Originally Posted by saxonaxe
Yes Mike. Flares on board. I've thought about flares, certainly at sea where vision is unobstructed they work well but I'm not convinced about ashore, except in barren areas like desert. In woodland a handheld distress flare probably hasn't got that much advantage over a really powerful torch and a parachute flare as you know climbs to a height before igniting, so although it might let them know you're in the forest somewhere unless they see it climb the first they know is when the sky lights up. Different at sea where they can do a 360 degree scan and hopefully spot you, but in dense forest it's probably more like " Did anybody see where that came from? "
I've played with that strobe of mine when ashore and found the best tactic is to tie a weight on a length of paracord and throw it over the highest tree branch I can. Then haul the strobe up to the branch and let it hang and swing. The hope is it will be spotted high in the canopy easier than on the forest floor. I can do the same with those Cyalume lights I carry. That's assuming I'm mobile enough to start heaving paracord about..
Sapper has more experience than any of us in search and rescue and I suspect very often it is down to a good systematic search plan and a four legged Detective that finds most lost people in the UK..
We had a good lecture by somone from the Norwegian Rescue Coordination Centre. He told us most of the time they have a pretty good idea, and often pin point idea where people are, thanks to their cell phones. This as most people call in themselves, rather than being reported missing, and unless they are completely lost, they are able to tell their position, or at least describe the area. . So most of the time it's quite simple "fetching" missions. I.e they send out the helicopter to pick somoene who has been injured off a mountain, or if feasable, a mountain rescue team from the Red Cross.
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