Braked turns before a flare

[ScratchTX 0]

Still resting a mildly sprained ankle as I write this...
I have been practicing flat/braked turns for a while. Sometimes I fly my landing pattern with flat turns to see how flat I can get them. Haven't yet tried turns while actually flaring, but I understand the concept and will try it. But here's my question -- since canopies ideally should be at full flight speed before initiating the flare, doesn't doing a flat turn at, say, 30-40 feet, ensure a worse flare/rougher landing?
Long story short: with a series of errors, brain farts and screw ups, I put myself in the proverbial and literal corner. I was fine with continuing downwind on what had been (until now) an almost windless day. I was fine with finding the gap in the fence to avoid hitting it. But when I was about 30-40 feet up, and went to about 1/3-1/2 brakes and then pulled the right toggle down a little further to avoid the tree.... In the time it took to lower both toggles and then lower the right one more, I was now pretty much almost at flare height so I flared. But it didn't have a whole hell of a lot of effect and I mostly focused on preparing for a pretty ugly landing. Ugly it was. Sore but okay, but the two other jumps I did after that put my ankle and knee over the edge.
Other than NOT PUTTING MYSELF IN THAT SITUATION AGAIN, is there anything else I could have done to help that landing? Or is that the best to be expected, and I should just chalk up a mildly injured ankle as damn cheap tuition?
Last note -- Listen to Bill Von etc. about wingloading and downsizing. There is no such thing as a "correct" wingloading. I jump a F-111 loaded at about .85:1 and was very glad I was under that and not the 1:1 ZP canopy I had just been demoing the week before. Jump numbers and time in sport aside -- make sure you are truly Master of your Canopy before you downsize. Know yourself and be true.
--Scratch in Texas (yep there are three Sc/kratches)

[thrillseek 0]

I have heard a lot of people saying that they believe F-111 canopies are safer that ZP ones. I think this is perhaps an incorrect assessment. In your example, had you been under a ZP canopy, even at that wingloading, you would almost certainly had more "power" in your flare. You are probably just uncomfortable with the speed of a ZP canopy...sometimes that isn't such a bad thing.

be safe!

[swampy 0]

I did almost exactly the same thing, when I was comming in on finals I had a fair amount of brake on, and then the flare just didn't work. Sprained my ankle pretty bad, it's only just back to normal now, some three months later.

[ScratchTX 0]

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very true. The size was my main point, not really the material. In fact, my PD160 is very old, and quite porous. It does still flare but is definitely more demanding of a total, full toggle flare. I actually want to go to a Tri150 or Spectre 150 now, instead of the 135 I'd been considering. (I've jumped 9 cells too but just like those 7 cells!) The speed increase from downsizing is my main concern -- I ended up downwind in the corner due to my own poor planning and was glad (for a change) to be on a slower canopy. My body doesn't recover as fast now as it did in its first three decades...

[PhillyKev 0]

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But when I was about 30-40 feet up, and went to about 1/3-1/2 brakes and then pulled the right toggle down a little further to avoid the tree....

You can usually perform a flat turn just as effectively and safely by letting up on the left toggle, instead of pulling more on the right. Depends on the canopy and how much input you actually give. Or instead of just pulling on the right or letting off on the left, a little of both.

[Hooknswoop 19]

The size was my main point, not really the material. In fact, my PD160 is very old, and quite porous. It does still flare but is definitely more demanding of a total, full toggle flare. I actually want to go to a Tri150 or Spectre 150 now, instead of the 135 I'd been considering. (I've jumped 9 cells too but just like those 7 cells!) The speed increase from downsizing is my main concern -- I ended up downwind in the corner due to my own poor planning and was glad (for a change) to be on a slower canopy. My body doesn't recover as fast now as it did in its first three decades... ***

Consider a Spectre 170, Safire2 169, Sabre2 170, Triatholon 170. Maybe going to zero-P and up-sizing would be the best answer. You don't tend to hear many people up-sizing, but before too long even I will be up-sizing. It is all about picking the right tool for the job. Definately demo and see what you like.

Having pre-planned approaches for any wind condition at a DZ will make it easier to land safely and accurately, even if the winds change.

Hook

[billvon 2,991]

>doesn't doing a flat turn at, say, 30-40 feet, ensure a worse
> flare/rougher landing?

Not necessarily.

Imagine two turns. The first one, you just pull a toggle down. You turn quickly, lose a lot of altitude, and come out of the turn with a lot of speed, more speed than the canopy normally gives you at full flight. The canopy gradually slows down to normal glide.

The second one, you start with one toggle and bring the other one in gradually, until at the end of the turn you have both toggles most of the way down. The canopy comes out of the turn with _less_ speed than normal, and once you let go of the toggles, the canopy must speed up to get back to normal speed.

Between these two extremes is an amount of opposite toggle that will not cause the canopy to slow down _or_ speed up; when you come out of the turn you will be at normal flying speed and can flare immediately. This my definition of a perfect flat turn.

How do you practice this? Try it up high. When you complete the turn, immediately let both toggles up to full flight. If the canopy starts out flat, then dives when you let go of the toggles, you used too much opposite toggle. If the canopy starts out in a dive, then recovers after a few seconds, you used too little opposite toggle. If the canopy just shakes a bit then flies along happily, neither diving nor flattening back out, you used just the right amount of opposite toggle.

>Other than NOT PUTTING MYSELF IN THAT SITUATION AGAIN, is there
> anything else I could have done to help that landing?

Try the above; another alternative would have been to turn less on approach and more during the flare itself.

However, on the plus side, you took a potentially deadly situation and turned it into a minor sprain. That exact scenario injures and kills many people every year; good job at having the skill to keep yourself intact. I wish more people took the time to develop that skill.

[parachutist 2]

>NOT PUTTING MYSELF IN THAT SITUATION AGAIN

Aside from that outstanding point ... a good PLF is a very useful skill. You can turn some potentially serious injuries into a few minor bumps & scratches by spreading the impact and just rolling with it.

So far my worst injury in this sport has been a sprained ankle & the reason for this sprain was: I tried to stand up a landing that I knew I should have rolled into. I had been "in the corner" after a swoop, then given too much brake toggle which pulled me out of the corner, then gave me some lift... and left me sailing foward 5 feet above the ground at 25+ mph with no flare left. I saw the bad landing coming and I should have reacted properly, but I tried to stand it up... *crunch*. Luckily I didn't break anything . A PLF would have left me healthy with a dusty rig and suit to clean off.

- Chris

[skybytch 273]

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a good PLF is a very useful skill.

Good point. I'm very thankful that I was not only taught PLF's, but forced to do them over and over until I got it right. Has saved my ankles (and other breakable body parts) repeatedly over the years...