Andy McNab - DropZone

‘I lied.’ Johnny let his trademark grin spread across his face. ‘What do you say?’

In spite of everything, Ethan couldn’t stop grinning back. ‘I’m in,’ he said, as he’d known he would. Then his grin became a wide smile. ‘Life’s too short not to.’

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AAD -Automatic Activation Device: senses rate of descent and altitude – mechanically activates reserve parachute if a skydiver passes below a set altitude at a high rate of descent.

A/C -Aircraft.

Accuracy -Also known as ‘precision landing’. Competition discipline in which the skydiver tries to land on a target three centimetres in diameter.

AFF -Accelerated Freefall training, comprising freefall jumps of forty seconds or longer, accompanied by a qualified jumpmaster.

AGL -Above Ground Level. Altitudes are in reference either to Ground Level or Sea Level (MSL). Skydivers always use AGL when referring to altitude.

Airspeed -Speed of a flying object through the air.

Altimeter -Device indicating altitude.

Base -Core around which a formation skydive is built. Can be a single person or a group.

Body position -Freefall body posture.

Boogie -Gathering of skydivers.

Bounce -To land at unsurvivable speed. Also to frap, or go in.

Box man -A neutral, face-to-earth body position in which the arms form right angles at shoulder and elbow, and the legs are spread at about forty-five degrees from the long axis and bent forty-five degrees at the knees. Generally considered the ideal position for formation skydiving.

Brakes -The brake lines of the canopy are also steering lines. Used together, they slow the parachute. Used independently, they result in a turn.

Break off -To cease formation skydiving by tracking away from the formation prior to deploying the canopy.

Burble -An area of low air pressure above a descending skydiver caused either by them in freefall or by their canopy in flight.

Call -Time remaining until you are to board the aircraft or jump out of it.

Canopy -Another name for parachute.

Crabbing -Canopy flown at an angle sideways to the ambient wind, resulting in a path across the ground that is sideways as well as forwards.

Creep -Practising formation skydiving sequences while lying on a creeper.

Creeper -A board with wheels on which a skydiver lies to simulate freefall manoeuvres.

Cut away -To release the main parachute. Standard emergency procedure prior to deploying the reserve.

Dirt dive -Skydive rehearsed on the ground.

Drogue -In a tandem jump, a drogue parachute is released shortly after exiting the aircraft to reduce the speed of descent. It is later used to deploy the main canopy.

Dropzone / DZ -Skydiving landing zone.

Exit weight -Total weight of jumper, equipment and clothing.

Fall rate -Speed at which a skydiver falls. Matching fall rate is essential to successful formation skydiving. This is done with jumpsuits, weights and body position.

Flare -To pull down the brakes of the canopy, thus increasing the angle of attack and reducing the descent rate.

Floater -Skydivers who leave the plane before the base are called floaters since they must use a slow fall rate to get up to the base. Floating also refers to an exit position outside the plane.

Formation -1) A freefall skydiving formation of more than one jumper.

-2) A flight of more than one jump plane.

Freestyle -Acrobatic individual skydiving.

FS -Formation Skydiving. Skydivers attempt to go through a predetermined sequence of freefall formations.

GPS -Global Positioning System.

Grippers -Handholds built onto formation skydiving jumpsuits to make the suits easier to hold onto.

Hand deploy -To activate a canopy manually by deploying the pilot chute as opposed to pulling a ripcord.

Harness/ container -Webbing/fabric holding main and reserve canopies to the skydiver.

Heading -Direction in which the aircraft, skydiver or parachute is facing.

Hook knife -Small knife carried in jumpsuit or on rig to cut lines or webbing.

Jump run -Flight path taken by the jump plane.

Jumpsuit -An overall designed for skydiving.

Main -The primary canopy.

PLF -Parachute Landing Fall. A technique used to minimize injury during rough landings, a PLF distributes the landing shock along feet, calves, thighs, hips and shoulders.

Reserve -Auxiliary parachute carried on every intentional parachute jump.

Rig -Slang for the entire canopy, including main and reserve canopies and the harness/container.

Rigger -Someone who is qualified to pack and check the rig.

Ripcord -Deployment system on all reserves and most student parachutes. The ripcord is a piece of cable with a handle at one end and a pin at the other. When pulled, the pin comes out of the closing loop holding the container shut, and the pilot chute is released.

RSL -Reserve Static Line. A backup device for automatically deploying the reserve if the skydiver cuts away. Only effective in malfunctions where the main canopy is at least partially deployed.

RV -Rendezvous.

Skygod -Skydiver whose ego has grown faster than his ability.

Stall -When the angle of attack becomes too high to sustain lift.

Steering lines -The lines that run from the steering toggles to the trailing edge of the canopy.

Stering toggles -Handles attached to the ends of the steering lines.

Swoop -1) To dive down to a formation or individual in freefall.

-2) To aggressively approach the landing area in order to produce a long, flat flare and exciting landing.

Tandem -Two skydivers share a rig, one of whom is in a separate harness that attaches to the front of the other harness.

Terminal velocity -The speed at which drag matches gravity, resulting in a constant fall rate. Generally terminal velocity for formation skydiving is 120-135 mph.

Track -Body position that creates a high forward speed. Used to approach or veer away from other skydivers in freefall.