Practice pack: Skytime, Castellón
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Landing areas and patterns
Pick the wind direction to see the pattern the briefing shows for it. Final always points into the wind.
- Right-hand pattern, landing toward the south.
- High-performance landing area: minimum 270° turn.
The areas
- Main landing area: The large area beside the runway, west of it (green in the briefing).
- High-performance landing area: A separate, marked area near the hangars (orange/red in the briefing), with its own turn rule per pattern.
- Alternative landing areas: Open fields north across the canal and to the west, and the beach to the east (yellow in the briefing).
- Beach landings: The briefing says: always land parallel to the coastline, and better close to the water to avoid obstacles.
Pre-trip checklist
Things to look at or ask before the trip — observations, not a clearance. Tick what you've checked: the list is kept in this browser and, when you're signed in, on your account.
Checked: 0 of 13 — the DZ briefing on the day decides.
Saved in this browser.
Landing-plan wizard
Four steps: the wind, where you'll land, the plan with what changes in that wind, and the drills for your first jump there.
Where is the wind coming FROM (windsock, forecast, DZ board)?
Turn simulator — set to the selected pattern
South pattern: right-hand, final toward the south. Your wing loading comes from My gear when you're signed in, or set it on the slider. Wind direction is relative to final.
Compared with a 90° at wing loading 1.0, calm air
Wind on final: 14 km/h · 8 kn headwind.
Text version of this chart
Ratios from a conceptual model, not a measurement of any canopy and not a height to start a turn.
| Measure | Compared with a 90° at WL 1.0, calm |
|---|---|
| Height used | 2.2× |
| Turn share | 53% |
| Recovery length | 1.2× |
| Ground on final | 0.7× |
What changes in these conditions — and what to keep doing
- A 270 spends much longer in the turn than a 90, so the dive builds further and the recovery needs more height and distance. Most of the extra height goes in the second half of the turn.
- A headwind on final means slow ground speed: the set-up point over the ground moves closer to the landing area, and the canopy covers less ground in the recovery.
- Plan the pattern and the set-up point on the ground with the day's wind before boarding.
- Look in the direction of the turn and clear the airspace before and during it — the lower canopy has right of way.
- Have an abort ready: stop the turn, level the wing, land straight ahead where there is space. An abort is always a good decision.
- Turn direction follows the drop zone's pattern for the day; the turn height comes from your coach, for your wing, on the day.
After the turn
- The wing swings back. When the turn input stops, the canopy is still diving. It pitches back over your head like a pendulum; the descent rate eases — that's the recovery arc.
- The extra speed carries you. The dive's speed turns into a plane-out along the ground. After a 450 there is more of it than after a 270: a longer, faster surf before the flare.
- More turn, more ground. A 450 covers more ground and drifts further with the wind, so where you end up depends more on the set-up and the day's wind.
- Look before the flare. After a big turn you arrive somewhere new: check the landing area and traffic ahead. The lower canopy has right of way.
- Same flare. Wing level, eyes forward, a smooth symmetrical flare. You have more airspeed than usual, so the flare has more energy.
- If it isn't right, stop it. Stopping a turn and arresting a dive with both toggles are drills practised high, so they're automatic if a turn ever ends lower than planned.
In your data: the 270 page marks turn end, peak descent, the recovery arc and stable final for every jump — compare your 270s and 450s side by side on Compare.
Test it up high, with your coach
- Stop a hard turn
- Arrest a front-riser dive
- Rear-riser stalls (before using rears to plane out)
- Harness turns
- Find the sweet spot
- Coordinated turns
A 450 belongs inside a coached progression, after the 270 is consistent. Your coach sets the heights.
Model: canopy speed and descent scale with √(wing loading); the turn is flown at a steady rate and the dive builds while it lasts; wind moves the whole track. Uncalibrated and conceptual — your FlySight data on the 270 page shows how your own turns really used height.
Skytime briefing quiz
Eight questions from the briefing. Get them all to earn the badge.
Wind from the south. Which pattern does the briefing show?
Your jumps at Skytime
Your jumps that landed within 2.5 km of the aerodrome, each next to the pattern the briefing shows for its final direction. Facts side by side — the briefing on the day and your coach interpret them.
Sign in to see your jumps at Skytime next to the briefing.
Your badges
Badges record learning on the ground. They are not a rating, a licence or permission to try anything in the air.
Sources
- Wikipedia — Castellón Aerodrome (LECN)
- Comunitat Valenciana — Centro de paracaidismo Skytime (archived copy)
- Skytime briefing-video stills (landing areas, alternative areas, beach landings, north / east / south / west patterns), supplied by a pilot.