This is a photo from the Skydiving Information Manual (SIM) this explains how far away you should be from a cloud when skydiving…. you should always see the drop zone before you jump. This can be vital…. in last months edition of Parachuter they had a story about some skydivers who jumped through clouds only to find that there was miles of water below them after clearing the clouds…. there were 16 deaths that day and only two survivors… there have been other incidents too involving clouds and accidents… so as cool as clouds are, do realize that you do not know what is under you when going through the clouds… gps can be unreliable in a plane, so do not assume that the plane is in the correct location, also know that FAA has made it illegal to jump through clouds, you could be fined for jumping through them also if you are flying the plane, you can be fined for every skydiver that jumped, as well as be fined yourself for bringing them up to altitude and giving the green light to jump
