Here at Skydive Langar, we operate with three key landing area indicators – of which two are subject to regular change. The aim of this post is to help fun jumpers (and visitors) to understand what these indicators mean and how to behave based on what they show.
As always, if you have any queries, please ask an instructor and we’ll be happy to help.
Yellow arrow – landing direction
If you jump at Langar, you’ll be familiar with the yellow arrow which is situated near to drop zone control. The purpose of the arrow is simple; it tells us what direction we should be facing to land.
Providing it is safe to do so, skydivers MUST land in the direction shown by the arrow.
Why is this important?
It’s important to follow the arrow because the arrow gives us a consistent agreement on which way to face to land to prevent low level canopy collisions. Without it, we’d be reliant on other factors such as wind direction which are, by their very nature, changeable and inconsistent.
The third priority for landing according to British Skydiving is ‘into wind if possible’, so with this in mind, the yellow arrow is typically aligned with the prevailing wind. The only time this might not be the case would be where the wind is low and an arrow direction which has us landing down the longest axis (roughly north-south or east-west) would be to a greater advantage.
When considering your own canopy progression, you should be confident and have proven that you can land safely and accurately in a number of wind conditions, and be comfortable landing cross or even down wind if the situation requires it.
Who does this apply to?
The yellow landing arrow applies to ALL SKYDIVERS and should be adhered to wherever it is safe to do so. If it is not safe for you to land in the arrow’s direction, we encourage you to choose a landing area away from busier areas, again providing it is safe to do so.
You may from time to time see tandem skydivers landing contrary to the arrow, but you can expect this to only be marginal and very rare, noting that they are often the only canopies left in the sky (as they descend slower) and considering the instructor and their student in the decision making process.
Orange line – HPLA direction
The orange line shows the direction of the high performance landing area (HPLA). This is the area intended for high performance landings and, like the arrow, is usually set in one of four directions, these being approximately north-south, south-north, east-west and west-east.
The high performance landing area can be considered the ‘motorway’ of the landing area. The parachutists coming in to land there will usually be travelling at high speeds due to the high performance of their canopies and the manoeuvres they are making.
Where it is safe to do so, anyone NOT performing a high performance landing should avoid the high performance landing area. You should also be considerate of it if you need to cross it at any point either in your landing pattern or when walking back to the landing area (though the ‘land bridge’ in front of drop zone control should remove the need to do the latter).
Anyone performing a high performance landing area should be vigilant to any skydivers in their path and should be ready to abort their planned landing for a safer alternative should that landing no longer be possible due to a skydiver in their way, whether that’s in flight or on the ground.
The HPLA may be closed in cases where it is deemed safer to do so. In this case, high performance landings are not allowed and this update will be shown through the removal of the HPLA indicator and written on the information board.
Who does this apply to?
The HPLA is intended for use by those making high performance landings with a turn greater than 90 degrees. If you’re not sure if the HPLA is for you, please ask an instructor (though arguably if you’re not sure, it probably isn’t). High performance landings are high risk and should only be done under instruction.
Why is this important?
It’s important to observe the HPLA landing area so we can keep the ‘motorway’ separate from the main intended landing area.
Orange cross – safe drop indicator
The purpose of the orange cross is to communicate to the aircraft that it is safe to drop, in cases where radio communication cannot be established.
The orange cross can be changed to communicate different messages as required. It is unlikely you’ll ever see it change, but useful to know that the cross means we’re good to go, anything else means we’re not good to go.