Skydiving Exit Order & Separation

There’s something incredibly thrilling about being on jump run, door open, waiting for the green light. But behind that adrenaline rush is a system rooted in safety and experience: the exit order for skydiving. Whether you’re a freshly A-licensed newbie or a seasoned jumper with thousands of jumps under your belt, truly understanding why we exit in a certain order – and not just memorizing a list – is essential to safe, efficient, and fun skydiving.

Let’s talk all about the skydive exit order, why it matters, and how to apply these principles in real-world scenarios.

What Is Skydiving Exit Order?

Skydive exit order is exactly what it sounds like – the sequence in which skydivers leave the airplane. It’s not random. Rather, it’s carefully calculated based on the way different skydiving disciplines and the number of jumpers in a group will act during freefall and under canopy.

Why does it matter? Because people fall and drift at different rates. Think of it like coordinating traffic at an intersection. We’re all headed in different directions, moving at different speeds, and need time and space to avoid colliding.

The main factors determining exit order are:

• Discipline (belly, freefly, angle, wingsuit, etc.)
• Group size
• Deployment altitude
• Wind conditions and jump run direction

So, what is the order of exit in skydiving? Generally, it goes as follows:

1. Hop & Pops (low altitude exit)
2. Canopy Relative Work (CRW)
3. Large Belly/RW (large groups first, solos last)
4. Freefly (large groups first, solos last)
5. Angle/tracking* (separated by free fly or belly groups if numerous)
6. AFF
7. Tandems
8. Wingsuiters (large groups first, solos last)
9. High-pulls

Before getting on the plane, you’ll see our skydiving exit order poster that describes our loading order. We board the plane in the reverse of the proper skydiving exit order, with the last person to jump being the first person on the plane.

Why Is Exit Order Structured Like This?

As in all things skydiving, there’s a method to our madness!

Safety First: Freefall Collisions

The initial reason for exiting in a specific order is to avoid collisions in freefall. Disciplines exhibit varying drift patterns according to fall rate, body orientation, and surface area.

• Belly flyers (especially large groups) descend at a slower rate and drift farther along the wind line.
• Freeflyers fall faster and, based on the way they are positioning their body, may drift differently. It’s important that people don’t solo freefly – these solo jumps run the greatest risk of drifting into other groups, especially for beginners just learning to freefly.
• Angle flyers and tracking groups maintain horizontal movement and tend to travel a great deal of lateral distance.
• Wingsuiters glide even more dramatically, often requiring their own exit and flight pattern entirely.

Without a coordinated skydiving exit order, these groups may overlap, which could result in catastrophic results.

Drift & Wind Conditions

Freefall isn’t just vertical – it’s dynamic. Jumpers are blown by winds aloft while they exit until deployment. Direction and speed of those winds matter. That’s why jump run and group speed matter so much to exit planning. Here’s the general principle: we want each group to fall and deploy in clean air, without drifting into the path of the previous group.

What Is Skydiving Exit Separation?

In addition to the skydiving exit order, we must also maintain proper exit separation between skydiving groups. Exit separation refers to the time between groups or solo jumpers leaving the airplane. It’s denoted on every jump in seconds and/or ground speed in knots – they directly correlate. The time, in seconds, is the duration taken so that every group has enough distance to fall, deploy, and have open parachutes without getting too close to the group before or after them.

If you’ve seen the skydiving exit separation sign in our Skydive Carolina aircraft, you’ve seen how separation changes with ground speed. The faster the plane, the less time you can have between groups because they’re gaining more horizontal space automatically.

At 90 knots ground speed, you’ll need at least 7 seconds between groups. Meanwhile, at 120 knots, you only have to wait 5 seconds. Tracking and angle groups are a different story – those need longer, depending on the flight path. 

Special Cases

We’re a creative bunch, which means we adapt when conditions call for it or as we get new ideas about how and when to exit.

Deployment Altitude

Deployment altitudes may impact the skydiving exit order. For example, if jumpers are deploying higher than others in their same discipline, the higher-deploying jumpers may go after the lower-deploying group.

Mixed Discipline Loads

If the aircraft has more than one movement group (i.e., two angle groups), they need to detail headings and exit order. Each ideally goes a different line away from jump run and away from each other.

Curved Jump Runs

Some dropzones use curved jump runs due to airspace restrictions or wind changes. This can modify the optimal skydiving exit order. If in doubt: ask the pilot, ask manifest, and ask your load organizer.

Real World Example: Loading Up With Confidence

Let’s go through a real-life example of what this looks like on a normal load.

Pre-boarding Discussion

You arrive at the loading area and socialize with other groups. This is the time to ask for a gear check and learn what each group plans to do on their skydive.

• There’s a 5-way belly group, a 2-way belly group, a 2-way freefly group, and a tracking group.
• A wingsuiter is going to exit solo and fly the opposite direction of jump run.

The skydiving exit order discussion may go as follows:

• “Hey, who’s in the big belly group? Cool, you’re first.”
• “We’re just a 2-way belly – we’ll go after you.”
• “Freefly 2-way? You’re up after us.”
• “Tracking group? Let’s make sure you give at least 10 seconds before exit and fly 90 degrees off jump run.”
• “Wingsuit? You’re last. Be sure to separate away from jump run.”

Loading & Exit

• The wingsuiter gets on the plane first, followed by the tracking group.
• The 2-way freefly group gets in next, with the 2-way belly group right behind.
• The 5-way belly group loads up last and sits near the door.

At jump run, everyone is aware of their position in the skydiving exit order. No fumbling, no confusion. Just a smooth, safe exit in the opposite order they boarded the plane.

Closing Thoughts

Skydiving exit separation and order are vital safety procedures. The more you understand the why of the choices, the better prepared and confident you’ll be. Blue skies, safe exits, and good separation! Join our sky fam at Skydive Carolina.