Birdmen and other aircraft

[funks 1]

I have only done 4 wingsuit jumps but they got me thinking about something....I did them out of a Casa, freakin unbelievable experience...there was nothing like standing on that tailgate after the tandems went and just watching the plane get further and further away before jumping, we must have been miles away when we left the plane.

Now i know the typical call for a pilot is to announce jumpers away to let nearby aircraft know skydivers will be in the sky...this is generally in the immediate vicinity of the airport...what, if any precautions or announcements are made when wingsuit flyers get out way far away from the airport? Seems like the odds of coming f2f with another aircraft are increased substantially in this situation???

[piisfish 136]

at my DZ (in Switzerland) the pilot announces 2 minutes before dropping and end of the dropping, ground control announces OK for dropping and also announces when everyone has landed.

when I do distance flights I announce it to manifest and depending on the flight planned check also with the C office at the airfield, so they can put incoming planes on hold somewhere else. That was the case a couple of weeks ago when I overflew the city of Lausanne and landed by the lake (WS and canopy flight just in the final leg for the planes)

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[BirdWoman 0]

You should always inform the pilot of your intended flight path (acro, long and straight back to the dropzone, immediate turn followed by another turn around **feet** and then back to the dz, etc.) That way the pilot will then have the knowledge and at least s/he can stay clear. As far as what to do about other planes in the area, it really depends on where you are jumping. If it is a busy airport then it is not a bad idea to ask the pilot to make an announcement that there will be a delayed canopy opening due to a longer freefall. Some dropzones have the pilot make a unicom call prior to exit if there are high pullers or if they do a go-around...this way the local traffic will know what's going on. However, keep in mind that this does no good if you are jumping at an uncontrolled airport and the pilot's don't give a rat's ass about the jumpers

"I don't know where it is that I'm going, but wherever it is there I'll be!" --quoted by me

[VectorBoy 0]

Jump pilot call or not, in this country out in the boonies at uncontrolled airports there is a fair amount of air traffic that does not even monitor the local unicom. They may have been involved with center and switch to uni a few seconds before pattern entry after visually scanning the pattern. By this time you are under canopy.

And there are many that don't have, don't use a radio. If your dropzone is a haven for experimentals or sailplane training, not just as a base but possibly as a way point ( ie fly over the pattern at between 5,000 and 10,000 ), definatley expect this. Spot your exit people. Wingsuiters look where you are going and not just across the flock. It is shared airspace.

If you are worried about this talk to your jump pilot. They have area familiarity and have kept their eyes and ears open on every load. They can tell you what to expect.

[greybeard 0]

Skydiving is not just 'falling' . Today and for the next ten years or so, we WS flyers are in for an interesting "collision course" with general aviation.
Most private pilots I know, don't like skydiving and or parasailing, and other low level intrusions to air space. Now that WS is invading upper altitudes, we can expect only problems. Be prepared to do battle over freedoms of air space and wright-of-ways in flight.

If you want to swim, get out of the boat!

Good luck to us.

The FAA is lurking.