If you’ve summoned up the courage to jump out of a perfectly safe aircraft at 14,000 feet, try it in the inky blackness of night, with just a full moon and the twinkling lights of the South Coast to get your bearings.

Wollongong’s popular Skydive the Beach Sydney parachute experience is now offering Australia’s only regular tandem skydives by night, each Friday closest to the Full Moon.

Framing the full moon after Skydive the Beach Sydney’s inaugural night jump is Tandem Master Andy Knowles, left, and elated first-time night jumper Brett Marr.

“Initial jumps have proved a wonderful success, giving jumpers what they describe as an unbeatable adrenalin rush,” said Skydive the Beach Sydney director Anthony Boucaut. “Cost is $500 a jump and included are gear hire, full instruction, special certificate of achievement, three month membership to the Australian Parachute Federation and a loyalty card offering discounts on future day or night jumps.”

Welcoming the new night jumps, Tourism Wollongong general manager Greg Binskin said they were helping to cement Wollongong’s growing reputation as the “aero-adventure capital” of Australia.

“Bald Hill in North Wollongong is where aviation pioneer Lawrence Hargrave jumped into global aviation history in his unpowered box kite in 1894, beginning a strong link between the city and Australian aviation,” Binskin said.

“Today Bald Hill is an internationally famous hang gliding location and a little south are exciting coastal helicopter tours run by Touchdown Helicopters and the opportunity to try open cockpit aerobatics in a 1943-vintage Boeing Stearman biplane operated by newly-established Southern Biplane Adventures each flying from Illawarra Regional Airport at Albion Park.”

Scheduled dates for Skydive the Beach Sydney’s Full Moon jumps are April 15, May 20, June 17 and July 15, all subject to weather conditions and bookable at www.skydivethebeach.com.