Skydiving Kalamazoo: What to Verify Before You Jump
Contents
A first-time jumper weighing a tandem skydive has little to go on when judging the operation behind the booking. Whatever operator you find near Kalamazoo, Michigan, the same federal rules apply to it, and those rules are the thing worth knowing. The answer that protects a beginner is not a ranking of names. It is the set of requirements federal regulation places on every civil parachute jump in the United States.
They sit in one document. Part 105 of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations is titled “PARACHUTE OPERATIONS” in the federal government’s text at govinfo.gov, and its scope section prescribes “rules governing parachute operations conducted in the United States”, subject to narrow exceptions. That scope is national: the same rules apply wherever in the United States a jump is booked.
Key takeaways
- The federal rulebook is 14 CFR Part 105, “Parachute Operations”, covering parachute operations conducted in the United States.
- A tandem instructor needs 3 years in parachuting and 500 freefall jumps on a ram-air parachute, plus a master parachute license and training on the specific tandem system.
- The reserve must be packed by a certificated parachute rigger within 180 days for all-synthetic canopies, or 60 days if natural fibre is present.
- A manufacturer-approved automatic activation device must be operational and armed during each tandem parachute operation.
- Weather holds are law: the regulation forbids jumping into or through a cloud and sets visibility and cloud-clearance minimums by altitude.
The rulebook behind every civil parachute jump
Part 105 sets out those requirements in full. The Code of Federal Regulations text at govinfo.gov prints its authority as “49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40113-40114, 44701-44702, 44721” and a source note tracing the part to “Docket No. FAA-1999-5483, 66 FR 23553, May 9, 2001, unless otherwise noted.” That copy is the 2023 annual edition, a dated snapshot by design, so check any detail against the current official edition.
The definitions do quiet work. Section 105.3 defines a drop zone as “any pre-determined area upon which parachutists or objects land after making an intentional parachute jump or drop”, and a parachute operation as “the performance of all activity for the purpose of, or in support of, a parachute jump or a parachute drop”, so the rules reach the ground operation, not only the fall. A first-timer books a tandem parachute operation, one where “more than one person simultaneously uses the same tandem parachute system while descending”.
What the regulation demands of the instructor attached to you
The instructor is the variable a beginner cannot assess by looking. Section 105.45 sets a floor for instructors, requiring a specific minimum amount of experience in parachuting and a minimum number of freefall parachute jumps using a ram-air parachute. Note the second: not 500 jumps of any kind, but 500 freefall jumps on a ram-air canopy.
The credential requirement is where careless writing creeps in. The instructor must hold “a master parachute license issued by an organization recognized by the FAA”. The text names the credential and the condition, recognition by the FAA, so ask which organization issued the licence and whether it is current.
Generic experience is not enough on its own. The instructor must also be “certified by the appropriate parachute manufacturer or tandem course provider as being properly trained on the use of the specific tandem parachute system.” Rigs are not interchangeable, and the regulation treats them that way. The briefing must happen before boarding the aircraft, and must cover emergencies, exit, “freefall, operating the parachute after freefall, landing approach, and landing.” The harness check is regulatory rather than theatrical: the passenger must be secured in “the harness position prescribed by the manufacturer of the tandem parachute equipment.”
Two 180-day rules that are constantly merged into one
Section 105.43 holds two packing rules that look alike and are not. The main “must have been packed within 180 days before the date of its use”, and may be packed by a certificated rigger, by “the person making the next jump with that parachute”, or by an uncertificated person under a rigger’s direct supervision. The reserve is tighter on both counts: it “must have been packed by a certificated parachute rigger” within 180 days where canopy, shroud and harness are exclusively nylon, rayon or similar synthetic material, or within 60 days where any silk, pongee or other natural fibre is involved.
That rigger requirement is federal certification, not a job title. A separate part, 14 CFR 65.111, bars anyone from packing, maintaining or altering a personnel-carrying parachute intended for emergency use in connection with civil aircraft of the United States without “an appropriate current certificate and type rating issued under this subpart”. It provides for two grades of rigger certificate, one named as “Senior parachute rigger”.
Common mistake
Do not merge the main and reserve packing rules. Both use a 180-day interval, which is why they get quoted as one, but the main may be packed by a rigger, by the jumper about to use it, or by an uncertificated person under a rigger’s supervision. Only a certificated rigger may pack the reserve, and that interval drops to 60 days where natural fibre is involved.
Weather holds, cloud clearance and jumps after sunset
When a first jump is held on the ground for weather, the hold is the law. Section 105.17 bars any jump “into or through a cloud”, or where flight visibility or distance from cloud falls below a published table. More than 1,200 feet above the surface but below 10,000 feet MSL calls for 3 statute miles of visibility with 500 feet below, 1,000 feet above and 2,000 feet horizontal separation from cloud. At or above 10,000 feet MSL it becomes 5 statute miles with “1,000 feet below, 1,000 feet above, 1 mile horizontal.”
Darkness has its own rule. Section 105.19 bars jumps between sunset and sunrise unless the person descending “displays a light that is visible for at least 3 statute miles”, shown from the moment the canopy is open and functioning “until that person or object reaches the surface.”
Airspace, airports and why loads get cancelled
Much of Part 105 is about not surprising other aircraft. Section 105.5 puts the duty on both parties: no jump, and no pilot in command allowing one, “if that operation creates a hazard to air traffic or to persons or property on the surface.” The part requires prior approval from airport management for jumps over or onto any airport, plus the tower’s approval where a control tower operates.
Section 105.25 requires air traffic control authorization for operations within or into Class A, B, C or D airspace, and the controlling agency’s authorization for restricted or prohibited areas. Notification for the airspace under paragraph (a)(3) must land “no earlier than 24 hours before or no later than 1 hour before the parachute operation begins.” Section 105.15 lists what gets filed, including “the radius of the drop zone around the target expressed in nautical miles”, plus prompt notice of a cancellation.
Radio failure ends the day, and that is written down. The part requires radio contact with the controlling facility “at least 5 minutes before the parachute operation begins”, and requires operations to be aborted if the required radio communications system “is or becomes inoperative” before a required authorization arrives or during any jump in or into controlled airspace. Section 105.21 explains the sport’s geography: jumping over or into a congested area, or an open-air assembly of persons, needs a certificate of authorization.
A verification list to take to any operator
| Ask the operator | What the regulation requires | Section |
|---|---|---|
| When was the reserve last packed, and by whom? | Packed by a certificated parachute rigger within 180 days for all-synthetic canopies, or 60 days where natural fibre is present | 14 CFR 105.43 |
| What are the instructor’s hours? | Minimum 3 years in parachuting and 500 freefall jumps using a ram-air parachute | 14 CFR 105.45 |
| Who issued the instructor’s licence? | A master parachute license issued by an organization recognized by the FAA | 14 CFR 105.45 |
| Is the instructor certified on this exact rig? | Certified by the manufacturer or tandem course provider on that specific tandem parachute system | 14 CFR 105.45 |
| Will the AAD be armed on this jump? | Manufacturer-approved, operational, and armed during each tandem parachute operation | 14 CFR 105.45 |
| When does the briefing happen? | Before boarding, covering aircraft emergencies, exit, freefall, canopy operation, landing approach and landing | 14 CFR 105.45 |
Pro tip
Ask these questions at booking rather than at the boarding area. A well-run operation will answer on the reserve packing date, the armed activation device and the briefing without irritation, because it has to get all three right anyway.
The rules that bind the jumper as much as the operator
Two sections reach the customer directly. The part bars a jump, and bars a pilot in command from allowing one, if that person “is or appears to be under the influence of” alcohol or “any drug that affects that person’s faculties in any way contrary to safety.” Note “is or appears to be”: a refusal after a celebratory drink is a federal rule being applied, not staff temperament. The part lets the FAA Administrator inspect any covered operation, “including inspections at the site where the parachute operation is being conducted”.
Frequently asked questions
What federal rules govern skydiving in the United States?
14 CFR Part 105, titled “Parachute Operations”. Its scope section prescribes “rules governing parachute operations conducted in the United States”, subject to narrow exceptions. Its authority, printed in the Code of Federal Regulations text at govinfo.gov, is “49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40113-40114, 44701-44702, 44721.”
What must a tandem instructor have before taking a beginner up?
Section 105.45 requires a minimum of 3 years in parachuting, 500 freefall jumps using a ram-air parachute, a master parachute license issued by an organization recognized by the FAA, and certification by the manufacturer or tandem course provider on the specific tandem system.
How recently must the reserve parachute have been packed?
Within 180 days before use where canopy, shroud and harness are exclusively nylon, rayon or similar synthetic material, and within 60 days where any silk, pongee or other natural fibre is involved. Both intervals require a certificated parachute rigger.
Why is a jump held when the sky looks clear?
Section 105.17 prohibits jumping into or through a cloud and sets minimums by altitude: above 1,200 feet from the surface and below 10,000 feet MSL, 3 statute miles visibility with 500 feet below, 1,000 above and 2,000 horizontal from cloud; at or above 10,000 feet MSL, 5 statute miles with 1,000 below, 1,000 above and 1 mile horizontal.
Is an automatic activation device required on a tandem jump?
Yes. Section 105.45 requires an operational automatic activation device for the reserve parachute, approved by the manufacturer and armed during each tandem parachute operation. Section 105.43 adds that an installed device must be maintained per the manufacturer’s instructions.
Can a load be cancelled for something other than weather?
Yes. Part 105 requires radio contact with the controlling air traffic control facility at least 5 minutes before an operation begins, and requires a jump to be aborted if that radio system becomes inoperative during an operation in controlled airspace.
