Why exit at 10.5K?

[nad 0]

Skydive Radio asked a question with why are teams exiting at 10.5K for competition. Any of you history buffs know why this decision was made?

[ridebmxbikes 0]

I believe its because Rw teams only get 35 seconds of working time anyway so only going to 10.5 will make the loads turn faster and be more fuel efficient. That's just my thought

[JeffCa 0]

nad

Skydive Radio asked a question with why are teams exiting at 10.5K for competition. Any of you history buffs know why this decision was made?

I want to enter my guess, but it's just a guess. I understand that not every plane back in the day could make it much higher than 10,000 feet when full. So was it perhaps to level the playing field between teams at DZs with good planes and the others?

"So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

[wmw999 2,117]

Yep. 4-way comes from the Cessna 182, which held 4 jumpers (no video -- they watched from the ground with giant binoculars). A 182 normally went to 7200 feet; 10,500 was a high jump. Anything higher was really special (e.g. formation loads), and took painfully long to achieve.

10-ways probably come from the size of the Twin Beech.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Douggarr 6]

10-way speed stars were typically made from lower altitudes as the teams became faster and faster. I recall that when 14-18 seconds were the "norm" we would practice from 7,500 feet. I have a bunch of low teens times in my early log books, and we were not even competitive on the national scene.

SCR-442, SCS-202, CCR-870, SOS-1353

[darkwing 4]

I can remember some ten way practice out of our twin beech at Athol, Idaho as low as 5,500, but higher was more usual.

I did a lot of 4-way from the mid-1970s. The standard then was C-182 aircraft from 9,000 I think, but maybe 9,500.

Later, jumpsuits got tighter, teams fell faster, and had to exit higher. A few years ago I was on a 4-way team (Critical Mass) of big guys, 320 lbs on down. 10.5 barely gave us enough time.

-- Jeff
My Skydiving History