The goal of SkyVault isn't to make skydiving seem risk-free — it's to give you the information you need to manage that risk intelligently. The difference between a dangerous sport and a sport you can manage safely is knowledge, preparation, and respect for the environment.
We believe in: thorough pre-jump planning, regular equipment maintenance and inspection, continuous training and education, conservative decision-making when conditions are uncertain, and the understanding that no jump is worth ignoring your instincts.
Contact Us
Have a correction, suggestion, or question? We'd love to hear from you. Visit our contact page to reach us. We read every message and do our best to respond within 48 hours.
For gear manufacturers, drop zones, or instructional organizations interested in partnerships: we're open to discussions about making skydiving knowledge more accessible. Reach out via the contact form.
A Note on AdSense
SkyVault is a free resource supported by advertising. We carefully select advertisers to ensure they are relevant to our audience and do not compromise the integrity of our content. Any advertisement is clearly labeled as such and does not represent an endorsement by SkyVault. If you see an ad that seems misleading or inappropriate, please let us know.