New Canopy - what did you do?

[britboynz 0]

Just got my new rig (odyssey w. Sabre2 170) it's great & i'm totally stoked with it....cheers Sunpath
Under canopy i've done some practice flares, flat turns, flown in 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 brakes & stalled it. What other maneouvers are worth doing? & what is important to learn from doing it/them? what did you guys do when you got a new canopy?

cheers

Russ

[mattjw916 2]

Buy Brian's book!

http://www.bigairsportz.com/publishing.php#parachute

I just got my copy and it is loaded with info!

NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

[bdbrown 0]

Russ,
I just put 6 jumps on my new sabre2 170/infinity rig this last weekend....I opened around 7k on the 1st jumps and did all that you have stated...I also did turns w/front and rear risers and took it right up to stall w/the rears... I also did alot of flairs watching the canopy to see how it reacted. I also (read about this in the posts) was when still up high and clear of all traffic I went thru a flair with my eyes closed to get how it feels ingrained in my head, did those a few times clearing airspace between each of course.
Just remember anything you do with it chk it out with one of your dz instructors 1st and if you do them do it high.

I love my new canopy and how positive it reacts to imputs...Have fun , Bob

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[skyhighkiy 0]

Hey man,

I'm not qualified to give info on stuff like this,

but, if none of the more experienced guys answer your post, search the forums. even over the short time I've been on these forums I've seenthat question asked at least 5 times, probably WAY more.

yeah and get the book, what he said, congrats on the purchase :)

BE THE BUDDHA!

[WeakMindedFool 0]

I just got a new rig and canopy too! I was practicing HP landings up high when someone real smart said "practice those but practice getting out of bad situations as well" I spend alot of time say things like "Damn...I'm too low...how do I get out of it?" or "Look! a baby carriage in the DZ, how can I not hit it at high speed and not die doing it?" So for me the name of the game is accident avoidance. Learning how my canopy reacts in the worst situations. Also, paying close attention to how it flies in a near stall. I hold it in a near stall and make turns (It can get you back from a long spot better then any other method).

Faith in a holy cause is to a considerable extent a substitute for lost faith in ourselves.
-Eric Hoffer -
Check out these Videos

[skydiverton 0]

I always try to fly a canopy a couple of times before I buy one. Always take a solojump with higher opening to try this.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Using your droque to gain stability is a bad habit,
Especially when you are jumping a sport rig

[skyhighkiy 0]

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I hold it in a near stall and make turns (It can get you back from a long spot better then any other method).

for the sake of not putting the man out in the middle of nowhere, it should be dually noted that this method does NOT work if you are downwind of the LZ and it isn't necessarily the best choice if you're upwind but there is extremely light winds, or on a long spot on a no-wind day.
(this method is meant to make you more like a balloon, using the power of the wind to get you back... now if you lack wind...you be the judge.)

srry, I'm done, just wanted to make sure (in the event that he didn't know that) that he's not using that in a down-wind situation

carry on

BE THE BUDDHA!

[billvon 2,989]

>What other maneouvers are worth doing?

1. Make sure the brake settings are OK. You should be able to pull the toggles down a few inches without deflecting the tail.

2. Learn flat turns; these are turns where you turn and flare at the same timem so you can get turned around with minimal altitude loss. You can use this if you ever find yourself having to turn to avoid someone at 50 feet.

3. Learn flare turns; these are where you turn and flare at the same time. If you are jumping a Sabre2 170 loaded at around 1:1, then the most you will be able to do is to turn the canopy about 30 degrees after you start the flare. This will give you more control of your canopy, improve your landings immensely, and will allow you to dodge someone who runs out in front of you at the last moment.

4. Learn rear riser landings; they will help you land safely if you ever lose a toggle.

5. Try crosswind landings at some point on a 'good' day (i.e. light wind, soft ground.)

6. If you want to learn about high performance landings, try a front riser landing at some point when you feel comfortable doing it. Basically pull both front risers down an inch or so and hold them until about 20 feet off the ground. Then let the canopy fly, and flare normally. This will almost certainly result in a premature planeout, so next time try it a bit lower. Continue this until the canopy is recovering a few feet above the ground. This is the easiest and safest way to get a bit more performance on landing - because if anything goes wrong or feels odd you can just drop the front risers and flare normally. Do NOT let go of the brakes when you do this; as long as you have some slack in your brakes (see point 1) you will not flare the canopy when you are on fronts.

[TALONSKY 0]

This pretty much goes right along with billvon's advice, learn how much altiitude you lose in every kind of turn. Look at your altimeter before a turn and then after. You should know in full flight how much altitude a 90°, 180°, 270°, or 360° turn will loss. Then again in flat turn. This information is highly important when looking at out's on landing
Kirk

[WeakMindedFool 0]

hmmm. I think your wrong. Give it a try, have someone with a similarly loaded canopy get on rears, you get in deep breaks and see who goes further.

Faith in a holy cause is to a considerable extent a substitute for lost faith in ourselves.
-Eric Hoffer -
Check out these Videos

[billvon 2,989]

>Give it a try, have someone with a similarly loaded canopy get on
>rears, you get in deep breaks and see who goes further.

That will depend entirely upon technique and wind conditions. No winds? Spreading the rear risers will help you out. High winds, and you're upwind? Middle to deep brakes will do the most good. High winds and downwind? Full flight is going to be your best bet (if you're making any headway at all, that is.)

[WeakMindedFool 0]

The way it was explained to me. If you aren't making it back you aren't making it back, end of story. Deep brakes wil change your glid ratio more then any other method, getting you farther. I said, "well, rears do the same thing without losing speed!" he said, "No they don't and here's why...." I forgot the why but remember the lesson. If brakes wont get you back...you wont be getting back. Oh! I remember how we tested it out. Accuracy trick find the unmoving spot. Go from brakes to rears and see which one is further out! Thats what we did.

Faith in a holy cause is to a considerable extent a substitute for lost faith in ourselves.
-Eric Hoffer -
Check out these Videos

[billvon 2,989]

>If you aren't making it back you aren't making it back, end of story.

??? So why do anything?

>Deep brakes wil change your glid ratio more then any other method,
>getting you farther.

Ah, but you don't care about absolute glide ratio, you care about glide ratio _over_the_ground_ - and unless the winds are zero those two are not the same thing. Also, spreading the rear risers has a different effect than pulling them down.

[skyhighkiy 0]

I was going to send this to a PM but figured it would be good for the eyes of the original poster as well.

" If you are directly upwind of the target, and the winds at canopy altitude are honking right along, your best bet may be to hang there in the uppers for as long as possible. Bringing the toggles down near the stall point will change the flight dynamics of the cnaopy to what is referred to as "minimum sink" In deep-brake mode, the canopy descends slower than in full flight, as well as losing most of its airspeeed. The central concept this paradigm is that airspeed is not going to get you home, but groundspeed will, hanging in the upper winds likek a hot air balloon, you will use the power of the sky to bring you back to the landing field more effectively than full flight. this is only true when the spot is upwind of the target and the wind is strrong. Full flight mode, with the toggles all the way up, will allow for too much sink rate to utilize the sky's energy like a river to take you home."
the parachute and its pilot-Brian Germaine

I just figured I'd throw that out to let you know that I haven't come to this conclusion on my own, using my inexperienced and miniscule knowledge.

either way, there's no way in hell I'm going in to brakes on a long spot if I'm down wind!

That is all, carry on

BE THE BUDDHA!

[Stumpy 284]

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Also, spreading the rear risers has a different effect than pulling them down.

Bill, I'm curious about this, what happens in each? i have hung on rear risers before and then brakes to try and quantify the difference, but have never spread the rears. What does this do? presumably it is a little easier than trying to hold them down over a prolonged period as well. (I'm also unlikely to be able to try it in the near future looking at the weather...!!!)

Never try to eat more than you can lift

[billvon 2,989]

>but have never spread the rears. What does this do?

It flattens the canopy a bit (which improves its aspect ratio a little) and pulls down the center of the tail a little. It's similar to pulling down the rear risers, but the aspect ratio improvement gives you a slight edge.

[skyhighkiy 0]

for the sake of throwing this out there, (as it is obvious to you but may not be as obvious to someone w/ little experience, i.e. me ) isn't it also true that you have to have your slider pulled down, or at least be pulling outwards on your risers above the slider for this to do anything?

BE THE BUDDHA!

[javip82 0]

I just wanted to know if it is as hard to pack your new main as many people say it is.
just want to know.

____________________________________
You know what's out there.
Take it, it's your's INMORTALITY!!!

[Icon134 0]

well... mine only has about 50 - 60 jumps on it.. and the slippery piece of snot is very hard to pack.

Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife...

[bodypilot1 0]

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I just wanted to know if it is as hard to pack your new main as many people say it is.

It's kinda like trying to put snot back up your nose


Have fun!

www.WestCoastWingsuits.com
www.PrecisionSkydiving.com

[billvon 2,989]

>isn't it also true that you have to have your slider pulled down . . .

Yes. In addition, loosening your chest strap may help a bit.

[Frenchy68 0]

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I just wanted to know if it is as hard to pack your new main as many people say it is.

YES!

"For once you have tasted Absinthe you will walk the earth with your eyes turned towards the gutter, for there you have been and there you will long to return."