Pro Rating - 32 ft circle

[Zoso 2]

I'm tempted to work on the Pro Rating. I'm curious if anyone has come up with a good temporary target.

To be specific, I want to make a 32 foot diameter circle of something that could be packed up when not used. I thought of using garden hose, which could be made to the exact circumference, but it wouldn't lay out as a perfect circle.

Any ideas?

[IJskonijn 45]

Why not use ordinary red/white barricade tape and a 32ft cord? Stake the cord in the middle, and use tentpegs to nail the tape to the ground wherever you can pull the cord tight. If you drive the tentpegs all the way into the ground, there's no chance of tripping over them during landing. Easy and very low-cost to install.

[bibliwho 1]

Simplest method, maybe -- Stake in center, 32 foot string/ or rope, make line taut, walk in a circle w/ a can of spray paint.

Home improvement stores will have washable paints, spray chalks, etc. that should wash off in the event that your DZ doesn't want you filling the landing area w/ circles everywhere.

Happy landings

[quade 4]

Or, similar method with white flour which has the added benefit of not polluting the soil.

It's what I did, oh so many years ago.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[peek 21]

Zoso

I'm tempted to work on the Pro Rating. I'm curious if anyone has come up with a good temporary target. ... I thought of using garden hose, ... but it wouldn't lay out as a perfect circle.

I think a "decent" circle would be close enough for most S&TAs to sign off on if you land in it. A yellow or white hose would be highly visible too. Sounds like a good choice to me.

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

Zoso

I'm tempted to work on the Pro Rating. I'm curious if anyone has come up with a good temporary target.

To be specific, I want to make a 32 foot diameter circle of something that could be packed up when not used. I thought of using garden hose, which could be made to the exact circumference, but it wouldn't lay out as a perfect circle.

Any ideas?

Yes:

Put a stake in the ground. Take a 16 foot rope (radius, not diameter). Lay your hose out at the end of the rope and walk it around in a circle. Pull out the stake and coil up the rope.

Alternatively, spray paint, flour, pool noodles, the little flags used by utility markers (plastic poles, not metal). Or use a string trimmer (weed whacker) - just cut a path through the grass that is shorter than the surrounding grass.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[Zoso 2]

Thank you all for the ideas. My DZ airport is privately owned by someone other than the DZO, so I am inclined to go for something minimally invasive. My next priority is ease of setup and storage. In that regard, I like wolfriverjoe's idea the best, but with yellow rope instead of garden hose. Rope is much less expensive, and can be stored in less space (in the trunk of my car). So that's what I'm going to do.

Next question:

I could either fasten the rope back onto itself as a 100.5 foot loop, or leave it alone but with a simple method of fastening one end to the other. By simple I mean bungee style hooks or something along those lines. With the latter idea I could more easily pick the rope back up at the end of the day. Any ideas on fasteners for thick rope?

To take it to the max, it would be cool to have a nice “Pro Rating” label on the rope. That way I could make another one for jumper's working on the C license requirements, with it's own label. This would be very cool to spark interest at the DZ.

[billeisele 130]

if you really need help solving this issue then you may want to reconsider a PRO rating

you'll be making numerous complicated decisions, some in only seconds with potentially significant consequences

just sayin'

Give one city to the thugs so they can all live together. I vote for Chicago where they have strict gun laws.

[Zoso 2]

Billeisele –

So by asking for ideas about making something, you infer I don't have the mental sharpness to do demos? That's laughable. I don't know, or care who you are but I do know you can go fuck yourself.

[RockSkyGirl 10]

A completely different approach: use a small (but large enough to be visible under canopy) square of bright material (tent material or something, maybe a scrap square of zp canopy material you might be able to beg (or buy) off your local rigger; with weighted corners) to mark your target. The center of this is the center of your 10m circle. Carry in a pocket (or tucked in your sock) a golf tee with a 5m piece of string attached. When you land, before you move, press the tee into the ground between your feet. Then, if you can walk to the center of your small bright target without running out of string, you landed within the 10m circle. Probably the least invasive way in terms of effect on the dz property, with the smallest amount of material needed.

[grimmie 186]

Mow a circle in the LZ grass.

[billeisele 130]

Zoso

Billeisele –

So by asking for ideas about making something, you infer I don't have the mental sharpness to do demos? That's laughable. I don't know, or care who you are but I do know you can go fuck yourself.

how sweet - lol

reading comprehension and maturity are not your strong suits, two of many skills needed for a PRO rating

if you felt that a reply was needed so many other responses would have been appropriate

Give one city to the thugs so they can all live together. I vote for Chicago where they have strict gun laws.

[obelixtim 150]

Pffffttt, skydivers are so soft these days.

Back in the day we would have made the circle out of broken glass, or poured fuel on the ground and got someone to torch it when we were on final....

Sharpens your accuracy skills quick smart!

My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

[Lightning126 0]

Zoso

Billeisele –

So by asking for ideas about making something, you infer I don't have the mental sharpness to do demos? That's laughable. I don't know, or care who you are but I do know you can go fuck yourself.

Says the newbie wannabe demo jumper to an old hand with thousands of jumps and years in the sport? Yeah, good luck getting help with that attitude.

I'll put your name on the bounce bingo board.

[skyjumpenfool 2]

Fertilizer! Makes a nice green mark and lasts for a couple months. It does take a week or so to show up, so, you'll have to plan ahead....which, by the way, is a great skill to have if you're going to do demos.

Birdshit & Fools Productions

"Son, only two things fall from the sky."

[Zoso 2]

Lightning126 – I'm not exactly a newbie. And I wouldn't be seeking help about Pro Rating skills on the internet. Obviously that is something you do at a DZ, with a Pro Rated mentor. I already have one eager to recruit me as a demo jumper. Sorry to disappoint you.

This post was basically to get ideas about the target. I also like getting ideas out there for others to find in the future. This post will provide that.

As for me and the Pro Rating, it is basically a fun accuracy challenge. I would satisfy the pyro and flag requirements just to get the rating, not because I have a burning desire to do either one. For me the rating would mostly be a trophy, similar to my D license. Did I NEED a D license? No. Do I NEED a Pro Rating? No.

I also enjoy challenging my friends. The portable accuracy circle would serve that purpose.

[Zoso 2]

To everybody that provided suggestions – thank you. They are all good suggestions, but we all have different situations. Even though I'm going one way with the target, others will read this and settle on their own preferences. I like that.

So while shopping today for rope, I noticed they had yellow plastic chain. I bailed on the rope idea and went with the chain. I measured out 100.5 feet and spliced the chain back onto itself. The chain is nice because I can quickly pick it back up and drop it in a tool box. I will use wolfriverjoe's suggestion for truing up the circle. I spent more than I originally intended, so I will not be donating a C license accuracy circle to our DZ. If I did proceed with 2 different targets, I could do my label idea easily with keychain style labels. They would just fasten to a link. I will only have one target circle, so I don't need to bother with a label.

[Di0 2]

Seriously, the guy is literally looking for ideas with a "Do It Yourself" project.
How can you infer anything about his skydiving or mental skills, that's beyond me, sometimes you gotta love these forums.

I'm standing on the edge
With a vision in my head
My body screams release me
My dreams they must be fed... You're in flight.

[Lightning126 0]

Di0

Seriously, the guy is literally looking for ideas with a "Do It Yourself" project.
How can you infer anything about his skydiving or mental skills, that's beyond me, sometimes you gotta love these forums.

Where's the like button on this post?

[DougH 270]

Di0

Seriously, the guy is literally looking for ideas with a "Do It Yourself" project.
How can you infer anything about his skydiving or mental skills, that's beyond me, sometimes you gotta love these forums.

It is leading me to infer something about social skills.

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[Di0 2]

DougH

It is leading me to infer something about social skills.

While that might be a more realistic assessment, I still sustain that it has nothing to do with the OP's capabilities of landing a parachute in a crowded area, or handle the mental workload required for a demo.

Beside we skydive - we can control ourselves around tandems but outside of that, we're all awkward a.f.

I'm standing on the edge
With a vision in my head
My body screams release me
My dreams they must be fed... You're in flight.

[DougH 270]

I wasn't talking about the OP.

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P