Orange Ribbon Locates Airplanes Forced Down in Woods (Jul, 1930)
Orange Ribbon Locates Airplanes Forced Down in Woods
IN CASE OF FORCED LANDING THE PILOT RELEASES 800 FEET OF WIDE ORANGE RIBBON WHICH RESTS ON THE TREE TOPS SHOWING THE PLANE’S LOCATION TO SEARCHING AIRMEN,THOUGH CONCEALED BY TREES.
This sure would have made some of Ernest Gann’s novels shorter, if it worked.
Comment by Toronto — January 28, 2009 @ 9:33 pm
Is there any record of this actually working?
Comment by Repack Rider — January 29, 2009 @ 2:26 am
So instead of survivable gliding landing you can release a ribbon to snag a tree and drop abruptly to ground….. Sounds like an Acme product
Comment by Jari — January 29, 2009 @ 2:31 pm
As seen in the ‘Indiana Jones’ movies.
Comment by jayessell — January 29, 2009 @ 10:25 pm
Ohh, even if you’d release the ribbon before you crash it’ll still point into the direction you were going. So I’d say it’s a good idea.
Comment by Casandro — January 30, 2009 @ 4:53 pm
It actually speaks well for the advances made in general aviation that pilots no longer need to plan for the likelihood of a crash. Okay, accidents still happen, but they’re few and far between now.
The idea is actually a pretty good one. I’ve done air search and rescue with the CAP, and it’s a lot harder to spot airplane wreckage from the air than one might think — especially in a wooded area.
Comment by Eliyahu — February 2, 2009 @ 7:19 pm