Small Aircraft
Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Flight Instructor
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 30; Flight Crew Total 9000; Flight Crew Type 700
Distraction; Confusion; Situational Awareness
Conflict Airborne Conflict; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Inflight Event / Encounter Bird / Animal
Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Airport; Chart Or Publication; Procedure
Upon reaching the threshold of Runway 10; an aircraft reported a right downwind for Runway 28. I asked the pilot to say his position on downwind and that we were ready for takeoff on 10. He responded you have plenty of time for your departure. I then visually confirmed the location of the aircraft and that the departure path was clear. After departure; I told the downwind pilot that I would make an early right turnout to allow him to proceed with no delay and he acknowledged. After departure and climbing to 400 feet I was beginning my right hand turn and visually acquired skydivers under canopy directly south of my position I then decided to side step to the right of the final of 28; yet remain north of the skydivers area. I extended my departure leg and turned south once clear of the skydivers. The pilot landing on 28 was the jump aircraft pilot and I received no notification of skydivers in the area. There was also no notification broadcast on the AWOS indicating active skydiving in progress. I think it is imperative that better notification be provided to pilots operating within the area when sky diving activities are being conducted. I hope that this report will help in this regard. Some of my suggestions: Require that AWOS's at uncontrolled fields broadcast an alert to pilots anytime skydiving activities are being conducted not just the 24 hour generic advisory. In that broadcast there should also be an accurate description of where those activities take place; when the will begin and an estimated end time.
A departing General Aviation pilot reported they altered their course to avoid parachutists near the airport.