The most important piece is the parachute itself. The reserve parachute is the second most important piece of equipment. It must be packed by a Federal Aviation Administration rigger every 120 days or after the reserve parachute has been deployed. The third piece is your altimeter that is set and calibrated to altitude at ground level. Several optional pieces of equipment are a helmet, gloves and a skydiving suit.
Some jumpers like to perform a pre-jump on the ground.
It's most commonly called a dirt dive. The Jump Master is a highly skilled skydiver. The Jump Master has over 500 skydives and licensed by the United States Parachute Association. The Jump Master is in charge of the jumper on the aircraft at all times. He notifies the jumper of the drop zone approaching by giving a one minute warning, a 30 second warning, prepare to jump, and jump signal.