Simple Canopy Control Advice Needed

[JayCam 0]

Hi Guys,

I am a RAPS student and just today moved on to freefall. I was just getting the hang of the canopies we use for static lines (at the Black Knights Drop Zone in lancashire) but the freefall canopies seem quite different to me. On my 3 second delay I slid on my ass for about 20 feet but was fine however on my 5 second delay I flared at about 20 feet and have hurt my back quite badly.

I need to get my landings sorted out before I do more jumps as I dont want to risk serious injury. Today was entirley my fault i just flared too soon but I was wondering if anyone had any advice on landing.

I weigh about 12 stone and jump 170s if that helps at all.

Thanks!

J

[repeter 0]

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I weigh about 12 stone and jump 170s if that helps at all.

12 stone = ???

[arlo 0]

76 kg

[CanuckInUSA 0]

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I was wondering if anyone had any advice on landing

Short of ensuring that you don't hurt yourself on your jumps, try not to beat yourself up too much with your landings at this extremely early stage of your skydiving career. Learning to land (nicely) takes experience. We never said this stuff was easy.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[AdD 1]

Your wingloading is slightly over 1 pound per square foot of canopy. This is aggressive for 8 jumps. You may want to consult an instructor about upsizing to a canopy you are comfortable with.

Life is ez
On the dz
Every jumper's dream
3 rigs and an airstream

[skydog 2]

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I weigh about 12 stone and jump 170s if that helps at all.

Are you sure about that? Sure its not a 270?

Bryn

Journey not destination.....

[GQ_jumper 4]

seriously. leanr to PLF, it has savd my ass a few times

History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.
--Dwight D. Eisenhower

[JayCam 0]

Yeah I am fairly sure its a 170 but I think we usually jump 190s. there is only a few 170s. Wouldnt 270 be HUGE? Yeah I have planned my self a PLF practice thing I want to be able to jump and land comfortably from about 6 feet or so. Then maybe work it up higher from there.

[JayCam 0]

Hi AdD. Do you think that canopy is too small for my weight? I dont have any problems with it except landings. I think I have very good canopy control relitive to my experience level, except in landings obviously. What size canopy do you think I should be jumping?

[G.Anvil 0]

I know its a bit off topic but according to the BPA ops manual (the rules we all stick by);

2.2.1. The following Wing Loading criteria should be applied to main ram-air canopies:

a. First Jump ‘Solo’ Student Parachutists - not to exceed 0.8 lbs/sq.ft.

b. ‘Solo’ Student Parachutists having completed at least one ‘solo’ descent - not to exceed 0.85 lbs/sq.ft.

So its most likely to be a 290/270 you are jumping, that would make your wingloading ~0.75. 290 canopies are common early student canopies, I weigh ~13st and jumped a 290 for my first 15 jumps or so.

PLF

James

[caspar 0]

i weigh 12 and a half stone. started learning on a 280. have got 40 jumps and am now on a 190. theres no way in hell you'd get me using a 170. planning to downsize to that after a hundred jumps or so. read somwhere that your wingloading should go up 0.1 per 100 jumps (1.1 at 100 jumps, 1.2 200 jumps, etc)
are you sure you are jumping a 170. thats pretty damn small.......

remember not to look straight down but ahead at a 45 degree angle. that gives you a better view of how high you are. that helped me quite a bit. im newly qualified so dont listen to what i say as THE thing to do. definitely chat to your instructors...


caspar

"When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading."

[JayCam 0]

Ok you gus have me convinced its probably a 270 or 290. I have been reading about canopy control etc and yeah I was wondering why they started me on 1:1.1 ish. I will ask next time im at the DZ.

[mdrejhon 8]

My dropzone told me to flare at person height (about 6 feet) rather than the 10-15 foot height I've been reading somewhere. I think it was because it was the most appropriate flare height for my particular situation and canopy.

I only flared high occasionally (About 2 feet too early), and have never flared above 10 feet (yet).

It's hard to resist that temptation to flare too early at first. My bigger problem now is resisting the temptation to unbend my knees and reach out for the ground, rather than waiting for the ground to reach me. My landings are much softer if I am mindful of this.

Praticing, praticing...

[PhreeZone 20]

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read somwhere that your wingloading should go up 0.1 per 100 jumps (1.1 at 100 jumps, 1.2 200 jumps, etc)
are you sure you are jumping a 170. thats pretty damn small.......

Your wingloading should increase at the MAX of .1 per 100 jumps, NOT that you must increase it at all. I know a few people that are into the 1000's of jump range that are still flying at 1.1 or 1.2. There is a 4 way team here that makes about 600 jumps a year and they are all jumping large Spectre's loaded at about 1.2 or so with an average of 2500 jumps per person or so.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[JayCam 0]

Yeah thats what I was told and I was fine until I moved on to freefall jumps. The kit is slightly different and the control lines are shorter so it confused me. I flared too low (about 4 or 5 feet) on my first freefall so next time I tried a longer slower flare from about 15 feet. Worst idea ever. I just stopped at about 10 feet and dropped, focused on doing a PLF and forgot about keeping my toggles level. Left one came up and it drove me down harder, as a result I pulled loads of muscles in my back and legs, didnt PLF at all lol. SO the lesson I learned is lower is better than higher!

[JayCam 0]

Hey Mark, I just watched ur tandem video that looks fun lol I would be tempted to do a tandem for fun if it wasnt so expensive lol where did you do it?

[GQ_jumper 4]

Hey bro the trick with a PLF, don't worry about that complicated method of rotating and turning your body a certain way and all that crap. Feet and knees together and let you body go limp, your body will go the way your joints are willing to go as long as you are relaxed. just think, hit like a sack of shit, it works trust me, i learned on round canopies.
blues

History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.
--Dwight D. Eisenhower

[JayCam 0]

Cool man Ill keep that in mind. Ill try that next time I pull a high flare.

J

[plowdirt 0]

Hey Jay,i weigh about 220 stoned they flew me in a 340 and then down and down. I fly a nice forgiving safire229 now still get spanked, but practice up high get use to that flare, and guess what just when you got it BAM your ready to down size again. practicing up high helped alot, and comming in at qtr or half brakes helped out aton also, talk to your coach and have them talk you through a couple more landings. good luck and the spandex shorts with pads are a great investment. have fun man and don't get hurt WFFC is right around the corner. E

[CanuckInUSA 0]

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and comming in at qtr or half brakes helped out aton also

Unless someone is jumping a large "valved" BASE jumping canopy, coming in in 1/4 or 1/2 half brakes is NOT good. Speed == Lift. It may take some getting used to (the speed) but having someone brake too soon because they don't like their forward speed is a way to "kill" them instead of helping them. What we do is NOT easy nor is it trivial. It's not easy to land a canopy exactly where you want to land it. But sometimes you have no choice in the matter.

Never said this shit was easy to do.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[wmw999 2,515]

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Feet and knees together and let you body go limp

No, not a good idea in the long run. You can really fuck up your knees. I also learned, and taught, on rounds.
Keep a little tension in your knees. No, you don't have to remember all that "where to go" stuff, mostly because with a square you probably have more forward speed than you did with a round, and the complicated sequence was to overcome the lack of forward speed.

Feet and knees tightly together; imagine there's a large bank note between your knees, and try to keep it there. Knees slightly bent. Gravity will take care of your dropping, and the tension in your knees will take most of the care of your spreading the shock of the fall over many pieces of your body (the whole purpose of a PLF).

When you practice, do a few where you have some forward motion -- either running or at least walking as you launch yourself into your PLF. No need to practice from any higher than 3-4 feet, just repeat and repeat, and add some forward speed.

Get someone experienced in PLFs to watch you do them a few times. And be ready to PLF on every jump. That way a standup is a pleasant surprise when it happens, and a PLF a good way to walk away.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)