way off PLA

[spencer 0]

Will I ever crack this landing where I want to thing.
The drop zone that I jump at is a very big area and I mean big, but the area I'm told I should land in is close to some tarmac runway. I tend to land way off.
And not always on my feet. I have 65 jumps and have been told I've done enough jumps to be landing in the right area.
I have asked to go back on radio, but one of the instructors says no, he does'nt like radios as people start to depend on them. I have down sized and will be getting a 190 soon, I borrowing a 200 at present.
But learning to fly a canopy is proving a tuff nut to crack. Is this a common problem, and I really want to master it, ie fly the canopy and not let it fly me.
I'll not do any low turns so I tend to fly on much further than where I want to land.
Advise please.

[lauril 0]

Well you can always go here, look the 'under canopy' articles...

[BenGriffiths 0]

Best advice I cna give is ask some instrucotrs/people you trust.

DOu you use a landing pattern (i.e. downwind, crosswind and into-wind/final) or straight in??

----------
Ben G
Still Sinking :-(

[Clownburner 0]

I don't have nearly that many jumps, but it was a big problem for me, too. I bought the book/video 'Basic Canopy Flight' and started in on the excersises they recommend, and I nailed two of my next three landings right in the peas.

Worked for me... YMMV. good luck!

7CP#1 | BTR#2 | Payaso en fuego Rodriguez
"I want hot chicks in my boobies!"- McBeth

[billvon 2,991]

> I have down sized and will be getting a 190 soon, I borrowing a 200 at present.

DO NOT downsize until you can land the canopy you have. It does not get easier with smaller canopies; in fact it gets harder to avoid injury. If you have trouble learning a skill on a larger canopy (like accuracy or flaring) you will not learn it on the smaller canopy.

>I'll not do any low turns so I tend to fly on much further than where I
>want to land.

At some point you will have to learn to do them, and it's a lot safer to learn to do them on a larger canopy. Can you get to a canopy control course? That's ideal. You might also want to try a different DZ; often, the advice/training you get at one DZ just doesn't 'click' and a different way of presenting things can make all the difference.

[riggerrob 643]

Yes, Skydive University's "Basic Canopy Flight 101" is an excellent textbook on canopy control
There is also some good advice and diagrams in the Canadian Sports Parachuting Association's Parachutist Information Manual 2B.
USPA is supposed to have published similar advice as part of their Integrated Student Program, though I have not read the latest from USPA.
Finally, find a coach who is willing to brief a landing approach, observe your landing (ideally with a video camera) and de-brief that landing.
You have already hinted at your problem: a fear of low turns. Start by practicing turns up high to get a feel for how quickly the canopy flattens out after a turn, then plan you approach so that you start your downwind leg at 800 feet over landmark A, turn onto base leg over landmark B at 600 feet, etc.
Then fly your plan.

[Clownburner 0]

Yes, I think that was what did it for me: finally being confident about turning at 300 feet so I could get to the target. Not suprisingly, even if you fly an otherwise perfect pattern, being unwilling to turn under 500 or so feet makes you overshoot the target by quite a bit.

Also, I discovered that none of my instructors had mentioned to me to fly the downwind and base leg in half-brakes, and that made a big difference in getting to the target too.

7CP#1 | BTR#2 | Payaso en fuego Rodriguez
"I want hot chicks in my boobies!"- McBeth

[SkyDekker 1,465]

Quote

Also, I discovered that none of my instructors had mentioned to me to fly the downwind and base leg in half-brakes, and that made a big difference in getting to the target too.

Can you elaborate on that some more? I certainly don't make it a habit of flying the pattern in half-brakes and am wondering what your thoughts are behind this.

[drenaline 0]

I am no expert, what you are about to read is the stuff I learned in a canopy controll course and something I added, in the end you will read what was added by me.

First advice: get a canopy controll course, I took one because it was included in The Search of skydive U and it was great, you learn a lot of stuff about flying, patterns, landings and how a canopy behaves (ie. with half brakes, 3/4 brakes, 1/4 brakes, etc.)

Second Advice: buy Basic Canopy Flight by Skydive University, Inc. it comes with videos, and a lot of info, its included with the course of skydive U but you can get it in a skydiving store (I think, maybe on the skydive U website).

Third advice: always fly the pattern downwind when 1000', turn 90° when 500' to do the base leg and then the final entry upwind at 300'.

Now here are two things to do to go farther or shorter distance: if you think you will pass and get to far from the landing area, when you get to the final entry do some soft S turns to loose some altitude (CHECK YOUR ALTITUDE when doing that, looking at the ground not the altimeter cause you will be very low and altimeter will not show), If you think you will be to short, you can pull your togles 1/4 down and it will give you a better glide, remember to put your canopy back to full flight 10 seconds before doing the flare.

Ok, after you land take all the info you learned from the last jump and use it to your advantage, how? well like this, if you passed the landing area then it means you will need to do your base a bit later (instead of turning when 500' you can do it in 400') or go downwind when 1200' and turn your base at 500' (play with it, remember not to turn to your final entry too low); if you were to short that means you need to turn to the base leg a bit sooner (instead of turning when 500' turn at 600') also play with it. After some jumps doing that you will soon get to the target more consitently and after a while we will see you competing in the Accuracy competitions

All the stuff I just said (except for the S turns and the 1/4 brakes) was what Scott Miller said in the canopy course, he said not to do the S or the 1/4 because if you do you will not know how much you needed to correct, but in your case (my non expert opinion) since you said of landing in the runway I added the S turns and 1/4 brakes, but its called sheating

disclaimer: I do not get money from skydive U, skydiving stores and/or Scott Miller by talking and/or promoting the stuff they do or sell.

HISPA 21
www.panamafreefall.com

[drenaline 0]

Quote

Also, I discovered that none of my instructors had mentioned to me to fly the downwind and base leg in half-brakes, and that made a big difference in getting to the target too.

What you might be doing is getting more glide from the canopy and loosing altitude a bit slower when you do that, you think it makes a big difference but its actually the same as turning to your pattern in full flight a litle earlier. Try it and you will see.

The other thing that half brakes does is get a slower vertical speed and its no fun like that

HISPA 21
www.panamafreefall.com

[Clownburner 0]

Yes, but at my DZ it's almost impossible to get in the right spot for a final at full glide, because most of the time with the direction of the winds, it would put you over a bunch of building construction and a busy highway at 300 ft, and that's even LESS fun. :-)

I think it's whatever works best for the pattern you have to fly. I always go back to full flight at 150ft or so to get the best flare.

7CP#1 | BTR#2 | Payaso en fuego Rodriguez
"I want hot chicks in my boobies!"- McBeth

[Clownburner 0]

Basic Canopy Flight by Skydive University, Inc. They recommend the downwind and base legs be at half brakes, and it made a big difference to the glide path and I started landing much closer to the target and a lot more reliably. At the student wing loadings (.77-.82) the canopy is very very floaty, and I was overshooting the target a LOT. Doing some half brakes makes the canopy 'sink' a bit and gives more control over the approach. Plus, you can make your turns flatter, which gave me more confidence when turning at 300ft to get onto final - I was even willing to make slight corrections on final, when before at full flight I was too nervous to, because the canopy lost too much altitude in turns.

Just getting a few more soft landings should help too.

7CP#1 | BTR#2 | Payaso en fuego Rodriguez
"I want hot chicks in my boobies!"- McBeth