Dealing with line twists on elliptical canopies

[Mad47 0]

I am seeking for advice from experienced pilots on dealing with line twists on elliptical canopies. I just switched to Cobalt after making about 550 jumps on Sabre. The first opening was with several line twists and my attempt to unwind by harness input resulted in immediate spin that put me on my back. Nice reserve ride On next five dives I was paying attention to body position at pull time and was trying to fly the openings as gently as possible. The openings were really nice, but I noticed that the canopy likes to make a slight (about 45-90 degrees) turn after the end of the snivel phase (before I release the breaks). It does seem to turn in one particular direction suggesting that the problem is most likely caused by slightly uneven position in a harness. As soon as the breaks are released it flies straight and lands really sweet.

I briefly talked to one very experience HP canopy pilot at DZ and his advice was to sit still and let it fly for several second in case of line twists before trying to fix the problem. The question is what are the best ways to untwist and to deal with the situation when the canopy has line twists and begins to turn.

Thanks in advance,
Anton

[AggieDave 6]

If it twists and is spinning, you can grab the riser that is sitting higher then the other and pull down on that, evening the load on the lines, so it'll fly straight while you untwist yourself.

Remember, if you lean or weight the harness, it'll turn/dive that direction, so you have to be careful to keep even in the harness. That's most important during opening, to keep line twists from happening.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[Kris 0]

Exactly what Dave said. I rarely have twists on my Stiletto, but it tried to take me for a ride a few weeks back. I immediately evened out the risers and it levelled out, allowing me to get out of the line twists easily. Hooknswoop gave me that knowledge last year and it definitely came in handy.

On opening, I have my hands on the risers but I don't touch them until it's open. I keep my eyes on the horizon and use just a smidge of hip input once it's snivelling.

Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and
Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

[sdctlc 0]

To add to what Dave said there is a thought that I have used very well to not separate the risers to untwist. I actually level them out to help and stop any spin (i.e. what Dave said) and then bring them together to bring the twists down faster. Helps open the canopy up more and is easy to untwist. Make sure you have them leveled out though. Just a thought and I have used and it works great on the times I have neded it!

Scott C.

"He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

[AggieDave 6]

I've never heard of that...sounds like it would work pretty well, thanks for posting that little tip.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[jedeisurf 0]

I had 7 twist on Sunday which was very odd on my CF 109 my time out was doing the double beep thing at around 1700 I went for my handles and then I started spinning out of the twist. The nice thing was the canopy was stable the whole time but I just couldn't get it to unspin. Was more than likely caused buy very impaired packing don't pack hours after the beer light has come on duh.
David

[JJohnson 0]

Exactly what Dave said...and I jump a Cobalt as well and I can assure you that once I level out my risers the spinning dive stops immediatly and the line twists come out fast. They came out so fast once that it actually spun me the other way into one line twist. As soon as I even out the risers, the canopy planes out instantly. I'm jumping a 120 at about a 1.55 to 1 loading.

JJ

"Call me Darth Balls"

[flyhi 24]

Start early to avoid spinning when you get line twists. When you pack, use your pullup cord to tie the large rings of your three ring together. Then when you make your stows, they will be even. Has worked pretty well thus far.

Shit happens. And it usually happens because of physics.

[Mad47 0]

Thanks guys! I appreciate your input

[Garycal 0]

All of the above and have a good belly to earth position

[Mad47 0]

Thanks. This is very useful.

[Brains 2]

Hey Mad,
Others have given you great advice, i have also jumped a cobalt135 (500 jumps) and when it did twist up(rarely) if you stay straight in the harness it WILL fly straight. Then you can kick out of them very easily. I did learn not to mess with my risers during deployment, just used very slight harness adjustments

Never look down on someone, unless they are going down on you.

[Mad47 0]

Quote

I did learn not to mess with my risers during deployment, just used very slight harness adjustments

Yup ... I am used to grabbing the risers during opening but after a few more jumps on this canopy I have a feeling that harness adjustments is enough.