After the rain during the first week, the clouds finally cleared, the sun came out and the second week brought plenty of action at Ramblers! ☀️🪂
There was a great mix of Students making big steps in their AFF Courses, Tandems enjoying the views across Somerset Lake and Wivenhoe Dam, B-Rels building their skills and plenty of experienced Fun Jumpers making the most of the blue skies.
A huge congratulations also to Keitaro, Mya and Izaac, who all progressed through Stages 1 to 9 and completed their AFF Courses. What a fantastic achievement for all three! 👏
We also had some fantastic milestones to celebrate! Congratulations to Mya on receiving her A-Certificate, Britt on her 100th jump, Scotty on reaching 900 jumps, Alex on his 1,000th jump and Toddy on an incredible 2,900 jumps! 🏆🎉
With new faces joining us, continuing students progressing, the Belly Bash Formation Loads briefings and the HD Bigway Phase 1 Camp bringing experienced jumpers together, there was certainly plenty happening around the Drop Zone. Let’s take a look at the highlights from the past two weeks!
A big thank you to our AFF Instructors, Coaches, Tandem Masters, camera flyers and everyone who helped keep things running across the two weeks. Whether you were teaching, learning, organising, filming or jumping, your contribution makes the Ramblers community what it is.
And to all our students, tandems and fun jumpers, thanks for being part of it!
Cheers to everyone who made it out, helped out, jumped in, or just brought the good vibes. Here’s to blue skies ahead…
Three AFF Courses completed! A massive congratulations to Keitaro, Mya and Izaac, who each worked their way through Stages 1 to 9, completing their AFF Courses. That’s a huge milestone and an exciting step towards becoming solo skydivers. Well done! 👏🪂
We also welcomed several new students to the skies. Yuta, Nicholas, Josiah, Charlene and Brady all completed their first AFF jumps, Stage 1. Welcome to the skies, everyone! We hope this is the beginning of many more adventures in freefall.
Our continuing students kept their training moving forward. Stephanie completed Stage 2, while Nader continued with Stage 7. Pablo returned for refresher training, completing refresher jumps for Stages 5 and 7 to refresh his skills in those areas without having to repeat the entire AFF Course.
Great work to everyone making progress through their AFF training. Every jump is another opportunity to build confidence, develop skills and get closer to that first solo skydive!
🏁 First Jump Course & Classroom Training
We held two First Jump Course classroom sessions across the double issue.
On Saturday, 24 October, Instructor Paul welcomed Mya, Izaac, Keitaro and Nicholas for their classroom training, with Kevin joining for a refresher.
The following Saturday, 31 October, Instructor Bill took the classroom session for Charlene, Josiah, Cian and Ryan, while Pablo and Blake joined for refresher training.
Cian and Ryan completed their classroom training, but unfortunately didn’t get a chance to make their first jumps this time. Hopefully we’ll get them into the skies next week!
The First Jump Course introduces students to Freefall Skydiving Techniques and Canopy Handling Skills, giving them the knowledge and preparation needed before their first jump.
Thanks to our Instructors for sharing their knowledge and helping our students get ready for their skydiving journey!
AFF Students Photo Album of the week
Click on photo for caption and full size.
First Jump Course: Blake (Refresher) – photo by Bill – Sat., 31st Oct. 2026
First Jump Course: Cian, Rya, CJ, Joe and Pablo (Refresher) – photo by Bill – Sat., 31st Oct. 2026
First Jump Course: Ryan, Cian, CJ and Joe (seated) – photo by Bill – Sat., 31st Oct. 2026
Brady AFF 1 exit with Ben – photo by Toddy – Thurs., 29th Oct. 2026
Brady AFF 1 alti-check with Toddy – photo by Ben – Thurs., 29th Oct. 2026
Yuta AFF 1 doing well – photo by Shelby – Sun., 25th Oct. 2026
Claim to Fame!
📸 If you are featured in this week’s photo gallery, 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!
Tandem Skydivers
Our Tandem operation was back in full swing, with plenty of first-time skydivers getting to experience the incredible feeling of freefall above the Somerset Region.
CJ and Cooper enjoyed their jumps with Handy-Cam footage, while Lachlan had an outside video captured. We also welcomed Brett, Tamika, Chris, Steven and Robert for their Tandem experiences.
From the excitement of the aircraft ride to the rush of freefall and the spectacular canopy ride, there’s nothing quite like seeing Somerset Lake and Wivenhoe Dam from above!
A big thank you to all our Tandem Masters and camera flyers for looking after our passengers and capturing those unforgettable moments. 🙌
Plus our very own Instructor Alex continued his training towards becoming a Tandem Master, taking experienced jumpers Estelle, Ryan and Adrian along for a ride.
It’s great to see our instructors continuing to develop their skills and work towards new qualifications. Well done, Alex!
Click on photo for caption and full size.
CJ Tandem – photo by Robin – Fri., 30th Oct. 2026
Cooper Tandem – Handycam photo by Adrian – Sat., 31st Oct. 2026
Lachlan Tandem with Shelby – Handycam photo by dedicated camera flyer Adrian – Sat., 31st Oct. 2026
B-Rels, Coach & Fun Jumps
There was plenty of coaching happening once the weather improved, with jumpers continuing to build their skills and confidence.
Daniel worked through B-Rel Stages 1 to 3, Aaron progressed through B-Rel Stages 1 to 4, and Eamonn completed B-Rel Stage 3. Kevin also joined for a refresher jump.
Thanks to our Coaches for giving their time, sharing their experience and helping our jumpers progress safely through their training. Great to see everyone putting in the work!
🤘 Weekend Action – Fun Jumpers & Events
Belly Bash Formation Loads
The Belly Bash crew made it to Ramblers for a weekend of formation skydiving, with Ben and Martin briefing two groups and getting everyone organised for the planned multi-aircraft formation loads.
Unfortunately, cloud cover put a stop to the formation flying, so the planned multi-aircraft loads couldn’t go ahead. That didn’t stop everyone getting in some regular belly jumps and making the most of the weekend!
A big thank you to Chris and Dawn for organising the event and bringing everyone together. We appreciate the effort that goes into making these weekends happen!
HD Bigway Phase 1 Camp with Mark Gazley (Focus) and Matt Thomas (Vertical Descent)
Another exciting event took place over the weekend with the HD Bigway Phase 1 Camp.
Phase 1 was the first step towards selection for the 2028 Vertical World Record attempt and the next Australian Vertical Record. It was an opportunity for experienced vertical flyers to work towards some big goals and develop their formation skills.
For those not chasing a record, the camp was also a great opportunity to level up head-down bigway skills and gain valuable experience flying in larger formations. Thanks to the coaches and everyone involved in making the camp happen!
Kevin refresher jump – photo by Charmaine – Sun., 25th Oct. 2026
John our Pilot – photo by Kellie – Sat., 31st Oct. 2026
Belly Bash Formation Loads briefing with Ben – Sat., 31st Oct. 2026
Belly Bash Formation Loads briefing with Martin K. – Sat., 31st Oct. 2026
HD Bigway Phase 1 Camp
“The training for the Head Down Vertical World Record in Chicago September 2028 officially started at Skydive Ramblers on the weekend with a phase 1 camp held by Mark Gazley and Matt Thomas.
These camps are held for anyone interested in trying out for the VWR in 2028 or anyone who wants to work on their Head Down Bigway flying. With a good mix of locals and people from interstate we had a great crew assembled for the weekend !
We battled against clouds all weekend but managed to do 6 jumps. Mark held some awesome seminars while we were restricted to the ground so everyone took away some great knowledge of Bigway flying.
Massive thanks to all of the team at Skydive Ramblers for hosting us and helping us get up for jumps in the challenging conditions.
Thank you to all involved ! Looking forward to the next one !”
Matt Thomas
Photos by Ossie Kahn & Liam Georgilopoulos
HD Bigway Phase 1 Camp – photo by Ossie Kahn / Liam Georgilopoulos
HD Bigway Phase 1 Camp – photo by Ossie Kahn / Liam Georgilopoulos
HD Bigway Phase 1 Camp – photo by Ossie Kahn / Liam Georgilopoulos
HD Bigway Phase 1 Camp – photo by Ossie Kahn / Liam Georgilopoulos
HD Bigway Phase 1 Camp – photo by Ossie Kahn / Liam Georgilopoulos
HD Bigway Phase 1 Camp – photo by Ossie Kahn / Liam Georgilopoulos
HD Bigway Phase 1 Camp – photo by Ossie Kahn / Liam Georgilopoulos
HD Bigway Phase 1 Camp – photo by Ossie Kahn / Liam Georgilopoulos
Need a jump buddy?
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.
📆 And check out our list ofupcoming eventsbelow, and join ourFacebook event listings to see who’s going, invite your jumping mates, and spread the word! Let’s send it!
Went with them today for my first ever skydiving. It was amazing, exhilarating and exciting. Don't be scared, there's nothing terrifying about it. Once you are out of the plane, it feels like you're flying.
“amazing, exhilarating and exciting” – by Jeremy So
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