Spotting???

[freeflir29 0]

Not too long ago there was a huge debate about spotting...trusting the green light etc. Well, What do you know? Last weekend we had a pilot accidentally turn on the green light instead of the red. In fact I would think that jumpers would have noticed that the red light never even came on. Just went straight to green. Purely an accident and shouldn't have been a big deal. Well...the whole damn load got out without looking down.... I think one person made it back to the landing area....ROTFLMAO...You don't really have to "Spot" but at least make sure you are generally in the right area...
"I only have 133 jumps, so I don't know shit..right?"-Clay

[skycat 0]

yeah this weekend I was doing a hop and pop and was looking out, well the green light came on, I looked out again and was way down wind, I would have just made it back, but I was doing a hop and pop to work with the canopy, not to try and make it bad to the DZ. So just hung out in the door then when over the DZ hopped out. Luckly I was the only one getting out low or I'm sure someone would have told me to hurry up. Of course I would have let them go first then laughed when they had a LONG walk back.

[kingbunky 3]

i'm pretty sure common sense should be used as well as a green light! if it don't look right, don't go, you can always do a go-around.
"Jumping out of planes for the thrill of it all."
-J.Geils Band

[jtval 0]

{looking at my crotch] no I'm not, are you?[/looking at my crotch]
i travel alot so you kinda gotta rely on your instinct and hope that you have a good pilot. but everyone fucks up occasionally(like the wrong switch story) so i like to know where i am before i fling myself out the door.
getting high is fun, but coming down is the best part
JT

[Jabeln79 0]

No lights at my DZ, every spot is by the eye. SO when a load is off we have someone to blame. Only had to walk back once though.
Blue Skies
Joe
"When they say jump you say how high" RATM

[diverdriver 6]

Yes, there should always be one person looking down and one person looking at the lights. They can communicate to each other and agree that the climb out is right.
Chris Schindler
ATP/CFII
D-19012
http://www.DiverDriver.com

[diverdriver 6]

Oh yah, I did the old green light first switcharoo once on a 100 way drop. Sheesh. Drop 300 people on the airport perfectly 24 times in a row and miss a 100 way 3 tenths short and your name is mud. Well, they said if I was gonna miss, miss to the south and that's what I did. So Nyahhh!!!!
Chris Schindler
ATP/CFII
D-19012
www.DiverDriver.com

[canopycudler 0]

yah me too.. ONCE ON SUNDAY!!! ahhhhh.. LOL.. still not as good as the Gary Peek "where the fuck am i load" LOL
Blue skies & sunset jumps
...Tina

[Skyrose7 0]

the only time I had to walk back was when I was supposed to be spotting and telling my jm to get out. I had asked my dz owner where the spot was. I told her to get out, and she told me to wait. We did, and ended up waaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy off. She landed off airport, and I just made a far off runway. Sometimes it pays to have a huge student canopy.
The mind is like a parachute--it works better when it is open. JUMP.

[Ducky 0]

My AFF didn't cover anything regarding spotting.... So on my first solo when i ended up being first out someone yellled door, i looked out (apparently at nothing) and said seeya, exit!
I couldn't figure out why I was so far out when i opened at 4,000. I flew straight into the wind the whole way back never turned even on approach. I made it into the landing area by about 15ft.
Later someone approched me and explained the whole green light red light concept to me. I had never noticed the damn lights cuz students were always the last off and all i knew about was separation. Within minutes I approached a few AFF-Is and told them the story they both were sympathetic and admitted that they forget those minor details sometimes.
It was a good learning experience though, and without a walk! I spotted the next 5 loads and was even asked by my coach to tell the pilot in which ways to adjust jump run on a few.
kwak
Stupidity is a crime.

[AggieDave 6]

  Quote

My AFF didn't cover anything regarding spotting

I guess that's something good that came from "growing up" at a small 182 Dz with a bunch of old-school jumpers. I started spotting lessons on something like my 5th jump. Even learned how to call and get the uppers and decide where the spot should be via that and the areal map... learned my lesson...
"I said don't look Ethel, It was too late, she'd already been incensed... "

[Meatbomber 0]

I'm coming from a Skyvan operaion and the last AFF corse that we ran we made practice passes at 5-8.000 feet over the DZ with a few degrees off the heading and announce that with the bell we have in the airplane, the students would then open the flip door and look out, giving signals to the pilot to correct the heading.. anyways we would give the students a bit of time and see if they gave the right signals and if not we'd waggle the tail of the plane a bit and then head over the spot, as soon as we were over the spot we'd ring the the bell again so they would know..
Well a lot of very experienced jumpers wanted to try it as well and i tell you most of them were impressed on just how wrong they would have dropped...
There is hardly anybody who can decently spot from a Skyvan especially if there's a load with 25 people behind him.
Cheers
MB