Never stop flying!

[billvon 2,991]

One of my own personal rules - don't stop flying your canopy until it collapses on the ground, no matter what else is going on. I had a good example of the reason for this this weekend.
I was doing a 45 degree front riser turn to landing in the main landing area at Eloy, aiming for the near right side. There were 30 other people in the air so I was looking around quite a bit. As I came out of the turn I noticed half a dozen people falling down on landing and sliding every different direction. I looked but didn't see any signs of a dust devil. Had I known what was causing the trouble I could have tried to avoid it, but it was way too late to change landing areas (I was below 20 feet coming out of a turn) so I started my planeout and hoped for the best.
As my feet started skimming the grass my canopy reared back and climbed maybe 15 feet. I let the brakes up, and for a moment it leveled out. Then it accelerated and tried to turn right hard. I steered left to keep it on heading. It dropped back down, and now I was headed for the ground at downwind-landing speeds. I flared again and managed to stop it just before the bushes on the far side of the landing area. I had covered the entire landing area and gone about 50 yards past it before stopping.
Apparently we had been present at the birth of a thermal. It hadn't developed the circulation of a true dust devil yet, but most of the people landing got caught by the updraft. How people did depended on how they flew their canopies. Some people just tend to hammer the brakes down at flare time, or bring them both down together via some preset formula. In smooth air this works fine, but this air was trying to turn them and/or speed them up. Everyone who did that had horrific landings - people landing sideways at 20mph, flying off the landing area and onto bushes.
Other people, though, flew their canopies all the way through the turbulence. There were maybe 10 people who all landed long, and who looked pretty comical as they frantically steered and flared through the lift, but they all landed normally at the far side of the landing area.
Fortunately no one was seriously hurt. The worst injuries were sprained ankles and bloody noses. It could have been much worse. Moral of the story - keep flying your canopy no matter what else is going on. That gives you the best chance of pulling off a decent landing even in bad conditions.
-bill von

[Tee 0]

Great advice. Never stop flying can also apply to freefall time as well. How many people has everyone seen that once they take grips, they stop flying?!?!?! Oh the aggravation. Tee

[rgoper 0]

bill:
were you "concerned" at any time during this experience? i'd a had to clean out me drawers! haven't experienced a "thermal" yet, but i know it's coming.
Richard
"Gravity Is My Friend"

[Zennie 0]

In this year's Spaceland year end video there's a clip of one of our local swoopers hitting the wake of another jumper who had just landed. He was surfing about 3-4 feet off the ground prolly doing about 20-30 MPH (maybe faster, hard to tell).
All of a sudden the nose of his canopy dives down and almost instantaneously straightens back up with a big *crack*. It all happened in about a half a second. It dropped him about 3 feet or so. So now he's sliding on his feet with his knees half bent.
But, in keeping with your point, he kept flying it and somehow managed to get out of it standing up. All of us watching that video went AAAAAGGGHHH!!!!
In sort of a similar vein. I fly an airlocked canopy, and on particularly windy days I have to be really disciplined about not letting up on my toggles even after I've come to a complete stop. A couple of times I stopped, let up, my canopy reinflated, picked me up about 3 feet, I flared again and it put me back down.
"Zero Tolerance: the politically correct term for zero thought, zero common sense."

[AggieDave 6]

Sort of like the video of SuperDave skipping on the pond after misjudging his swoop, but he flew his canopy to safety, even after he had sort of crashed. (Well, only to then crash again by taking out a motorized wheelchair...)
A human cannonball, I rise above it all
Up higher then a trapeze, I can fly

[billvon 2,991]

>were you "concerned" at any time during this experience?
I was thinking about how hard I was going to hit and what I was going to break, but I didn't really have time to be worried about it. That's for later.
-bill von

[polarbear 1]

Quote

In sort of a similar vein. I fly an airlocked canopy, and on particularly windy days I have to be really disciplined about not letting up on my toggles even after I've come to a complete stop. A couple of times I stopped, let up, my canopy reinflated, picked me up about 3 feet, I flared again and it put me back down.

I just had this happen on my samurai the other day...it was a new experience.

[Jumperpaula 0]

Quote

..taking out a motorized wheelchair..

>>Mental note, don't let spectators set up with camera's at the END of the swoop area. Especially one's who can't move if they need to>>
I've seen jumpers on high wind days get lifted or blown backwards and been a victim myself.
I have the habit of placing my toggles directly on the riser velcro and not dropping them. This seems to help with twisted brake lines. But in exchange, I tend not to collapse the canopy all the way, especially in wind.
Thanks for bringing this up. You've got me thinking.
Fly Your Slot !

[weid14 0]

walk towards your canopy immediately after landing, I stow my brakes while walking towards it esp. on windy days, won't re-inflate (sometimes when it's windy enough you might have to jog a bit).
Why do people continue to try to reel their canopy in like it's a big fish on windy days? just walk towards it.

[Dumpster 0]

We're taught as students up here to go around the canopy on high wind days- and I got a good lesson on flying the canopy after touchdown also- (no injuries or anything just some good constructive advice from one of best canopy pilots here-) Yet I still see students trying to wrestle a canopy to the ground like a steer in a rodeo-
Wanna buy a duck?

[Jimbo 0]

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walk towards your canopy immediately after landing, I stow my brakes while walking towards it esp. on windy days, won't re-inflate (sometimes when it's windy enough you might have to jog a bit).

This is correct - the canopy won't have the opportunity to reinflate without you acting as an anchor at the end of the lines.
-
Jim

[bbarnhouse 0]

Oh yeah aren't these a joy! I had one that lifted me up and dropped me like a sack of potatos.....I was not going to quit flying my canopy! It was a longer landing and off a bit, hit hard, but could have been a hell of a lot worse.
Damn sneaky those little devils.
It only takes a little pixie dust......

[Skyrose7 0]

ok, this is something new to me "thermal"
I know of turbulance, but thermal?
I have never experienced turbulence either.
uh, I understand your advice to keep flying the canopy, but can you explain what happens in a thermal?
The mind is like a parachute--it works better when it is open. JUMP.

[polarbear 1]

In short, hot air rises. During the hot weather period, as the sun is out, it warms up the earth, which in turn warms up the air next to it. As this air warms up, it can become less dense then the air above it, so it will rise. This upward-moving column of air can influence how quickly your canopy descends.

[PhreeZone 20]

You can use thermals to your advantage too... If you are on a long spot and can manage to get above a freshly plowed field or run with a road or other dark surface, you can use the upward current of air to prolong the amount or distance you are albe to cover. Just be aware that as soon as you leave the thermal, you will encounter turblence as you reenter the slower moving air out side the thermal updraft.
If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will....

[Skyrose7 0]

thanks guys!
The mind is like a parachute--it works better when it is open. JUMP.

[polarbear 1]

Yep...I've rode a runway back a couple of times. It is amazing how long brakes + thermals can keep you up in the air.
I haven't had the 'pleasure' of having to deal with one (at least not a big one) on landing.

[AggieDave 6]

Yeah, I rode a treeline and a road to get back from a couple long spots at Waller before. The catch, though, don't get so caught up with getting back that you get yourself into trouble for your landing. Trees have a tendency to reach up and grab you if you're not careful.
A human cannonball, I rise above it all
Up higher then a trapeze, I can fly

[Schroeder 0]

indeed they do....
"and if her "lawyer" friends don't like it, f*ck'em, let em riot...
....we're Sonic f*ck'n Death Monkey..."

[rhino 0]

When I am under canopy I have a general rule.. under 1500 feet I NEVER fly over anything or any place I am not willing to land. If you are coming over the treeline "I know you said down the treeline" and you get hit by some wind and stop penetrating you are fubar..
Let's use Spaceland for an example.. If the wind is blowing from the hanger to the parking lot, not sure what direction that is but there is a big ditch and a treeline there. What I do is pick a line say 30 yards shy of that ditch and I s-turn or hold until I get to the altitude I want to initiate landing. Never crossing that line. If anything I stay up wind and eliminate the chance of being pushed into the ditch.
Bottom line.. If you don't want to land there do your best not to fly over it under say 1500 feet.. It is a practice that has done me very well while others went into the ditch, had low turns or went into the trees. Fail to plan and you are planning to fail. Especially when it comes to canopy flight..
This was not at you Dave just in general..
Rhino
Blue Skies .....

[Jumperpaula 0]

Quote

I fly an airlocked canopy, and on particularly windy days I have to be really disciplined about not letting up on my toggles even after I've come to a complete stop.

And I need to start YANKING a toggle as Im turning and walking towards it. I got brought to my knees Sat, landed fine, turned fast, walked towards the canopy and it yanked me down by the risers. Not just walk towards it with the toggles in my hand, but give it hard yank at the same time.
I think this would help me.

Fly Your Slot !