canopy control safety

[SAMPLEKSample 0]

Mentors tell us to keep our cool and slow down for a reason! We finally feel confident under a canopy, and without downsizing too soon, this gives us a tremendous comfort and confidence to have too much fun, too soon...
on my 99th jump, I still fly a 170 even though the wingloading is not even close...I feel it is safe to have a lot of fun under this canopy with sharp 360's and low turns that wont eat up a lot of altitude, giving me speed thus lift, but in a way, pretending it is a high performance canopy for a rookie like myself.
On my 99th jump today, I was set up early giving myself time for a few 360's before heading in on my final. So, in full flight, at 1,200 feet, I yanked my right toggle all the way quickly past my hip in hopes to pull out my first sharp 360, but in doing so, all too fast, my canopy flew faster than my body, and threw me into line twists, spinning...while looking up at my new self-inflicted mess, my head was thrown forward and was caught in between my twisted risers and my chest strap which was choking me, and looking at my
feet at eye level...
Estimating altitude - 7-800 feet maybe, way too low to cut away, so I forced my head out while simultaneously yanking my risers apart, and I was out of the twist, body was stable, and enough time to shake my head, take a deep breath, do a couple s-turns, flare and land.
With such a big canopy, and growing confidence, I mistreated the canopy, and it was no longer an extension of my body in flight, but a toy I took advantage of, playing with way too hard.
So, from a technical point of view, with a large canopy, turns should be initiated slowly to fly as it should...
And the big picture...although this sport is moving so quickly....getting more out of 100 jumps than people did years ago, there are still steps to be taken slowly....you are not competing with your canopy, it is a part of you, and that needs to be respected in order to stay safe in this sport.

[skymedic 0]

So true....now only if some other people will learn from your complacency.....
marc
"...a mind stretched with new idea's will never regain its shape"

[freeflir29 0]

Yep...and if you had been on an ellyptical canopy you may not have been able to pull that one out. Glad you are still here! Next...be sure to lean into the harness more when you turn...LOL
"Houston? That place is full of Crack heads and debutantes."- Hank Hill
Clay

[mikefarmer 0]

Good job, you did SOMETHING. You made a decision in a scary situation and saved yourself. I think for ME, 700-800 feet with a pinned head and violent spin the decision would have been a cutaway. For you it was not, and you saved your life, because YOU DID NOT PANIC! KUDOS, brother!
Missy the 225 lb. Meat Missile
Sky World

[billvon 2,998]

Good story with a good outcome. You know a lot more about your canopy now, and you didn't get hurt, which makes it a pretty good learning experience. This is a good example of how you really have to learn your own canopy before you go on to a smaller canopy. While your experience was sort of scary, what scares me even more is that there are an awful lot of people who quickly downsize to a 2:1 canopy _without_ ever having experiences like yours.
As a suggestion, try the following to learn more about your canopy:
-Turn flat by starting the turn with one toggle and "flattening" it with the other one
-Turn in the flare by gently steering one direction or the other at the same time you're flaring
-Turn with your harness only (lean and/or extend one leg)
-Try high performance landings with both front risers, then one front riser (turn to landing)
-Practice turns at altitude by using risers only
-Practice landings with risers only - with a 170 loaded under 1:1 you should be able to land with rear risers alone without too much pain.
Once you can do all that, you'll know your canopy well enough to decide if you want a smaller one.
-bill von

[DanG 1]

Not to get into another argument about the ISP, but the canopy control training in the ISP (although rudimentary) includes what they call reverse turns. The student truns a hard 90 and then snaps back a hard 180 in the other direction before they level out. It is designed to show them that violent control inputs can lead to slack lines and line twists. Of course, the student is instructed to do all this above 2500ft. Much better to kick out of line twists at 2 grand than 800 like you. Good job saving yourself.
The ISP also makes students do riser turns and flat turns. It is not a comprehensive canopy control course, but hopefully it will give people a base of skills on which to build.
- Dan G