When Do You Change The Landing Pattern?

If you're at a dropzone that experiences shifting winds throughout the day, when do you decide to change the direction of landing and who makes that decision? What if the winds change direction while you're on the plane? There's a simple solution.

[@awalker83]

Thanks for clarifying. Love your podcast, so informative, I've learned a lot listening to you guys

[@DanielFlores-ge4vs]

Awesome approach, luckily our DZ has very consistent winds so a direction change is once in a blue moon. Always good to look out for the first landings if you have the time and make those pre-jump plans... very often routine is what gets you in trouble. It's rare that WL's are discussed for every jump and they should definitely be taken more into account.

[@KyleMSchroeder]

I think a simpler way of explaining it to newer jumpers is to say that some drop zones have a "1st one down sets the landing direction" policy. The key thing to know about this policy is that if you feel that you cannot abide by that rule, then you need to plan to land in an alternate landing area that has a more strict landing direction policy. I know this isn't always possible, so jumpers also need to be informed about how to enter a landing pattern when they are unable to do a standard downwind, base, and final pattern. I've been in a situation where I didn't have a downwind, but I was able to safely enter the pattern by having a long base leg. Ultimately, these are things that should be discussed with ST&As when getting a DZ briefing.

[@jchan3123]

we have wind shift between passes haha