30 Must-Know Skydiving Terms, Phrases and Slang

64 skydiving terms explained, from AFF, canopy and snivel to hop n’ pop, swoop and blue skies, plus the slang heard at every drop zone.

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Skydiving terminology is short, blunt and built for the noise of an open aircraft door, which is why so much of it is one syllable. The words related to skydiving below cover the gear, the freefall and the canopy flight that follows, and the words associated with life at a drop zone are in there as well. The skydiving glossary further down repeats every term on this page in one alphabetical list.

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Must-Know Skydiving Terms, Phrases and Slang:

1. AFF (Accelerated Free Fall)
2. Altimeter
3. Canopy
4. Drogue Chute
5. Freefall
6. HALO (High Altitude, Low Opening)
7. Harness
8. Jump Plane
9. Landing Zone
10. Load
11. Malfunction
12. Pack
13. Pilot Chute
14. Relative Work
15. Rigger
16. Ripcord
17. Skydiver
18. Swoop
19. Tandem
20. Terminal Velocity
21. Toggle
22. Wind Tunnel
23. Wingsuit
24. Burble
25. Creep
26. Dive flow
27. Exit
28. Hop n’ pop
29. Snivel
30. Track

Skydiving Glossary: Every Term A to Z

Terms A to D

Term	What It Means
AAD	Automatic activation device. A small computer in the container that fires the reserve if the jumper is still falling fast at a set altitude.
AFF	Accelerated Free Fall, the standard training program in which instructors hold onto the student through the first freefalls.
Altimeter	The instrument worn on the wrist or chest that shows the jumper’s altitude above the ground.
BASE jumping	Jumping with a parachute from fixed objects rather than aircraft. A separate sport with its own risks.
Belly flying	Flying belly to earth, the first position every skydiver learns.
Blue skies	The standard greeting and farewell among skydivers, wishing good weather and safe jumps.
Burble	The pocket of turbulent air behind a falling body. Flying into someone’s burble makes you unstable.
Canopy	The parachute once it is open, a wing of inflated fabric cells that can be steered and flared.
Canopy relative work	Building formations with open parachutes, also called CReW.
Container	The pack on the jumper’s back that holds the main canopy, the reserve and the deployment system.
Creep	Rehearsing a formation on the ground, lying on a small wheeled board so the moves can be practiced flat.
Cutaway	Releasing a malfunctioning main canopy before deploying the reserve.
Decision altitude	The height at which a skydiver must decide to cut away and deploy the reserve.
Dive flow	The agreed sequence of moves and formations a group plans to fly on one jump.
Drogue chute	A small chute used in tandem and high-altitude jumps to hold the fall speed steady before the main opens.
Drop zone	The airfield and facility a jump operates from, usually shortened to DZ.

Terms E to L

Term	What It Means
Exit	Leaving the aircraft. A stable exit sets up everything that follows.
Flare	Pulling both toggles down on landing to level the canopy off and slow it for the touchdown.
Formation skydiving	Building formations in freefall, the modern name for relative work.
Freefall	The part of the jump between leaving the aircraft and opening the parachute.
Freefly	Flying in positions other than belly to earth, such as head-up or head-down, at higher fall rates.
Funnel	A formation that collapses when someone loses position.
Gear check	Checking each other’s rigs before boarding and before exit.
HALO	High altitude, low opening. A military technique of exiting very high and opening very low.
Hard pull	A deployment handle that will not come out easily, one of the malfunctions jumpers train for.
Harness	The webbing that holds the jumper to the parachute system and spreads the shock of opening across the body.
Head down	Flying head first toward the ground, a freefly discipline.
Hook turn	A sharp turn close to the ground, a leading cause of landing injuries.
Hop n’ pop	A jump with almost no freefall: exit and deploy straight away, usually from low altitude.
Jump plane	The aircraft that takes jumpers to altitude, from a small Cessna to a turbine plane carrying twenty.
Jumpmaster	The experienced jumper responsible for the load in the aircraft, from spotting to exit order.
Landing zone	The marked, clear area jumpers aim for on the ground.
Line twists	Twisted lines after opening, usually kicked out.
Load	One planeload of jumpers going up together.

Terms M to S

Term	What It Means
Malfunction	Any deployment that does not give a canopy you can land. Some are fixable, others need a cutaway.
Manifest	The office at the drop zone that books jumpers on loads.
Pack	Folding a parachute back into its container so it will open reliably next time.
Pilot chute	The small chute thrown into the air first, which pulls the main canopy out of the container.
Pin check	Checking the closing pin and loop on a rig.
Precision landing	The competition discipline judged on how close a jumper lands to a marked target.
Relative work	Formation skydiving: building shapes in freefall with other jumpers. Often shortened to RW.
Reserve	The second parachute, packed by a rigger and used when the main fails.
Reserve ride	A jump on which the skydiver used the reserve parachute.
Rig	The whole parachute system worn on the back: container, main, reserve and the hardware in between.
Rigger	The certified specialist who packs reserves and maintains parachute systems.
Ripcord	The handle that starts deployment on systems built that way.
Sit fly	Flying in freefall in a seated position, a freefly discipline.
Skydiver	Anyone who jumps. Jumper is the word most often used at the drop zone itself.
Slider	The fabric panel that slides down the lines during opening to slow the canopy’s inflation.
Snivel	A slow, drawn-out canopy opening. A little snivel is wanted, because it makes the opening softer.
Spot	Choosing the point over the ground where the load exits so everyone can reach the landing zone.
Static line	A training and military method in which a line attached to the aircraft opens the parachute automatically.
Swoop	A high-speed landing approach that carries the canopy fast and low across the ground before touchdown.

Terms T to Z

Term	What It Means
Tandem	A jump with a student harnessed to an instructor under one parachute built for two.
Terminal velocity	The steady speed a falling body reaches once air resistance balances gravity.
Three-ring release	The system that lets a skydiver release the main canopy in a cutaway.
Toggle	The handle on each steering line. Pulling one turns the canopy, pulling both slows it.
Track	Flying the body arms-back and legs-back to cover ground horizontally, used to get separation before opening.
USPA	The United States Parachute Association, the sport’s US governing body.
Whuffo	A non-jumper, from “Whuffo you jump out of airplanes?”
Wind tunnel	A vertical column of fast-moving air used to practice freefall body flight indoors.
Wing loading	The jumper’s weight divided by canopy size, which sets canopy speed.
Wingsuit	A suit with fabric between the arms and legs that adds surface area and turns fall into glide.
Zoo dive	A formation jump that goes badly wrong.

What Is It Called When…? Skydiving Terms by Situation

Know what happened but not the word for it? Find the situation on the left and the skydiving term on the right.

When…	It Is Called
A skydiver opens the parachute right after exit	Hop n’ pop
The parachute opens slowly	Snivel
The main parachute is released in an emergency	Cutaway
A skydiver lands at high speed after a dive	Swoop
A skydiver falls at a constant speed	Terminal velocity
A skydiver moves horizontally in freefall	Track
A skydiver drops into turbulent air	Burble
A formation collapses	Funnel
A formation jump goes badly	Zoo dive
A student jumps with an instructor attached	Tandem
A student jumps solo with two instructors	AFF
Skydivers practice the jump on the ground	Creep
A parachute opens too slowly or wrongly	Malfunction
A skydiver lands the reserve	Reserve ride
The lines twist after opening	Line twists
A device opens the reserve automatically	AAD
Someone has never jumped	Whuffo
Skydivers say goodbye	Blue skies

#1 AFF (Accelerated Free Fall)

A training method in which the student jumps solo from the first jump, held in freefall by two instructors who let go once the student is stable. In the US it takes at least seven levels to graduate, after which the student continues toward the A license at 25 jumps.

In a sentence: “She did her AFF level 4 today and turned 360s on her own.”

#2 Altimeter

The instrument that shows height above the ground, worn on the wrist or chest. Many skydivers also wear an audible altimeter in the helmet that beeps at set heights.

In a sentence: “Check your altimeter, you’re at 6,000.”

#3 Canopy

The parachute itself. Modern sport canopies are rectangular ram-air wings that glide forward and can be steered and flared for a soft landing.

In a sentence: “Clean opening, good canopy, now just fly the pattern.”

#4 Drogue Chute

A small parachute deployed by tandem pairs right after exit. It slows a tandem pair to a normal freefall speed and later pulls out the main canopy.

In a sentence: “Drogue out, now we fall at the same speed as the others.”

#5 Freefall

The part of the jump between exit and opening, typically about 60 seconds from 13,000 feet. After about 12 seconds a belly-flying skydiver reaches around 120 mph.

In a sentence: “We had a minute of freefall, the best minute of my life.”

#6 HALO (High Altitude, Low Opening)

A military jump technique from very high altitude, often above 25,000 feet, with the parachute opened low to avoid detection. Jumpers need oxygen because of the thin air.

In a sentence: “Special forces train HALO jumps at night with oxygen.”

#7 Harness

The webbing system that holds the skydiver to the parachute, with leg straps, chest strap and the three-ring release. Together with the container it forms the rig.

In a sentence: “Tighten your leg straps, the harness should be snug.”

#8 Jump Plane

The aircraft that takes skydivers to altitude, from a small Cessna 182 to larger turbine aircraft such as the Twin Otter or Skyvan. Bigger planes climb faster and carry more jumpers per load.

In a sentence: “The jump plane is a Twin Otter, so we’re at 13,000 in 15 minutes.”

#9 Landing Zone

The area at the drop zone where skydivers land, usually a large grass field. The landing pattern and landing direction are set daily by wind.

In a sentence: “Landing direction is north, watch the wind sock.”

#10 Load

A group of skydivers going up on the same flight. Manifest calls loads by number with a time to go, such as “load 8, 15 minutes”.

In a sentence: “Load 8 is on a 15-minute call.”

#11 Malfunction

Any problem with a parachute opening. Some can be solved, like line twists, while others require a cutaway of the main and a reserve deployment.

In a sentence: “He had a malfunction on the main and cut away cleanly.”

#12 Pack

Folding the canopy and its lines into the container so it opens reliably. Main canopies may be packed by the jumper; reserves must be packed by a rigger, in the US every 180 days.

In a sentence: “Packing takes me about ten minutes now.”

#13 Pilot Chute

The small parachute that pulls the main canopy out. Most sport rigs use a throw-out pilot chute stowed in a pouch at the bottom of the container.

In a sentence: “Reach, grab the pilot chute, throw.”

#14 Relative Work

The old name for formation skydiving, flying close to other skydivers and building shapes in freefall. Records include the 400-way formation over Thailand in 2006.

In a sentence: “We did 4-way relative work on the last jump.”

#15 Rigger

A licensed person who inspects, packs and repairs reserve parachutes and other gear. In the US riggers are certified by the FAA.

In a sentence: “Get your reserve repacked by the rigger before it expires.”

#16 Ripcord

A handle that releases the parachute when pulled. Today ripcords are used mainly on student rigs and reserves, while sport rigs use a throw-out pilot chute.

In a sentence: “Pull the ripcord at 5,500 feet.”

#17 Skydiver

A person who jumps from aircraft with a parachute for sport. The USPA has about 40,000 members in the US.

In a sentence: “Every skydiver at the drop zone is waiting for the clouds to clear.”

#18 Swoop

A high-speed landing in which the skydiver dives the canopy and then levels out to glide across the ground, often over a pond. It requires small, fast canopies and lots of experience.

In a sentence: “He swooped across the pond, feet skimming the water.”

#19 Tandem

A jump in which a student is attached to an instructor who handles the parachute. It is the most common way to try skydiving and needs only a short briefing.

In a sentence: “She did a tandem for her birthday and signed up for AFF the next week.”

#20 Terminal Velocity

The steady speed at which air resistance equals gravity, so the skydiver stops accelerating. It is about 120 mph belly-to-earth and 150 to 180 mph in head-down.

In a sentence: “We reach terminal velocity about ten seconds after exit.”

#21 Toggle

The handles on the steering lines of the canopy. Pulling the right toggle turns right, and pulling both together flares the canopy for landing.

In a sentence: “Both toggles to full flare just before you touch down.”

#22 Wind Tunnel

A vertical tunnel that blows air upward to simulate freefall. Skydivers use it to train body flight much more cheaply than jumping.

In a sentence: “Ten minutes in the tunnel is more freefall time than ten jumps.”

#23 Wingsuit

A suit with fabric wings between the arms and legs that lets the skydiver glide forward and fall more slowly. It requires a set minimum of jumps first, usually 200 in the US.

In a sentence: “Wingsuit flying lets you cover a few kilometers horizontally.”

#24 Burble

The turbulent air above and behind a falling skydiver. Another skydiver who flies into it loses lift and drops suddenly.

In a sentence: “He got into my burble and went straight down onto my back.”

#25 Creep

Practicing a freefall position lying on a creeper, a board on wheels, on the ground. Formation teams creep the dive to learn their slots before jumping.

In a sentence: “Let’s creep the dive once more before boarding.”

#26 Dive flow

The plan for a formation jump, showing who goes where and in what order. Teams rehearse the dive flow on the ground before boarding.

In a sentence: “Who’s got the dive flow on paper?”

#27 Exit

Leaving the aircraft. In formation skydiving the exit is planned so that skydivers leave together and start building the formation right away.

In a sentence: “The exit was clean and we had the first point in seconds.”

#28 Hop n’ pop

A jump in which the skydiver opens the parachute almost right after exit, without freefall. It is used for low altitude training and in weather with low clouds.

In a sentence: “Clouds are at 4,000 feet, so it’s hop n’ pops only.”

#29 Snivel

The phase of the opening in which the canopy inflates slowly and the slider comes down the lines. A long snivel is normal, and the slider makes openings softer.

In a sentence: “The canopy sniveled for a while and then opened nicely.”

#30 Track

A body position for moving horizontally in freefall, with arms back and legs straight. At the end of a formation jump, everyone tracks away to get separation before opening.

In a sentence: “Track at 4,500 feet, then wave off and pull.”

Skydiving Slang Players and Fans Actually Use

Slang	What It Means
Whuffo	A non-jumper, from the question “whuffo you jump out of airplanes?”
Beer rule	The tradition that a skydiver buys beer after milestones such as a first jump or a new license.
Funnel	When a formation collapses.
Zoo dive	A messy formation jump.
Sky god	An experienced skydiver who acts like they know everything.
Sunset load	The last load of the day, flown at sunset.
Fun jumper	A licensed skydiver jumping for fun, not working.
Pud	The soft handle on a pilot chute.
Low timer	A skydiver with few jumps.
Hop n’ pop	A jump with an opening right after exit.
Blue skies	The skydivers’ greeting and farewell.

Skydiving Expressions and Sayings in Everyday English

• Blue skies: The standard skydiving greeting and goodbye, wishing good weather for jumping.
• Freefall: A sudden, uncontrolled drop, as in “the stock went into freefall”. From the part of a jump before the parachute opens.
• Pull the ripcord: To end something or bail out, as in “time to pull the ripcord on this project”. From opening the parachute.
• Why jump out of a perfectly good airplane?: The standard question non-jumpers ask skydivers, and the source of the word whuffo.
• Blue skies, black death: A dark-humored skydiving toast, acknowledging the risks of the sport.

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