Recommendation: Altimeter placement

[Rio Santonil 7]

Please note that I am almost complete with my AFF course (14 jumps). I am about to purchase my Christmas gift  and need some input and feedback on the placement of the altimeter. I am choosing between analog and digital altimeter. I am a little old school and like the analog look. 

Observation #1: During my progression of the AFF course, I've been accustomed to having a hand mounted analog altimeter when I check the altitude. However, I've noticed that most of my instructors place their digital altimeters on their forearm versus a hand mounted. 

Question #1: Why do they place the altimeter on their forearm versus the hand?   

Question #2: Should I purchase an audible altimeter for my helmet as well? (Reason#1: I am considering buying one to assure that I pull at the right altitude especially when I'm tracking away. Reason #2: During one of my jumps, I tracked away and didn't realize I was already below the recommended altitude to pull.) 

As always, any input, feedback, perspective is greatly appreciated. 

Thank you.

Fly Happy! 

Rio

Edited December 28, 2020 by Rio Santonil

[Binary93 65]

Altimeters can be worn on the forearm so you can more easily see them under canopy, especially for swooping for example. This is also a point for analog vs digital display (regardless of what's inside), digital is required for swooping as it offers more precision than a gauge.

Regarding question #2, discuss it with your instructor. Audible should not be your main source of altitide awareness, it can and will fail. In my humble opinion, you should start using one only once you can be fully comfortable without it and pull at the intended altitude.

[Kenzdik96 26]

Forearm mount gives you much more flexibility when it comes to placing the altimeter, and adjusting the angle for ease of viewing. You can also adjust it during your jump when required (when flying a high performance canopy, you need your altimeter under canopy much more), as viewing angle for belly freefall and canopy piloting is not the same. 

Because of its greater accuracy (which is why they are used for swooping as Binary mentioned), I would always recommend a digital altimeter over an analogue one to a licensed jumper. However (and this might not be what you want to hear), I would recommend holding with your altimeter purchase for 30-40 more jumps, and only then getting a digital. When you are still learning, an analogue altimeter with a colored scale (the kind you can rent at your dropzone) is much easier to process in your head (ie you do not need to see the actual number to asses the situation, it is enough for you to process that the needle is entering yellow vs checking if it is actually pointing to 4000 feet). A digital one just gives you a number and it is up to you to interpret it. While you will eventually learn to process the numbers, imo it is better to have a color coded fail safe while you are learning.

As far as an audible is concerned, they are great tools, but if you don't know how to properly fly without an audible before you get one, you will train yourself to become a robot who waits for an audible command to perform an action. One day that command will not come (your battery died, you forgot to turn it on, you lent it to a friend and forgot it isn't in your helmet), but the ground will keep coming closer, and you will find yourself with a problem. Only when you are proficient in breaking off, tracking, and pulling at proper altitude without an audible should you get an audible. 

 

[wmw999 2,444]

One advantage to an old-style analog altimeter is that it has a different failure mode from the digital. No batteries to run out. You should also be training your eyes and your sense of time -- they are how people whose equipment fails keep from dying. On the way up, look at how high the cloud bases are if there are any; look at what the ground looks like periodically. No, there won't be an aha moment when all of a sudden you'll know exactly where you are in freefall without needing instruments. But gradually you'll begin to notice when you get that "the jump is going to end soon" feeling -- that's altitude awareness, too.

Wendy P.

[sundevil777 102]

Forearm mounted alt is don’t work for those needing a lot of drag from loose fabric on the arms. A hand mount where you put the finger loop only through your index finger (a smaller than normal finger loop might help) and placing the alti more toward the thumb improves visibility without requiring so much rotation of the hand. 
 

I say getting an audible alti is a good idea even if you accept the concept of needing to be more alti aware before using it for break off indication. You can program the audible to give you only the lowest warning-reminder you don’t have time to try and fix it.  I see no harm in that.

[Kenzdik96 26]

17 hours ago, sundevil777 said:

Forearm mounted alt is don’t work for those needing a lot of drag from loose fabric on the arms. A hand mount where you put the finger loop only through your index finger (a smaller than normal finger loop might help) and placing the alti more toward the thumb improves visibility without requiring so much rotation of the hand. 

Loose fabric on the arms is generally a crutch people use while they are still learning freefall, and while I agree that a forearm mounted alti would negate some of the advantages of a loose jumpsuit, hand mount has a big disadvantage of someone being able to dock on you and grab you by the hand and in turn the altimeter (people tend to grab each other by the hands when doing their first FS jumps) which can obscure it, or even worse if it is an analogue unit, can actually turn the calibration ring rendering your altimeter useless. Even with a forearm mount, you will still have loose fabric above and below it, while keeping your altimeter much safer (albeit not 100% safe) from obstruction / interference.

As for getting an audible for the decision altitude alarm only, statistically it can be a good idea. Taking into account the average frequency of people needing the decision altitude, you are more likely to learn altitude awareness before experiencing enough emergencies to train yourself to wait for the alarm like a robot. 

[Rio Santonil 7]

Thank you everyone for your feedback, input and perspective. It is very helpful and much appreciated by me. 

I did my first jump of 2021 yesterday with my new Ares II. It was awesome being able to fly again because my DZ closed for 2 weeks during the holidays. One comment about my new Ares II, it was so much easier to read and more accurate to plan out my approach and landing (big big plus when you wear glasses like me).  

Thank you again.

Fly Happy!

Rio

Edited January 5, 2021 by Rio Santonil

[danornan 79]

Give some thought to analog on the mudflap.  It's away there, easy to read and not in the way.  For me, so much more convenient and it's eaisly shared with your friends..