Justine Shotton, newbie skydiver with 65 jumps, visits the World Freefall Convention. She gives some friendly advice on the most important thing when you go to any large skydiving gathering:

Stayin' Alive!

Event: The World Freefall Convention
Location: Quincy, Airport, Illinois, USA
History: This is the event's 12th year
Participation: 3,244 registered skydivers - !!
Countries represented: 44
Duration: 10 days
Jumps made: Over 54,000
Aircraft: Otters, Skyvans, King Air, B-17, B-24, T-6, Bell 412 helicopters, biplanes, hot air balloon and more

Photo: Tony Danbury

1. Check your gear thoroughly before putting it on
This is something you should always do anyway but are in danger of neglecting if you know you're going to have a flight line check. Checking your gear is particularly important if it is demo kit as you don't know its history and it may not have been fully checked by the busy packers in between jumps by different people. Also, you need to familiarise yourself with handles in different places and possible new systems. Check the harness fits you correctly and you can easily locate all your handles. Find out if the rig has an RSL and a Cypres. If it doesn't, think how comfortable you are with jumping without one, bearing in mind you're jumping at an extremely busy boogie in an area you're not familiar with. These days most of the demo rigs DO have one, but make sure you find out before you're at 13,000ft! (Remember though, altitude awareness and good reserve drills are most important of all – an AAD is just back-up to taking action yourself – Ed) It's a good idea just to ask someone you trust to check you over before you get in the plane. Most people are very happy to do this and it may pick up a problem you didn't spot.
 

Photo: John Mayo

2. Don't downsize
Although demo gear is there to give you the opportunity to try out different canopies, remember it isn't a good idea to go for something smaller than you've jumped and are happy with. Every canopy is different and there may be significant changes in the flight characteristics of the demo canopy from your normal one; for example, it may be partially or fully elliptical, hence making it respond differently. Talk to the people in charge of the demo gear, who will be able to advise you on how best to fly it. It is especially important that you are confident with the canopy you're flying at a boogie such as Quincy, since there is a high chance you will land off. The helicopter landing area is not near the main airport, and with balloon jumps and bad spots you WILL be landing off.
 

Photo: Simon Ward

3. Check the wind direction before you jump
Checking the wind and orientating your landing direction with the sun means that, if you do land off, you'll know which way is into wind. There is a massive tetrahedron at Quincy to indicate the wind direction, so make sure you're happy with how to interpret it. In this case you should land in the direction in which the tetrahedron points. Most boogies will have a similar aid to help you. If you're unsure about the landing direction, whilst under canopy, keep an eye on those landing before you, especially when doing a balloon or chopper jump. Remember though, it is safer to take a downwind landing than to fly into an obstacle or to hit the ground part way through a low turn.

Photo: Justine Shotton

4. If you're doing a balloon jump, plan where you will land
If you're lucky enough to get to jump the balloon, keep your eyes open for suitable places to land before you get out. Remember the abundance of power lines near roads which are often hard to see, as well as the usual obstacles. If you're confident about where you're going to land you will enjoy the jump more and will not be searching frantically under canopy. If in doubt, talk to the other jumpers on the load.

5. Be ready early
It may sound obvious, but put your gear on before you get in the plane! It's not worth compromising your life just to get on a 'now' call. Take your time, be happy with your gear, check you've got everything (alti, helmet, goggles, rig) and then chill. This will relax you giving you time to concentrate on the dive and eliminating a needless last-minute struggle, trying to do up leg straps whilst sitting on the floor of a crowded Otter! Be happy with who you're jumping with. Plan every dive so you get the most out of your air time. Ask someone you trust to give you a pin check in the plane too.
 

Photo: Tim Porter

6. Check your airspace in freefall before deploying
At Quincy there are three parallel jump runs so there are trillions of people in the sky at once. A lot of the jumpers will be from Cessna DZs, so they're only used to maybe six people in the sky. Their lack of awareness together with your low experience level produces a potentially dangerous situation. So, it's imprtant to continually check your airspace. This means looking everywhere around you and above you before you pull. If you're not safe to deploy, track away, re-check and then pull if it's safe (but watch your altitude – Ed). It's a good idea to break off a little higher than usual so you've got a bit more altitude available if you need it. Tell the jumpmaster if you're planning on pulling high, and tell them what type of flying you're doing and with how many people.
 

7. Constantly check your airspace under canopy
Once under canopy and all the way down, continually be looking around you, as with so many faster canopies in the sky it is easy for them to come out of nowhere. Avoid the flight paths of other parachutes early – even though you may have seen them, they may not have seen you and so it's best not to leave it until the last minute.

Photo: Tim Porter

8. Avoid busy landing areas
The airport at Quincy is huge. There is a small main landing area together with a large swoop pond and a further ten other places you can land. The main landing area is the busiest place as the majority of the experienced skydivers like to swoop in close to their tents. There's a 'no low hook turn' rule but people still hook it all the time. My advice to the less experienced jumpers would be to avoid this area and choose one of the many other larger, safer spots to land in. Here there will be fewer canopies in the air, with pilots doing gentler approaches which are less likely to be a danger to you. Use your judgement – don't get in the way of people coming in to the swoop pond, don't go to the landing area where there are already eighty canopies in the air. Choose a spot much further away and don't worry about a long walk back in the Illinois heat, since if you land a way out, they send get a chauffeur driven truck to carry you safely across the runways!