"Chris Ehlbeck" wrote
At least the skydivers are easier to see under canopy! I was on my long XC
as a student and was flying near a DZ airport (knew not to go over). I was
at 6,500 MSL (about 5,600 AGL) and saw 3 canopies above me! GPS showed me
over 3 nm from the airport when I checked.

What you saw was either a CRW or XC jump.

XC (cross country) is when the uppers are howling, the jump plane
flies into the wind (often 10+ miles upwind of the airport!) and the
jumpers get out, open, and fly home. In theory this requires that a
NOTAM be filed (since the standing NOTAM probably only covers the area
within 3-5 nm of the airport) but often this is not done.

CRW (canopy relative work) is when the jumpers get out, open, and try
to fly in VERY tight formation (as in - one guy holds on to parachute
of other guy(s) with hands and/or feet). If the uppers are howling,
they also have to get out well upwind of the airport if they are not
to land well downwind of it.

Neither is particularly rare. However, while jumpers in freefall are
practically invisible, jumpers under canopy are quite visible and able
to practice see-and-avoid. After all, they have dozens to hundreds of
square feet of brightly colored wing, move slowly (10-40 kts), and are
highly maneuverable. Not exactly a major hazard IMO.

Michael