- When you get your skydiving A license,
a world of possibilities opens up to you.
One of the most fun thing to do
is to participate in skydiving event,
visit new drop zone, and make new skydiver friends.
But wait, did you say visit new drop zones?
Well, what should you consider
when visiting a new drop zone?
What should you be prepared for? What should you bring?
Let's talk about that in this video
so that you can be safe and cool
when jumping at a new drop zone.
(energetic music)
What's up, skydivers, it's Catherine from Skydive Vibes,
sharing the passion of skydiving
and helping you become better and safer skydivers.
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So of course, your first time being away from home
and the equipment, the planes, the people,
the landing areas you're used to
can be a little bit stressful.
Don't be too intimidated
because it's a great chance to meet new people
and a chance to learn more about skydiving.
Accept that it will be kind of a learning curve.
Be prepared to have fun and trust the skills and knowledge
you've learned up to now in your skydiving progression.
Now, what I'd like to do with you
is to go over the different steps
you'll have to go through when visiting a new drop zone
so that you can be better prepared and have any paperwork
or anything handy when you'll need them.
First, the check-in.
So whenever you visit a new drop zone,
your first thing to do is to go
right to their desk or manifest
and tell them that you are a new jumper at their drop zone.
They will then help you go through that welcoming process.
But one of the first thing you'll need to do
is to fill out paperwork like the waiver.
You may already know what a waiver is
because actually even at your home drop zone
at the beginning of each jumping season,
you are signing it as well.
But it is simply saying that you are aware
of all the risks around the sport of skydiving
and you won't sue the drop zone if you get injured.
Another form will be to know more about you
and your skydiving experience.
So you'll have to share your license information,
the ratings you may have,
they will ask you to see your log book, so don't forget it,
and make sure that you have your association card
up to date and not expired.
It's a way to make sure that you are a registered skydiver
and that you have the level of experience that you declare.
Now, the next step is your gear.
If you're bringing your own gear to the drop zone,
you will have to have it inspected by their home rigger.
Make sure to have your reserve card up to date,
make sure that your gear is in proper shape,
and you may also consider bringing extra rubber bands,
pull up cords, anything you might need
for the maintenance of your gear,
because jobs zones are not giving away
those rubber bands or pull up chords.
They may require you to have your own.
So to make sure you don't have to spend time
searching for those, well, make sure to have those with you.
If you plan on renting your equipment,
make sure to call ahead of time of your arrival
and ask them for the availability of gear
to your size and canopies of your level of experience.
All right, so now you're checked in,
your equipment is all verified and good to go.
Now, this step is very important and often overlooked.
You've never been there.
You don't know how they work, how the manifests work
how the landing areas work, what are the plan B and stuff.
So, first thing first, ask for a briefing.
So drop zones are used to that.
When new jumpers are coming in and they ask for a briefing,
they will assign you someone to help you out.
And you basically ask, how does it work here?
And they will, of course, show you how everything works,
how the manifest works.
Also ask them to show you the map of the area.
It is usually a map that all the drop zones
are supposed to have where you can see
from a height of 5,000 or even 13,000 feet,
the height we're jumping at, so that you have a view
of what you should be looking at when spotting.
But also, you want to go over certain elements with them
about the landing areas and stuff.
So what you want to know about is, what are landing areas?
Is there some landing areas that are reserved
for tandem landings or a C+ level license holder?
This is great to know
not to have to pay the beer at the end of the day.
Next thing you want to know is,
is there any obstacles you should avoid at all costs?
So is there power lines?
Is there areas that seems good from altitude,
but in fact it's dangerous to land there?
So you got to know those places as well.
You want to know their tricks or elements
that helps them to recognize the drop zone.
More often than not, the drop zones have elements
that are recognizable from high altitude
to help you locate the landing areas.
As an example, it can be an orange roof,
weird shaped building that people are used to see,
all right, when I see that roof,
I know that if I go north, I'll see the landing zone.
Those elements are important,
not only for spotting before jumping out of the plane
to make sure you are above the drop zone,
but also under canopy,
when you are looking to figure out where you're at,
well, having those elements to recognize
can really be a lifesaver to say, oh,
finally, the lending zone is behind me.
It's very important.
A side tip for that, because I've been in that situation
at a new drop zone and not knowing where the drop zone was,
I actually looked at the canopy traffic
and saw, oh, he's going that way.
Maybe I should, oh, the lending zone is there.
That helped me a lot.
So make sure to know about those elements,
but also look at the traffic while under canopy
to make sure you're going in the right direction.
Last but not least, you want to know
about the lending patterns, of course.
It's very important not to land in the wrong side
because not all the drop zones
are working their landing patterns the same way.
Make sure to ask about that.
Next, an important advice I want to give is,
you just arrived on that drop zone,
you just got a quick briefing.
Do not rush to the plane.
Take your time, sit down near the landing area,
take a look at how people are working around drop zone,
around the landing patterns, around the manifest,
to get a better sense of how everything works together
at that drop zone.
And this way, you're going to make sure that you fit in
when it will be time for you to manifest and start jumping
instead of being the awkward person
who's doing the pattern the other way around.
And of course, it will help you to see that day,
with the weather condition, how people are landing.
Again, that will help you be safer.
Now let's talk about planes because you're most likely,
if you're visiting a drop zone for a skydiving event,
you're most likely planning on trying new aircrafts,
which is great and fun,
but remember that some of those aircrafts may require you
to have a certain level of expertise, a certain license.
Of course, it depends on the rules
of your skydiving association,
but mostly, a B license is often required
to jump out of a helicopter or a balloon.
But other than that, an A license should suffice.
Of course, if you're jumping out of an aircraft
and it's your first time, beer, by the way,
make sure to ask about the loading and exit procedures,
how to work the door, where are the seatbelts,
where should you put your hands and feet while climbing out.
All those elements are very important.
So overall, the number one tip that can trump them all,
ask questions.
You're new there, tell them you're new.
You are wondering about something, ask.
Do not be shy to ask.
It's your responsibility to be safe for you in the sky,
at that new drop zone, and to be safe for others as well.
I also highly recommend that your first jump
at that new drop zone is done solo.
I always love to do that myself
because there's a lot of new things to think about.
So not having the distraction
of jumping with others right off the bat,
and of course, even others that you've never jumped with.
Make sure to do a solo jump, locate your reference points,
and make sure that you're comfortable to then go next
with new friends, new planes, and have a ton of fun.
I hope you found this video useful. Drop a like if so.
On that, keep jumping, stay safe, and blue skies.
(energetic music)