Derek Copeland wrote:
People who throw themselves out of perfectly serviceable
aeroplanes ....

I jump pilot I know answers this quip with "well, you haven't seen the
typical jump plane". The point being that the next venue for many jump
planes is the scrap heap.

For many years, The Greater Boston Soaring Club (http://soargbsc.com)
co-existed at the Pepperell MA airport with the Pepperell Skydiving
Center (http://www.skyjump.com/)in peace. They leased the airport and we
were their tenants. At one point, when the runway needed resurfacing,
the club financed the runway work in lieu of several years rent. But, at
the end we parted company on unfriendly terms. I will only say that we
thought that their demands became increasingly unreasonable - fully
understanding that there are two sides to every story.

Jumpers want to be on the upwind side of the field for exactly the same
reasons that the glider pilots do. This will be a problem. Much depends
on what kind of glider club you have. If a large portion of your
operations are training flights there will be more conflicts than if
your club does mostly XC, natch. Every one being on the radio is a big
plus but even so, there WILL be conflicts. This can mean a jump pilot
calling a glider with a request to move downwind or a jump pilot holding
a jump until a conflict is resolved. The airport area was divided into a
pie cut into six pieces - each with a letter designator. At the start of
the day, they'd give us the letter of the pie wedge where they were
getting out and we'd stay clear - mostly. If the wind changed..... well,
you can figure it out.

If every one stays on polite terms it CAN be done. There WILL be
conflicts. There WILL be increase risk. We left for personal/political
reasons not safety. In hindsight, life is much more relaxed without the
jumpers. If your jump operation has the choice of moving elsewhere,
encourage them to take it.

Tony V.