What Do Skydivers Say? Skydiving Phrases 101

Key Takeaways 

Skydivers have a vast slang dictionary that reflects dropzone culture, from planning formations with the “base” to celebrating smooth jumps as “sick shreds.” Common phrases like “blue skies” serve as greetings, farewells, or weather updates, while events like “boogies” bring the community together with food, prizes, organizers, and nonstop jumping. Anyone can be confident in skydiving lingo with our guide!

Skydivers are a rowdy bunch who can say some pretty out-of-pocket skydiving phrases. To get you acquainted with dropzone culture, we’ve broken these skydiving terms down in an alphabetized list. Read on! 

Base. A ‘base’ in skydiving is different from a BASE jump. The base is the formation or person that the larger formation is built around. This is one of the skydive terms used when planning a skydive with multiple jumpers. It would be used like, “Hey, who’s the base?” That way it’s clear who everyone needs to fly toward. 

Blue skies. What is a famous skydiving quote? Blue skies! So, what does the slang blue skies mean? It holds many meanings: good luck, hello, goodbye, have fun, you name it! Skydivers also say it when they’re convincing their buddies to come to the DZ (i.e. dropzone) – “DUDE – it’s blue skies all day!” Meaning the skies are clear and the weather is optimal for jumping.  

Boogie. This is a large event held at a dropzone that is focused around skydiving. Boogies typically have food, prizes, tons of bonding, and lots of skydiving (of course)! 

Break-off. When skydivers are done with their group freefall or canopy formation, they’ll break off from the formation and initiate parachute deployment or fly their canopy to prepare for landing. The break-off altitude is the altitude at which the group portion of the skydive is over. It’s another piece of skydiving lingo that’s established prior to the jump. 

Burble. The pocket of air above a jumper in freefall or behind them under the canopy is called a burble. It creates an uneven and unpredictable flight environment for the trailing jumper. After a jump, someone may say, “Dude, you totally burbled me!”

Butter / Buttery. A very smooth and as-planned jump, or an incredibly soft parachute opening can be referred to as butter or buttery. For example, what do skydivers say when their canopy opens exceptionally nicely? “Man, that opening was such butter.” 

Call. The call time is the amount of time before the load takes off! For example, people are expected to be fully geared up and in the loading area at the five minute call – five minutes before the plane leaves. 

Canopy. Parachute.

Chop / Cutaway. When the main parachute is released and the reserve parachute is used in the event of a malfunction, this is called cutting away or chopping the main canopy to then initiate deployment of the reserve canopy. What do skydivers say to each other when they have to cut away? Someone may say, “Dude, that was wild, I had to chop it.” 

Exit separation. Sometimes referred to as just ‘separation,’ this is the amount of time, in seconds, between skydivers or groups of skydivers exiting the plane. Separation is based on ground speed – how fast the plane is moving forward relative to the ground (it’s not always the same, because of the wind speed and direction). 

For example: if the plane’s airspeed is 100 mph and there’s a 20 mph tailwind, the ground speed is 120 mph. With a 20 mph headwind, the ground speed is 80 mph. It’s critical to have a solid exit separation to avoid being in someone else’s air space in freefall or while deploying your parachute. 

First. When skydivers do something for the first time, they owe beer! ‘First’ is known as the f-word in the list of skydiving terminology. 

Full send. This skydive slang means to go all out on the jump. It is usually used when someone has built up the skills and confidence to just send it. 

Flock / Flocking. When people do a high pull and fly their canopies together. 

Hard deck. The altitude in which a skydiver will not cut away under. Many people have a “decision altitude” of 2K to 2,500 feet, and a hard deck of 1K feet – they are not the same thing. 

High pull. When skydivers jump from a higher altitude and deploy their parachutes shortly after jumping out. This allows for minimal freefall time with lots of time under canopy.

Hop ‘n’ pop. When someone exits the airplane from a lower altitude and deploys their canopy shortly after exit. People do hop ‘n’ pops to focus on flying their canopy without the added demands of freefall. 

Hot fuel. When the airplane is fueled without turning off – this adds time to the call, which would imply that the load after the previous load is NOT a ‘meet load’ – i.e. when the plane lands from dropping off jumpers and immediately drives to the boarding area to pick up the next load of jumpers.

No plan jam. This is a skydive with no plan other than an exit and a break-off altitude (safety first!). 

Shred. This is an awesome skydive. It can be said pre or post-jump. Something like, “Dude, let’s shred!” may be heard in the loading area, and, “Bro, that was so shreddy!” may be heard in the landing area. 

Snivel. This is a parachute opening that takes a long time – most people desire this, unless they get too long for comfort. An opening being ‘snively’ is sort of like it being buttery! 

Spot. The exit point over the ground where skydivers get out of the plane is called the spot. Spots are determined on wind speed and direction on the ground and in the uppers. 

Uppers. The wind direction and strength at higher altitudes are referred to as the uppers – they’re the winds at higher altitudes. They’re used to determine exit point (spot) and how much jumpers may drift in freefall. 

Wheels up. When the airplane leaves the ground to take off it is called wheels up! When planning a time-specific jump, someone may say, “Hey, we’re jumping at sunrise, wheels up is at 5:50.” This means that the jumpers need to be fully geared up and in the airplane ready to go before 5:50 am. 

Wing loading. The ratio between the exit weight of the jumper (their body weight + the weight of their gear) to the size of their canopy, in terms of square feet, is called wing loading. When multiple jumpers are doing a hop ‘n’ pop, it’s important to know everyone’s wing loading. Those with a higher wind loading will generally land sooner than those with a lower wing loading. 

Ready to put your newfound knowledge of skydiving lingo to good use? Book a jump with us today!