tombuch 0 #1 April 15, 2005 There is a cool site that features near real-time radar of urban airspace, including some of the biggest drop zones in the country. Check out http://www.passur.com/sites.htm for radar coverage in the New York, Tampa, Boston, LA, and San Jose areas. When the radar is set to a longer range, you get a very good picture of traffic congestion over and around drop zones like The Ranch (see White Plains radar), or Perris Valley. In fact, I just watched a load drop over Perris at 14,000 feet. Pretty cool. The data is about 10 minutes old when it hits your screen, but there is a terrific archive function that lets you go back in time. If you have a close call with another airplane at a drop zone that has coverage, you can easily look back and see who it was. The datablocks for the archive function turn on about an hour after the record was made, so so you can identify the target. The main page includes a url for each local airport, and below that it has a url for the radar return. Check it out.Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brian425 0 #2 April 15, 2005 Tom, I am really curious to see the Ranch. I could not find White Plains radar. Could you PM it to me. Thanks, Brian The only time you should look down on someone is when you are offering them your hand. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jman 0 #3 April 15, 2005 Go to Westchester County click the map out to 80 miles. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jman 0 #4 April 15, 2005 Wow Tom, That's Amazing...or should I say scary. I wonder what percentage of those flights have any idea that the Ranch even exists as an active DZ with people exiting at 13,500'. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tombuch 0 #5 April 15, 2005 QuoteWow Tom, That's Amazing...or should I say scary. I wonder what percentage of those flights have any idea that the Ranch even exists as an active DZ with people exiting at 13,500'. Probably very few of the pilots know they are flying over a DZ. General Aviation pilots using a standard sectional chart can see the parachute symbol on the chart, but pilots flying with digital displays like GPS, and commercial pilots in big jets flying with FMS systems, do not have any symbology to tell them of the drop zone. That's a problem that is being worked at the national level by USPA, FAA, and AOPA. There has been a bunch of progress over the last few months, and we should see data standards in place within a few more months. Actually getting that data into the hands of pilots, however, is still a long way off. For more discussion about depiction of drop zones in digital formats, see my post starting a thread last June at http://dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1133168;#1133168. For detail specific to airspace around The Ranch see article 8 "Airspace" at http://ranchskydive.com/safety/index.htm. While this article is targeted at the airspace around The Ranch, it should also give jumpers at other drop zoners an idea of how airspace is defined and depicted.Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
veter_ 0 #6 April 16, 2005 It would be cool to check for traffic on a wireless PDA while in freefall. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tombuch 0 #7 April 16, 2005 QuoteIt would be cool to check for traffic on a wireless PDA while in freefall. I was thinking it would be cool for manifest to be watching the feed as an extra set of eyes for the pilots, and then call on the radio if there is a conflict. Unfortunately, the data is embargoed for 10 minutes prior to release as a "security" precaution, so it isn't useful for actual traffic separation. There are systems that will relay a live-live radar feed to a display on the flight deck (only in specific areas where coverage is available), but they are very expensive and require a capable display, something lacking in most skydiving airplanes. Another option is an inflight collision avoidance system that gets it's data directly from the transponders of other airplanes. These systems are somewhat less expensive, but since they are designed for in flight collision avoidance, they are optimized for the display of limited traffic at close in distance and near level. They might not be very useful for skydiving pilots who are more interested in traffic 4-12 miles out, and as much as 10,000 feet below jump altitude. .Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jman 0 #8 April 18, 2005 Wouldn't it be nice if DZ's could have their own beacon system to warn other pilots. I would think this could be a practical and inexpensive solution. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FrflyPimpDaddy 0 #9 April 19, 2005 QuoteWouldn't it be nice if DZ's could have their own beacon system to warn other pilots. I would think this could be a practical and inexpensive solution. Yeah, it's called LISTEN TO THE RADIOS. All jump pilots are required to report to center when they are going to make a drop, including when and what altitudes are affected. If other pilots are talking to center they will hear that. Also, just about every jump pilot I know will broadcast the same message on UNICOM or another appropriate frequency for VFR traffic not talking to ATC. Oh and BTW, check your freakin sectionals. All DZs are published there. "An apostrophe does not mean 'Look out, here comes an S!' " Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jman 0 #10 April 21, 2005 Quote Oh and BTW, check your freakin sectionals. All DZs are published there. By the amount traffic that fly's over our DZ, I would have to say that isn't being done. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scrumpot 1 #11 April 21, 2005 Thank you Tom, very interesting link, and available data indeed! Blues, -Grantcoitus non circum - Moab Stone Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zenister 0 #12 April 22, 2005 Quote There are systems that will relay a live-live radar feed to a display on the flight deck (only in specific areas where coverage is available), but they are very expensive and require a capable display, something lacking in most skydiving airplanes. well if you could get the FAA to buy off on the Service Based Architecture the military is implementing i can put ANY radar feed (or any other sensor for that matter) on ANY laptop, ANYWHERE on the net...____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NickDG 23 #13 April 23, 2005 I did a small seminar, part of a bigger FAA thing, for CFIs in my area after mine (a WW II fighter pilot) told me to stay 1500-feet above those little parachute symbols because, "those parashooters jump from 800-feet." It might not be a bad idea to send info to local flight schools in your area, maybe with something they could post on a bulletin board. You might even gain a student or two . . . NickD BASE 194 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
itllclear 1 #14 April 23, 2005 Nick- Good for you- I've been doing some seminars in the LGB & LAX FSDO's areas. Get some surprised looks from the pilots when they find out what the operations at Perris & Elsinore are about. I hand out NTSB reports about skydivers vs. planes. It gets their attention when the find out the best they're going to hope for is a tie! Try NTSB report BFO94FA015. Blue Skies! Red Canopies! Harry"Harry, why did you land all the way out there? Nobody else landed out there." "Your statement answered your question." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tombuch 0 #15 April 23, 2005 Quote It might not be a bad idea to send info to local flight schools in your area, maybe with something they could post on a bulletin board. You might even gain a student or two . . . Kinda like the flyer that we have on our web site, and distribute to local airports? See http://ranchskydive.com/ranch-pilot-caution.pdf .Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shark 0 #16 April 23, 2005 QuoteI hand out NTSB reports about skydivers vs. planes. It gets their attention when the find out the best they're going to hope for is a tie! Yep, nobody wins. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
