⭐️ Tiare and ⭐️ Jay for completing their AFF Courses with Stage 9!
Ramblers Runway Report
Well, what a fantastic week it was—we had a lot of interesting things happen. First off, we welcomed our newest students to our ‘Learn to Skydive’ Course. Big welcome to Megan, Joshua, Victoria, and Kyle—can’t wait to see you all in the skies above. We had plenty of ongoing students show up and continue through their AFF course.
Midweek we saw Jessie run an ‘Intro into Pond’ course, aimed at more experienced jumpers wanting to run the swoop pond. We all ran hard during the week as the forecast was rain towards the end. The forecast was actually correct and no jumping happened those few days.
Learning Curve was in full swing with a great turnout. During the week, we covered off on different seminars after jumping—from aircraft emergencies, gear maintenance, camera safety and heaps more.
Our fun jumpers had an epic weekend! On Saturday, Jessie returned to run another canopy course for mid-range jumpers — a well-received session packed with valuable learning. The Belly Bash Load Organising with Dawn & Chris also took off on Saturday, bringing loads of energy and good vibes. Then on Sunday, Natisha led the TSC Star Crests. Scroll down for event recaps and some stunning photos!
Phew—it was a full-on week with many happy faces.
Drop Zone Action
🪂First Jump Course
Joshua completed AFF Stages 1 and 2. Megan took on the 10 Jump Package and smashed out Jumps 1 to 4. Victoriasigned up for the 3-Jump Intro Package and did Jumps 1 and 2. Kyle, on the 15-Jump Basic A-Certificate Package, completed his first jump. Thomas and Frederick joined in for a Refresher.
First Jump Course is a full day of theory and ground training, introducing students to both freefall skydiving and parachuting techniques. It covers everything from freefall sequences and body position to safety procedures, canopy control and landings—plus a whole lot of FUN.
⭐️Student Progression
Rusty tackled AFF Stages 6 and 7. Ned completed Stages 5 and 6. Samuel jumped through Stages 2 and 3. Christian advanced with Stages 4 and 5. Thomas refreshed his skills with AFF Stages 3, 5 and 7. Jay (Joao Pedro) wrapped up AFF Stages 8 and 9—finishing the course, congratulations! Tiare also completed her AFF Course with Stage 9—well done!
Andrew “Cookie” did three coached jumps with Chris. Louis jumped twice with Tyla. Josh flew once each with Adamand Tyla. Peter trained through three jumps with Dawn. Jack did three with Adam. Alistair did one coached jump with Adam. Oliver completed his B-Rel 1 with Toddy. A solid week of progression—great learning curve for all!
🪂Tandems
Oliver, Amy, Tom, and Jemma all took the plunge in Tandem with Handicam video and photos to remember the moment—Jemma even went for a second round! Kai, Milier, Brian, Rebekah, and Carolina also dared the leap of faith. Awesome effort by all!
Cheers to everyone who made it out, helped out, jumped in, or just brought the good vibes. Here’s to blue skies ahead…
Catch you in freefall, The Ramblers Crew 🪂
Heads Up!
📸 If you are featured in this week’s photo gallery below, don’t forget to share your news and forward this newsletter to your friends! Also, keep an eye on our weekly Facebook photo albums – tag yourself, tag your mates, and share the stoke!
📆 Make sure to check out our list of upcoming events below and join our Facebook event listings to see who’s going and invite your jumping mates, and share the news! Let’s send it! ✈️🪂
Need a jump buddy?
And if you have finished your training and you are looking for someone to jump with, let manifest know and they will put you in contact with our Load Energiser, who will either jump with you, or match you up with a jump buddy. No charge. All you pay for is your own jump slot.
Photo Album of the week (21-27 April)
Click on photo for caption and full size.
Alistair B-Rel 5 – photo by Trav – 21 April ’25
Alistair B-Rel 5 with Trav – photo by Adam – 21st April ’25
Amy in Tandem – photo by Robin – Wed. 23 April ’25
Belly Bash Load Organisers Chris Dodds and Dawn Adams – photo by Scott Ferrar – 26th April ’25
Christian AFF 4 flying with Paul – photo by Shelby – 27th April ’25
Christian AFF 4 opening with Paul – photo by Shelby – 27th April ’25
Christian AFF 5 – photo by Marc – 27th April ’25
“Cookie” (Andrew) and Peter B-Rel 6.2 – photo by Chris – 22nd April ’25
“Cookie” (Andrew) and Peter B-Rel 6.3 docked – photo by Chris 22nd April ’25
“Cookie” (Andrew) and Peter B-Rel 6.3 – photo by Chris – 22nd April ’25
“Cookie” (Andrew) and Peter B-Rel 6.3 moving in – photo by Chris – 22nd April ’25
Double rainbow leaving – photo by Bill – Mon. 21st April ’25
Drop Zone Koala -photo by Sonya Gelman – 27th April ’25
Greg Maskell tracking – photo by Martin Klapper – 26th April ’25
Intro to Pond – John Hannan – photo by coach Jesse Warren – 23rd April ’25
Intro to Pond – photo courtesy of Jesse Warren (Facebook) – 23rd April ’25
Jack B-Rel 5 exit with Chloe – photo by Adam – 22nd April ’25
Jack B-Rel 5 sunset – photo by Adam – 22nd April 25
Jack Brel 6.1 – photo by Chloe – 23April25
Jay (Joao Pedro) AFF 8 – photo by Toddy – Mon. 21st April
Jay (Joao Pedro) AFF 9 – congratulations! – Photo by Toddy – Mon. 21st April ’25
Jemma in Tandem freefall – by Robin – Tues. 22 April ’25
Josh and Megan First Jump Course and Refresher Tom – photo by Bill – Mon. 21st April ’25
Josh B-Rel 5 with Matt – photo by Adam – 21April25
Joshua AFF 1 ready to exit with Shelby – photo by Toddy – Sun 27th Apri25
Joshua AFF 2 exit with Shelby and Wayne – photo by Paul – 27April25
Joshua AFF 2 opening – photo by Shelby – 27April25
Joshua ready for AFF 2 with Wayne – photo by Shelby – 27April25
Kyle AFF 1 – photo by Robin – 27April25
LCC – Learning Curve Camp Board – Action of 21-25 April 2025 – photo by Ramblers
LCC Learning Curve Camp – Day 1 Monday briefing – photo by Skydive Ramblers – 21 April25
Belly Bash is a fun, all-abilities belly-flying event at Toogoolawah, organised by Dawn and Chris, aimed at jumpers with their B-Licence who want to improve their formation skydiving skills or just enjoy some laid-back, creative skydives. Expect free coaching, load organising, filmed jumps with debriefs, and a mix of serious and silly jumps—from classic formations to hoop dives and aerial games. No registration or event fee—just show up and join in! Supported by Skydive Ramblers, TSC, SQPC, and Mee Loft.
“It was another ripper of a BellyBash on Saturday!! Despite a delayed start due to some stubborn clouds, we hit the skies late morning and smashed out some cracking formations across the day! The theme this month was no-touch sidebodies and donuts, which really tested everyone’s flying skills to the max! It was amazing seeing everyone’s discipline and progression in spite of some spicy and unexpected moments!! Thanks heaps to everyone who came out to play and making it epic!!
Massive thanks as ever to our sponsors – Skydive Ramblers, TSC, SQPC and Mee Loft and to our legendary camera dudes – Steve Fitch and Michael Young!
Next BellyBash will be 24th May – see you all there!”
—Chris
Attendees: Dawn Adams, Chris Dodds, Michael Young, Steve Fitch, Sid Lu, Zac MacDonald, John McMahon, Zurika Bleeker, Jason Schmidt, Jamie Vasilieff, Adrian Bramwell, Greg Maskell, Emily McGowan, Jim Czerwinski, Martin Klapper, Paul Osborne, Jason Schloss, Steve Brett, Farrell McKay, Adam Parker, Reginald John Blain, Kristina Hicks, Tim Ragdale, Emily Hatfield, Charleen Herrmann, Tish Dingle,and Matt McKenzie.
Belly Bash – Load Organising with Dawn & Chris (26th April 2025) – photo by MichaelYoung
Belly Bash – Load Organising with Dawn & Chris (26th April 2025) – photo by MichaelYoung
Belly Bash – Load Organising with Dawn & Chris (26th April 2025) – photo by MichaelYoung
Belly Bash – Load Organising with Dawn & Chris (26th April 2025) – photo by MichaelYoung
Belly Bash – Load Organising with Dawn & Chris (26th April 2025) – photo by MichaelYoung
Belly Bash – Load Organising with Dawn & Chris (26th April 2025) – photo by MichaelYoung
Belly Bash – Load Organising with Dawn & Chris (26th April 2025) – photo by MichaelYoung
Belly Bash – Load Organising with Dawn & Chris (26th April 2025) – photo by MichaelYoung
Belly Bash – Load Organising with Dawn & Chris (26th April 2025) – photo by MichaelYoung
Belly Bash – Load Organising with Dawn & Chris (26th April 2025) – photo by MichaelYoung
TSC Star Crests with Natisha Dingle (Sunday, 27th April)
“Congratulations to Zacarria MacD. for completing his last Star Crest. We had three other people attempting and we had an important day of learning, setting a path forward so next time will be very successful. We had limited helpers also, so I would like to thank the people that could help and encourage others to stay next time so we can all have some fun together.”
—Natisha
Earning your ‘Star Crest’ allows you to skydive with groups of 10 or more people. Requirements are: B-Certificate, have continued doing 4-way + relative jumps after finishing B-Rels, have read the APF Star Crest / Big Way Guide, be confident in your own flying ability, and have a safe attitude and awareness for others in the sky.
The rules to achieve your Australian Star Crest are:
Have entered fifth or later in at least 3 separate, successful flatfly RW descents involving 8 parachutists or more;
Have each formation witnessed by two ASC holders or two APF Formation Skydiving Judges;
Have a Chief Instructor’s verification that the applicant is safe and competent to participate in relative work involving more than 10 parachutists.
By the way, if you have your crest and would like to come participate, you will generously give back to our up-and-coming skydivers, and also have a good time while improving your own skills.
