Then AFF is one way to be trained to become a licensed skydiver in the UK, static line parachuting or the progression system as it is more professionally referred to is the other available method. In the opinion of Infinite Skydiving Instructor Andy Ford AFF is the only way to seriously train to become a skydiver. “I trained on static line back in the day and spent a lot of time sat on the ground because of unfavourable weather conditions, I became a static line parachute Instructor over 11 years ago and watched 1000′s of students try to progress from static line to freefall with dummy pulls being the hardest point to get past” (A dummy pull is a fake handle that the student has to reach for and pull a second after exiting and maintaining an arched position whilst the parachute opens automatically)
1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, check canopy
Andy goes on to say “The dummy pull was a toughest part of the progression,I have seen maybe 4 or 5 students carry out the three consecutive perfect jumps to progress without having to repeat the process multiple times, very frustrating to get the 2nd perfect jump done only to have to start again after messing up the dummy pull on the 3rd attempt”. In the worst case I watched a student on one dropzone spend a year and 70 dummy pulls getting onto freefall (good effort Graham!)
Arch position right of the sill of the plane
The static line progression system or R.A.P.S (Ram. Air. Progression. System.) is a very laborious way of getting to A license and i believe few make it without changing to AFF or giving up and missing out on the wonderful world of freefall.
So if you fancy having a fun and challenging day out then a R.A.P.S. S/L course is a nice introduction to parachuting. At about £225 for a day’s training and one static line jump it is the cheapest solo way of doing a parachute jump.
Even though for a skydiving school the S/L course is a more lucrative way of introducing people into the sport at a ratio of 1 instructor to 12 students, Infinite Skydiving have decided not to train static line parachuting as we feel it is not an efficient use of our instructors. We want our students to be skydiving solo and enjoying the sport in a few weeks not a few months. All of our instructors have taught static line parachuting over many years. (Andy Ford and Andy Scott started on the traditional round parachute static line parachute courses in the late 80′s)
AFF or Accelerated Free Fallis without doubt a better system if you are serious about getting into skydiving. A day of ground school much the same as the R.A.P.S system but with some specific lessons about freefall/ in air signals/ Ac emergencies/ freefall emergencies as the aircraft will fly to 13,000ft and not 3,500ft and we are exiting into FREEFALL!! not just instant canopy ride.
Once the ground school and check of understanding are finished we generally pack up for the day to give the student a break, a lot of information is taught during the lessons and the students are generally a little tired and still processing all the information, Infinite Skydiving have found that the general performance is much better waiting to jump the next day. AFF levels one to four can easily be achieved within a day with some of our students completing five and six before retiring for a well earned beer. The AFF course and 10 consolidation jumps can be done within a week or a few weekends of fair weather
All lessons, parachute equipment and briefings required to attain ‘A’ license
8 levels of AFF with world class Instructors (all of our Instructors are world record holders, current or ex world champions & national champions in our excellent sport)
1 month membership to the British Parachute Association (B.P.A. the UK governing body for all civilian parachuting)
10 minutes flight training in the Airkix wind tunnel at milton Keynes coached by our AFF Instructors (£175.00 if booked separately through Airkix)
Every level videoed to assist with de-briefing, imperative to see your progression (Available on DVD at the end of the course for a £50.00 donation to a charity we support)
Free equipment loan throughout consolidation jumps (I.E. helmet/goggles/altimeter/Jumpsuit/parachute system)
Free coaching and briefing for all consolidation jumps (10 jumps in total)
Professional coaching and on hand advice throughout skydiving progression with briefings/parachute packing lessons as you approach ‘B’ license (50 jumps)
Free logbook for you to keep a perfect log of all your descents (up too 200 in a book)
All of the above costs you £1,400.00 with no hidden extra’s (unlike many European courses we won’t mention) If you like we offer a level one only package for £375.00 if you wish to try the sport without committing to the full 8 levels (you can always carry on after you have completed level 1)
if you wish to take up this amazing sport then give us a call on 07876500515 or drop us a line on Info@infiniteskydiving.com and feel free to call just to discuss the course.
For the 2010 season Infinite Skydiving have the pleasure of promoting their formation skydiving coaching school at the dropzone every weekend.
What’s new??
Once the AFF course and consolidation jumps have been completed we have British Parachute Association accredited coaches available to get you through the FS1 requirement (Manual). laid out here is the FS1 as in the BPA Operations manual.
6.4. Formation Skydiving (FS)
6.4.1.To obtain Grade 1 in Formation Skydiving (FS1) the parachutist must, be introduced to FS by a CCI/Advanced Instructor nominated FS1 Grade parachutist or equivalent of proven FS instructional ability, have received a full safety brief and demonstrated the ability to:
a) Control fall rate.
b) Control horizontal movement, (forwards, backwards and sideways).
c) Achieve ‘docking’ techniques.
d) Turn in place.
e) Dive and approach a target.
f) Complete four points of 4-way FS.
N.B.(1) No more than one Category 8 jumper per group, all other jumpers in any group must be FS1 parachutists.
N.B.(2) Training programmes other than those contained in the BPA Formation Skydiving (FS) Manuals are acceptable for training for FS1, provided all the requirements of sub-para 6.4.1. (above) are met.
SEC 2/PAGE 9/FEB 2006
The cost is minimal at £45 per one on one coached jump with a full brief and video de-brief for each jump. You can also get the footage on DVD to take away at the end of the course for a charity donation to Karis kids who we are working with in 2010. (more about the charity later)
The FS1 is a fun and worth while level of skydiving to attain (mandatory if you want to jump with your mates) and we see many skydivers get a little lost as to where to get the correct high quality coaching needed to safely and quickly gain the qualification, learning the up to date techniques used by the UK’s best teams who are also still paying the worlds top coaches thousands of $$$ to coach them and filtering the skills and techniques down to you at such a small cost is fantastic value.
check out some of our current students:
Our coaches are Phil Hartree (also one of our AFF Instructors) Georgie Roles, 4 way FS team member from the “Jet Blondes” and currently uk FS team “Fend 4 Yourself” and Benji Dawson who also flies camera for our FS, AFF and Tandems providing awesome footage and images.
have fun in the skies and enjoy the journey
Fordy
Directions:
Only an hour from the capital we are easily reached from London and the South East as well as Bimingham and the West Midlands by both rail and road with the m40 corridor only a few miles from the Airfield.
www.infinite skydiving have started training students this year to qualify for their british parachute association skydiving license. Matt Short has completed his AFF ground school and is awaiting the weather before making his level one skydive with Infinite Skydiving. After 6 hours groundschool covering all the required modules of the Accelerated freefall course Matt is ready to go and very excited about getting in the air. Matt from London wanted to complete AFF last year but decided to wait for the start of the 2010 season to train and make the most of the days getting lighter and the weather getting better to pursue his new sport…
We look forward to putting video of Matt’s AFF level’s up for you to enjoy.
The event to start the 2010 season for the hardcore freeflyer will most definitely be at Skydive Spain this coming March. An invitation to Europe’s seasoned and proven head down flyers with the right attitude towards team play have been sent and the 30 available slots were snapped up within a few days, even at the top if you snooze you lose!.
With 2 Do-28 15 place Dorniers going to 16,000 + ft the event organiser Andrew Lovemore of Skydive Spain envisages multiple point 15 and 30 way formations yet unseen on the European freefly scene with load organiser’s Fabian Raidel and Mike Carpenter at the helm. The Invites for the team consisted of representatives from Volare, Skywalkers, Aria, The Bad Lieutenants, Darkside Freefly and Babylon to name a few…
The sequential scene in Europe has been lacking somewhat behind the likes of the Lodi Sequentials, Project Horizon and Summerfest where multiple point skydives are a matter of course, hopefully this event can redress the balance with the awesome available talent we have here.
Check back to see the progression toward what could be described as the biggest European freefly event of 2010..
After an awesome 40 way head down record success in 2007, the Babylon freefly crew are putting together another record attempt of 60+ skilled flyers from all over Europe at the Empuriabrava dropzone on the cost brava in Spain. The UK has the following participants registered to try out for the record attempts with many of the flyers having been on previous Euro* and World** records.
Matthew O’RIORDAN U.K.*
James DAVIES U.K. *
Martin REYNOLDS U.K.*
Will BLACKIE U.K.
Jim HARRIS U.K.*/**
Mark JOYNER UK
Claudio LETTIERI UK
Andy FORD U.K.*
Mike CARPENTER U.K.*/**
Andrew LOVEMORE U.K.
David JOYNER U.K.
Piers ROBERTS U.K
Richard FRAME U.K.
Laura KENYON U.K.** (female w/r)
Frazer SMITH UK
Daniel PARKER U.K.*/**
Andrew NEWELL U.K.*
Paul GOODMAN U.K.
The record attempts take place from the 6th – 10th June 2009 and we will be updating the blog with images and news as often as possible so check back for current information on how the event is proceeding.
image by Babylon freefly
Thursday 4th June. Arrived at Empuriabrava DZ after a wonderful flight with ryan air, it sais it all when the captain bounces the plane down the runway along with screams from nervous passengers.. sure woke me up! 3 freefly jumps from the otter with 17 other head down maniacs.. fast pace with the first swoop to the base touching 199 mph, closely followed by a 205 mph and a 210 mph, that sets me up as last stinger for about 8 seconds to dock and start the break off at 6000ft. So, looks like the aircraft will be 2 x twin Otter, 1 x Skyvan, 1 x twin beech and possible Pilatus Porter.. Thats an amazing capacity of 90 and 2 maybe 3 camera flyers!! Here are todays fun skydives OK! that should have been thursday 4th June on the video, it’s been a long day ha ha Come back tomorrow to see what’s going on in European record head down craziness… mean while here are some images of the day.
Ciao Fordy
ready to dock
On the way to 15,000ft
Waiting for the briefing
Checking the camera equipment prior to boarding
Thoughtful
“Blue steel”
Friday 5th June
Cloudy start with a little thunder and lightning to get us in the mood! ;-( now 9.25 and the first loads just gone up, french 4 way girls are training but not much else happening… what else did you expect from freeflyers!!! it’s 9.25 after all. The Brits are rocking up with Andy lovemore (S.A but token Brit) arriving late last night and Andy Newell arriving this morning, Claudio (Italian but token brit) Mark and David Joiner (S.A but token Brit) Piers Roberts (Canadian but token Brit) Frazer Smith, Fordy, Richard Frame, Laura Kenyon already here… It seems we treat our freeflying like our tennis and boxing with any nationality representing the uk as long as their from somewhere else, now where did Greg Rusedski go?? Will get back to you with some jumping soon before the rain comes…
22 way briefed and on a 20 minute call, weather seems to be playing along with the groups timings with cloud building between our loads and dispersing to glorious sunshine for take off, guess that’s what you get with the prevailing wind coming from the coast. Using a 4 way base with two 5 way pods we are looking to mimic the 4 way base from the 2007 euro record with 4 sets of 2 way wackers between the two 5 way pods, not enough flyers to link the wackers into a line yet but good practice for levels and group speed as this is only the 2nd jump of the day and the biggest so far. The break off has been split with 14 leaving at 6,500ft and the base 8 leaving at 5,000ft, with staggered pull heights that should give clear airspace for everyone.. it’s only ever going to get more crowded from here on in, now where is my velo 79!
Ciao for now.. Fordy
Weather issues I.E. crap weather have made the day fairly long and freefly free… the 22 way was?? hmmmm, to say the least quite a scary place to be! basic level issues and hard docking made the break off beeps a beautiful sound much as the bell at the end of round 1 with Iron Mike Tyson would have sounded..
Having done a 16 way since the scary 22 way we have now canned the final lift due to a 10,000 ft cloud base we have retired to the bar to ponder on just how hard the euro record could be to beat! let alone double in size. Here are the final 2 dives of the day, a 22 way and a 16 way both from 12,800ft with the first wave breaking at 6oooft and base + stingers at 5000ft.. Thats approximately 34 seconds from exit to complete the 22 way formation before 1st wave goes..
Latest arrival, Martin Reynolds from the Bad lieutenants freefly team.. Still a lot of “faces” to arrive yet. Also a huge “big up yourself’ for Kirsten McAndrew who with only 204 jumps was part of the base for all of the jumps today, Kirsten is a tunnel prodigy and it’s awesome to look across at someone with that amount of skydives mixing it up in the sky, nice one Kirsten!. That’s us for the day, the jumps start in earnest tomorrow with the babylon team looking to put together some nice skydives to check out all the flyers skill levels, let’s hope the axe is freshly sharpened and my next post isn’t from the bench! ha ha ciao Fordy
Saturday 6th June 09:37 Official start to the practice jumps. A low cloud base along with a freefly style of communication to the masses sits upon us, in other words I have no idea what is going on yet.. lots of flyers arrived last night so a long round of high five greetings takes place over grande cafe americano, Mikey Carpenter, James Davies and Matt O’Riordan made a late arrival last night making the Brit pack a formidable sized group here at the euro record, did I mention Matt is South African.
Waiting for the briefing
Received a comment from someone on the youtube clips asking if the freeflyers track on their back because it’s more efficient? For those that don’t freefly in formations that’s a perfectly fair question. The break off is one of the most dangerous parts of the skydive, with a large proportion of the flyers leaving at the same time and looking to leave safely and get in to clear airspace to deploy as far from the centre of the formation as possible.
The break off starts with a 180° turn with out committing to any forward drive, once a clear path has been established visually, the flyers accelerates forward and change the angle/pitch of the body to convert the vertical speed of 170 mph into horizontal speed, momentarily back tracking before rolling over into a more efficient belly to earth tracking profile, this takes place in about a second and can create huge distances between the flyers. Problems occur when flyers turn and change the angle of flight before checking that the exit path from the formation is clear, collisions are dangerous with the speeds involved between static and tracking flyers.
Briefing has taken place and the base 6 to be used in the actual record attempts are off to burn up the atmosphere in their 15 way with Vince, the rest of the 70+ flyers have also split into 15 ways with various babylon team members. Danny parker has arrived minus rig thanks to low cost budget airlines and managed to lock what little he did have with him in the boot of his hire car along with the keys, so at least their is no change in the quality of freefly admin.
Aircraft
We have a great fleet of aircraft for the record attempts, Beech 99, twin otter, Skyvan, Porter… I will update images as I get the chance.
The 15 way groups are all either jumping or waiting for the call, all the basic skills being checked with tight fast exits, approach and docking, levels and grips, break off and track being all of equal importance.. This really isn’t the place to be practicing for a bigway, this is the place to be ready and waiting for the slot on the record.. i am sure their will be some decisions made throughout the day as the jumps get done.
Will’s 15 way completed as have most of the other groups, normal issues to iron out with a stronger base needed to allow the stingers etc. to dock smooth and fast increasing the chances of a completed formation, 15,000ft helps enormously and gives a slightly more relaxed atmosphere to the jump. Changes to the base are being made to create the stronger centre for the formation.
The weather has come changed for the worst with a front approaching from an unusual direction, huge cumulonimbus building over the DZ making jumping at this time impossible.
Andy Lovemore is on Nimmo’s group so we have footage from a different formation.
A quick Glossary of terms for those that may need them:
Formation ~ Group of flyers in a pre-organised group gripped together to form the correct pattern.
Dock ~ The grip between one flyer and another.
Base ~ The core group (a 6 way formation in this case) of the formation that all the flyers move towards in the sky.
1st Stinger ~ The first skydivers to take a dock on the base, giving other flyers the beginning of the intended formation.
2nd Stinger ~ As above but second
Pod ~ A sub group of the base that starts with one 1st stinger and loops around to close with another 1st stinger, the base 6 would have maybe a 10 way pod on either end to allow more flyers to join
Wacker ~ A line that is docked onto a pod or the base that does not return to finish at the pod or base, generally curved all in the same direction to aid the flow of docking, the wackers allow flyers room to fly cleanly and allow bigger formations to fly stronger.
Burble ~ The disrupted air above the flyers feet that is not clean and very difficult to fly in, the falling body creates a burble all around like a force field, falling into or putting flying surfaces (arms and legs) into the burble cause tension and movement in the formation.
Break off ~ The altitude that has been pre-designated to stop building the formation and allow the flyers to move horizontally away from each other too open their parachutes.
Axed/Benched ~ if a flyers skill level is not up to the required standard then the flyer is taken off of the next attempt or axed from the formation, this is the organisers job after a video review and always done for the good of the group, also any flying deemed “dangerous” would end up with the flyer being axed or benched.
Bench ~ Literally taken it was once the place where skydivers would sit and wait inline to be invited on the formation, if the formation was 20 way in size with 26 total flyers then the 6 extra flyers would sit in order of arrival for a slot to become available, normally by a flyer being axed from the formation. A strong bench means the organiser has plenty of talented skydivers to pick from above the original formation. For the European record the planned attempt is a 60 way with a 35 strong bench!
Lift capacity ~ The amount of aircraft available to fly the skydivers in the formation to altitude. Generally lift capacity limits the size of the formation, lack of participants is not normally a problem.
Superfloater ~ A skydiver who leaves the aircraft earlier than the base and other skydivers and is the signal for floaters in the other aircraft to leave.
Weather changed for the better so most of the 15 way formations get a couple more jumps in, all the groups seem to have the odd issue with 1 or 2 flyers but it all bodes well for tomorrow with hopefully the groups joining to concentrate on bigger formations.
Here are the last couple of our groups dives, the base got the act together on the last jump to give everyone a sweet point to aim at
Weather looks better for tomorrow so if all goes well we could push 5 or 6 formation loads together, quality rather than quantity is the focus, after all this is the euro record not the euro try outs, the babylon website states fairly clearly that everyone attending should be comfortable flying in multi plane freefly formations.. hmmm, maybe not everyone is on the internet!
Ciao for now
Fordy
Sunday 7th june 09:20
The 9 am briefing will commence shortly! Spanish time
So far today the weather has played along and the loads have been getting in the air at a good pace, we have a little altitude problem with air traffic at Girona so the last few lifts have only managed 12,800ft instead of 15,000ft.. amazing how much of a difference that 10 seconds can make both mentally in the aircraft and the obvious in the jump.
Will’s group have completed 2 jumps and they couldn’t have been further apart in quality.. To be honest the mindset on the first attempt was wrong from the off, with a war cry of “get on it or f**k off” the base melted into the atmosphere throwing in a turn just for good measure.. the whole skydive was just a group of individuals looking for an opportunity to survive. Jump 2 could not have been different with less altitude and a completely different base (3 brits and an italian fella) we flew strong and fast on heading allowing everyone the opportunity to take time and get into their slot. Only 1 or 2 grips shy of a smooth 16 way from 12,800ft.. awesome.
Lunch is served whilst in the confinement of the babylon container the silent assassin wields his sharpened blade.. or it could be just Nimmo with a pen, maybe we’ll have more time too blog if things don’t go so well for me!
Waiting for the Babylon crew to get the first of the larger formation loads together, always a little tension waiting for the names to be read out! To be fair each individual flyer here knows wether he or she has been in slot and done their job for the team on every jump. It might be a little bit of a shock to get cut having been in slot on every jump but shouldn’t be too much of a suprise if instability, hard docks, falling out of slot, going low, not getting to the formation have been apparent in all of the jumps so far! things should get cleaner from now on.
A lot of the flyers are wearing weight myself included, The base is rumored to be falling at over 200 mph conjouring up images of feet together hands by your sides to be near it.. it’s hard to dock if your palms are flat against your thighs to stay with the base 6 so a few pounds around the waist might just help some. BTW the rumour came from a guy in the base so should be fairly accurate.
hmmm, the call to meet has been tannoyed!! here we go..
So, 30 way from the Skyvan and Beech 99.. looks like we are training for the centre of the final 60+ will get back with a checklist of the brits involved!
Piers, Newell, Mikey C, Fordy, Richard Frame so far in this load.
30 WAY
Emotional… Aircraft communication didn’t help the exit with the Beech 99 chase plane being a fair distance from the Skyvan and the team not being outside and ready as the base exited the Skyvan and went on it’s merry way towards 210mph. The epic pace from the base catching a few of the jumpers out and causing issues. Interesting skydive giving everyone benchmark to improve from. The other 2 groups of 30 are also up and working towards the goal, how awesome to have three 30 ways practicing on one DZ. I’m sure it will get smoother once the pace issues are sorted, that really becomes a personal issue, however i can’t seem to find a second 10lb weightbelt anywhere!
I have amassed the terms below to help the newbie skydiver to get acquainted with the unusual terminology in skydiving.…All suggestions are very welcome.
Automatic Activation Device. A device that senses rate of descent and altitude. Set to automatically activate the reserve parachute if the skydiver passes below a set altitude at a high rate of descent. Mandatory for all student parachute systems. (Also see Cypres, Vigil, Mars, Astra, FXC).
A/C
Aircraft
Accuracy
Also known as Precision Landing, this is a competition discipline in which the skydiver attempts to land on an established target. At the National level the target is 3 cm in diameter, about the size of a ten pence piece.
AFF
Accelerated Free Fall. An AFF student receives training on free fall jumps of 40 seconds or longer, accompanied by a qualified Instructors who teach in air via hand signals. Course involves eight levels. Up to 5 times faster progression than traditional static line parachuting.
AGL
Above Ground Level. Altitudes are in reference either to Ground Level of Sea Level (see MSL). Skydivers always use AGL when referring to altitude.
Airspeed
The speed of a flying object through the air, commonly used in reference to aircraft or canopies. (Also see groundspeed)
Altimeter
A device indicating altitude AGL. Generally worn on the wrist for easy visual reference.
Altitrack
Electronic altimeter with analogue face
Angle of attack
The angle at which the wing is presented to the apparent wind. With square parachutes this changes when the brakes are applied.
Apparent wind
The wind perceived by an observer. See relative wind.
Artistics
The disciplines of Freeflying, Freestyle and Skysurfing.
Astra
An AAD made by FXC Corporation.
Aspect ratio
The ratio of a canopies span (side to side) to chord (front to back). Seven cell canopies typically have an aspect ratio of about 2.2 to one, while nine cell canopies are usually between 2.8 and 3.0 to one.
Audible Altimeter
A small electronic device that fits into the skydivers helmet, pre-set on the ground to beep loudly in freefall at a certain important altitude i.e break off, deployment.
To move backward in freefall relative to a neutral reference. Usually unintentional and undesirable, caused by poor body position.
Bag
The deployment bag in which the canopy is packed.
Bag Lock
A malfunction of a freefall system where lines have deployed but canopy is still trapped in bag.
Base
The core around which a formation skydive is built. Can be a single person or a group of people, depending on the number of skydivers involved.
B.A.S.E. Jump
A jump made from a fixed object rather than an aircraft. BASE is an acronym for Building, Antenna, Span (bridge) Earth (cliff).
B.C.P.A.
British Collegiate Parachute Association- A group run by and for college students, associated with the BPA. Runs regional and annual competitions for BPA members still undertaking education.
Beech
Short for Beechcraft, an aircraft manufacturer. Usually used in reference to a Beech D-18, a.k.a. Twin Beech. At one time these were common skydiving planes, but they are becoming obsolete.
Belly flying
Freefalling in a belly to earth position i.e. formation skydiving
BI
Basic Instructor
Blade running
Swooping under canopy through a series of wind blades along the ground.
Blind-man
Freestyle move use by canopy pilots at swoop competition.
Booties
Lower leg of jumpsuit that hook over the front of the shoe creating more powerful leg drag.
BOC
Bottom of Container. Refers to the location of the pilot chute. An increasingly common position for main deployment devices, as opposed to belly or leg mounted.
Body position
Ones freefall body posture. Variations in body position are what make a wide range of freefall maneuvers possible.
Boogie
A gathering of skydivers, usually focused on fun rather than competition. Big drop zones host several boogies a year, often on long holiday weekends.
Bounce
To land at unsurvivable speed. Also to frap, or go in.
Box man
A neutral, face to earth body position in which the arms form right angles at shoulder and elbow, and the legs are spread at about 45 degrees from the long axis and bent 45 degrees at the knees. Generally considered the basic position for Formation Skydiving.
B.P.A.
British Parachute Association – The governing body of sport parachutisting in the UK. run by an elected Council of 15 sport parachutists, with a number of full-time employees fulfilling technical and administrative tasks
Brakes
The brake lines of the canopy are synonymous with steering lines or control lines. Used together, they slow the parachute. Used independently they result in a turn.
Break off
To cease formation skydiving by tracking away from the formation prior to deployment.
Bridle
The thin webbing strap from the pilot chute to the top of the canopy. Part of the deployment system which consists of pilot chute, bag and bridle.
Bum spot
An error of judgement by the jumpmaster, in which parachutists have been despatched at a point at which they will probably find it difficult to fly back to the PLA.
Bungee
Rubber band used for stowing suspension lines onto the deployment bag.
Burble
The area of turbulence behind an object going through the air, whether a person in freefall or a canopy in flight.
Civil Aviation Authority – the body responsible for air standards, safety and operations in UK airspace
Call
The time remaining until you are to board the aircraft. For example, a fifteen minute call means you will board in fifteen minutes.
Category
A stage of progression from 1-8, with a specific set of guidelines for achievement, laid down by the STC. Followed by all students undertaking training at BPA Affiliated Parachute Clubs. Category 1-8 jumpers are classified as student parachutists
Canopy
The construction of fabric and lines used to land safely after a freefall. Usually used in conjunction with a type reference (round, square, zero-p, main or reserve).
Cascade
The point where two lines join together so they run smoothly into one. Cascading the suspension lines results in reduced bulk and drag.
C.C.I.
Club (or Centre) Chief Instructor- Advanced instructor (or Advanced Instructor/Examiner) nominated as the person in charge of a parachute operation.
Cell
Square canopies are made up of pressurized cells, usually seven or nine. Each cell consists of a load bearing rib at each side to which the suspension lines are attached. A third, non load bearing rib runs down the middle of the cell. The cell is pressurized through the open mouth at the front and also through cross ports in the ribs. Adjacent cells share load bearing ribs.
Center point
The point around which movement takes place. In an individual the center point is considered to be in the middle of the torso. In a group, it is the point that the formation centers around.
Cessna
An aircraft manufacturer. Single engined Cessnas such as 180s, 182s and 206s are the workhorse of smaller drop zones, carrying four to six jumpers.
C.F.
Canopy Formations- Formation Work with 2 or more square canopies. Used to be known as CRW (Canopy Relative Work)
CF1
Canopy Formation qualification, Grade 1
Chute assis
French for sit flying, or freefalling with one’s seat presented to the relative wind.
Classics
Style and accuracy
Closing loop
The small loop that holds the flaps of the container closed once the pin has been guided through the loop.
Coach
A skydiver with some formal training in the art of instructing freefall technique.
Comps committee
A committee of the BPA which runs competitions
Container
The element of the parachute that houses the canopies. Technically, the Harness/Container but usually just referred to as the container.
Crabbing
A canopy is crabbing when it is flown at an angle sideways to the ambient wind, resulting in a path across the ground that is sideways as well as forwards.
Creep
To creep is to practice formation skydiving sequences while laying prone on a creeper.
Creeper
A board equipped with wheels on which a skydiver lays to simulate freefall maneuvers.
Cross ports
Holes in the ribs of a cell that allow air to flow from one cell to another.
Cross braced
A diagonal bracing between the ribs in a high performance wing, adds rigidity to the wing surface to aid in higher wing loaded canopies.
C.S.I.
Category System Instructor, qualified to teach static line students through the free fall progression system.
Current
To “be current” is to have jumped recently enough to retain proficiency in the sport. Uncurrent skydivers, depending on their experience, must be supervised to some degree when they resume jumping. See Op’s manual.
Cut
Command given to the pilot to slow the aircraft speed for exit.
Cut away
To release the main parachute, cutting away is a standard emergency procedure prior to deploying the reserve. More properly known as a breakaway, the technique involves using a simple release system activated by pulling a handle. (see 3 ring release).
CReW
Canopy Relative Work, now officially known as Canopy Formations C.F.) CRW involves flying open canopies in close formation, where the pilots actually take grips on each other’s parachutes.
CYPRES
A type of AAD. Made by AirTech of Germany, this is the most common type of AAD and the first modern design to be widely adopted by expert skydivers.
A common construction material for canopy suspension lines. Dacron lines are thicker and softer than so called “microlines”.
Data card
Every parachute carries a data card with information on the reserve parachute, including type, last date packed, owner, serial number, etc.
De-arch
To flatten out or reverse one’s body position from the normal arched position. A de-arch results in a slower fall rate than an arch.
D.C.
Dead Centre – top score in accuracy competitions
Debrief
Post skydive analysis
Delay
The period of time in freefall (used in category system I.e 10 second delay)
Demo
A parachute jump performed as a demonstration at an event (Also known as a display)
Decision altitude
The altitude at which a skydiver is trained to begin execution of emergency procedures. Usually 2,500 feet AGL for students, and 1,800 feet for expert skydivers.
Deployment system
The components of the parachute that control deployment of the canopy. Includes pilot chute, bridle and bag.
Dive
One of the methods of exiting the aircraft and can be short for skydive
Dirt dive
To rehearse a skydive on the ground by walking through each formation and grips, also using creepers to get correct visual references.
Dive floater
A dive floater is a skydiver who is inside the airplane in the exit line up, but leaving prior to the base. This configuration only occurs on large formations.
Dive loops
Many advanced skydivers have loops or “blocks” on their front risers to make it easy to grip the front risers for steering purposes. Also called front riser loops.
Diver
Anyone diving out of the plane during a formation skydiving exit.
Dock
Take up a grip on a freefall formation or the linking of one canopy to another
Downplane
CF formation with 2 jumpers linking linking legs and flying their canopies pointing towards the ground. This can also occur to a single skydiver with both main and reserve deployed
Downwind
Pointing the canopy in the direction the wind is blowing
Drag matt
Individual packing mat that container rests on during packing.
D.R.C.P.
Dummy-pull (also known as DRCP Dummy Rip Chord Pull). Training stage, as part of preparation for freefall
Dump
Slang for Deployment of a Canopy
Door jam
To practice an exit in the aircraft door of a mock up of it prior to the skydive.
Drop zone
Common slang for a skydiving center, also DZ.
Dytter
An older brand of audible altimeter.
D.Z.
Drop Zone – a notified portion of airspace within which skydives/ parachute descents are made
A wing shape characterized by a tapering leading and trailing edge so that the middle of the canopy is wider, front to back, than the ends. This configuration is typical of many high performance canopies.
End cell
The cell furthers out on a canopy.
Exit weight
The total weight of the jumper and all equipment and clothing.
A fabric common in mid range canopies, F-111 is slightly permeable to air and wears faster than zero-p fabric. Pronounced “F one eleven”.
FAA
Federal Aviation Administration – US equivalent of the CAA, who set standards for many items of parachute equipment
FAI.
Federation Aeronautique Internationale – the International Governing Body for all air sports.
FAI License
A ladder of qualification, starting at ‘A’ up to ‘D’
FARs
Federal Aviation Regulations, the laws governing aviation in the U.S.A.
Fall rate
The speed at which a skydiver falls. Matching fall rate is essential to successful formation skydiving. This is done with jumpsuits, weights and body position.
FF1/2
Freeflying Qualification, grade 1 and 2
Finger trap
A method of installing a loop in a brake line without producing rough spots on the lines, the finger trap is accomplished by sliding one line into the other. The loop serves as a method of setting brakes in the desired position for the parachutes deployment.
Flare
The act of pulling down the brakes of the canopy in order to slow it down, resulting in an increased angle of attack and reduced descent rate.
Flat line
Continuous high pitched beep emitted from an audible altimeter when the lowest set decision height has been reached.
Floater
Skydivers who leave the airplane before the base are called floaters since they must use a slow fall rate to get up to the base. Floating also refers to an exit position outside the airplane.
Formation
1) A freefall skydiving formation of more than one jumper. 2) A flight of more than one jump plane.
FS
Formation Skydiving, formerly known as relative work. In FS, skydivers attempt to go through a predetermined sequence of freefall formations.
Free bag
Deployment bag the reserve canopy is packed into, inside reserve container
Freefly
A freefall discipline of any orientation other than flat flying.
Freestyle
A type of skydiving characterized by acrobatic individual flying, reminiscent of gymnastics.
F.S.
See FS
FS1
Formation Skydiving, grade 1
Funnel
A funnel occurs when one or more skydivers find themselves in an unstable body position and end up in a skydivers burble. The resulting loss of stability for the other skydivers usually causes the formation to break up.
FXC
A company manufacturing AADs. Older FXC design was common on student equipment but considered by many to be unsuitable for expert skydivers. A new FXC design, the ASTRA, went on the market in the spring of 1996 and is relatively unknown.
Acronym often used in student logbooks, meaning “Good All The Way”
Glide ratio
The distance a canopy flies forward compared to down. A canopy with a 3:1 glide ratio flies three feet forward for every foot of vertical descent.
GPS
Global Positioning System. By picking up signals from satellites, a GPS receiver can tell the user position over the ground. Used in skydiving aircraft to aid the jumpmaster to spot the exit.
Grand prix
Regional competition organised by the BPA
Grips
Using the hands to hold onto another skydiver in freefall or during the aircraft exits. In formation skydiving, the formations are scored as complete when every skydiver has taken the correct grips.
Grippers
Hand holds built onto formation skydiving jumpsuits to make it easier to take grips.
Groundrush
The illusion of the ground appearing to accelerate towards you.
Ground speed
The speed of an airplane or skydiver over the ground, as opposed to through the air.
A succession of manoeuvres, two alternate turns and a back-loop.
Hand deploy
To activate the parachute by manually deploying the pilot chute as opposed to pulling a ripcord.
Harness/container
The webbing and fabric holding the main and reserve canopies to the skydiver.
Heading
The direction an aircraft, skydiver, or parachute is facing. The ability to recognize and maintain heading is crucial to jumping with others successfully. “On” or “off” heading are terms commonly used to describe exits and deployments.
HMA Line
Line used on high performance swoop canopys.
Holding
When a parachute is flying directly into the ambient wind, it is said holding. See running and crabbing.
Hook knife
A small knife carried in the jumpsuit or on the parachute harness, the hook knife is designed to cut lines or webbing. A small razor blade is recessed in a hook shaped handle to prevent unintentional cuts.
Hook turn
A turn of 90 degrees or more executed close to the ground. Because of the high risk associated with this maneuver, hook turns have an unfavorable connotation.
Hop & pop
Slang for a very short freefall delay.
Hot fuel
When the airplane does not shut down during fueling. Do not board the aircraft while fueling is in progress.
A reserve packed within the previous 180 days is said to be “in date”. If more than 180 days have elapsed since the reserve was packed it is”out of date” and illegal to use. (120 days in U.S.A.)
Instructor
Holder of a BPA rating or overseas equivalent
IPC
The International Parachuting Commission oversees sport parachuting. It is a committee of the FAI.
Jumpmaster – an experienced Skydiver, or Instructor, responsible to the CCI and pilot for the parachutists on each lift.
J.S.P.C.
Joint Services Parachute Centre. Centres around the world. skydiving for service personel
Jumpsuit
Coverall type garment with grippers used in various skydiving disciplines i.e F.S. and freefly
Jumpmaster
The nominated jumper on each load responsible in case of an aircraft emergency, also designates exit order, spotter. Jump run. The flight path taken by the jump plane to put the skydivers in position over the airport.
Two or more jumpers leaving the aircraft together (stable)
Line of flight
An imaginary line corresponding to the jump plane’s path over the ground, the line of flight is a useful reference line on larger formation skydives. Also, during the jump run the skydivers will be distributed along this line of flight.
Log book
Like pilots or sailors, skydivers log their activity and achievements in order to document their experience.
Mean sea level. Used by pilots when defining altitude, MSL refers to feet above sea level as opposed to above the ground. Pilots always use MSL when referring to altitude.
Main
The primary parachute.
Manifest
1) The list of skydivers on the jump plane. 2) The act of going to the office where this list is maintained to put yourself on a plane. 3) The location where manifesting takes place.
Microline
A modern type of suspension line considerably smaller than Dacron line. (also see spectre line)
British Open National Championships, an annual event organised by the BPA
N.C.S.O.
National Coach and Safety Officer – an employee of the BPA responsible to Council for the safe conduct of parachuting in the UK, and the training of Instructors
Pea gravel, used in the landing area as a target reference and because it is forgiving of hard landings.
Pin
1) The skydiver who first gets to the base. Base/pin are the two people around which many formations are built. 2) The act of docking on the base. 3) The closing pin of the main or reserve container, which should both be checked prior to jumping.
Pit
The pea gravel area.
Pilot chute
A small, round parachute that acts as a drogue to extract the main parachute from the container and deploy it.
PLA
The area where it is intended skydivers/parachutist will land (sometimes mistakenly called the DZ).
PLF
Parachute landing fall. A technique used to minimize injury during rough landings, a PLF distributes the landing.
Porosity
The amount of air that will pass through a given area of canopy material
P.O.P.S.
Parachutists Over Phorty Society; an association for the more mature skydiver
Porter
A single engined turbine aircraft carrying up to ten jumpers.
Pro-dytter
A type of altitude warning device which gives additional freefall speed and distance information
Pro-pack
A way of folding a square canopy whilst standing up.
Pull
Deploy main parachute (also dump)
Pull out
A type of hand deploy pilot chute where the pilot chute is packed inside the container and pulled out using a handle with a lanyard to the pilot chute.
Pull up cord
A piece of cord or line used to pull the closing loop through the grommets of the container.
Pud
Slang for the handle on a pull out pilot chute system.
Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom – the UK representatives on and of the FAI
R.A.P.S.
Ram-Air Progression System - A programme for beginners using static line deployed square parachutes from jump one.
Regionals
Regional championships, also known as Grand Prix.
Relative wind
The apparent wind felt by a jumper in freefall, relative wind is the result of the skydiver’s speed through the air.
Reserve
The auxiliary parachute carried on every intentional parachute jump.
R.D.S.
Removable deployment system, used by canopy swoopers to help remove drag after the canopy is open to aid forward speed.
Rip cord
The deployment system on all reserves and most student parachutes. The ripcord is a piece of cable with a handle at one end and a pin at the other. When pulled, the pin comes out of the closing loop holding the container shut, and the pilot chute is released.
Rig
Skydiver slang for the entire parachute, including main and reserve canopies and the harness/container.
Rigger
Someone with a certificate from the FAA stating they have successfully met the requirements to be a parachute rigger.
Rigger’s certificate
The certificate possessed by a rigger as proof of competence. Parachute riggers may make minor repairs and pack reserve and main parachutes. Advanced riggers may make major repairs and alterations as well as packing parachutes.
Risers
The webbing that connects the harness to the suspension lines. At the bottom of the risers will be a mechanism for attaching and releasing the risers and harness, usually in the form of a three ring release. On the rear risers are the brakes/steering lines. The suspension lines attach to the top of the risers with connector links, also known as rapid links.
Round
1) A formation where each skydiver has grips on the arms of those next to him, also known as a star. 2) A round parachute, as opposed to a modern ram-air “square” parachute.
RSL
Reserve static line. This is a line from the main risers to the reserve cable. In the event the main is cut away, it may pull the reserve pin. Note: this system is only effective in malfunctions where the main is at least partially deployed.
Running
When a canopy is flying with the ambient wind it is said to be running. This produces the greatest possible ground speed.
Run-in
Final line that the aircraft flies to reach the pre determined spot for jumpers to leave. Also called the jump run
RW
Relative work, the term used to describe formation skydiving until a change in nomenclature made by the International Parachuting Commission in the early 90s. (see F.S.)
Skydiver’s Information Manual. Published by the USPA, the SIM is a comprehensive manual on USPA policies and training methods. It also includes FARs pertinent to skydiving.
Skydive University
a world-wide training system for formation skydiving
Skyhook
New type of RSL that uses the cutaway main canopy as the drag to open the reserve, designed by Bill Booth of Uninsured relative Workshop.
Skysurf
Skydiving on a surfboard
SOS
Single Operation System. This system simplifies emergency procedures by combining the functions of the cut away and reserve handles in a single handle.
Seal
Reserve parachutes have a small lead seal on a piece of red thread around the closing pin. This seal indicates the reserve has not been opened since it left the riggers hands.
Sentinel
An older type of AAD.
Sitfly
Skydiving in a seated head up orientation
Single operation system
See SOS.
Skygod
Although on the surface this term refers to a superior skydiver, in drop zone use skygod is a derogatory term for a skydiver whose ego has grown faster than his skydiving ability.
Slider
A rectangular piece of nylon fabric with a grommet at each corner through which the canopy’s suspension lines are routed. Packed at the top of the lines, the slider controls the opening of the canopy by preventing the parachute from expanding too rapidly.
Slot
A position in the skydive or on the plane. Uses: “dock in your slot”, or “two slots left on the next Otter”.
Snivel
Part of the canopy opening sequence before the inflation has taken place.
Spectra
A material from which microline is made.
Speed star
A competition where jumpers build a formation as quickly as possible
Spot
The position of the aircraft when the jumpers exit. Spotting (selecting the spot) is done by a skydiver and may be aided by the pilot.
SS1/2
Skysurfing qualification, grade 1 and 2
Square
A ram air parachute as opposed to a round parachute.
Stabilizer
The vertical strips of material beneath the end cells of the canopy. Stabilizers improve the canopy’s ability to fly straight ahead and enhance efficiency by reducing tip vortices.
Star
A basic FS formation, with 3 or more skydivers linked in a circle by their arms
Stack
A group of canopies in the sky stacked vertically above each other
Stall
When the angle of attack of a wing becomes too high to sustain lift, the wing is said to be stalled.
Stand up
Vertical freefall position, feet to earth, crucifix style. Also a type of landing
Static line
In static line deployments the parachute deployment system is attached to the airplane, with a cord ten to fifteen feet long, resulting in deployment immediately after exit.
Steering lines
The lines that run from the steering toggles on the rear risers to the trailing edge of the parachute.
Steering toggles
Handles attached to the end of the steering lines to facilitate their use. Toggles and lines are configured so they can be stowed in a partially down position to enhance the opening of the parachute.
STC
Safety and Training Committee (of the BPA). A sub-committee of Council, made up by CCIs who make appropriate decisions on safety and training.
Stow
To neatly arrange suspension lines on the deployment bag or steering toggles in their keepers
Streamer
When the main canopy has left the bag but not inflated at all. Also sometimes a slang name for a WDI
Style
A type of freefall competition where an individual skydiver attempts to execute a predetermined sequence of maneuvers in the shortest possible time.
Suspension lines
The lines from the risers to the canopy. They are normally in four groups, labeled from front to back as A, B, C and D. They can be further divided into right and left or front and back riser groups, and by type of material.
Swoop
1) To dive down to a formation or individual in freefall. 2) To aggressively approach the landing area in order to produce a long, flat flare and an exciting landing.
(1) An introduction to skydiving by a Tandem Instructor, in which the student is strapped to the Instructors front, and conducts a free-fall descent from altitude, and a long canopy ride under a very large parachute, remaining attached throughout!! (2) Another name for the piggyback parachute system, in which the main and reserve canopies are in the same container
Terminal velocity
The speed at which drag matches the pull of gravity, resulting in a constant fall rate. Typical terminal velocity for formation skydiving is in the 120 to 135 mile per hour range, but speeds as high as 300 miles per hour have been reached.
Three ring
A parachute release mechanism that utilizes three rings of separate size in a mechanical advantage system. Invented by Bill Booth in the late 70s, the three ring release is almost universally considered the best cut away system available.
Throw out
A deployment method in which the pilot chute is stowed in a pouch on the belly, leg of bottom of container.
Toggles
Handles on the steering lines.
Total
Type of malfunction where there is nothing out of the container
Track
To assume a body position that creates a high forward speed. Used to approach or depart from other skydivers in freefall.
T.O.
Technical Officer – an employee of the BPA responsible to Council for technical and overall running of the Association on a day-to-day basis
TSO
Technical Standard Order. A technical standard that all American parachutes must meet before they can be marketed. Unless specifically exempted by the FAA, a parachute must have a TSO placard to be legal.
Turn around load
When the aircraft does not shut down between loads, but lands and picks up skydivers for immediate departure.
The upper winds, or winds at exit altitude. The “uppers” are often much stronger and occasionally from a different direction than ground winds.
USPA
The United States Parachute Association is a non profit skydiver’s organization. USPA offers guidance and assistance to skydivers in training, government relations, competition, and many other fields. Most drop zones require USPA membership of individual skydivers because such membership includes third party liability insurance.
line used on high performance canopies, non stretching or shrinking
VGATW
Very Good All the Way
VRW
Vertical relative work, a competitive point competition on the vertical orientation, team members fly head up and head down whilst taking grips in various formations
Prior to deployment a skydiver should make a clearly defined arm motion to indicate to others nearby that he is about to open his parachute. A good wave off is essential to the avoidance of deployment collisions.
WDI
Wind drift indicator. A paper streamer thrown from the jump plane to estimate winds under canopy and determine the spot.
Weights
Many lighter skydivers wear a weight vest to allow them to maintain a fast fall rate.
Wuffo
Skydiver slang for people who don’t jump, from “Wuffo you jump out of them planes?”
Wind line
An imaginary line from the desired landing area, extending directly along the direction the wind is blowing.
Winds aloft
See uppers.
Wing loading
The ratio of weight born by a wing to its surface area. In the US, divide your exit weight in pounds by the square footage of the canopy.
Common slang for a type of fabric relatively impermeable to air. The less air that flows through the fabric wing of a ram air parachute, the more efficiently it flies.
ZOO
A jump that didn’t go quite as planned!
If you have any suggestions to add to the above then please add them in comments so I can make this the largest most concise directory of skydiving terms available.
ciao Fordy
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