How to extend the glide on my SPECTRE

[BlenderPilot 0]

I would like to ask you if you could please give me a few tips on how to extend the glide on a Spectre? (Wing Loading of 1.57)

Rear Risers? Half Brakes? Let it glide?

If you can give me a few tips I will be very grateful.

TIA

[billvon 3,071]

General tips:

Make sure your canopy in good shape and the lines are in trim. If not get a reline.
Kill your slider and pull it down over your risers if your gear permits.
Loosen your chest strap if safe to do so.
Spread your rear risers a bit with your hands; flattens the canopy and pulls down the tail slightly.
Cross your legs and sit back in your harness a bit to minimize your drag. This helps less than it sounds like but it helps slightly. Do NOT land with your legs crossed however.

In GENERAL full flight is best for flying into the wind and moderately deep brakes are best for flying with the wind, if distance over the ground is your goal.

[GalFisk 0]

I agree with Billvon. I fly a Spectre (though lower WL of 1.3), and rears seem to work best for getting a flatter glide out of it. Toggles sacrifice airspeed to a higher degree.

[davelepka 4]

Bill gave you some good tips, I'll expand on one - body position. The drag of your body has a big effect on the forward speed of the canopy, so the idea is to minimize your frontal area.

If the wind is at your back, you'll want to be in 3/4 (or slightly more) brakes, so one thing you can do is to hold your hands more behind you than off to the side.

Crossing your legs will help, but you can also bend at the knees so your lower legs are horizontal or even tucked up behind your thighs.

Besides that, remember that when the wind is blowing you toward your target, you want to stay up as long as possible to let the wind do it's thing for as long as possible. So in that case, deep-ish brakes will do the trick, just short of a full flare. More than 3/4, less than a full flare. Minimum descent rate is what you're after.

When there is no wind, or you're facing into the wind, you're looking for is forward speed and flatter glide, as opposed to min descent rate. In those cases, some rear riser or something closer to 1/2 brakes might be a better choice.

In either case, reducing your own frontal area will help the net effect.

[kallend 2,106]

I have around 600 jumps on a Spectre 135.

My experience is that in still air, rear risers give a flatter glide than full flight or 1/4 brakes.

In headwinds or tailwinds, agree with what others have posted.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[JohnSherman 1]

We will be giving a class at the PIA Symposium on this subject.

"Does Your Gliding Parachute Really Glide".

We will discuss how to measure Glide Slope.
How to develope a "Polar Curve"and show some data which we have taken.

From a Polar Curve you can learn in what configuration your canopy glides the best.

[BlenderPilot 0]

I truly appreciate all of your responses! I still have a lot to learn!

If you want to see why I am asking this question . . . check this video!! PUBLIC LINK.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152562479075268&l=1409822506725576677

I know, I know, it was a stupid decision to begin with, but still it made me think about "stretching the glide".

[tkhayes 348]

http://performancedesigns.com/products.asp?product=sp

All the info you need including articles on the flight characteristics. deeper brakes seem to work best for me.

[skydiverek 63]

Says it all here:

http://performancedesigns.com/docs/Spectre-Flight-Char.pdf

[potatoman 0]

To the original question. Just open higher, your glide will be extended, in time and in ground cover,no matter which way the wind is blowing.

Or, just trade it for a Paraglider, they are built for glide, but then again, they collapse for nothing.

Canopies are made to go down, and be rugged in the air, not built for glide.

You have the right to your opinion, and I have the right to tell you how Fu***** stupid it is.
Davelepka - "This isn't an x-box, or a Chevy truck forum"
Whatever you do, don't listen to ChrisD.

[BillyVance 34]

7 cell canopies like the Spectre and Triathlon have steep glide ratios. Much more than most 9 cell canopies.

When getting back from a long spot, I've grabbed my rear risers and twisted my hands 180 degrees, effectively flattening the canopy into the wind. It seems to work best when going against the wind. When the wind is behind you, toggles down to your shoulders will suffice.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[IrishDave 0]

Have to agree with the others here on their "into the wind" approach. I've only put about 300 jumps on mine (lightly loaded) and have found that "balling up" (reducing body drag) and a slight tug on rears along with a little breaks gives me the best glide into wind.

Wind behind me, I'll go into 1/4 breaks and "get big", that includes holding my arms out wide to catch wind and to combine the breaks as well as turning my booties "sideways" if I'm in my RW suit to catch as much wind as possible. Sometimes, I'll leave the slider open too.

However, in the past 100 jumps or so, I've started to open higher and higher so I don't have to deal with this so much. ~400 jumps is nowhere near experienced, but I've seen enough stupid shit now to only jump in smaller groups and to open higher. The more jumps I do, the more I realize I don't know as much as I thought I did.

Finally, I've done two intermediate and advanced canopy classes which really showed me how to get the best out of my particular canopy. I'd HIGHLY recommend doing the same. You'll be VERY surprised at what a Spectre can actually do when given the right advice and some altitude to experiment with.

[skydiverek 63]

Quote

Wind behind me, I'll go into 1/4 breaks and "get big", that includes holding my arms out wide to catch wind and to combine the breaks as well as turning my booties "sideways" if I'm in my RW suit to catch as much wind as possible. Sometimes, I'll leave the slider open too.

You are always FACING the wind. Think about it - when you are, as you are saying, flying with the wind *behind* you, according to your theory, your main PC would be blown in FRONT of the canopy, correct...? And it is not...

[kallend 2,106]

Quote

Wind behind me, I'll go into 1/4 breaks and "get big", that includes holding my arms out wide to catch wind and to combine the breaks as well as turning my booties "sideways" if I'm in my RW suit to catch as much wind as possible. Sometimes, I'll leave the slider open too.

Bzzzzt - fundamental flaw in that logic.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[pchapman 279]

Quote

Wind behind me, I'll go into 1/4 breaks and "get big", that includes holding my arms out wide to catch wind and to combine the breaks as well as turning my booties "sideways"

Hell, if you could rig up a sail, imagine how far you'd go.

Oh well, everyone is wrong about something.

What's more disappointing is that somehow the myths didn't get dispelled even through a couple canopy classes...

[blueblur 0]

Quote

Quote

Wind behind me, I'll go into 1/4 breaks and "get big", that includes holding my arms out wide to catch wind and to combine the breaks as well as turning my booties "sideways" if I'm in my RW suit to catch as much wind as possible. Sometimes, I'll leave the slider open too.

Bzzzzt - fundamental flaw in that logic.

Please explain... as in I'm new and don't get the flaw.

In every man's life he will be allotted one good woman and one good dog. That's all you get, so appreciate them while the time you have with them lasts.

- RiggerLee

[billvon 3,071]

>Wind behind me, I'll go into 1/4 breaks and "get big", that includes holding my arms
>out wide to catch wind and to combine the breaks as well as turning my booties
>"sideways" if I'm in my RW suit to catch as much wind as possible. Sometimes, I'll
>leave the slider open too.

Big mistake. When you are flying the relative wind is always coming from in front of you, so the only "air to catch" isn't coming from behind you. You'll only slow yourself down and not cover as much ground.

(The 1/4 brakes works but nothing else you mentioned will.)

[blueblur 0]

Quote

(The 1/4 brakes works but nothing else you mentioned will.)

Because it slows your descent and you ride the glide longer?

In every man's life he will be allotted one good woman and one good dog. That's all you get, so appreciate them while the time you have with them lasts.

- RiggerLee

[billvon 3,071]

>Because it slows your descent and you ride the glide longer?

Two reasons:

1) It flattens the glide angle a bit. In zero wind this helps cover more distance.
2) It keeps you in the air longer. When flying downwind this helps you since you are in the air longer and get the benefit of the tailwind for longer.

One drawback:

3) It reduces your forward speed a bit so it is often not useful when you are flying into the wind.

[blueblur 0]

Gotcha. About what I had in mind.

In every man's life he will be allotted one good woman and one good dog. That's all you get, so appreciate them while the time you have with them lasts.

- RiggerLee