ideal canopy size

[nathaniel 0]

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you're confusing the science of statistics with this other thing called reality

How does the ordinary logic that works everywhere else in the universe apply differently to skydiving?

My advice is to do what your parents did; get a job, sir. The bums will always lose. Do you hear me, Lebowski?

[davelepka 4]

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How does the ordinary logic that works everywhere else in the universe apply differently to skydiving?

Please don't make me cut and paste my own posts again. You can't apply the science of statistics to this situaiton due to the human factor. I understand that statisticly speaking, you can't just give an answer in the absence of information, and expect it to be right.

In this case, yes, you can give an answer, and yes, it is the right answer. I explained why in my previous post.

One more time, unless the answer is an absolure 'yes' it needs to be a 'no' unitl proven otherwise.

For example, "Can I point this gun at you and pull the trigger, yes or no?"

Without previous knowledge that the gun is not loaded, the answer is no. The gun may not be loaded, but if you don't know that for sure, the answer will be no.

If you had just handed the gun to the person, and you personally claered it of all rounds, then the answer might be a yes. Note how the 'yes' in only appropriate in the presence of first hanbd knowledge the gun is not loaded.

If you were to answer, 'Maybe, it depends if the gun is loaded.", you have the possibility that the person has no firearms experience, and thinks that the gun is not loaded.

This is like your 'maybe a 150 is OK' position. The jumper now sees the maybe, and makes the judgement on their own as to if the situaiton is appropiate for them to jump a 150. With 25 jumps I hardly think they have the experience to accurately make such a judgement.

[nathaniel 0]

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If you were to answer, 'Maybe, it depends if the gun is loaded.", you have the possibility that the person has no firearms experience, and thinks that the gun is not loaded.

This is like your 'maybe a 150 is OK' position. The jumper now sees the maybe, and makes the judgement on their own as to if the situaiton is appropiate for them to jump a 150. With 25 jumps I hardly think they have the experience to accurately make such a judgement.

You don't point a gun at your own head in order to save your own life. Whereas you do operate a parachute on yourself in order to survive a fall. Your analogy is misleading.
Can we dispense with analogies and use reason? What reason do we have to give inaccurate advice whenever someone asks to fly a new canopy?
I speculated about a reason in my first post in this thread--we prefer to give advice that minimizes the recipient's risk in defiance of their interests because it minimizes our own risk. With a presumption being that people who post on this board are seeking to minimize the risks they incur by posting.

My advice is to do what your parents did; get a job, sir. The bums will always lose. Do you hear me, Lebowski?

[billvon 2,990]

This is all getting pretty silly, so I will post some more general stuff that may be helpful to you:

Smaller canopies are less forgiving than large ones. Paragliders have VERY flat glides (on the order of 6:1 to 8:1) whereas skydiving canopies are generally closer to 3:1. They also dive a lot harder. All this means that skydiving canopies are many times less forgiving than paragliders of mistakes near the ground.

On the plus side, skydiving canopies are much more resistant to collapse than paragliders. And when they do collapse, they don't have to be pumped open.

Most student canopies are intended for loadings of about .7 to 1 to 1 to 1. PD does not recommend loadings under about .5; over 1 to 1 is getting into the area where common student mistakes will kill you.

A few programs start students on ~1:1 elliptical canopies and progress them very rapidly. They get away with this because they are very diligent about ground training. You can't do the rapid downsize without the intensive ground training, though.

Smaller people generally prefer lighter loadings, because overall small canopies seem to give the jumper more performance. (Whether they _really_ do or not is another question.) So a 230 lb jumper on a 1:1 canopy may have a similar canopy experience as a 120 lb jumper on a .8 to 1 canopy.

Previous flying experience (paragliders, hang gliders, powered aircraft) is almost always helpful; it will likely help you advance faster.

[yamtx73 0]

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Smaller canopies are less forgiving than large ones. Paragliders have VERY flat glides (on the order of 6:1 to 8:1) whereas skydiving canopies are generally closer to 3:1. They also dive a lot harder. All this means that skydiving canopies are many times less forgiving than paragliders of mistakes near the ground.


Smaller people generally prefer lighter loadings, because overall small canopies seem to give the jumper more performance. (Whether they _really_ do or not is another question.) So a 230 lb jumper on a 1:1 canopy may have a similar canopy experience as a 120 lb jumper on a .8 to 1 canopy.

Thanks Bill, that's the type of information that makes it easier to determine what would be suitable. At the moment I'm NOT looking to buy my own rig, but when I do start looking I have a general idea as to where to start looking.

The only naturals in this sport shit thru feathers...