Students jumping in boogies

[banesanura 1]

So- there are a ton of boogies coming up. I am hesitant to jump- Obviously will DZ know that I am a student working on A license- and they will help me get on a load with a coach right before the tandems or doing a solo being last to exit the plane with a load of fun jumpers.

Is it fine for me to jump from other planes other than the otter/cesna in the same order I have been jumping?

When can I move on to jumping in the middle of fun jumpers? (as in how # of jumps)

Best Girl Scout Ever.

[Butters 0]

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When can I move on to jumping in the middle of fun jumpers? (as in how # of jumps)

When you jump is based on the type of jump and pull altitude, not the number of jumps. Do a search on exit order.

"That looks dangerous." Leopold Stotch

[PhreeZone 15]

Typically if you are going to be pulling at student heights then you will be out with the students but when you move your deployment down to 4000 or even 3500 then you are able to move to the middle of the plane so you are fitting into the correct exit order.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[kkeenan 13]

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...when you move your deployment down to 4000 ...

Pardon my old age and ignorance, but what altitude do students pull at thses days ?

Kevin

_____________________________________
Dude, you are so awesome...
Can I be on your ash jump ?

[PhreeZone 15]

AFF/Tandem Cat A and B- 5500 feet for the wave off/ Pull 4500
AFF Cat C - Wave at 5000/ pull at 4000
AFF Cat D & E - Wave at 4500/Pull by 4000
Cat F & G - Wave and pull by 3500
Cat H - Wave and deploy by 3000

I've seen some DZ's put coach jumps in the Cat F-H levels out at the end of the RW groups since that is about where they fit into the freefall drift provided the setup time in the door is not going to be forever.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[daremrc 0]

I finished my IAD last year, and my opening altitude was 4500' for freefall jumps.

Good judgement comes from experience, and most of that comes from bad judgement.

[pcnut 0]

I did my AFF Course in March at Elsinore.

On the first AFF jump students are to wave off and pull by 5500 feet.

By level 8 the minimum pull altitude is 4500 feet, then by jump 25 it is 3500 feet.

After they get their license it is the 3000 feet as stated in the SIM.

I assume this may vary according to each DZ/AFF program.

Cya,
pcnut

[wildWilly 0]

I would advise you to stay at you home DZ until you have at least 50 jumps and your A licence.
If you attend a boogie chances are that there will be a lot of things going on with a lot of traffic in the air and on the ground. The staff are going to be busy with all the planned events and probably won't be as accessable to give you the attention you need.
I went to my first boogie in 97 WFFC (75 jumps) and was quite overwhelmed by the number of people all the aircraft and everything else that goes on.
It is quite different when you go from a Cesna DZ to seeing 30 - 100 canopies in the air all day long.
I can't tell you what to do but you will be a lot more comfortable with more jumps under your belt.

Be Safe,

Willy

growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional.

[wildfan75 1]

I see that your profile states that you're from Skydive Chicago. You should be some what used to jumping bigger planes like the Otter and having some canopies traffic in the air at the same time is not completely new.

I would suggest talking with your instructors at the dz. Ask around to see if any of them are going to the boogie that you're thinking about going to and see what they think about you going and ask them if they'd be willing to do a jump or two with you while you're there. They can help make sure you don't get into anything over your head.

You can also learn quite a bit at boogies without jumping. You'll meet people from all over the US and all over the world. If there are any gear manufacturers there, ask questions. Learning isn't just what takes place in your 60 seconds of freefall or 5 minute canopy ride.

I come from a small 182 dz. We closed the dz one day during a holiday weekend to go to a nearby Otter dz. We brought a student with us. We also brought a student rig and our student radios. We wanted them to be familiar with the gear since we were introducing a new dz and a new jump plane at the same time. We had an extensive, indepth conversation regarding canopy traffic, right-of-ways, and collision scenerios on the drive over. We put a radio on them for all the "in case of this" situations. We had her jump with our instructors and basically "held her hand" the entire time. We were able to get her two jumps in and was all smiles on the way home.

[mamajumps 0]

I have been in the sport for 5 years and still dont do a lot of jumping at boogies. Yes I am confident of my skills, and no my limits, however I am uneasy with being in the air with jumpers I am not famalier with. EX: there is a "wrench" on every load, and by a wrench I mean someone who will not follow the landing pattern for a paticular DZ. Its easy to know who these people are at your home DZ and it is easy to stay out of their way when you know who they are, but not so easy to do when you dont know. If I choose to jump at a boogie, it is early in the morning, while the majority of jumpers are still sleeping off hangovers from the night before.

[Reginald 0]

So are you talking about traveling to boogies? Or simply one that happens to be at your home DZ?

"We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

[banesanura 1]

Both- I have vacation time and friends in various states so I figured I can always check out boogies around the country.


That's the one thing I was nervous about was the "wrench" (never heard of it)

Which is also why I don't want to travel to another drop zone I am not familiar with- because I would accidently become that person...(not knowing the landing pattern)

I just moved to Chicago so SDC is my new home.

I was at The Farm in atlanta before. Plus when I jumped there often I would be out of a cesna (I would be the only one on a tuesday) so traffic wouldn't be an issue. I did my first jump at Chicago this past weekend (which is WAY bigger and more congested) I did the last load with a coach - in front of tandems- and I was on radio- so I could get used to the landing pattern.

I know summer fest is going to be there...I don't know if I should jump- I am going to learn alot-and meet some other dz.commers there- but haven't decided if I am going to jump.

Best Girl Scout Ever.

[billvon 2,391]

If you want to go to a different drop zone, I strongly recommend you go there when there is NOT a boogie going on first. The skies will be more empty, the staff will have more time to talk to you and you'll be less pressured overall.

[AnKaLi 0]

I'm fairly new and just got my license at the end of September last year, and with 75 jumps....jumping at a boogie makes me nervous! Air traffic is my biggest worry, and I doubt holding in brakes at that big of an event is going to give you clearance from other jumpers since another load will be coming out!

I'll still be at summerfest though, at least for the hellfish toga party!

[HillerMyLife 0]

I had about 200 jumps before going to my first boogie (Couch Freaks) but I learned and jump at Perris so multi Otter/aircraft was nothing new to me. I just had to ask about jump run and any rules about the pattern I didn't know about.

My advice to you is , if you have to ask...your probably not ready yet. Chicago is a great DZ and if you jump on a weekly basis you will be more comfortable by the time the boogie is going on. At that point it will have to be a "game time decision" in other words how you are feeling about it on that particular day based on ALL the variables.

With all that said I usually stay on the ground at Perris when the locals are heavily outnumbered by the visitors because no matter what rules the DZ puts in place (EX: No 270's in the main landing area) there always seems to be a few that didn't get the memo.

Someday Never Comes

[ZigZagMarquis 8]

banesnura,

Since you're still on student status, I'll assume you're not talking about going to another DZ to jump during a Boogie, but rather jumping at your home DZ (Skydive Chicago ??) during a Boogie Weekend.

Lots of good words about exit order, etc. / responses to your OP / questions. However, here's one other thing you might and others in a similar situation now ir in the future want to think about. If its a boogie weekend, you're DZ might be running multiple airplanes unloading at altitude one after another and / or on parallel jump runs. You, as the lower time / student jumper would be exiting near the back of the pack in front of the tandems or other lower time students and pulling higher as you and others point out. While this would put you open "higher" with respect to the up jumpers that exited the same airplane you did, what you might still find yourself presented with is being in the air and/or landing pattern with other more exprienced and likely jumpers under higher performance canopies that exited another aircraft shortly after you exited the one you did and/or from a parallel jump run. My point is, its good to think about where you'd be exiting the aircraft on a busy boogie weekend, but also think about where you'll be under canopy on a busy boogie weekend if the DZ is also running multiple aircraft.

Sitting it out on a busy boogie weekend might be something to consider too.

[Broke 0]

I would have to say it all depends on the Boogie. I completed my A during the Muff Brother Reunion a few years ago. But something like WFFC would be a bit of an ovrload

Divot your source for all things Hillbilly.
Anvil Brother 84
SCR 14192

[cjsgrlsx3 0]

Jump number 13 for me was at a boogie. I made sure I told the instructor that I would be landing away from the other jumpers. I was a little further out in the field. They were OK with it. This was also at a DZ i had never jumped at before. Everyone was great and we had lots of fun.

[mnealtx 0]

Back in my skydiving life, I made jumps 16-20 at the first Karlovy Vary boogie in the Czech Republic....so it *can* be done - just pay mind to the exit order, and have fun!!

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[banesanura 1]

I am going to be making a few more jumps until I complete my A- and I should be familar with the landing pattern (at Sky Dive Chicago) - I most likely will be sitting out during the boogie weekend and just learning from the more experienced divers. If anything I can always do first load with the regular jumpers at that DZ

Best Girl Scout Ever.

[Baksteen 84]

(Please insert the usual not-an-instructor yadda yadda sotry here.)

Several of the students at our small Cessna DZ were actually trained during a boogie week on a different DZ, where they were flying three Caravans and a Porter.
Mind you, they were trained by our instructors on our gear and while having the comfort of a huge landing area available in the 'unpopular' zone of the airfield - meaning far away from the spectators and taking a long walk back.
Our other low time students (including me) were encouraged to jump, but we were only allowed in the air when supervised by a jumpmaster from our home DZ and had to turn to our own instructors for briefings and debriefings.
Not that our instructors do not trust those of the hosting DZ, it is just that our own instructors know us and our problems, hangups and 'talents' (for want of a better word).

So boogie jumping for lowtimers IS possible, in the right circumstances. But first decide if you really want to do it at this time, then talk to your instructors to see if it's actually possible and if not what you should work on.

"That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport."
~mom

[popsjumper 2]

You know, so much depends on what is going on at the boogie and what's going on at the same time.

The positives:
- You have good people there that will help you with "jump" and "no-jump" decisions on a load-by-load basis.
- You are familiar with the DZ and landing patterns.
- The landing area is large enough that you can choose to fly and land away from everybody else.
- You have friends there and will not have to jump with total strangers.
- You're a smart person.

The negatives:
- Many unknown people doing whatever without regard to safety.
- Possibly multiple loads up at the same time creating more congested canopy traffic.
- Temptation to participate in jumps beyond your current skill level.
- (and a private joke) temptation to wrestle unknown opponents.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[banesanura 1]

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- (and a private joke) temptation to wrestle unknown opponents.

hahahahahah. I think I will leave the glory with the farm...

I went last weekend and just weas playing online the whole time... I stayed on the DL....

Best Girl Scout Ever.

[skyh2omedic 0]

The Peggs Boogie is held annually by the Kstate parachute club. It's run by college students and will have a healthy mix of low number jumpers and some other students that are up to 30/45 sec pulls. There will be special loads with coaching that are designed just for students. A great place to have a healthy mix and get to jump as well. The vibe is awesome. You find that the clubs culture of putting students first is really a common thread in all we do. Up jumpers will also find an awesome environment for them as well. Hard to find a DZ with a better mix. I would encourage you to contact Shaun at [email protected]
and to check out our boogie web site at www.kansasboogie.com
or our club website at www.skydivekstate.com
You will feel at home. This is one of the oldest clubs around and has a rich student tradition. Several students will be completing their "A" license at this Boogie.
You could also email or PM me and i can give you some info as well. Boogie dates are June 5-8. We will also be setting up and jumping on the 4th.
You have been to the Farm and SDC, don't forget to check these smaller DZ's to discover the hidden treasures they have. Kstate club holds a special place in a lot of folks heart. The vibe has to be experienced and can't be described. Good luck with your jumping. Some of us are hoping to make it to SDC later this summer-looks like it's a jewel as well.
Peace
Doug

"You can't teach what you don't know and you can't lead where you won't go"