BurningSky

First Timer's Guide to the Burning Sky Camp

The Burning Man experience, and that of the skydivers of Burning Sky, is unlike anything you will have had before. It is important not to make too many assumptions. Not only is Burning Man different from any event you have been too, but the skydiving camp is nothing like a drop zone or a skydiving boogie.

Central to the Burning Man spirit is that there is no commerce. All activities are organized, financed, and executed through communal effort. As a consequence, you will find that active participation is the only way to really be a part of it. This is true of the Burning Sky camp, too. You can't just show up and "buy" a jump. We all join together in advance to plan a fairly complex camp. After all, we are talking about over fifty skydivers living together in an environment where we not only need to provide all of our own food, shelter, water, entertainment, and other necessities, but we must also provide our own aircraft, pilot, fuel, manifest, and other elements of a skydiving operation. You don't just show up at a ready made drop zone and ask how to get on a load. You show up and BUILD a drop zone.

Burning Man is based on a ‘gifting economy.’ The idea is to freely give whatever it is you have. If we were a group of exotic dancers we would give away lap dances. We have a cool airplane with some extra space so we give away observer slots. As a first timer you can maybe plan to give away an extra slot in the plane that you won’t use, some of your time working a shift at the manifest table, help out fueling the plane, serve cocktails at sunset, etc.

This drop zone isn't like any other drop zone on the planet. Unlike most DZs, where we jump for ourselves and the typical challenge is to improve skydiving skills, Burning Sky has established goals. One is to make the sky appealing to people on the ground. The other is to make the ground interesting from the sky. A related mission is to get as many non-jumpers as possible into the airplane so they can enjoy at least part of our perspective. View the Burning Sky project as a series of demo jumps to provide entertainment to the 40,000+ people there who are not skydivers.

So, on to the mechanics of getting involved.

1. If you have never been, read the chapters in the Burning Man web site about first timers. That's at www.BurningMan.com.
2. The minimum experience requirement is 100 jumps.
   You may be requested to demonstrate skill, in person, to one of our members prior to the event if we have any reason to doubt your ability to land in a busy landing area littered with obstacles.
3. Acquire a ticket to Burning Man
4. Pay the aircraft share cost. In 2006, it was about $225 for five jumps from 13,000 feet AGL.  We do not "sell" individual jumps since the main expense is ferrying the plane and fuel there, and everyone must support those expenses regardless of how many jumps they intend to make.
5. Prepare for the event: you’ll need enough food, water, and shelter to survive for the time that you are there. If you don’t have a costume you will feel out of place. Many people bring items to give away – slots in the airplane are very valuable, but handmade trinkets with a Burning Man theme go over pretty good.