Shady

I am also based at Ramstein AB and I have jumped out at Düren. Great place and a good bunch of people. Some of the locals speak english, though not all. The closest turbine (caravan if I remember right) that I am aware of is at Skydive Spa. I have been out there to visit but didn't jump.

I'm also flying internationally with my rig next week! Going from Frankfurt to Florida (Z-Hills). Thanks for all the good info; I wasn't planning on taking it, but now I might. Anyone have any problems flying out of Frankfurt with their rig? Shady

***In Military airborne operations the Jumpmaster is the one responsible for the load. Just becasue the green light pops doesn''t mean people go. ***The pilot simply drives the plane to the geographical reference point and if he has no issues, turns the green light on to let the jumpmaster know they are close to the release point and it is safe to exit. Speaking as a Herc Navigator; i.e. "military spotter", the aircrew is ultimately responsible for the airdrops they make. If the crew throws personnel/equipment off of the DZ, they are the ones going to a "Bad Bomb Board". So it is in their interest to compute a good CARP/HARP (spot) and give accurate green and red light times. Jumpmaster directed drops (as oppose to crew directed) are the only drops where the JM has a say in where the jumpers jump. Before the flight, the JM and the Nav go over the Nav's CARP/HARP, and yes the Nav does give the JM winds up to altitude. The jump run is flown exactly as if the crew was directing the drop, but the JM is given a green light 1 min. prior to the Nav's HARP. The crew will and does take small corrections from the JM, but not if they think troopers are going to be thrown off the DZ. And at the Nav's red light, all jumping stops. If there are still jumpers in the back, the crew will do another jump run. This is not a simple process as the HARP is dynamic; we recompute it at altitude with the actual winds aloft and fly to this new HARP. But you are right, safety first. And in the end, the crew and the JM working together keep it safe. Shady HERC'S RULE