Skydiving Airport
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Tarheelpilot
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Tarheelpilot
Normally yes but there are plenty of dumb pilots. Keep your head on a swivel and make sure you’re actually on the CTAF for the airport.
Very much so. Also monitor the approach frequency, where they will negotiate their meat sack delivery.
Arrow76R
Pre-takeoff checklist
They do at KLIC (Limon, CO) and several other such places around here. Usually the announcement includes altitude and an imminent few minute warning.
Typically they do, but they also report on the local ATC frequency. Get flight following going in for an extra heads up.
Tarheelpilot
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This also depends on how high they are going and the nature of airspace around the airport. When I was dropping meat bombs we went to 14.5 and would stop a couple of times on the way up to let out people that didn’t pay for the full ride.
I was on CTAF and center every lift and had a code all day.
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scarcherpilot
Pre-takeoff checklist
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There is a fairly busy jump operation in NE Georgia and there is one jump pilot I hear all the time on the CTAF that pretty much announces jumpers away for like 30 minutes without taking a breath (ok it is probably only 2 minutes but it feels like an eternity). 122.8 is a busy freq anyway in my neck of the woods and for the love of God this guy must enjoy hearing himself talk. Jumpers must be on the ground by the time he is done LOL.
I guess that depends on the ATC facility involved. The ones around here require a call prior to the drop as part of the authorization to drop in controlled airspace.
tspear
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Timothy
He is Georgia, what do you expect? I mean have heard a southern drawl announce anything? It takes five minutes just to say hello!
Tim (I could not resist)
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I always marvel at the Jumpers Away call when it's like 20 degrees out. What's the windchill on a guy in freefall? I've jumped on a summer's day in shorts, but I can't imagine how warm I'd have to dress to do so below freezing.
tspear
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Besides talking to ATC and CTAF; I have found some jump schools have a semi predictable pattern. E.g. from takeoff climb is 15 minutes, five minute release, 5 minutes back to the airport, ten minutes reloading....
I have used this combined with the radio calls to adjust my approach speed so I coming in to land just about the time they are taking off again. (This was the time the jump school said was the safest and least congested).
Tim
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I have used this combined with the radio calls to adjust my approach speed so I coming in to land just about the time they are taking off again. (This was the time the jump school said was the safest and least congested).
Tim
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scarcherpilot
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Well, he is a "showman" about it for sure.....for example he will say "Fifteeeeeeeeeeen THOUSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND Feet from the surface of the earth traveling at 120 miles per hour" and you are correct, i am a southerner born and raised, but this guy has an accent that even makes us southerners cringe. LOL
Johnvan
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Don’t overfly the field to join the traffic pattern. If you fly a normal pattern you should be fine. That’s what they’re expecting you to do.
It’s uncommon but skydivers do occasionally land on the runway or taxiway due to inexperience, wind etc. Keep an eye out for that.
If there’s a group landing while you’re taxiing in keep an eye on them and stay put if unsure. Ask the jump pilot for guidance if in doubt.
It’s uncommon but skydivers do occasionally land on the runway or taxiway due to inexperience, wind etc. Keep an eye out for that.
If there’s a group landing while you’re taxiing in keep an eye on them and stay put if unsure. Ask the jump pilot for guidance if in doubt.
Tools
Pattern Altitude
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The CTAF call is required two minutes prior.
that being said, it’s easy to forget, sometimes the freq is so clobbered you can’t hear, etc. and most of the rest of the flight they are on approach of some kind where a 1 min call is required.
my opinion is that it’s simply best to do wide straight in approaches and know the winds and drop zone to be safest.
that being said, it’s easy to forget, sometimes the freq is so clobbered you can’t hear, etc. and most of the rest of the flight they are on approach of some kind where a 1 min call is required.
my opinion is that it’s simply best to do wide straight in approaches and know the winds and drop zone to be safest.
EdFred
Taxi to Parking
And then you have that one bonehead sky diver who lands right in the middle of the intersecting runways on purpose when a plane is on touchdown instead of the LZ. That got the operation ousted from our field. And this was an experienced skydiver, not some noob that couldn't steer.
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Ari
Sometimes the AWOS will also give some information about jumping operations, including which side of the field to avoid. Even without that, there might be right-hand traffic for one end of the runway, which is another clue about where the jumpers are expecting to find airplanes and vice versa.
There's a small operation here that flies off a private grass strip. They are outside the Charlie airspace, but communicate with approach. Approach makes announcements and vectors aircraft away, but there is nothing stopping a nordo vfr from blundering into the area.... which i suppose is true of any uncontrolled field.
The other one I'm familiar with is up at Rochelle. They communicate very well both on ctaf and with Rockford approach. Rockford will even give you a heads up as to where the jump plane is and how long before they start dropping meat bombs.
The other one I'm familiar with is up at Rochelle. They communicate very well both on ctaf and with Rockford approach. Rockford will even give you a heads up as to where the jump plane is and how long before they start dropping meat bombs.
Lowflynjack
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Jack Fleetwood
Yep. Seems like every "jumpers away" call I hear in Texas sounds like a combination of Boomhauer from King of the Hill and Kevin Lacy from Airplane Repo, but sped up about ten times. They really think they're cool and must get bonus points if you can't tell which airport they're at. Being in Central Texas, I can hear jumpers from North of Dallas and down in Port Aransas, not to mention ones that are much closer.
EdFred
Taxi to Parking
The FCC really needs to open up some more CTAF freqs.
Lowflynjack
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Jack Fleetwood
Agree. 122.8 is terrible in Texas, 122.9 is just as bad. I've noticed a couple have changed lately. Then it seems you have to listen to both frequencies for awhile until everyone figures out it has changed!
EdFred
Taxi to Parking
So lucky to be based an airport that I can only hear 2 maybe 3 other airports - coincidentally one of them has a skydive operation.
Juliet Hotel
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Juliet Hotel
This. By the time jumpers are at pattern altitude, they're under canopy, pretty easy to spot and generally set themselves up to remain well clear of the traffic pattern. Keep your eyes open for sure but they're not much of a factor most of the time.
The jump plane will generally also remain well clear of the traffic pattern right up until they're on short final. At least that's how I used to fly it. SOP where I used to work was throttle to idle as the last jumper when out the door followed by a wing over/pitch down to vne. I would enter a downwind about 3500 agl and top of the green arc and would bleed speed and altitude during downwind and base turning final about somewhere between 500 and 800 agl. I always adjusted to time my arrival so as not to disrupt other pattern traffic, but having a jump plane drop into final while you're on downwind was not usual. Keep your eyes open and you'll be fine.
painless
Line Up and Wait
now, that’s funny right there.
Juliet Hotel
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We would usually call five minutes till jumpers, two minutes, till jumpers and jumpers away. And we would have to make each those calls to approach, to the pattern to our own ops base and to the jumpers in the plane. That's a lot of switching and talking while still trying to make sure you get to specific spot over the airport at right altitude and on the right heading so the jumpers make back to the airport and don't end up on a golf course 3 miles away. Talking fast is almost unavoidable at that point.
EdFred
Taxi to Parking
About CTAFs....
I pulled the 5010 data this morning. There are actually a few public use airports without control towers in the 48 CONUS that aren't in the 122.7-123.075 range.
I also ran totals on the number of times each CTAF frequency is used in the 48 CONUS
118.1 - 1
118.325 - 1
118.5 - 1
119 - 1
122.7 - 359
122.725 - 63
122.775 - 1
122.8 - 1395
122.825 - 1
122.85 - 3
122.9 - 1502
122.95 - 8
122.975 - 47
123 - 366
123.05 - 115
123.075 - 55
123.3 - 1
123.6 - 6
126.2 - 1
126.6 - 1
128.25 - 4
I pulled the 5010 data this morning. There are actually a few public use airports without control towers in the 48 CONUS that aren't in the 122.7-123.075 range.
I also ran totals on the number of times each CTAF frequency is used in the 48 CONUS
118.1 - 1
118.325 - 1
118.5 - 1
119 - 1
122.7 - 359
122.725 - 63
122.775 - 1
122.8 - 1395
122.825 - 1
122.85 - 3
122.9 - 1502
122.95 - 8
122.975 - 47
123 - 366
123.05 - 115
123.075 - 55
123.3 - 1
123.6 - 6
126.2 - 1
126.6 - 1
128.25 - 4
Johnvan
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Interesting, so if you don’t know the frequency broadcast on 122.8 and 122.9 and you’ll have an almost 75% chance of getting it right!
122.9 (MULTICOM) is dedicated to airports without UNICOM licenses which accounts for the prevelence.
Usually these fields have very little traffic.
122.8 was the original UNICOM frequency so it's pretty clear why there's so many still there.
Usually these fields have very little traffic.
122.8 was the original UNICOM frequency so it's pretty clear why there's so many still there.
EdFred
Taxi to Parking
You would think it might just be a request. A couple of them are recently changed 118.1 at S34 was 122.9 not too long ago. Same with THM and 118.325
tspear
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Timothy
The FBO back at KGAI said it took persistence and multiple years for an airport to convince the FAA to allow it to change the local frequency.
Tim
Spring Ford
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Helicopter rotors ...
https://apnews.com/article/2e5ced11a31098248aadb5f1000c840c
"Novice Parachutist Killed in Fall Onto Helicopter Blades"
Rushie
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Ouch! I can see how that can happen, I was the “noob who couldn’t steer” when I made my first (and only) jump. I missed the landing zone by two farmer’s fields and landed between a row of soybeans and a stand of trees. I missed the trees by finally figuring out how much force I needed to pull, I had underestimated early on and hence went so far off course. This person was female, I speculate maybe she had a similar problem? Maybe women don’t pull as aggressively as a man might without conscious effort, just a biological muscle mass difference.
I never jumped again, not because of that, I loved it! I just set out to do it once and only once. Never intended to make it a hobby.
The lower ones are ATC freqs, typically control tower frequencies, that became the CTAF when the tower is closed (either temporarily or permanently).
Most of the ones that are in heavy use are unicoms or multicoms.
There are a few that are "specia/aviation support. The rest defy explanation. 126.2 is the military ATC freq. 126.6 is a FSS frequency.
Lowflynjack
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Jack Fleetwood
I can tell you that in my area, 122.9 is the second busiest frequency behind 122.8. Both are extremely busy, especially on weekends.
EdFred
Taxi to Parking
S34 and THM both showed as 122.9 on some recent sectional charts, so the closing of a tower was not the reason. Gillette, WY had a tower until last year, and I think VUO did. @Pilawt probably can answer that one. 126.6 at Knoxville downtown is the CTAF as marked on the sectional and the 5010 data.
I didn't say that the airport had to maintain the tower frequency as the CTAF, just that some of these "tower" frequencies that are listed as CTAFs probably got them because they previously used that frequency when they had a tower.
EdFred
Taxi to Parking
I'm pretty sure S34 didn't have a control tower.