This page highlights the sections in the Australian Parachute Federation (APF) Operational Regulations (OR's) & Sporting Code (SC) that are directly related or of particular interest to CRW (Canopy Formation). All sections related to parachuting in general have been excluded.
I have left the complete contents section intact but highlighted the particular sections relevant to CRW in blue (i.e. section 6.5 of OR's). The OR's are dated 15th Dec 2004 & the SC is dated 3rd September 2004.
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Canopy Relative Descent : A descent in which the participants attempt to bring themselves together, or near to each other, after their parachutes are open.
Canopy Relative Work Trainer: An experienced canopy relative worker appointed by a Chief Instructor to give practical canopy relative work training, particularly through the stages of the APF CRW Training Descent Table.
CRW (Canopy Relative Work) : Active participation in a canopy relative descent .
Definitions which relate to parachute packing and rigging:
DZSO (Drop Zone Safety Officer):
Free Fall: The period between the parachutist exiting the aircraft and opening of the parachute on other than a static line descent.
Student Parachutist (Student): The holder of an APF Student Parachutist Licence but not an APF Parachutist Certificate.
3.2.1. CERTIFICATE "A" CONDITIONS: Applicants must:
3.2.2. CERTIFICATE "B" CONDITIONS: Applicants must:
3.2.4. CERTIFICATE "D" CONDITIONS: Applicants must:
3.3.2. The APF shall not issue or renew an FAI Sporting Licence unless at least 6 stable freefalls have been made by the certificate holder in the preceding 12 months.
4.1.1. APF Crest Awards may be awarded to APF members and visiting parachutists who are financial members of their FAI affiliated national body.
4.1.8. CANOPY RELATIVE WORK CREST (CRWC) CONDITIONS:
5.1.3. Parachutists shall not carry any object which if dropped would constitute a danger to property or persons on the ground during a descent unless that object is secured to their person.
5.1.5. A rigid helmet with a hard shell will be worn on all descents by persons who do not hold Certificate "C", thereafter at the discretion of the DZSO.
5.1.8. An approved and functioning visual altimeter set to indicate height above the DZ shall be worn on all descents. The altimeter shall be securely mounted so that the wearer can observe it without difficulty throughout the descent. An ASO may authorise an exception to this regulation for specified descents where the delay does not exceed 10 seconds. Such authorisation must be made in writing.
5.1.9. A sharp knife is to be available in the aircraft.
5.1.15. All freefall descents made by parachutists who do not hold a Certificate "E" must be made with equipment fitted with a functional reserve static line or an operational automatic activation device. The DZSO, in writing, may permit exemptions to this rule for specific descents.
5.1.16. Notwithstanding the provisions of 5.1.15, all freefall descents made by parachutists who do not hold a Certificate "D" must be made with equipment fitted with an operational automatic activation device.
5.2.1. All descents shall be made under the direct supervision of a DZSO.
5.2.4. Unless in accordance with the written specifications of CASA, all descents shall be made in meteorological conditions such that the target is clearly visible and the parachutist does not enter cloud.
5.2.4.A. A parachute descent shall not be made unless the parachutist has positively fixed his/her position in relation to the target.
5.2.8. An approved means of calculating the correct parachute opening point in relation to the target shall be used prior to commencing operations and at other times as directed by the DZSO.
5.2.14. Parachute descents shall not take place in controlled airspace except in accordance with an airways clearance, using the words "clear to drop". Prior co-ordination with Air Traffic Control (ATC) may be required, but as a minimum the pilot shall advise on first contact with ATC the desired altitude and the phrase "for parachute drop". If the parachutists will leave controlled airspace on descent, it is the pilot's responsibility to ascertain that the airspace below is clear before dropping parachutists.
5.7.13. Prior to a canopy relative descent being made at a display, all participants will have successfully completed at least 5 practice descents, all of which comply with the following conditions:
5.8.8. A Tandem-Master carrying out a tandem descent shall not engage in canopy relative work .
5.9.A.1. A parachutist shall not carry a camera during a descent unless he or she is the holder of at least a Certificate "C" and has the approval of the DZSO.
5.9.A.3. An approved and functioning audible altimeter set to indicate height above the DZ shall be used on all descents where the parachutist intends to operate a camera in freefall. The audible altimeter shall be mounted so that the wearer can hear it without difficulty during the descent.
6.2.2. The following subjects shall not be taught to student or novice parachutists except under the authority of an approved Training Operations Manual as per 6.2.1.
6.5.1. All CRW training descents shall be made under the supervision of a Chief Instructor.
6.5.2. PREREQUISITES TO CRW : Before commencing CRW training the candidate should:
6.5.3. CRW TRAINING DESCENT TABLE. The CRW trainee's progression should conform to the CRW Training Descent Table shown in Appendix 3. Each stage should be completed satisfactorily before going on to the next. Each stage is a separate jump.
6.5.4. During CRW training descents, the minimum working height shall be 2000 feet.
8.7.1. The Director Safety, Director Instructors, and Director Rigging are empowered, with prior agreement of CASA, to waive regulations affecting their particular area of operations. All such waivers must be in writing with copies to the local Council, the APF Secretariat and CASA.
10.4.1. The privileges of Packer "B" shall be to inspect, pack and carry out daily maintenance on main parachutes with which he is familiar and competent.
10.4.2. The privileges of a Packer "A" shall be:
11.2.1. The privileges of a Rigger shall be:
For the purposes of this regulation a certified parachute part is defined as a part of an emergency or reserve parachute which is required to comply with a specification in accordance with CAO 103.18.2.2.
For the purposes of this regulation a non-certified parachute part is defined as a part of a parachute which is not required to comply with a specification in accordance with CAO 103.18.2.2.
Refer to Section 6.5.
Skill level 1 Canopy flying techniques
Skill level 2 Side docks (trainer on top)
Skill level 3 Side docks (trainee on top)
Skill level 4 Docking third and fourth, planing
Note: This table is defined and described in more detail in the APF CRW Training Descent Table Manual.
Appendix 5A: Exercises for Certificate "A"
Note: These exercises are defined and described in more detail in the APF Training Operations Manual.
SECTION 13 CHAMPIONSHIP COMPETITIONS
SECTION 14 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS RULES
SECTION 15 JUDGES
SECTION 16 NATIONAL RECORDS
SECTION 17 AUSTRALIAN PARACHUTE TEAM
SECTION 18 AUSTRALIAN PARACHUTE TEAM FUND
The APF Sporting Code is updated annually, incorporating changes to competition rules by the International Parachute Commission of the FAI, and changes approved by the APF Board of Directors at the annual Board meeting. These amendments generally result from recommendations by the Competition and Judging Workgroup at the annual Technical Conference and Competitors' Meetings held at National Championships.
13.4.1 The Organiser shall distribute a program of the Championships to all APF member organisations and participating countries at least four months prior to the event. The program shall contain details of the venues, dates, DZ elevation, type of aircraft, exit speeds, fees, accommodation and other information useful to the competitors.
13.5.2 In Formation Skydiving events, the Organiser shall arrange for practice jumps to be available from the aircraft to be used in the Championships to be on site at least two weeks prior to the start of competition.
13.6.10 In Formation Skydiving and Canopy Formation events, the aircraft conditions shall be equal for all teams. If more than one configuration of aircraft is provided, each team shall make the same drawn rounds from the same aircraft configuration.
13.7.19 Team Championships may be held provided there are at least three (3) teams.
13.7.23 Provided there are at least eight (8) entrants (individuals or teams), bronze medallions shall be awarded to those placing third in any championships category.
13.7.26 In events where the exit is controlled by the Judges using ground-to-air radio, exit commands will be: RUN-IN, STANDBY, EXIT, and shall be relayed to the competitors by the aircraft crew.
13.7.27 Once any jumper has left the aircraft after the RUN-IN command has been given, the jump will be scored.
13.7.28 Once the STANDBY command has been given, the EXIT command must be given. The time period between STANDBY and EXIT shall be approximately 10 seconds.
13.7.29 The Judges may specify a time period within which teams or individuals must exit the aircraft after the EXIT command has been given. Teams or individuals which exit outside this time limit will not be granted a rejump if they are not observed by the Judges.
14.1.2 Training and Other Jumps
14.1.4 Order of Events
14.1.6 Calling the Jumpers Competitors must be called to the loading area approximately 15 minutes prior to boarding the aircraft. A second 5 minute call must also be made. Competitors who do not arrive in time to board the aircraft must receive the maximum or minimum score (as appropriate) for that jump. Each competitor is allowed a minimum time of 45 minutes from arriving at the competition site to the first call for the next jump, except for Canopy Formation events, Intermediate Formation Skydiving events, and rejumps. For Canopy Formation competitors in the 4 way rotations and 8 way speed events, the minimum allowed time from arriving at the competition site to the first call for the next jump, except for rejumps and the start, or restart of the event is thirty (30) minutes.
14.1.7 Cameraman and other persons or objects on board or in the air.
14.1.9 Aircraft Jump Run
14.1.16 Title:-"The xxth Australian Parachute Championships in
14.4.1 APF Authority. The competition will be conducted under the authority granted by the APF, according to the regulations of the APF Sporting Code and these rules.
14.4.2 Aims of the Championships.
14.4.3 Definitions of words and phrases used in these Rules.
14.4.4 The Events. The discipline has the following events:
Teams are composed as follows:
14.4.5 Objective of the events: The accumulated total of all rounds, in accordance with 14.4.21 and 14.4.23 is used to determine the final rank of the teams and declare the winner.
14.4.6 Performance requirement:
14.4.7 General Rules. Canopy Formation must not be performed using a reserve parachute.
14.4.8 Meteorological Conditions.
14.4.9 Break off. All form of canopy formation jumping must cease by 750 metres (~ 2500 feet). The Nationals Controller has the authority to disqualify a team that breaks this rule, for that round or the whole event.
14.4.10 Miscellaneous Equipment. Competitors must carry the following equipment:
14.4.11 The Draw. The draw of the sequences and the jump order will be supervised by the Chief Judge and teams will be given not less than two hours knowledge of the results of the draw before the competition starts.
14.4.12 Training Jumps. Training jumps may be made only before the draw is made. If time allows, these jumps may be assessed by the Judges and the score may be published.
14.4.13 Order of jumping. The jump order will be used for each round until there is a break in jumping of more than 30 minutes at the end of a round (rejumps ignored). The jump order for the next rounds will be in the reverse order of ranking (the order in which tied teams jump will be determined by their original draw). Reverse order of ranking must be used for the semi-final and final rounds.
14.4.14 Exit Procedure.
14.4.17 4-Way Sequential Event
14.4.18 4-Way Rotation Event
14.4.19 8-Way Speed Event
14.4.20 Air to Air Video Recording
14.4.21.1 Observing the Performance
14.4.22 Programme of events
14.4.23 Determination of Australian Champions. The Australian Champions are the teams
14.4.24 Dive pool. :Formation diagrams Definitions used in the formation diagrams are as follows:
Canopy identification |
15.1.2 APF Judge Ratings shall be endorsed to indicate in which categories the Judge is qualified. Categories are:
Where a Nationals-endorsed APF Judge is awarded an FAI Parachuting Judge rating, the APF rating should be endorsed to indicate in which categories the FAI rating is held.
15.1.6 APF Judge Standard. The standard of judging required to obtain or retain an APF Judge rating shall be:
15.1.6.1 Nationals-endorsement standard. The standard of judging required to obtain or retain a Nationals-endorsement for any category shall be:
16.3.2 Joint Record holders Joint Record holders in Freefall Style, Formation Skydiving, Canopy Formation and Artistic Events:
16.3.6 Canopy Formation records
16.4.3 Largest Formation records
16.5.1 Australian competition and performance records shall have the following main classifications.
16.5.3 All classifications may be further classified as:
16.5.4 All classifications may be further classified as:
16.5.5 Night shall be defined as the time between 1 hour after official sunset and 1 hour before official sunrise.
16.5.6 Classification K shall be further classified as:
17.2.1 Eligibility for automatic selection in Formation Skydiving and Canopy Formation events is restricted to teams placing 1st or 2nd at the most recent National Championships. Inclusion of competitors below these levels shall be at the discretion of the APF Board.
17.2.7 The composition of a Formation Skydiving or Canopy Formation team may be changed after selection provided at least 60% of the original team members remain. For teams in Skysurfing and Freestyle evnts, only the Videographer may change. For the purpose of this regulation, the original team shall be those parachutists shown in the registration records of the most recent APF National Championships as members of the team.