BE55 PLT COMES WITHIN A FEW HUNDRED FEET OF PARACHUTISTS; EVASIVE ACTION IS TAKEN TO AVOID CONFLICT.

Narrative

WHILE DSNDING THROUGH 4000 FT MSL NBOUND (MH APPROX 340 DEGS) APPROX 3-4 NM W OF DUNN ARPT (X21) MY PAX OBSERVED A SKY DIVER BELOW AND OFF TO THE R OF THE ACFT. AT ALMOST THE SAME INSTANT I SAW ANOTHER SKY DIVER ABOUT 200 FT ABOVE AND 1000 FT AHEAD SLIGHTLY R OF THE NOSE. I IMMEDIATELY BANKED L AND PULLED HARD ENOUGH TO ENSURE SEPARATION. I HAD PURPOSELY OFFSET MY FLT PATH SO AS TO AVOID DUNN SINCE I KNEW THERE IS OCCASIONAL PARACHUTING ACTIVITY THERE. I HAD BEEN MONITORING THE LCL ORLANDO APCH FREQ FOR 10-15 MINS BUT HAD BEEN UNABLE TO REQUEST FLT FOLLOWING BECAUSE THE CTLR WAS TOO BUSY. I HEARD NO ANNOUNCEMENT OF PARACHUTING ACTIVITY AND BELIEVE THERE WAS NONE SINCE I WAS SPECIFICALLY LISTENING FOR IT. IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT JUMPS IN CTLED AIRSPACE ARE NORMALLY ANNOUNCED BY THE CTLR. WHAT I LEARNED FROM THIS EXPERIENCE IS THAT 3-4 NM IS PROBABLY NOT FAR ENOUGH AWAY FROM A DROP ZONE; ESPECIALLY WHEN UPWIND AS IN THIS CASE. IN THE FUTURE I WILL ATTEMPT TO FLY ON THE DOWNWIND SIDE OF DROP ZONES AND/OR INCREASE MY SEPARATION. I ALSO BELIEVE THAT A PRUDENT JUMP ACFT PLT SHOULD ENSURE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THEIR ACTIVITIES ON APPROPRIATE ATC FREQS WHICH APPARENTLY DIDN'T HAPPEN IN THIS CASE.