Had a wierd question pop up wanting to know whats the minimum wingloading/wieght for large to midsized canopys...is there a graph or chart online somewhere to check out this information? Just wondering at what low wingloading does it become unsafe or does it not matter?
My 50KG/120LB Fiance learned on a 360sq/ft canopy. though she landed well after the tandems and had to jump in very light winds it didn't really matter, the size of the student container would have been more of a safety issue.
The biggest concern with large, lightly loaded canopies is Wind!! You don't want to be flying backwards.
Yeah everyone lists max. weight but not min. you would think there would be a point were not enough weight on the canopy would be dangerous.
When you get to about .4 and below you start underloading the canopy to the point that it stops functioning as a ram-air and is just a giant square looking round. You can turn this way or that, but you're pretty much coming down like a round.
thanks guys I think this answers the questions....a few people I know where loading at approx... .5 to .6 and the question arose at what point is the canopy under loaded and as you all saw as I did only maximum loadings where listed and min. loadings were varies with conditions, but I made the assumtion that at "some" point a canopy has to be under loaded and become a risk. thanks
In the DZ I used to jump, there was this skinny girl jumping on student gear that was prohibited from jumping on hot or windy days.... the problem with hot is that in order to get to the landing point, you need to go over a large patch of asphalt, and when she went over it, the parachute would climb up...
