Different countries, different dropzones, different rules.

[Nicknero1405 0]

Today I, as an AFF-graduate student with a total of 40 jumps decided to visit a dropzone while on vacation in Czech Republic.
At my home dropzone in The Netherlands I jump on a relative big dropzone where they use Cessna 208 grand caravan airplanes that fit up to 18 skydivers.
At the dropzone in Czech Republic where I made two jumps today they used a Cessna 182 airplane that only fits up to 4 skydivers. So that's a huge change, but it's not my biggest concern.

My biggest concern is the massive difference in rules and regulations regarding skydiving. I mean, at my local dropzone we have a huge list of common regulations in all parts of the skydive experience. From certain handlings in the plane ride up, to required certain handlings before landing. (such as the left-hand circuit landing). And much more.

But when arriving at the dropzone in Czech Republic, it was kind of: "Show me your papers... ok looks good, there is the plane, Have fun."
They didn't care what you did, where you landed (With exception of not to land on the runway grass strip) or what you did in the airplane on the way up or under canopy on your way down.
It was kind of shocking how lax they were on rules and regulations. But on the other hand, compared to my home dropzone it was a really small dropzone with less people and smaller planes. So maybe that has a role in it.


However, this experience made me think: How hard would it be for someone from Czech Republic who is used to such lax rules and regulations, to come and jump in The Netherlands where they are suddenly dealing with ridiculous lots of regulations? (This is just an example obviously. I can imagine this would be the same for a lot of other jumpers that come from one country and want to jump in another country.)

Did someone ever had trouble when you wanted to jump in another country? Or were you even denied for some reason? This seems like an interesting discussion. So feel free to post your stories if you can relate. ^^

[wmw999 2,444]

I haven't jumped in different countries, but I've been on a variety of dropzones. One thing to consider is that you're fairly inexperienced on your DZ, so you're used to being given instructions. But when you travel as an experienced jumper, it's up to you to request a rules (aircraft, manifesting, landing, etc) briefing. You should ask about prevailing winds and things to watch out for (eg dust devils being common) as well.

On a small Cessna DZ there isn't as much need for landing discipline, but it's still a good idea; feel free to exercise it. M

As an experienced licensed jumper, you are in charge of yourself. You gain respect from the DZ where you ask safety questions to guide you.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[DSE 5]

Wendy answered it really well. Think of driving...although the license you have allows you to drive in other countries, the signs, side of the road, speeds, and how to manage yourself in congested traffic are likely all different.

No two dropzones are completely the same, so you want to be prepared for those small (and sometimes large) changes. Some DZ's absolutely demand an AAD. Other's don't. Some require helmets, others don't. Some will have a First Man Down rule, others may have a mandatory direction while others have no directional rule at all.

I'm regularly jumping in another country and it's a challenge to see the difference in rules, observance of rules, patterns (or lack thereof), and even gutter gear with duct tape on it that no S&TA would allow on a US DZ.

YMMV. The cool thing is that the more you travel and jump, the more your comfort level will grow and provide you with better decision-making tools/experiences.

[riggerrob 643]

You are seeing the difference between good-old-boys cooperation and formal written regulations. Fewer jumpers in the air means lower risk of canopy collisions, but it is still a good habit to fly a predictable landing pattern.
The good news ... with the interweb and all ... is that DZ policies are converging on one global standard set of best-business-pratices.
When visiting a new DZ, you should always ask a local coach, instructor or load organizer to brief you on local landing patterns. When in doubt , fly the same landing pattern as you flew at home, keeping it rectangular, with only 90 degree turns below 1,000 feet ... easy for other jumpers to predict and avoid collisions.
The only local practices I am not willing to follow are DZs that have lax attitudes towards seat-belts. If I cannot wear a seat-belt, I do not fly in that airplane!

[Nicknero1405 0]

wmw999

You gain respect from the DZ where you ask safety questions to guide you.

Glad you said this, because it is exactly what I did. Although I cannot speak Czech at all, there was a nice girl jumping there that knew the dropzone really well that taught me everything I needed to know, and I asked her everything I wanted to know. (Such as things that I was taught on my local dropzone if they were also doing that there, etc.)

[virgin-burner 1]

i came to the netherlands to jump, same thing, here plane, have fun!

they actually did a briefing, each place is different.

at the dz i learned i get a briefing every season and every boogie. other one, yea, you been here, you know it. and if you hang out first and look up, soon you get a good picture of what's going on. but that doesnt happen over night.
sometimes it's hard being an adult..

“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

[Joellercoaster 6]

Interesting, huh?

So in the UK, we are probably at the "more rules" end of the spectrum, when it comes to skydiving (although not about everything - different countries have different things they care about more, like the US with cloud, the Netherlands with canopy sizes, Australia with accuracy and their rather excellent B-Rels). We can find it a bit confronting the first time we encounter "here plane - go skydive, be careful".

But the rules are just a particular skydiving culture's codified safety habits. Safety habits are good. So I tend to behave as though I'm at a BPA dropzone anyway when I'm there. I've had the following conversation a few times:

Me: "Can I get a flightline check please?"
They: "You know we don't have to do that here, right?"
Me: "Yup."

Same with always wearing a helmet, same with opening high, same with wearing restraints, not jumping a wingsuit for a bit longer (back in the day) and so on.

Self-responsibility and self-reliance are great; personally I like the skydiving culture I've come from and its rules have taught me a lot of useful things for when I need to exercise them

--
"I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan

"You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

[riggerrob 643]

... Me: "Can I get a flightline check please?"
They: "You know we don't have to do that here, right?"
Me: "Yup."

..................................................................................

Which reminds me of a briefing by a DZO back during the 1970s "If any experienced jumper refuses to check your pins, send him to talk with me."
.... meaning that the offender could spend the weekend on the ground.