Bro it's better to stay healthy, trust me. Last year a saw a very very bad accident with a small like this. The guy can never do that sport again.

Blue Skies, a lot has changed in the sport in the last few decades. The personalities are all about the same tho, thanks for watching & sharing your story. D29399

Thanks. I jumped a few times with a couple "three digit" D license holders - yes, that was a hundred years ago. :) We thought we were hot s..t jumping those Paracommanders, Mark II's. Wow, stand up landings! Beat landing under those C-9's, with a 7 TU mod! ha, ha, ancient history! I did hear guys, then, talking about Lew Sanborn and his D-1 license! Wow. And, we always loved those 2shot capewells! :) I've watched a lot of packing videos, plus the "three ring set up" by Bill Booth. Do have a "rookie" question: When you "cock the pilot chute, what happens under that PC skirt? I know that the "kill line" will kill the PC lift after opening, etc. Would love to see inside that PC skirt after it's cocked! :) Thanks again. B-6370 N-6395T

this vids a lil lengthy but it really really shows you every single piece: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/bqpoldCd18Wbg2g.html

I think this was a lower jump, from 12,000ft

Parachute is flying as fast as possible, wingsuiters are flying as slow as possible.

Parachute is flying as fast as it can. The wingsuits are flying as slow as they can.

no.

+cozmic “agent86” knight Check out USPA for more info. If you're asking me it should be around 1,000 jumps and 5 years in the sport.

TK Hinshaw thanks for that info, ...that DOES sound about right to me. cheers

+cozmic “agent86” knight DEPENDS WHERE YOU JUMP BECAUSE IN LODI YOU CAN CRACK 1000 JUMPS IN ONE YEAR OR LESS !

***** Thanks for that. Good to know.

Juan Andrade where is LODI ? 🤔

@daffidavit Funny you should ask. Skydiving is Part 91 and technically should be held to the same standard as other VFR traffic, however skydivers themselves (usually) hold no FAA certificates and as such the FAA does not go after individual skydivers who violate certain FARs. The FAA has tried and failed to hold pilots of the jump aircraft and operators of skydiving companies accountable, but in the end FAA judges have ruled that without the skydiver themselves admitting and providing evidence of their own FAR violations that there will be no penalty for violating the FARs, accidental or not. So simply put, the FARs don't matter to skydivers, as long as they keep saying they abide by the FARs and do not say anything different. You'll find many videos online of skydivers within the Jurisdiction of the FAA violating FAR 105.17, even some where it is completely obvious that there is a portion of the skydive where skydivers are in clouds, but getting the FAA to do something about it probably isn't going to happen within our lifetimes.

Additionally skydiving should be accomplished with published NOTAMs as well as the pilot of the skydiving aircraft maintaining communication with other traffic in the area for the duration of the skydive, thus other traffic should not be flying within a skydiving drop area. Skydivers have priority in right of way over most motorized traffic. Just figured I'd add that in also since you put in the private pilot scenario.

TK Hinshaw Good for you to reply. Thank you. This has been an issue of mine since I started flying airplanes in 1969 when I was 16 years old. Back then, there were very, very few skydiving zones. I remember flying a Bonanza from North Jersey in the early 1980s before there were "zones" marked on sectional charts. I remember flying one beautiful day about 6-7K north toward upper New York state and seeing a round canopy (no "parafoils" as they were known back in the day) with the parachutist kicking his feet trying to get my attention. Although we were a safe distance apart, I turned my aircraft to the left just to give him some breathing room. But I said to myself, "what is to become of this in the future" as I safely passed his round canopy. Well, here were are, I'm no longer twenty-something, but sixty-something, and I'm watching videos of people diving through clouds as if they own the sky. I can not go anywhere near 500 feet below the cloud, nor 2000 ft horizontal from the cloud, nor 1000 about the cloud for fear of colliding with another airplane who IS ON AN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT PLAN. But yet, a person with a parachute can simply go through the same cloud as if he owns it? Can you see the problem here? Of course, we pilots would like to work out these issues with you guys. But if we suddenly fly below a cloud within the legal distance and collide with you, who is at fault? I've seen many places where there are skydiving activities going on where the FAA APPROVED SECTIONAL CHARTS have no reference to skydiving activities. Any you guys blame us. How do I know this? The other day I was flying at a medium altitude, 6,500 ft. and I heard a skydiving pilot complain to ATC that an airplane penetrated HIS area. The skydiving pilot wanted to report the other airplane. The ATC controller was at a loss for whom to report. How do you guys expect private pilots to be aware of skydivers when the Sectional charts have NO REFERENCE to skydiving activities. You guys act like the sky is suddenly yours, even though we private pilots have been flying the surly bonds of Earth since WWII. Sorry, if I'm a little annoyed, but I am.

@daffidavit You are well within your right to be concerned. Skydiving does not have to be on the charts, although many dropzones who are open for more than a few months a year will generally work with their local air traffic controllers or local FSDO to get their skydiving activity put on the charts, much like the military. Skydiving only needs to have a NOTAM filed at least 24 hours before, and in areas where the airspace is not controlled you may have some surprises as there are more and more skydivers and pilots who do not respect air safety or the FARs, but I doubt you'll find skydivers everywhere you look while flying cross-country, especially above 5,000ft AGL. Generally us skydivers don't want to die either nor want to have to talk to the NTSB. I know I have eyes and I have avoided departing traffic, or in some cases other skydiving operations who drop on top of me. We do have a modicum of maneuverability and discretion to avoid hazardous operations, but until more fatal accidents happen, I'm afraid you'll have to continue to be annoyed, as we all know the FAA and NTSB will only do something when blood is involved, many forget the FARs are written largely in blood. The skydiving pilot went overboard in your circumstance, it should have been ATC's responsibility to divert you, it was not your fault nor the jump pilot's fault, but ATC did fail to keep you separate from the jump operation, I am assuming it was within Class D airspace? Generally most skydivers are on the ground after about 5 minutes of leaving the aircraft and pose little to no hazard to other aircraft, the sky is a big place afterall. I am a pilot and an A&P in addition to being a skydiver and parachute rigger, quite a bit younger than you, but I have been in the air for a decade and a half now. By the way, skydivers have been in the air almost as long as powered flight... the first parachute jumps were made out of hot-air balloons long before WWII and a bit before WWI if I have my history correct. We all have to share the airspace, like the FAA says flying is a privilege not a right, and we all have to share in the responsibility to safely enjoy aviation together. So just like we all forgive the student pilot for doing something silly, every now and then we have to forgive the student parachutist or similar for making us work harder as aviators. Report FAR violations to your local FSDO, but again they really won't want to do anything about it, I know from experience. Blue Skies D29399

TK Hinshaw Your points are well taken. The truth is, there is no sufficient "notam" system that can keep airplanes and skydivers perfectly safely away from each other. Airplanes travel horizontally and skydivers travel vertically. Skydiving is becoming such a popular sport that I believe someday the unheard of will happen. That is, an airplane carrying passengers will collide with a skydiver and all will perish. Every so often we hear of two airplanes colliding. It's very rare, but it happens. But someday, the above scenario will occur. It's bound to happen. Unfortunately, you are right. It will take a horrific accident before something is done to protect everybody involved. And most likely, nobody will take sides because both pilots and skydivers are a mixed breed with similar interests. All we can do is our best to stay attentive and say prayers. IMHO. But pilots need to be trained more to look out for skydivers. We are not and our aviation magazines rarely, if ever, have articles about the dangers. Maybe AOPA should do an article about this subject. Until then, be well and Blue Skies to you.