The cost of avoiding jump areas is not significant. A 10-degree correction to your heading, begun 30 miles out, is all it takes to miss the center of a jump area by 5.3 miles - at least according to my high school trigonometry. This is plenty of margin. Making such a correction and then returning to your base course will add less than one mile to the overall length of your trip - also according to my high school trigonometry. In a typical single engine, fixed-gear airplane, we are talking about adding 30 seconds to your flight time.
It's true that the jump airplane may fly much farther out than five miles while climbing to its release altitude, but standard traffic scan techniques should be all that is necessary to avoid it. While many jump schools still operate single-engine aircraft, more and more of the bigger schools use larger airplanes. (DC-3s and Twin Otters are popular for their slow-flying abilities, and these are big enough to be pretty hard to miss if you're keeping up a good scan.) It is the jumpers themselves who are hard to spot, especially while in free fall.
I recently had an experience with this. While I was flying under instrument flight rules in VFR conditions, an air traffic controller warned me of traffic directly above me. I looked up and spotted a DC-3 some 4,000 feet above me. Very shortly afterward, I heard the pilot of the jump airplane make the appropriate radio call - one minute to jump.
I immediately advised the controllers that I was turning to keep from being directly below when the jump began. I moved to a position about a half-mile from my course line and turned to maintain a parallel track with the jump plane. When he called "jumpers away," I watched carefully, curious as to what the jumpers would look like from my vantage point. I was surprised. Despite my ringside seat and the fact that I knew exactly where to look, I never saw any of the jumpers.
After a reasonable amount of time, I began to look down at the airport on which they were landing (the jump zone is usually an airport), thinking that I would surely see the chutes when they opened. I never saw a thing. Clearly, you cannot rely on see and avoid to miss parachutists.
It is also true that the jumpers may not be directly over the jump zone when they exit the aircraft. The speed of the airplane (usually less than 80 knots) imparts a forward momentum to the jumpers, and the wind can also affect their paths across the ground. But the motion is still primarily vertical. Seldom will the release point be more than two miles from the landing zone. Missing the center of the area by five miles is usually sufficient.
And sometimes, you won't need to divert at all. When flying VFR, you can obtain information on the current status of the jump area by contacting the nearest air traffic control facility. Near tower-controlled airports, this will be the tower or approach control. In more remote areas, this is usually the air traffic control center.
If you don't have the appropriate frequency, try calling flight service on 122.2 MHz or any of the other FSS frequencies published for the area you're flying in. They can tell you whom to call, but they won't necessarily know whether or not a jump area is active. Do not rely on flight service during your preflight briefing for information on jump zones. They can give you notams about the areas if the jump school has notified them. But this is only information that there is supposed to be jump activity on a given day. The only way to find out if there is a jump in progress at any given minute is to talk to the air traffic control facility (approach, tower, or center) that is working the jump aircraft.
Once you have the correct frequency, you may either choose to contact air traffic control and ask the status of the area, or simply monitor without calling. Be warned, however, that if you are dealing with a large air traffic control facility that uses several frequencies, there's always the chance that you are listening to the wrong controller. That's why it never hurts to ask.
If you are monitoring the correct frequency when jumps are taking place, you will hear the pilot and air traffic control broadcast a series of advisories before, during, and after the jump. ATC will also be giving information to aircraft they are working-both those on IFR flight plans and those receiving VFR flight following-about current activities. A typical sequence might go something like this:
- Jump airplane: Podunk approach, Jump Five Five, one minute prior to jump.
- ATC: Jump Five Five, roger. Attention all aircraft, parachute jumping by a Twin Otter in the vicinity of Smallville airport, one-four thousand and below, beginning in one minute.
- Jump airplane: Podunk approach, Jump Five Five, jumpers away.
- ATC: Jump Five Five, roger. Report jumpers on deck. Cessna Two Eight Charlie, parachute jump activity in your twelve o'clock position, six miles, one-four thousand and below.
- Two Eight Charlie: Cessna Two Eight Charlie, roger.
- Jump airplane: Jump Five Five; jumpers on deck.
- ATC: Jump Five Five, roger. Squawk one-two-zero-zero, frequency change approved. Attention all aircraft, parachute jumping in the vicinity of Smallville Airport is terminated.
Part 105 of the federal aviation regulations governs parachute jumping activities. The regulations clearly state that jump aircraft must have radios and must be in communication with air traffic control for the purpose of making jump notifications. Air traffic control, in turn, is responsible for making advisory broadcasts and coordinating with other ATC facilities that may be affected by the jump. Jump airplane pilots are not expected to communicate with other facilities if their jump will affect more than one.
It's worth noting that air traffic control is not always responsible for moving aircraft that they are working away from the jump zone. This is something that should be understood by all pilots. ATC's responsibility varies, depending upon what kind of airspace the jump is taking place in. If the jump is conducted in Class A, Class B, or Class C airspace, the controller will actively separate traffic (both VFR and IFR) from the jump activities. This means that you will be vectored away from the area while it is in use. In Class D airspace, both the jump airplane and non-participating aircraft (an FAA term that in this case means any aircraft not directly involved in the jump activity) will be given advisories. They won't actually be given separation.
In Class E airspace, air traffic control is responsible for issuing traffic advisories to the jump airplane and to any aircraft being worked by the ATC facility that will transit the jump area. Many air traffic controllers feel a moral obligation to keep traffic under control clear of the area. These controllers will vector their traffic. It must be understood, however, that they have no requirement to do so, even for aircraft on an IFR flight plan. Do not assume that if the controller hasn't vectored you away from the area, the jump activity presents no hazard to you. Instead, exercise your responsibility as pilot in command and request a vector if you are uncomfortable with your proximity to the area. Controllers are required to assist aircraft in avoiding the area if the pilot so requests.
There is one place where jump activities really do affect other airspace users. As I said earlier, many jump zones are over airports. This is so that the jumpers won't have to be picked up at some remote location and trucked back to the point of origin. Airports, unfortunately, are places of natural convergence. If you are taking off or landing at an airport where jump activities are in progress, your exposure is much greater. The key to operating to, from, and on an airport used by jumpers is knowing the status of the jump at all times. If there is a control tower present, there should be no problem. The tower will keep you advised. At nontowered airports, keep your eyes moving. We don't usually look straight up while we are taxiing or preparing for takeoff, but if you know that jump activity is a possibility, you must do just that. Avoid approaching the airport at high altitude. Once the chutes are opened (usually about 3,000 feet above the ground), the jumpers are more visible and are descending much slower. In the traffic pattern, keep watch ahead and slightly above your course. Jumpers with their chutes deployed who are directly above you are not a threat. Monitor unicom as well. Although it is unlikely that any of the jumpers is carrying an aviation radio, the jump airplane, unicom operator, or other concerned pilot may be able to provide information on where the jumpers are.
Many users place different demands upon the available airspace. Jumpers are just one facet. Rather than resenting them, we should embrace them as part of the greater family of aviators. As you start to understand their procedures, you will realize that their impact on our aviation activities is generally slight. Plan your flight, get on the radio to the appropriate ATC facility as you approach the jump area, and keep your eyes open. It's not that difficult, and it improves safety for everyone sharing the skies.
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