Hi all, just curious for some input on planning routes for flying down mountains under canopy. The NZ dropzone I'm at has a lot of tempting mountains and I am looking closely at two routes to be flown after hop and pop. Both have fields to land in at the base but while one is 1000' and very steep the other is 5000 and appears to be 1:1 in slope on average, quite steep for awhile but the last 1000 ft has some horizontal distance to cover to the landing area.
I am thinking we will fly the shorter route first and then attempt the higher mountain. I'm flying a velocity at about 2:1. What I'm interested in is an estimate of my glide ratio in full flight and on spread rear risers but I don't have the instruments to measure.
Input from experienced pilots would be appreciated.
Try to contact someone from the DZ in Voss, Norway. They have a lot of experience there with mountain swooping and can tell you what to do and what NOT to do.
Until you get very proficient at detecting what angles you can outfly in different wind conditions, I'd stick to flying over terrain where you can land anytime. It would really suck to be forced to land that velo in a field of x-feet sized bouders with some wind coming from above or behind.
Go small first and increase the challenge only very gradually, you'll stay uninjured or alive longer
