Gabo 0 #1 February 13, 2003 Hi this post is to get information on how to fly the Vx I recently started jumping a VX 94 and I noticed how different it feels compared to other high performance parachutes I have jumped . Like the front riser pressure . What I would like to know from other people jumping VX is how they make their setup or maneouver prior to the swoop . I appreciate any info or tips you can give me . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
proswoopingtour 0 #2 February 13, 2003 You should contact Team Extreme & the Pro Swooping Tour at protour@comcast.net for information and training of this matter.... SlatonAirSports.com CanopyPiloting.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eames 0 #3 February 13, 2003 No offense, but he's asking for advice, not a plug. There are a few different canopy control schools to choose from. Gabo: Flying a VX can be a bit tricky because of the extremely high front riser pressure. This is more of a problem if you do gradual turns instead of snap hooks. As the speed builds it becomes more and more difficult to hold the riser(s) down. There are a few things you can work on to manage this: First, not only should you know how much altitude you lose for a given degree of turn with a given turn rate, but you should also know how long it takes for pressure to build up for a given degree of turn with a given turn rate. Once you match the time it takes to build pressure with a given degree of turn, then see how much altitude was lost, you've hypothetically come up with the most efficient turn. You should do this with any turn you do. Second, you can approach your pattern in deep brakes to minimize the initial front riser pressure. The last thing I can think of is nailing your setup. With such high front riser pressure, if you're off on your setup, it's almost impossible to adjust your turn halfway through on front risers so you're stuck adjusting with the harness, rears or toggles. I prefer my Xaos-27 for this very reason. I can easily adjust my approach mid-turn. However, you still get the best swoop if you nail the setup, adjust the turn very little, and have maximum pressure built just as you're coming out. I write this assuming you're already proficient with strait in approaches and you're already intimately familiar with the VXs recovery arc. Jason Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gabo 0 #4 February 13, 2003 Thank you Jason The things you described are just what I have been trying to figure out , I have only jumped this canopie for around 30 jumps so far since it is almost new , but the other day I tried to correct a 180 with the front and couldn´t so I used the toggle instead it worked fine but I couldn´t believe how hard the front riser could get . I will continue practicing my 180´s starting in half brakes , with time I know I´ll nail some very looooong swoops . So far my swoops have been great but I know that the performance of my canopie can do a lot more Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Treejumps 0 #5 February 13, 2003 Gabo, When I first got my VX i didn't think I would ever be able to fly the thing because of riser pressure. With time you will just get more used to higher pressure, but there are things to make it easier. 1. Make sure your chest strap is as wide as you can get it. This lowered the riser pressure considerably. 2. Use the longest risers that you can comfortably fly .This also lowered the riser pressure and made the dives longer (yet). Also, if the risers are the optimum length you can carve by pulling down with you lats/whole side of your body. Much easier. 3. Always use half brkes approach. Makes accuracy easier and very light riser pressure. If you do these things I think you will find carving 270s or 360s no problem. I can even pull the riser back down to make small corrections. If this doesn't work, maybe hit the gym a little. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkymonkeyONE 4 #6 February 13, 2003 There are a lot of people who do the "half brake" type of setup. Jay Moledski most readily comes to mind. Letting up right over your turn-in point, then harness steering into the turn definitely lowers your initial riser pressure. Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eames 0 #7 February 13, 2003 Quote3. Always use half brkes approach. Makes accuracy easier and very light riser pressure. This is a great technique, but it's too bad that you have to do that out of necessity on some canopies. If I'm high and still short for my setup, I like to get into double fronts early then go directly into the turn from there, rather than s-turning or sinking/stalling it. Jason Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkymonkeyONE 4 #8 February 13, 2003 I generally fly my parachute to the execution point in flull flight, making small s-turns to scrub altitude if I am high. I will also vary from my "favorite" right 270 a bit if I am high or low. I haven't really ever had a problem with "too high" riser pressure on any of my canopies, my VX included. Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hooknswoop 19 #9 February 14, 2003 I use the same set-up technique as SkymonkeyONE on my VX. I haven't had a problem with riser pressure. I have very long steering lines to help keep riser pressure down, (6.5 inches longer than fatory mark) Hook Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
parachutist 2 #10 February 14, 2003 Quote the front riser pressure . . I decided the massive front riser pressure on my VX would be a good workout for me... so I figured I could keep jumping it and get better at manhandling it over time. My muscles were developing as time went on, but my finger joints were not appreciating the stress I was putting on them. After a few weeks of jumping the VX, a couple of my fingers felt as if the knuckles had been dislocated. So I modified my dive loops to make them act as bars instead of as loops (bars are straight across so you can spread the weight evenly across all 4 fingers... loops, on the other hand, are flexible and this causes them to take on a "V" shape when heavy pressure is applied to them: As a result of this "V" shape, a couple of fingers end up with much more weight than the other fingers... causing too much stress on those joints for my linking My dive loop mod consisted of a piece of PVC pipe (about 3" long). I split the piece of pipe in half and drilled some holes into it, tacked it on top of the webbing inside my dive loop.... it required attention to feed it through the slider grommet when I was collapsing / stowing slider and after a couple weeks' worth of jumping, the pipe split... So the PVC pipe definitely had some shortcomings, it worked very well up until breakage tho. I was going back to the drawing board for this dive loop mod... but then the Xaos-27 became available, so I picked one of those up instead Chris Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eames 0 #11 February 14, 2003 What I do is very similar, substituting s-turns with riser dives. I've never flown a canopy with front riser pressure that was "too high" either. Meaning I can finish out my favorite turn, which is also a right 270, also on my VX. Where this comes in to play is if I'm half way through a relatively slow turn with a lot of speed built up and I decide I need to widen it out to hit my lane by letting up on a front riser a bit. On the VX it's extremely hard to get it back down to finish the turn, on other canopies it's easier. That's all I'm saying.... Hook: I also have my brakes set quite a bit longer than factory settings. We also, as you know, have very different styles, and I'm sure this plays into each of our viewpoints and thresholds of front riser pressure. Jason Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ramon 0 #12 February 14, 2003 Quote You should contact Team Extreme & the Pro Swooping Tour at protour@comcast.net for information and training of this matter.... By Jim Slaton "Revolution is an abrupt change in the form of misgovernment.", Ambrose Bierce. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ramon 0 #13 February 14, 2003 You have to make corrections with the risers early before you build up too much speed or you might not get the other riser down. I have to correct with toggles or harness lean sometimes and using a toggle though efficient withthe VX, will add drag though. be safe ramon"Revolution is an abrupt change in the form of misgovernment.", Ambrose Bierce. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
