steering using legs

[justinbuss 0]

I know that with higher performance canopies and/or canopies with higher wingloadings you can steer the canopy using leg movement.
Am I correct in assuming that this is possible because the legstrap is pulled forward when you lift the leg, thus pulling the back riser down and has the same effect as a subtle rear-riser turn? How exactly does this work?
Also, does this still hold true for articulated harnesses (with the hip rings)?
Justin
I find sometimes it's easy to be myself.
Sometimes I find it's better to be somebody else. - Dave Matthews Band

[GrumpySmurf 0]

I'm flying about a 1.3 loading in an articulated harness and tend to use leg movements to hold and correct my heading back towards the DZ while futzing with the slider (bloody thing never wants to cooperate and just stow without a fight). It *FEELS* like by pushing a leg down and the other up - I am shifting my weight to the outside edge of the canopy (the edge closest to the leg dropped), causing that side of the canopy to drop, while the opposite side rises (due to increased/descresed pressure). This *seems* to cause the canopy to turn toward the side that has dropped. Am no physics guru, just what I noticed. *shrug*

[Geoff 0]

Its the left-right shift in weight that makes the difference, not forward-backwards. Just tipping one end of the wing will induce a turn.
geoff

[eames 0]

I don't think that's correct. Each set of risers is connected to the harness at a single point, preventing independent movement of the front and rear risers solely by harness input. I think that when you shift your weight to one side of the harness, you more heavily load that side of the canopy, and very slightly distort the airfoil shape, causing a turn to that side. Anybody agree or disagree?

[eames 0]

Just to clarify, I was talking about the original post...

[Hooknswoop 19]

You are correct. A canopy will turn / harness input for the same reasons that a loose legstarp will cause a turn.
Hook

[axe96bam 0]

You don't need to load a canopy heavily to in order to be able to do harness turns, but as you load it more, the turns become more aggressive. I can easily do a 180 and even a 360 on a 79 (loaded at 2:1) and the effect was pretty similar on an 85, 88 and a 90. Drop one leg and lift the other and your weight shifts in the harness causing that side to dip and you begin turning. The heavier the loading - the higher the effect.
Alex