Selecting your landing target

[micduran 0]

When do you choose your landing target?
And by target I mean a pretty specific spot on the ground, i.e. the peas, a circle or spot on the grass, etc.

Be patient with the faults of others; they have to be patient with yours.

[pilotdave 0]

Depends. If I'm trying for accuracy, before boarding the plane. On a normal jump, I'll pick where I'm going based on traffic, obstacles, etc... usually on downwind or base. If you're going to use the jump to meet an accuracy requirement for a license, the target should be picked before boarding.

Dave

[matthewcline 0]

I choose my spot before boarding every time. If the pattern is so full I need to abandon my selected area I will adjust as needed and follow the crowd below me.

Matt

An Instructors first concern is student safety.
So, start being safe, first!!!

[BigSky 2]

I wait to decide until just after I start to flare. This way I can say 100% accurate

“Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and their hopes and dreams. If I didn’t drink this beer, th

[Thijs 0]

Before I jump (edit: I mean boarding the plane) I figure out a flightplan in my head that I want to follow and where I want to land.

Once under canopy, I try to follow the orginal plan, but change it whenever neccesary (being far from the dz, other traffic, changing wind conditions, etc)

[csbrady 0]

i pick mine once under canopy cuz your never 100% certain that your even gunna make it back to the dz. if im shooting accuracy for a license requirment or something then i will declair before i board the plane and try to be the last one down so that i dont have to worry about jumpers behind me when im setting up.

[cjsgrlsx3 0]

I think the spot usually picks for me!

[chaoskitty 0]

Ideally, I know what pattern I'm going to fly and where I'm going to land before I get on the plane. And then make adjustments depending on the spot, traffic, etc.
However I always know where I'm *not* going to land.. like in the trees.

[DrewEckhardt 0]

Quote

i pick mine once under canopy cuz your never 100% certain that your even gunna make it back to the dz. if im shooting accuracy for a license requirment or something then i will declair before i board the plane and try to be the last one down so that i dont have to worry about jumpers behind me when im setting up.

Except in very rare circumstances (jet jump with 90 people out on a pass, hot air balloon) there should be almost no question that you're going to make it back because you checked the spot before climbing out and asked for a go arround if needed.

[za_skydiver 0]

I will chose where i want to land before boarding, but it's not set in stone, if i have to change due to traffic or spot i will. I also like to have a flight plan. In other words, "i want to be (edit: for example) at A at 1500ft, B at 1000ft, C at 500ft." And then just adapt my flight according to conditions and traffic.

Some dream of flying, i live the dream...

[shropshire 0]

The actual location of my landing is not in my list of landing priorities... whic are:-

Land with my canopy above my head, not in a turn.

Land in a clear and open area

Flare

Land into wind IF possible.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[quade 4]

Quote

When do you choose your landing target?
And by target I mean a pretty specific spot on the ground, i.e. the peas, a circle or spot on the grass, etc.

Maybe it's just my general aviation training, but . . . I know the exact spot I intend to land on before I even board the aircraft.

I don't commit to it on approach until I know for certain it's safe to do so.

I -always- have a back-up plan for other places I can land and those can change from one moment to the next. This may include areas one might not even normally consider, but always the lesser of evils.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[popsjumper 2]

Me? Personally, I don't select a specific spot other than on-the-LZ until I'm under a good canopy and have looked around and evaluated where it's going to be safe for me to land given the declared landing pattern, winds and traffic and then I'll pick a spot that's safest for me anyone nearby.

Reasoning? Because, on the load, there are usually students and canopy pilots not paying attention to what they are doing (Yes, spank my ass, sometimes it's me)


On accuracy jumps, before I board.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[DJL 235]

Before I load I have decided that I want to land in the landing area at a location that wind conditions and canopy traffic allows.

I'm pretty sure that the only accuracy shots I have documented are for swoop-n-chugs.

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[airtwardo 7]

Maybe it's just my general aviation training, but . . . I know the exact spot I intend to land on before I even board the aircraft.

I don't commit to it on approach until I know for certain it's safe to do so.

I -always- have a back-up plan for other places I can land and those can change from one moment to the next. This may include areas one might not even normally consider, but always the lesser of evils.

Quote

Funny....that's EXACTLY what I was going to say.

With a small additional clarification that bears a little highlighting~

The 'back up plan' begins the initial and continuous formation and revision process starting from not long after you rotate in the aircraft.

In the dynamic environment that IS skydiving, things don't always go as 'planned' and the change of plans usually happens very fast.

Just because you plan to exit at 12.5 with a 4way, 2nd group out, 1/4 mile north of the LZ..doesn't ALWAYS mean that's way things will go.

Gotta be aware of your altitude, terrain below, wind direction and obstacles (breathing and not) that may slow your rapid egress from a crippled plane.

Or what if the LZ is suddenly closed due to an on site emergency, is the parking lot really the best back up?
Need to have thought about ALL the outs BEFORE boarding.

When it slips to 'Jungle Rules' on the matter of personal survival, KNOW where you are and what you will do at all times.
...having to exit over a mountain peak may give some thought to the AGL setting on the altimeter being less than worthless.

Over or upwind of water...may want to pull high to get over it, or low to keep from being blown into it...helps to know the wind direction BEFORE you exit, look at the Sun and take a bearing as you load, where will the sun be hitting you with a similar wind direction off site.

Don't be a green light lemming, be aware be safe.

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

• Quote

[Somatic 0]

As a noob, how about E) Earth, intact.

My awareness as far as heading is growing a little more with each jump, but right now I'm still going through AFF and trying to remember everything that I've got to do on a jump with a clear head. At this point I'm trying to immediately spot the DZ as soon as I've done a stability check to make sure the canopy is in good flying order.

I know awareness will only get better as I become more comfortable with free falling and lose some of that tunnel vision of (check heading, alt, do this, check alt, do that, check alt, do this, check alt, h, a, h, a, lock on, wave off, pull, count, check canopy, etc).

Doing all of that while getting the 2 fingers or the thumbs down to straighten legs/arch and trying to become physically aware of how it feels if I'm doing it RIGHT it seems like there's more than enough to keep me occupied before I pull :P

I'm sure it's only because I'm new to the sport. It's not second nature yet like it is for some of you.

I know the poll's not really geared to the new jumpers, but thought I'd throw in my 2 cents :)

Blue skies!
Andreas

[tomleone 0]

Usually after I'm under canopy I figure out where I want to land based on where everyone else is.

Take risks not to escape life, but to prevent life from escaping ~ Author Unknown (but I wish I knew)

YouveGottaTryThis.com

[Samurai136 0]

Quote

When do you choose your landing target?
And by target I mean a pretty specific spot on the ground, i.e. the peas, a circle or spot on the grass, etc.

After a canopy course w/ Scott Miller all landings are totally pre-planned.
Landing at any where on the DZ (or off the DZ) is not a matter of luck...

Everytime I board the plane I think about exactly where I intend to land....
(The PD guys don't pull it off by random luck... everything is planned...)

"Buttons aren't toys." - Trillian
Ken

[micduran 0]

It was Scott's course of yesterday that got me thinking about this.
I had a general idea of where I wanted to land, but didn't get too specific . . until now.
Of course winds, traffic, spot, etc. can put me in a position to have to make adjustments. Following a specified flight plan seems to make forced changes in my intended landing target easier to execute.
I was just curious as to what everyone else does. If the poll is accurate most people pick a target before getting on the plane.

Be patient with the faults of others; they have to be patient with yours.

[Legs 0]

For what its worth,

I plan a landing pattern and landing position before getting in the plan. All above reasons for varying plan are valid and true, I would rather change my plan than focus on the one accurate point I wanted to land in and break a leg trying to acheive it.

just MHO

With love in Christ

[PeterB 0]

Plan is made on the ground before boarding.

Target selection I do after canopy is open and I know where I safely can land.

It's basically pretty dumb to have one plan and expect it to work every jump. Lots of variables in action so it's a good idea to have a set of plans or ideas that'll get you down safely and then adjust them as needed.

[JohnMitchell 16]

At the corner of the landing area closest to the hangar. Also as far away as possible from all the new swoopers.

When doing a tandem, right in front of the camera man.