SkymonkeyONE

So, in this case it seems this device will be OK for homing in on your main once you are "in the general area". You will still have to be cognizant of where you chopped and in what general area the main landed so you can pick it out on an overhead photo and start your search. This is assuming a person chops, then immediately looks straight down to get a reference, then lands as close as safely possible to their gear. This will not help the wayward wingsuiter or young AFF student, or generally lazy skydiver who chops and immediately tries to fly back to the dropzone with the assumption that "someone on the ground will take care of it". I have been a part of literally hundreds of search parties trying to recover gear over the years. Some which went well into the night and some which never led to recovery. What chaps my ass the worse is when someone chops rental gear and just packs up and leaves the DZ.

I have been jumping Gatorz and Liquid glasses with an open face helmet for 13 years.

I've lived full-time on four different dropzones and I've lived very-close to many more. I can tell you with 100 percent certainty that I will fully retire in Zephyrhills, FL. I lived on the dropzone in my RV for four years and LOVED it. I was VERY SAD to leave that place, but I needed more work. I'll be 51 next month. When my body tells me it can't take my current 850 jumps a year instructional pace here in Arizona I am packing up shop and moving into one of those "over 55" trailer parks off of 6th Ave, just across the railroad tracks. Close enough to ride a bicycle to the dropzone or any of the bars in town, but not in an RV in the burning sun in the RV park on the DZ. Downtown Z-hills is quiet, shaded, and cheap to live in. There are plenty of places to eat, some EXCELLENT biker-type bars, and it's an easy drive to the beach. Zephyrhills, FL for the win! Chuck

I never, ever experienced bumpy air working on Kauai. It's out on sort of a peninsula and winds were always out of the East from across the bay. It's on the Southwest side of the island. I think I jumped two days when winds were slack; every other day they were strong and steady from across the bay. I worked one summer there.

That's fantastic, so long as it works AT LEAST one mile away.

Those are definitely tunnel components

It's besides the point, but whatever: There are PLENTY of places to land in the swamp at Z-Hills. I know this from personal experience. Back to the Precision product: The tracker is the same one used for tracking hunting dogs.

+1

No trees anywhere near the airport on Kauai, bro. I didn't work on Oahu. All you had to do where I worked was not land short in the bay and not get blown backwards over the airport into the next bay!

I hope people don't scoff at this. I made over 1000 WS jumps under tiny Cobalts (85's and 75's). I loved those canopies. I actually have a nearly-new 85 (~100 jumps) on risers in a bag in my gear closet if anyone would like to buy it. Chuck

Tangent here: Hey Jarno, isn't that was Simon was flying at Eloy when you and Rob were here? That suit looked great, too. Chuck

I grew up on a dropzone and have been continuously instructor rated since 1982. I teach proper PLF's and all of my students do them until they can do them correctly. Also, I am a stickler for having students land with their knees bent and their feet and knees together, even if they are going to stand it up. Seeing students flying around in "gumby mode" like a big X and reaching for the ground on landing makes me nuts.

No idea, but what's the point in reinventing the wheel here? I'm thinking the original poster did not know about the Precision product.

When I was doing tandems in Hawaii I rarely made a jump when the winds were UNDER 20 mph...But it was clean air, we were jumping 330's, and I got used to it very quickly. I'll do tandems in 25 mph winds all day long so long as the wind is clean and I don't have a 100 pound cheerleader up front. Edited to add: I'll do them in winds that high under those conditions so long as there are shaggers on the ground. Chuck

We jump Garmin Rhino GPS/radios on the chest strap. They are quite pricey (around $250 per unit), but we need them for all the night jumps we do where entire sticks are subject to landing off the DZ in the desert.

Precision Aerodynamics (George Galloway) has sold such a system for either 8 or ten years. He designed it primarily for finding cutaway tandem mains. The tracker is the same as you use with hunting dogs. Chuck

Don't worry about "hurricane season" so much as the normal summer weather pattern: -Sunny in the morning up until around noon -Thunderstorm somewhere between noon and three PM -Clear and sunny from about 5 pm on. Never schedule a tandem for mid-day at ANY dropzone in Florida. Early morning and late afternoon are best. If you sit through a ground school which starts at 0800, don't freak out when it starts raining; it will clear and you will get up in the air so long as the DZ isn't backed-up with tandems for the rest of the day. If you do NOT get up that afternoon, be at the dropzone the second they open the following morning. Chuck

Excellent work, Aaron! My mindwaves are now altered.

I chose the carve and it's awesome.

"Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to my old friend and teammate, Aaron Comp." I'm just glad he isn't running around naked in the pineapple fields of Hawaii anymore. Chuck

This is misleading. While there may be a person in the front of a flock on his/her back, that should never be the person in charge of navigation. Generally, when I back-lead, there is a person straight over the top of me who I take navigation keys from. Chuck

Sorry for the brain fart. 304 is zigzag. 308 is double-throw zigzag.

Cliff Harris (The Colonel!) from VA was a big boy. Luke Aikens is used to be substantially heavier than he is now as I recall it. Big Steve Hasseman in GA used to be very big. Eric Butts was like 280 out the door. Sonic was a big boy. Hans Paulson is lighter than all of those guys.

That is AWESOME. Thanks. Also, to the original poster: 301= straight stitch; 330= zig zag

Just to add to this: Prior to your practical, you are going to have to get a signed letter from whoever supervised your progress stating that they think you are ready to test. You can find an example of what that letter needs to say in Poynters volume II. You are going to have to take that letter and your logbook to your local FSDO to get them to verify your experience (check your logbook) in order to get the form you need to take your written. You can take your written at any FAA testing station. Once you have both your form from the FSDO and your written results you can schedule your test with a DPRE. Man, I was SOOOOOO lucky to be able to train under a former DPRE (Mark Kruse) here at our fantastic loft at work prior to testing. I was extremely prepared and killed the practical. Chuck WGS