{"id":60099,"date":"2025-08-10T19:58:04","date_gmt":"2025-08-10T19:58:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/?p=60099"},"modified":"2025-08-10T19:58:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-10T19:58:10","slug":"bigway-safety-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/bigway-safety-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Bigway Safety Tips: Dan BC"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With the 200-way<\/a> Vertical World Record attempt and the 250-way<\/a> State Record attempts just around the corner, two of our top bigway leaders Andy Malchiodi and Dan BC, share a few bigway reminders. In part 2 below, Dan shares from his wealth of knowledge and experience in flying bigways.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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Awareness<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Some safety factors in skydiving are simple math. Regardless of the discipline, a solo is safer than a 2-way. A 2-way is safer than a 20-way. A 20-way is safer than a 100-way. The more skydivers there are, the more opportunities there are for things to go off-plan, and the more situations that could become dangerous if we don\u2019t see them coming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because of this, awareness is a necessary skill for safe skydiving. On a big-way, there\u2019s so much more happening that your awareness needs to be exponentially greater compared to smaller jumps. Take the time to truly look around you, everywhere. There\u2019s more to see, and you need to take the time to see it. However much you \u201clooked\u201d on smaller skydives, you\u2019ll have to look much more on a big-way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Never go on automatic. See what needs to be done, then do it. I\u2019ve never heard anyone in a freefall or canopy collision say, \u201cI saw that coming.\u201d They thought they were looking, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by Sergey “FF Racoon” Ignatov<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Expectations<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I can\u2019t count how many times I\u2019ve had skydivers on 100-ways say to me, \u201cWow, there were people really close on break-off and under canopy.\u201d Of course there were, it\u2019s a 100-way! Where else did you expect them to be?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting from exit frame to stadium is going to be crowded and busy. It never goes exactly as planned or exactly the same twice, so don\u2019t expect it to. It will, however, almost always be close enough to \u201cas planned\u201d for it to work, if you see everything and know what you need to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Break off is going to be crowded; don\u2019t expect otherwise and track off like it\u2019s a 20-way. There are a lot of people to be aware of, and there will be canopies everywhere. They may turn toward each other on opening, giving us only fractions of a second to avoid one another. If we\u2019re expecting this to happen, we\u2019re already one step ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On every break off, I expect to have a lot of people around me and I make sure I see everyone, especially the closest person. When I deploy, I know exactly who that closest person is and I\u2019m ready for our canopies to turn right at each other (and many times, I\u2019ve been right). By expecting these things to happen, you\u2019re ready for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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To our community involved in the upcoming records, we at Skydive Mag wish you safety and success! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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