text: Landing Plan
  5-30. Orientation. Thoughtful orientation allows the quickest possible delivery of the airborne force into
  theobjectivearea.
  (cid:122) Ideal drop zones offset and parallel each serial. (See figure 5-1.) This allows aircraft to share a
  flightrouteuntil theyapproachthe objectivearea;thentheycansplitataninitial pointorrelease
  pointforsimultaneousdeliveryonseveraldropzones.
  (cid:122) Another method is parallel on-line. (See figure 5-2, page 5-8.) This employs making two drops
  ontwo drop zonesinline , whicheliminatesachange offlightdirectionbetween thetwo drops.
  Thedropzones mustbe farenoughaparttopermitthe navigatorsto compute thelocationof the
  secondreleasepoint.
  (cid:122) Paratroopers are more likely to overshoot the drop zone than to undershoot it. The primary
  objective for selectingthe trailing edge drop zone for the primaryassault is for personnel inthe
  frontoftheaircrafttoexitlast.
  (cid:122) Ifafighteraircraftescortorrendezvousisrequiredforthe drop,theymust remainadvised ofthe
  droppattern, thedirectionofallturns to be flownaroundthedropzone, and theareasto lookfor
  possible enemy activity. Drop zones that require intersecting air traffic patterns should be
  avoided, wheneverpossible. Theydelaysimultaneous deliveryofthe force becauseofthe safety
  requirements to stagger delivery times and clear the air by at least a 5- or 10-minute formation
  separation time. They require that joint suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) is
  accomplished for multiple routes instead of one. This may result in piecemeal delivery and an
  unnecessarilycomplicatedplan,violatingtheprinciplesofmassandsimplicity.
  Figure 5-1. Offset and parallel drop zones