The COA

[Hooknswoop 19]

Heading, Altitude, Jumpmaster, the COA

As you and your student are going through the dirt dives, they enthusiastically call out "heading", "altitude", glance at their wrist where there altimeter would be (or is), "Jumpmaster", and look at you for the thumbs up. Seems like they've got it, so up you go. Great skydive, everything went as planned. As part of the de-brief you ask, in passing, "What direction were we facing in freefall". They scrunch up their brow, thinking back to the skydive, and haven't a clue which direction they were facing, even though they checked their heading several times. They can even remember saying "Heading" in their mind, looking at their altimeter and it reading 9,400 feet, and the grin on your face as you gave them a big thumbs up, but they have no idea which way they were facing.

How can they remember 9,400 feet and a bunch of other details, but not remember which way they were facing? They didn't train to actually look at the horizon, they merely said "Horizon" as a pre-cursor to checking altitude.

Back to the dirt dives. Your student calls out, "Heading", you interrupt them to ask them what they are looking at.. "Umm……the Coke machine", they reply a little hesitantly. "Good", you reply, "continue". Now they are actually looking for a reference to go with the word, "Heading". They now associate an action with the word. In freefall, they will look for a reference after queuing themselves with, "Horizon".

Have you ever had a student look at their altimeter, look at you, go to call out the altitude, look back at their altimeter, look back at you, and then call out the altitude? Forcing them to actually READ the altimeter and not just glance at it is, of course, the objective off having them call out the altitude. I do think that calling out the altitude to both Instructors is a waste of time, as is having the student check with both Instructors during a circle of awareness. If they check with the first Instructor and get a thumbs up, why check with the other Instructor? Why not go straight to the PHT's?

Hook

[lazerq3 0]

Man I tell ya what I not only told my J/M the direction I was facing (NSEW) but what mountain peak I was focused on (Mount Ogden, Ben lemond, Francis Peak) !!!...Hey I couldnt afford to fail a level!

jason

Freedom of speech includes volume

[markbaur 0]

Quote

I do think that calling out the altitude to both Instructors is a waste of time, as is having the student check with both Instructors during a circle of awareness. If they check with the first Instructor and get a thumbs up, why check with the other Instructor? Why not go straight to the PHT's?

Great idea! Some places are already doing this. It saves time, plus having just one instructor giving signals simplifies the debriefing.
Mark

[jncoughlin 0]

I could not agree more. I did AFF last year (got hurt non-skydiving so have to go backwards this year) and was very proud of my altitude awareness. As for heading, all I knew was if I was turning or not. That goes for all seven levels!

Excellent post. When I return I will make a point of knowing the heading.

Thanks

[riddler 0]

I think this is a great idea. Most DZs that I have been to have a rule about the directions to track (usually 90 degrees to runway). It's good to get students learning which direction they are facing, so they know how to track off. I ended up right above a two-way last week and the student tracked fine, but the *experienced* jumper tracked right down the length of the runway (and towards jump run, no less). I pulled a little high to avoid them.

I know that some people do really have trouble with compass directions. Many people are more landmark oriented, so it's good to get them out in the landing area and ask them which way they think is north. south, east, west. If they have too much trouble, it might be a good idea to just have them look where they are pointing relative to the runway. Usually people that have lots of trouble with compass directions are great with landmarks.

[dreamsville 0]

Make sure that the jumprun runs parallel to the runway if you're going to track across it. At our DZ with last week's winds, the jumprun was perpendicular to the runway on many loads (understanding that you will want to avoid approach and flight paths).
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I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane.

Harry, FB #4143

[KenKnight 0]

Speaking as someone recently graduated from AFF, I would definitely agree about the heading. A quick glance at the horizon as you mentally say heading without it really connecting. I was more concerned with keeping an eye on my JM than any ground reference.

My first jump, after the canopy opened and I completed the control check, I looked for the airport for 1K feet of my descent. Finally just before panic set in, I happened to glance straight down and realized it was directly under me. (maybe that wasn't the time to be looking at the horizon for a heading) Couldn't believe I hadn't even looked for it in freefall.

I also wonder if making this point to the students wouldn't help with the many who seem to have problems with spinning?

Quote from another thread_____________________
But then, when I did AFF in Arizona, on my second jump there, I noticed the mountains in the horizon. And suddenly, I could actually keep a heading.
End Quote________________________________

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D28695 PoPs #9237
"Mix ignorance with arrogance at low altitude and the results are almost guaranteed to be spectacular"
— Bruce Landsberg

[sundevil777 93]

If there is a need to track 90 deg to the jumprun, for the purpose of ensuring extra separation from other groups, then I think you are just trading one hazard for others.

Especially for RW groups turning points, I would not want to think that I need to consider my heading - without all 360 deg available, it will take longer to get separation.

What DZ's operate this way? Does it work well?

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

[riddler 0]

Quote

What DZ's operate this way? Does it work well?

I've only jumped at seven DZs , and all but one have this rule. For the six that do, the plane always flies the length of the runway (one way or the other). Big-ways (more than two) are given extra separation, since only two can track 90 degrees to runway.

Does it work well? Hard for me to say, since I don't have a lot of experience with both systems. Separation seems to me to be the more important issue.