do cross braced canopies fly as well as we think on straight in approaches

[shadowswoop97 0]

Do cross braced canopies fly as well and safetly in a straight in approach with less lift and pressure, as they do in high speed swoops with lots of lift and pressure. Is one of the cross braced canopies better at low speed landings particuarly, or do they handle the scenario the same. Or should a person under a cross braced parachute use a more aggresive flying style.

[ianmdrennan 2]

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Do cross braced canopies fly as well and safetly in a straight in approach with less lift and pressure, as they do in high speed swoops with lots of lift and pressure. Is one of the cross braced canopies better at low speed landings particuarly, or do they handle the scenario the same.

I believe they handle them just fine, or as well as any other type of modern canopy in the same conditions. They are still susceptable to weather phenomenon though and the effects of that could be far worse because of their responsiveness.

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Or should a person under a cross braced parachute use a more aggresive flying style.

If you don't have an aggressive flying style there is NO NEED for a xbrace canopy. Of course sometimes we can't hook them in, but if you never do HP landings, then get something else IMO. I know of people who land them straight in all the time. Makes no sense as there are better canopies out there that will provide a better experience overall without the additional awareness a xbraced canopy pilot requires.

Blues,
Ian

Performance Designs Factory Team

[DrewEckhardt 0]

Stall speed is determined by wing shape, angle of attack, and wing loading. When you keep those parameters the same it doesn't matter whether you started from a 60MPH swoop or in half brakes.

Starting with added speed is usually more fun but isn't appropriate for all situations.

[shadowswoop97 0]

what about the incidents where the canopy colapses on a straight in approach with no radical turns or speed. If we are moving slower in an approach would the parachute be more responsive to a side wind, or a gust that could collapse the parachute? I am asking cause I am an aggresive pilot who consistently does 270's under a Xaos27 78ft. And my teammate has the same parachute same wingloading. In the incident report, you will see under fatality that his Xaos collapseed after a straight in approach. Are certain x-braces more sensitive to side winds or collapsing at low speeds.

[jumperconway 0]

Interesting question since you have 2 Xaos 27-78's for sale and list it as what u jump!

[OzoneJunkie 0]

As far as performance on a straight in approach:

I flew a stilletto 120 loaded at 1.9 to 1, and now a velo at 2.2 to 1. The velo lands way better than the stilletto on straight in approaches. The stilletto was very sensitive to flare timing/speed at that wing loading, while the velo has much more range in the timing/speed of the flare on straight-in approaches.

[jumperconway 0]

I've flown all my Xaos's loaded 2.2-2.7 in all sorts of winds and turbulance and have never had any problem with them. Flew right thru a canopy wake 10' off the ground and flared right thru it with no problem last weekend.

[diablopilot 2]

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Are certain x-braces more sensitive to side winds or collapsing at low speeds.

From my experience, no.

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[garywainwright 0]

My Velocity is the best landing canopy i have ever jumped on a straigh in approach. Of course this could be because I'm more experienced and have better technique than when i used to jump a 220 Raider!

(No i didn't go from a 220 straight to my velocity!)

http://www.garywainwright.co.uk

Instagram gary_wainwright_uk

[davelepka 4]

***I am an aggresive pilot who consistently does 270's under a Xaos27 78ft. And my teammate has the same parachute same wingloading. In the incident report, you will see under fatality that his Xaos collapseed after a straight in approach. Are certain x-braces more sensitive to side winds or collapsing at low speeds.
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Do you really need an answer to your question? Both of your Xaos 27's are for sale. Soon it will be someone else's problem. Nice.

[jose 0]

What the hell kind of a reply was that? Maybe I am missing something here, but doenst it seem that he is looking for an explanation in order to understand what has happened to his teammate. How the heck is selling those canopies make him somehow target for judgement and criticizm?

[diablopilot 2]

Just a bit of speculation here, but perhapse people are trying to point out that the type of canopy may not be the root cause of the incident, rather other factors should be considered.

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[kaerock 1]

As an answer to the specific question "Are certain x-braces more sensitive to side winds or collapsing at low speeds." -- possibly. Can I state the for sure, not at all. This is really determined by engineering and design of the canopy. While it is likely that some canopies have attributes that make the more susceptible to unusual winds, for example, I've heard that the Crossfire's bottom edge is more curved, allowing the bottom skin to actually develop lift in some cases, causing the canopy's lines to become un-taut and making it a ripe situation for collapse.

This situation was not, I believe, due to a design defect really, but more likely due to weather conditions and possibly the pilot. Lots of people fly a Xaos and do some wild shit and usually end up *ok*.

-R

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what about the incidents where the canopy colapses on a straight in approach with no radical turns or speed. If we are moving slower in an approach would the parachute be more responsive to a side wind, or a gust that could collapse the parachute? I am asking cause I am an aggresive pilot who consistently does 270's under a Xaos27 78ft. And my teammate has the same parachute same wingloading. In the incident report, you will see under fatality that his Xaos collapseed after a straight in approach. Are certain x-braces more sensitive to side winds or collapsing at low speeds.

You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE

[FallinWoman 1]

Is Precision going to get a chance to check out the canopy to see if there was a problem? Try to recreate the situation?

[chileanXaos 0]

Yes precision should take the canopy to do a lot of testing , to see if was a canopy failure or not .to get some anwsers.

[alan 1]

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what about the incidents where the canopy colapses on a straight in approach with no radical turns or speed. If we are moving slower in an approach would the parachute be more responsive to a side wind, or a gust that could collapse the parachute?

I don't wish to be insensitive, but at the same time this may be a good opportunity to learn something. Perhaps if you and others had taken the time to learn the answer to this question before deciding to jump an extremely high performance canopy at a wing loading of over 2#/sq ft, we wouldn't have some of the incidents that we do. Learn some basic principals/fundamentals of flight before attempting to become an aggresive pilot who consistently does 270's under a Xaos27 78ft. This basic knowledge could be the difference between injury/death and a good decision that keeps you out of trouble.

I am sorry about your teammate. In answer to your question, yes, any wing that is flying closer to its' stall speed on a landing approach will be more susceptable to gusts, crosswinds, and turbulence.

Think of landing a 182. If the above conditions exist, the operators manual requires that you make increases to the airspeed on final approach so you don't suddenly find the aircraft below stall speed. That is fine because the 182 has an engine to generate thrust. Now suppose you are forced to do a deadstick landing as a result of failure of the engine. You are now more like a parachute since you can't use the throttle to help make adjustments to airspeed and altitude. You still have to maintain enough airspeed to land and the airplane is fully capable of that, but with a crosswind or in gusty conditions you need to exercise extra care to keep adequate speed with precise pitch control.

With the Xaos 27 at over 2#/sq ft, you should be able to land straight in, but if it is gusty or turbulant, you need to conserve your speed as much as possible by timing the flare properly. If you get into brakes to much, too soon, a gust that normally would not present a problem may collapse the canopy. Perhaps the pilot was using rear risers, this only makes it trickier as now you are changing the trim angle of the canopy and very minor inputs can result in a dynamic stall.

One thing we can all remember, is that sometimes we find ourselves in situations that exceed the performance capabilites/limitations of the aircraft we are flying. Nothing can fix that. It is like driving down a street at the posted limit of 25 mph and suddenly a child runs out from behind a parked car. The timing may be such that no matter how good a driver you are and how good your reflexes are, the car is simply not capable of stopping in the distance available.

alan