1 0 3 T ranspor tation Airt oGr oun d Signaling Witho ut adeq uat e air t ogr ound radio communication the pilo t has e xtremely limit ed ability t o communicat e with the cre w on the gr ound The most common signal the wingw aggle the pilo t no tifes those on the gr ound that the y ha v e been sight ed or that a message has been receiv ed The helicopt er pilo t must brief passenger s on pick up or emer gency pick up arrangements bef ore the y lea v e the air craf t eg pr oceed f or pick up in the direction of the helicopt er af t er three tight cir cles Gr ound t o Air Signaling There a re man y established pr ocedures f or signaling air craf t among which the f ollo wing are most common Brig ht Coloured Clo thing fuorescent jack e ts v ests or caps can be spo tt ed more easily than natural coloured bush gear Fluorescent Orange and R ed Clo ths generally made of n ylon and should be at least 2x2 me tres in size When on a tra v er se dr op the f olded clo th o v er y our packsack if e xpecting a helicopt er pick up P oc k e t Fl are Gun this is penshaped with a pock e t clip and a springloaded mechanism that when released can discharge fares t o a maximum height of 6070 me tres It is par ticularly useful when a helicopt er is tr ying t o locat e per sonnel in f orests Heliograp h Mirr or most useful f or attracting fx edwing or r o tar y wing air craf t on sunn y da ys The mirr or contains a small sighting hole t o pinpoint targe ts A v oid use of the mirr or when close t o a helicopt er Mirr or Bru nt on Compass Mirr or Me tal Clip Board e tc similar principal t o the heliograph mirr or but less precise The best signaling pr ocedure is t o e xt end one arm with the thumb held v er tically on targe t and with the o ther hand line up the re fection of the mirr or held at e y ele v el on the thumb The t op of a small tree at great er distance can be used f or great er sighting accuracy