We all know that showing up late for a date can make you miss out on… well, whatever you had planned! 😳
Your date with the airplane for a skydive is no different, and few of us ever miss that!
However, there are lots of skydivers who can be really, really bad about being late to their date at the loading area on the 5-minute call – before that airplane pulls up. There are a lot of potential reasons why, one of which is better than others…
Only One Reason to be Late
About the only good reason to miss being in the loading area on the 5-minute call is if you’re doing back-to-back jumps and you are still under canopy or grabbing your second rig. In this case, the rest of the load will know who’s missing and what they’re doing so they can be included in the loading order ”in absentia’. If you’re on a back-to-back, you probably already know you need to run and get to the loading area just as soon as you can for all the reasons below.
Ten Reasons Not to Be
For everyone else, there is no good reason to miss that 5-minute call and a whole lot of reasons why you shouldn’t. Below are 10 reasons why you should be in the loading area, fully geared up and ready to get on an airplane, on the 5-minute call…
- You’ll be ready to jump with time left over to check each other’s gear and your own. (How many gear issues have been caught in the loading area – or worse, on the airplane?)
- The entire load is present to help decide the exit order before the plane shows up and you can’t hear each other. Discussion may be required, especially if multiple movement groups are present and have differences of opinion! (Nah, that’ll never happen… 😉 )
- Movement groups will have time to review the dropzone aerial with all movement groups on the load to make sure flight plans don’t endanger anyone. This is much more easily done without aircraft noise and boarding urgency! This also gives time to let the straight-down groups know where each movement group plans to open.
- You’ll be ready if the plane shows up early – it happens sometimes, I’ve seen it! Rushing to the airplane because you’re late is a great way to prepare a bad skydive…
- The loader/jumpmaster can see exactly who’s on the load and have time to sort it out if anyone is missing/overmanifested without slowing down aircraft operations. (This translates to more jumps in a day for you!)
- Instead of hunting for late jumpers, ground crew can spend more time on the essential task of watching canopies and landings in case they need to respond to cutaways, off landings, and/or injuries. (How terrible would you feel if ground crew didn’t see someone hurt themselves and respond immediately because they were looking for you while you were just being lazy?!)
- You’ll have a few relaxed minutes to review your jump and get in that last dirt dive and mock-up exit. (Hint: JUMPS ARE MORE SUCCESSFUL when you are more mentally prepared!)
- You can ensure your whole group is there and ready to go on time.
- You’ll have time to make friends with the loader/ground crew – they’ll be the ones coming to get you if you land off, or finding your gear if you chop!
- You’ll have time to flirt with/meet the new guys/girls on the load, and find out where the party is that night!
A few lucky dropzones such as Spaceland Houston have lovely, air-conditioned packing/hangout areas that can tempt us to linger inside where it’s cooler on hot days, rather than heading to the loading area. I think we’ve all been guilty of that on occasion! That said, we should recognize the many reasons why being in the loading area by the 5-minute call truly improves safety, and strive to be a better example. The life you could potentially save may be mine – or your own!
Summary
The bottom line is, rushing or being late is the first in a series of events that can cause a poor skydive, misunderstanding or serious incident. Being on time or even early is an important part of preparing for a great skydive, and positive safety culture for the whole dropzone.
Article originally published on the Skydive Spaceland website here, reproduced by kind permission
