Suggestion - canopy color references

[billvon 2,990]

So here's a suggestion in terms of canopy safety - a canopy color reference on people's rigs/jumpsuits that is visible in the plane.

I've noticed that whenever I start doing video for a new team there's a several day learning process for me where I figure out what canopy everyone is jumping. Christy has the stock color Velo, Amy has the all red Safire, Orla has the green/magenta Stiletto. Once I learn all the colors I get a lot more comfortable under canopy. Orla is going to open sort of close to me, because she doesn't track very far - so I look for that canopy. Christy is going to land first and set the landing direction - so I look for the orange. Kirsten is going to land last, so I'm going to pass the big purple canopy. I'm going to land at about the same time as Lara, so I look for the blue and white Sabre 2.

This helps me make faster decisions under canopy. I can look at three canopies in front of me and know "OK, I'm landing before those two but after her."

Even with teams I am familiar with, though, I can lose track when we do back to backs, because everyone has two canopy colors. And when I see canopies from another group I often don't know who is under them, when they opened and what they are planning to do.

So that made me think - if I knew canopy colors in the airplane it would make identifying people a lot easier under canopy. A super simple way would be to print up Tshirts that had canopy colors on it - but most people wear jumpsuits. Stickers for helmets would be easy to print. A mudflap cover would do the same thing and would stay with the rig, which is what you want.

Note that some DZ's do this for a different purpose - to identify mains that are in student or rental rigs. I do it every time I take up a student, to make sure that I can identify him under canopy. Could we do something similar for experienced jumpers, to help other jumpers better recognize people under canopy? Useful? Practical?

[NWFlyer 2]

Interesting idea; I know I've mentioned earlier that I found my jumps with my 8-way team (familiar people, familiar canopies) to be the times when I'm most comfortable in the sky, so I can see where this might be useful.

At the same time, though, I suspect that for the average jump with a random, changing group - in the air most of what I "knew" in the plane about peoples' colors would probably fly right out of my head once I was in the air and I might be spending too much mental energy trying to match people to colors - mental energy that might be better spent just watching the other canopies around me to see what they're doing. "Okay, that blue and yellow canopy is sinking a lot faster than me - probably don't have to worry about them." "The person under red and white is looking pretty floaty - I'll check back on them from time to time to see if they're staying above me as I expect or if they're gaining on me." "Purple and black has been right on level with me for a while - let me hang in brakes a bit to give them some room."

I'm not sure knowing that Blue/Yellow was Jim and Red/White was Joe and Purple/Black was Jane gives me much more useful information to work with in the air, at least not unless I jump with the same people consistently. For constantly-shifting mixes of people, it seems more like "noise" to me, but maybe I'm not understanding how you'd use the info on the mudflap/sticker.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[peek 21]

Quote

So here's a suggestion in terms of canopy safety - a canopy color reference on people's rigs/jumpsuits that is visible in the plane.

Aaah, if only my memory was that good...

Not a bad idea, but since most DZs I have been to don't even have their student canopy colors identified on the rig, it would seem to be difficult to get everyone to do it.

Until a number of years ago I knew the colors of everyone, but then a whole bunch of people started downsizing, and other people on the same DZ wound up with their canopies.

[billvon 2,990]

>it would seem to be difficult to get everyone to do it.

Yep. To start off you'd have to have it be free; set up a table and get someone to make up stickers on a printer or something. I may do it for my own purposes - between Amy and I we have four rigs and six mains that we use semi-regularly, and often it's hard to remember what's in what rig. A velcro identifier on a rig that showed the main colors would solve that problem.

[virgin-burner 1]

probably has it's advantages to jump at some sort of a "small" dz, where you basically know everyone and their canopies..

“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

[airtwardo 7]

There's a U.S. Flag on my helmet...canopy, rig, jumpsuit & reserve are the same colors!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[MakeItHappen 15]

Yeah and the guy jumping demo mains has a sticker that does not agree with the sticker (if you could get that to work)

But this reminds me of something ....
A guy on a big-way went low and in the video you could not really tell who it was....
so in the next dirt dive he changed rigs ( and the rigs looked very different ) so that no one could id him.

.

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Make It Happen
Parachute History
DiveMaker

[DSE 5]

something like a military "salad bar" might be very useful. I like the idea, Bill. Easily put on a mudflap or bottom of the three ring, or sleeve that goes on the chest strap?

[jdfreefly 1]

I had a similar thought, but my idea was that you could put up a whiteboard that was basically a spreadsheet next to the loading area. Jumpers walk up and fill in their name, canopy + wingloading along with the group they are jumping in, for ex:

| Daless   |  velo 103  | 2.1  | 4-Hd  | SL |

| Shannon  |  xfire 119 | 1.2  |4-hd   | MF |

...

...

It's a message to other jumpers on the load:
I'm Daless, I jump a velo 103 loaded at 2.1 lbs/sft, I'm on a 4 way head down and I intend to land in the swoop lane.
I'm Shannon, I jump a crossfire 119 loaded at 1.2, I'm on a 4 way head down and I intend to land in the main field.
etc ....


I think one of the larger benefits of both ideas is it reminds people to spend the time in the loading area thinking about canopy flight. Of course, it also assumes people are actually in the loading area 5 minutes prior to the plane....

Methane Freefly - got stink?

[jumpsalot-2 3]

Quote

I had a similar thought, but my idea was that you could put up a whiteboard that was basically a spreadsheet next to the loading area. Jumpers walk up and fill in their name, canopy + wingloading along with the group they are jumping in, for ex:

| Daless   |  velo 103  | 2.1  | 4-Hd  | SL |

| Shannon  |  xfire 119 | 1.2  |4-hd   | MF |

Multiply that by 20 jumpers on a load and it's an IQ test .......I know for a fact that I would fail. I'll need to stick with the keep an eye ( both eyes in fact ) on who is around me under canopy. That is " my " only choice. It doesn't matter " to me " who they are.
...
...

It's a message to other jumpers on the load:
I'm Daless, I jump a velo 103 loaded at 2.1 lbs/sft, I'm on a 4 way head down and I intend to land in the swoop lane.
I'm Shannon, I jump a crossfire 119 loaded at 1.2, I'm on a 4 way head down and I intend to land in the main field.
etc ....


I think one of the larger benefits of both ideas is it reminds people to spend the time in the loading area thinking about canopy flight. Of course, it also assumes people are actually in the loading area 5 minutes prior to the plane....

[robinheid 0]

Quote

...some DZ's do this for a different purpose - to identify mains that are in student or rental rigs. I do it every time I take up a student, to make sure that I can identify him under canopy. Could we do something similar for experienced jumpers, to help other jumpers better recognize people under canopy? Useful?

No.

Quote

Practical?

No.

SCR-6933 / SCS-3463 / D-5533 / BASE 44 / CCS-37 / 82d Airborne (Ret.)

"The beginning of wisdom is to first call things by their right names."

[NWPoul 1]

May be just quick pre (or after) boarding conversation between the jumpers on the load require less and do more?
Here at most DZ we have socalled LSO (Line of start observation) when all the load get standing in front of LO accordingly to their jump plans, get usefull info about jumprun, wind, landingpattern and get to know who will perform a HP landing etc...
But on DZ which doesn't have LSO we used to say (during the walk to plane) if we want to make HP landing, ask who will to do HP else and establish an order between us (at the same time the other load knows who they should afraid:) )

P.S. And strong IMHO: frist man set landing direction - just sucks

Why drink and drive, if you can smoke and fly?