A drop zone (DZ) is a place where parachutists or parachuted supplies land. It can be an area targeted for landing by paratroopers, or a base from which recreational parachutists and skydivers take off in aircraft and land under parachutes. In the latter case, it is often beside a small airport, frequently sharing the facility with other general aviation.
At recreational drop zones, an area is generally set side for parachute landings. Personnel at the site may include a drop zone operator or owner (DZO), manifestors (who maintain the flight manifest documents defining who flies and when), pilots, instructors or coaches, camera operators, parachute packers and riggers, and other general staff.
Famous quotes containing the words drop and/or zone:
“But words are things, and a small drop of ink,
Falling like dew, upon a thought, produces
That which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)
“The human race is a zone of living things that should be defined by tracing its confines.”
—Italo Calvino (1923–1985)