DropZones Where Radios Are Used- please post.

[popsjumper 2]

In my AFF class, when radios were first mentioned one of the guys says "What station? I like country and western".
No BS...it happened.

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

[Swooopa-x 0]

Hehehehehehehehehehehehe
LOL

People dont care how much you know until they know how much you care.

[damion75 0]

In the UK it is a requirement (written in the BPA Ops Manual) for students to have a radio for their first few jumps. Where on the body varies - I had mine hanging round my neck during AFF and never heard a thing. They are getting attached to helmets more and more now by the look of things.

***************

Not one shred of evidence supports the theory that life is serious - look at the platypus.

[meatbomb 0]

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They are getting attached to helmets more and more now by the look of things.

Yeah...we used to put radios in pouches on the chest strap, but moved to pouches over the ear holes on Pro-Tecs about 5 years ago..

---
Swoopert, CS-Aiiiiiii!
Piccies

[ZigZagMarquis 9]

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How could you possibly do it without radios?

What Nicky-D said...

... to which I'll add and ask NSEMN8R... assuming you learned with a radio... What did your instructors teach you to do if you couldn't hear the radio?... and... did they point out that the radio was just a back-up, it could fail or not get turned on , so listen up on this here called "canopy control", "landing pattern" and "how to read a wind-sock"... recall anything like that from 1st Jump Course?

[Silverchic 0]

How would you teach a deaf student? What would happen even if you had a radio and it went dead? There's always a plan B - TA's and arrows are always good!

How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

[NSEMN8R 0]

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... to which I'll add and ask NSEMN8R... assuming you learned with a radio... What did your instructors teach you to do if you couldn't hear the radio?... and... did they point out that the radio was just a back-up, it could fail or not get turned on , so listen up on this here called "canopy control", "landing pattern" and "how to read a wind-sock"... recall anything like that from 1st Jump Course?

Yes, I learned on radio. And yes, where I learned we were taught "canopy control", "landing pattern" and "how to read a wind-sock"... But they tell you that if you don't have radio you fly your pattern and land in 1/2 brakes and PLF.

We give them 2 or 3 on full radio, then 2 or 3 where they fly their own pattern and we flare them, then a couple more where we give them a countdown (50ft...40ft...30...20...) and they're supposed to flare themselves around 10 feet. Then if they do ok on those we leave the radio in for a couple more jumps, but just monitor how they're doing and only talk to them if they're really f&*king up. Even with all that radio, we still managed to break our fair share of students.

I guess that's why I was so surprised to hear that people did it without radios.

[NSEMN8R 0]

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How would you teach a deaf student? What would happen even if you had a radio and it went dead? There's always a plan B - TA's and arrows are always good!

I don't know. I've never had the opportunity to teach anybody who was deaf. I guess I'd have to ask one of the deaf guys in here how they learned.

If the radio just quits working on somebody, they're supposed to fly the normal pattern and land in half breaks and PLF, but a deaf student would probably get sick of doing that real quick.

[ZigZagMarquis 9]

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...Even with all that radio, we still managed to break our fair share of students...

... and whether it has or hasn't come through in this thread... isn't that one of the implied points??? ... that there's too much reliance on radios in both instructor's and student's minds, if, as you say, "Even with all that radio, we still managed to break our fair share of students"

Something to think about maybe.

[mark 107]

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Hi All,
trying to establish how many worldwide DZ's
are using radios for student landings.

Now that you've had a couple weeks worth of responses, can you tell us why you asked?

Thanks!
Mark

[yeyo 1]

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I guess that's why I was so surprised to hear that people did it without radios.

Hello everyone,

Notice my # of jumps. This is only my view as a student. I started AFF last week and did 2 jumps without radio. I was taught to recognize a malfuction, and what to do. I was taught canopy control, the fly pattern, read the flags, and how and when to flare. And they also showed me some hand signals from the ground to tell me if my approach to land was a correct one. Maybe thats "old school", but it worked out fine for me. However, I dont think its a bad idea to use radios as backups. Anything to make us safer...

Blue skies ev1

HISPA #93
DS #419.5

[livendive 8]

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Yes, I learned on radio. And yes, where I learned we were taught "canopy control", "landing pattern" and "how to read a wind-sock"... But they tell you that if you don't have radio you fly your pattern and land in 1/2 brakes and PLF.

We give them 2 or 3 on full radio, then 2 or 3 where they fly their own pattern and we flare them, then a couple more where we give them a countdown (50ft...40ft...30...20...) and they're supposed to flare themselves around 10 feet. Then if they do ok on those we leave the radio in for a couple more jumps, but just monitor how they're doing and only talk to them if they're really f&*king up. Even with all that radio, we still managed to break our fair share of students.

I guess that's why I was so surprised to hear that people did it without radios.

I put radios on my students, but tell them it's only a back-up.

Option 1 - training..."I'm teaching you how to do this. Do what I've taught you and you won't need anything else."

Option 2 - radio..."Sometimes students feel a bit overwhelmed. Hopefully I've resolved your concerns enough that you won't, but if you do, I'll give you some help with the radio."

Option 3 - arrow..."If you don't know what to do, feel like you're not doing things correctly, and haven't heard at least a radio check, look at the arrow in the landing area and see if me or someone else is moving it to direct you."

Option 4 - training..."The radio and the arrow shouldn't be necessary and may not work. That's why I'm teaching you what to do on your own. If the radio breaks and I don't land in the landing area, you're going to have to take care of yourself. That shouldn't be a problem though, because that's what I'm training you to do anyhow. Relax. I wouldn't let you jump if I didn't think you understood well enough to land safely."

In practice, I'd say most students require a correction or two on Level 1 (though I've had several that needed nothing or just a "flare"). By level 4 I'm expecting that they won't need anything other than a flare command (if that), and it's my intention to have them not wearing a radio by their 6th jump.

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[sergant 0]

My instructor tought me: "Never think, that somebody can save your ass, that is your responsibility and that is why I teach you how to do that!"
I have jumped with a radio only 2 or 3 times...