Landing accuracy for license requirements

[SpeedRacer 1]

I'm going to apply for my B license pretty soon, but a thought occurred to me:

How did you approach achieving the landing accuracy requirements for the B,C,and D licenses? (ie., must be within 10 meters of target on 10 jumps for the B license) It seems to be pretty haphazard among many people. How do you verify your landing accuracy, when most people just try to land somewhere in the main landing area.

A couple of times at my old DZ I brought a white frisbee and placed it on the grass in the landing area & shot for that. (I didn't wanna use the pea pit: too much traffic around that )

But it seems most people don't do anything special in terms of landing accuracy requirments. Is that normal?

Speed Racer
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[skycop 0]

If you want to be super accurate, take two pieces of rectangular cloth, 10-20 meters long, make an X on the ground, away from the main landing area, and have at it. The center of the X is your target. Spray paint is good too but, it may piss off the DZO.
Marking the ground in any manner will work, but again make it away from the main peas or target.
This is great practice and is fun to bet beers on the closest to the target!

"Just 'cause I'm simple, don't mean I'm stewpid!"

[Squeak 17]

we have a big X on our dz with a 20 radius of mown grass around it

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[tombuch 0]

Quote

But it seems most people don't do anything special in terms of landing accuracy requirments. Is that normal?

Yes.

I'm the S&TA at a major drop zone in the Northeast (The Ranch), and I know many people who don't bother trying for accuracy. It is an issue, and especially so at license time.

I can't know everybody on the DZ, nor can I really verify the accuracy requirement, so it pretty much works on the honor system. When somebody brings me a license application I expect to see the required number of jumps listed in the accuracy spaces with jump numbers. If I'm suspicious, I'll spot check a few in the log book. If there is no accuracy listed in the logbook I'll refuse to sign off the license application, thus driving the person to another instructor for a bogus sign off. If it's a "D" license only an S&TA can sign it off, but with three S&TA's on my DZ folks can still do some shopping.

Your question about how to handle accuracy, beyond the required sign-offs is a good one. The center of the peas is the best target, but sometimes it's crowded, or there may be too many other parachutes between your opening point and the peas. The best thing to do in that case is to pick a point someplace else on the DZ and land as close to it as possible. For example, you may choose to land next to a clump of brown grass by a ditch, or 20 feet from a specific fence post, or some other point on the field. The idea is to open your parachute, then select a point that you can safely reach, and that becomes your target. IMPORTANT: keep your eyes out for traffic and if there are conflicts yield to the other parachutes and skip the accuracy on that jump.

Accuracy counts. It is important. People that skip accuracy training or fake their signoffs are really only cheating themselves.

Tom Buchanan
Author, JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

Tom Buchanan
Instructor Emeritus
Comm Pilot MSEL,G
Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

[D22369 0]

at my first dz, the landing radius was extremly small, the requirements for students through C license were waivered by the regional director, you got accurate very fast, or you landed in orchards, hop fields, or vinyards..........it was kinda the "get tough or die method"..........LOL.......worked though

A lot of jumpers dont give accuracy the attention it should have.........someday at a strange dz you just may be setting your canopy down in a very small backyard, being able to hit your target may keep you out of the hospital.....or morgue...........

Roy

They say I suffer from insanity.... But I actually enjoy it.