Ideas on making sure nobody goes missing at major DZs?

[billvon 2,998]

>It is a whole helluvalot more useful if you are the one that is injured and
>hoping someone will come to help.

For the case you are describing the solution is both easy and immediate; carry a cellphone.

[sundevil777 102]

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>It is a whole helluvalot more useful if you are the one that is injured and
>hoping someone will come to help.

For the case you are describing the solution is both easy and immediate; carry a cellphone.

That was not an option in 1987. Even now, that just doesn't cut it, many injuries don't allow a person to use their cellphone.

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

[airtwardo 7]

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>It is a whole helluvalot more useful if you are the one that is injured and
>hoping someone will come to help.

For the case you are describing the solution is both easy and immediate; carry a cellphone.

That was not an option in 1987. Even now, that just doesn't cut it, many injuries don't allow a person to use their cellphone.

But many do, so it is a great solution for 'now'...

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

[jumpwally 0]

...and therein lies another problem,,,you forget to turn it in and go home,,,,,now you have people looking for you....

smile, be nice, enjoy life
FB # - 1083

[Douggarr 6]

I mentioned this issue to USPA Safety and Training's Jim Crouch in an email just after the Russian went MIA at Perris. They are discussing it and plan on eventually issuing some sort of recommendation (I guess). The GPS chip is an intriguing suggestion, especially at busy DZs with several a/c turning at the same time. Don't they use some sort of similar device for runners in their sneakers when do mega-runner marathons? Could a similar device be cheap and convenient for skydivers?

SCR-442, SCS-202, CCR-870, SOS-1353

[billvon 2,998]

> Even now, that just doesn't cut it, many injuries don't allow a person to
>use their cellphone.

It definitely would have helped you. And in the one fatal case we know about, the person was able to take his rig off, so he had use of his hands.

If you really want to get something automatic, write an app for a phone that will automatically text a friend with your location if the phone sees more than 10 G's. (Then buy him a lot of beer to compensate him for dealing with the false alarms.)

[Southern_Man 0]

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Don't they use some sort of similar device for runners in their sneakers when do mega-runner marathons? Could a similar device be cheap and convenient for skydivers?

Timing chips for runners do not have any GPS data in them. They register by passing over a mat, so they may (or may not) be appropriate for making sure jumpers pass back into the hanger but would do absolutely nothing for finding a missing jumper.

Cost for a runner's chip is ~$25. I do not know what the sensor mats cost or if they would hold up to the constant exposure of being in place 24/7 (I suspect not). They have a fairly high error rate in terms of not reading, sometimes because of incorrect placement on a shoe. Many races are trending towards RFID tags because of cost and reliability.

"What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

[nigel99 482]

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Anybody? Alluding to the disappearance of the Russian at Perris, I can see the impracticality of staff trying to keep track of all the jumpers, but what if there was a way to do it electronically? Maybe GPS chips rented out to jumpers for some fee that would attach to a safe point on their harness, like the boogie tags... If a jumper with one lands out beyond the DZ's perimeter, an alarm activates at manifest with the coordinates of the location? Would something like that work and be feasible?

Very simply there are personal locating beacons that exist for walkers/climbers etc. DZ's could rent them out as they cost between $200 and $500 to buy. They are not dependant on cellphone coverage and pretty much link directly into the emergency services. Ok it won't work if you are totally incapacitated. For example http://sportys.com/PilotShop/product/14501

GPS transmission/RFID are impractical when you look at the big picture. You will either need automatic activation(what would be the triggers), battery life will be a problem, radio coverage is a problem and in low volumes they don't come cheap.

I think that the best way is people power at manifest. People have mentioned how skydivers don't bother to check back in. Make it a $100 deposit or similar that is effectively lost if a search results and I am sure many of those problems would disappear. All you would need is a couple of numbered plastic disks that are handed out at manifest and returned there - failure to do so (in a timely manner) results in losing your deposit.

Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.