Swoop training with the OPTIMA

[bdrake529 0]

I just received my OPTIMA and I'm curious if anyone here has experience using this audible, specifically the canopy warnings and guide tones.

As a new jumper (just got my B license on Sunday), I've resolved not to begin canopy swooping until I have significantly more experience. I do however want to begin training for that goal (swooping) to make the most of every canopy flight from now until I'm ready. As I understand it, this means lots of drills at high enough altitude to be safe.

Having read quite a bit on high performance landings (Brian Germain's book, the BPA canopy piloting manual, various DZ.com articles), I've got some guidelines on how to train. With this new altimeter (the OPTIMA), I'm eager to see if it can help me learn to set up my trial "landings" with increasing precision and consistency and expedite the learning process. Ultimately, I've been led to believe that internal timing and mastery of sight picture are the main skills required for swooping, I'm hoping the OPTIMA can help me develop those skills (like training wheels).

Can anyone save me some time and propose some tips on using the canopy warnings and guide tones on the OPTIMA to aid my training?

Thank you,

Brian

[ntacfreefly 0]

Use them to perfect your pattern.

Have them set for when to leave your holding area, when to turn onto base and when to turn onto final. Your canopy choice and loading will dictate your altitudes but the AFF altitudes you were given would be a good starting point.

Perfecting this with accuracy will go a long way to helping you become a good canopy pilot.

For now, focusing on this is the best thing you can do (not only to become a good swooper, but also to become a predictable, considerate and safe pilot in general).

Later, when you have more experience you'll have a solid foundation to build speed off of.

Blues.

To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu

It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

[bob.dino 1]

Congrats on the B Licence!

The foundation of swooping is accuracy, and accuracy is best achieved by flying a predictable pattern. A pattern consists of three points - the point at which you start your downwind leg (C), the point at which you turn onto your base leg (B), and the point at which you turn onto finals (A).

Use the Optima to help you fly this pattern accurately. Brian Germain explains patterns much better than I can in The Parachute And Its Pilot.


edit: Bugger. Beaten to the punch .

[CanuckInUSA 0]

Quote

With this new altimeter (the OPTIMA), I'm eager to see if it can help me learn to set up my trial "landings" with increasing precision and consistency and expedite the learning process. Ultimately, I've been led to believe that internal timing and mastery of sight picture are the main skills required for swooping, I'm hoping the OPTIMA can help me develop those skills (like training wheels).

First off let me welcome you into the wonderful world of swooping where in the blink of an eye, your life can be either taken away from you or permanently altered for the worse. Swooping rocks!!! But there are no short cuts and it is NOT a safe activity. Now that the standard "you may die trying to become a swooper" speech is out of the way ... let's address the issue(s) of using altimeters while swooping.

Personally I am a big fan of using altimeters to help me setup my swoops. But to me using a visual digital altimeter is more practical than using an audible. Audibles have their uses and can be used by an experienced swooper. But to rely on something you may not hear (for one reason or another) is not as good as using a tool which you can look at and watch your progression as you get closer and closer to your setup point (thus letting you know what kind of turn you can do once you're at your setup point). Remember what you are trying to do up there during your high pulls while you learn the performance envelop of the canopy(s) you fly. By using a digital altimeter, you can look at your altitude before you make the turn, then you make the turn, let the canopy fully recover by itself and then look again at your altimeter to determine how much altitude was lost (this process is repeated many many many times to build an aggregate). You can't do this performance envelop drill so easily with an audible. Audibles have their purposes, but you'd be much better off using some sort of visual digital altimeter.

Finally yes swooping is about the sight picture. But it is not something that can easily be explained and what works for you won't work for me based on the different canopies we jump and how we fly them. Sure the initiation sight picture is important. But what's even more important is to build that "when do I get off of the front risers" sight picture. This one is even harder to explain (I'm guessing mine is in the 250-300 foot range, but it is only a guess). This "when do I get off of the risers" sight picture is something you build over time and hopefully you refined it through a series of "shit I came out too high ... again" jumps as opposed to those "digging in the corner ... again" jumps.

Hope this makes sense ...

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[ntacfreefly 0]

Quote

edit: Bugger. Beaten to the punch

To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu

It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

[ntacfreefly 0]

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hopefully you refined it through a series of "shit I came out too high ... again" jumps as opposed to those "digging in the corner again" jumps.

No. Hopefully you have refined it by spending a lot of time working on the basics and then slowly building on the foundation of each step that brings you closer to your goal.

If you refine your rollout picture from regular, to fronts, to X degree turn, each one building on the experience of the other, your 'oh shit' moments will be significantly less.

Blues,
Ian

To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu

It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

[CanuckInUSA 0]

Yes agreed that if people try to follow the "recommended" progression where they slowly work their way into swooping working on the basics first, then they should never find themselves coming out too high or worse being in the corner saying to themselves "shit".

It's one of those, do your homework and don't bite off more than you can chew scenarios.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[Scrumpot 1]

I am not a big fan of using an audible for the purposes of early conditioning, or training for nearly ANY discipline (including just freefall skydiving) before at least your basic, in the discipline skills have themselves already been learned. Later on, as an either "aid" or back-up perhaps maybe fine (I personally don't use one for even that purpose even now however), but have you ever heard of the Pavlovian response (Pavlov's dogs)?

Whatever you decide, please just consider that for yourself as well 1st. Along with some of the other feedback provided in here for you already, I think it is germane. Also, although reading all you can is good, and a good start to even thinking about something, when it comes right down to it, and you feel you are ready to proceed, - please seek out and obtain good, compitent one-on-one IN PERSON coaching with LIVE feedback and interaction being made available to you as well. NO ONE can judge what you are actually doing and give you fully appropriate feedback from any "blind" written forums unequivocally in any case.

Hope though, that at least this much is of some help.
Blue Skies,
-Grant

coitus non circum - Moab Stone

[CrazyL 0]

Call the Ranch Pro Shop, just the other day the owner of the shop was giving a customer this type of info and how the optima can help with approach to landing.