popsjumper 2 #26 September 9, 2006 OK...teach me something. Some have said that GPS can tell you not only where you are but also where you want to be. I can see that GPS can tell you where you are (that's the whole point of it, right?) but how in the hell can it tell where you want to be? As far as I know, it will know where you want to be only if you tell it beforehand. How far off base am I here? In danger of getting tagged out? My reality and yours are quite different. I think we're all Bozos on this bus. Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mnealtx 0 #27 September 9, 2006 G'morning Andy... This is a quick'n'dirty idea of how it works...aviation GPS units have a lot more bells and whistles than what I'm describing! It's kind of like an electronic "connect the dots". Let's say that you need to be 3/4 mile NW of the peas for your spot. You set a waypoint 3 miles SE of the peas, at the peas, and another waypoint 3/4 NW of that. The GPS will give a steering cue from waypoint to waypoint. If the "you are here" bug drifts off the track line, then the plane is getting pushed by uppers and the pilot knows he needs to correct for the winds.... Ideally, the "you are here" point on the GPS should track straight up the line from the SE point, through the peas and on to the drop point.Mike I love you, Shannon and Jim. POPS 9708 , SCR 14706 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 2,400 #28 September 9, 2006 >but how in the hell can it tell where you want to be? It can tell you where you are, and most will tell you where you're going to be (provided nothing else changes, like winds.) It cannot tell you where you _want_ to be. That function has to be provided by a human. No GPS on the market will take into account freefall drift, canopy glide, clouds, other traffic beneath you or ground hazards. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LouDiamond 1 #29 September 9, 2006 QuoteNo GPS on the market will take into account freefall drift, canopy glide, clouds, other traffic beneath you or ground hazards. Not entirely true. Garmin offers a jumpmaster feature for its eTrex series gps receivers. However, this program is only applicable to most military operations as we calculate for winds entirely different than the civilian skydiving world.But the program takes FF drift and canopy glide into consideration among other things. There are also some other companies out there that have GPS navigation systems that can be used while in freefall and under canopy but they are aimed at the military market. But as was stated, you have to put the information about where you want to go ,etc into the GPS, it doesn't read minds yet As for the clouds,traffic and ground hazards thats left up to the low tech method of sticking ones head out the door and looking"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required" Some people dream about flying, I live my dream SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
