Advanced Canopy Control via CRW

The Advanced Canopy Control Course is designed for the average skydiver. It will give
the skydiver confidence and ability to fly in close proximity to other canopies safely,
while providing the skills necessary to avoid problems caused by others. It does not
however, address proper tracking and deployment awareness, or landing skills.

The purpose of the course is to improve safety by teaching proper canopy maneuvering
techniques and to develop a sincere and lasting respect for Canopy Relative
Work, through
Advanced Canopy Control.

The course includes one hour of ground training each day before jumping and is divided
into three parts. Each part consists of five jumps for a total of fifteen jumps. There is
a multiple choice, true/false test at the end of the course. The course will expose the
skydiver to the fundamentals of Canopy Relative Work through Advanced Canopy Control.

Areas of emphasis will include proper equipment, dirt diving, aircraft, weather,
spotting techniques, exiting, piloting, approaching a canopy formation, catching, proper
docking procedures, docking techniques, transitioning, break-off and emergency procedures.

At the completion of the course, the skydiver will have learned the basic abilities
that are required to avoid potentially fatal collisions with others in congested
conditions. The jumper will be better prepared to handle a tight landing situation, dock
safely onto various canopy formations, and deal with situations that can rapidly develop
when other jumpers do not fly safely.

Ground Training - One Hour Each Day

1. Emergency Procedures
   
2. Wraps
   
3. Entanglements
   
4. Communication
   
5. Docking
   
6. Formation Funnels
   
7. Avoiding Problems
   

Instructor’s Note:

If the student has recently graduated AFF, please help with packing, spotting
and landing; encouraging on heading awareness, groundspeed/winds and controlled ground
approaches without a windsock --should be 100% before & during a
skydive...

For example, packing: explain the difference between rolling the nose and splitting it.
Tail pockets vs. bags. Large toggles that can be kept in the hands when risering, staying
on proper heading…spotting: judging the aircraft heading whether crabbing, going
downwind or upwind. This requires having a sense of speed over the ground. For instance,
normal jump run airspeed is about 90 knots. If there’s no wind at altitude for the
first five jumps, then you will get a feel for 90 knots of ground speed looking down from
the door. Then if on later jump runs, if you are traveling half as fast across the ground
you could surmise that there is a 45 knot head wind, etc. Encourage this type of analysis
along with wind direction; i.e. crabbing characteristics as viewed from the door and even
odd occurrences where it would seem that due to a very fast ground speed you might be
going downwind unbeknownst to the pilot! Ground approaches: the old method of feet
together at 1000' check groundspeed with toes, turn 90-degrees, recheck, turn 90, etc.
taking the slowest groundspeed heading as the direction for landing, and treat landings
with the utmost respect for 100% awareness! A windsock should be considered a luxury.
Think of anything that could cause you an 'accident' sometime and how you
would avoid getting hurt.

Emergency Procedures

The first step towards successfully surviving an emergency situation is to have
a plan, prior to the onset of the emergency. It must be a well-considered plan, based on
experience gleaned from the wisdom of experts and analysis of fatal errors committed by
others. Do not limit yourself to a single course of action, however. This is
your life under canopy or in freefall. Be spiritual in some way to accept
any risk, but always perform at 100% and encourage the student to do
likewise. You'll always be happy with the performance and you'll be in
control should there be any major challenges.

For example: You are wrapped! The canopy is wrapped around your head and the lines are
wrapped around your neck. You can’t communicate with the jumper below you. Your face
is turning purple and consciousness is fading. Your plan was for the guy who wrapped you
to relieve the situation by cutting away, since he can’t hear you yelling
instructions to him. He is supposed to cut away, but he cannot. Unknown to you, he has
become wrapped severely and is having his own problems. Therefore, you whip out your
trusty Jack the Ripper and lay waste to his canopy, thereby saving your own life.If
you are truly confident in your decisions, I believe you will survive and
your student as well IF they follow the doctrine of always doing their very,
very best.

A primary plan is necessary, but don’t limit yourself to a single emergency
procedure and kid yourself that it is going to work every time, all the time.

The second step is to practice it. You should practice your emergency procedures so
that they become second nature to you. The middle of an emergency is not the time to
become confused or indecisive. You should review your emergency procedures prior to each
skydive. You should also quickly review your emergency procedures whenever you become
involved in a rapidly deteriorating situation. This will replace potentially paralyzing
fear with a positive plan, and the plan will be the first thing that comes to mind.
Once your mind goes into survival-mode via 'procedure' --you'll gain
additional insight as to how to deal with the problem. Each problem is
unique. It's luck in my opinion that you get out of it. You do EVERYTHING
you can thoughtfully and distinctly think of one-after-another solutions and
go for it intelligently without panic and resolve the issue in time &
with altitude. Once you're clear and under a reserve --I suppose if you were
really hard-core you could go look for some more action but I would stay
clear of anyone and get to the ground safely.

The third step is to do it!

Sounds easy,
but you need to realize you will die if you don't. Definitely --clear
it while checking altitude. Speak out loud your actions so they can be
heard. Get under the problem with strength & body-English. use the
hook-knives, lines off of you --check altitude
and yell it out. Clear the air and chop it. Make your OWN decisions.

Types of Emergencies:

CRW emergencies are divided into two categories, Wraps and Entanglements. A Wrap
occurs when a canopy becomes wrapped around a jumper’s body. An Entanglement occurs
when two or more canopies become entangled with each other. Either way, you
are fucked. One way you may still have a good canopy above you --the other,
both are twisted together doing their absolute own thing and there's nothing
you can do but get away from it by chopping (so long as you are BELOW the
bullshit).

Wraps

A wrap can be compared in severity to a low speed free fall malfunction. With
sufficient altitude, you will have time to consider the problem and solve it. The canopy
of the jumper above you, who is wrapped, should remain inflated. This gives you
substantially more time to deal with your malfunction than you would have during a high
speed freefall emergency. But it is very serious. Take care of it while you
have the LUXURY of TIME.

Do not land a modern square canopy with two people suspended under it. You will have
incredible forward speed because of the increased wing loading on the still-inflated
canopy. Landing impact will be severe, particularly to the bottom jumper.
BUT --if you are in a Bi-Plane at 1500 feet, can't see your pilot-chutes,
--plan on landing it --the pilot chutes 'may' be entangled --ain't worth the
risk.

The rule for wraps: The bottom jumper cuts away first. The top canopy usually remains
open, so there is no reason to release it. Also, if the person who is wrapped cuts away,
(the top jumper), he will go into freefall with the bottom jumpers canopy wrapped around
him. That will only make the situation much worse --definitely for him,
perhaps for you too.

Usually, you can extricate yourself from a canopy that has wrapped you by sliding it
down your body. If not, then the bottom jumper will have to cut away. That will release
the tension and make it easier for you to extricate yourself and get free of the fabric.
If he can't hear you then he might just cut-away. Then gather-up the canopy
to throw it away 'whole' --DON'T
throw it away if you think there may be a stray line or two wrapped-around
your neck or leg, etc. Keep it gathered-up, stuff it between your legs and
land with it.

Entanglements

An entanglement usually results from one person passing through the lines of
another person’s canopy. This causes the two canopies to become entangled, with the
jumpers dangling beneath the partially inflated or completely collapsed canopies. This
situation almost always requires both persons to cut away. This can result in both jumpers
being subjected to sudden and extremely violent G forces. Usually, one person is suspended
higher than the other, but not always.

The general rule for entanglements is for the top person to release first. If the
bottom person releases his lines first, the risers may recoil upward and wrap the other
person. When the top person releases first, he may impact the bottom person on the way by,
but he won’t have much momentum.

The top person is usually the one who passed through the lines of the bottom person,
and, many times, his canopy will pull itself out of the mess after it is released.

Sometimes the entanglement begins to spin, and one person will be hanging downward
while the other one is orbiting the entanglement. This spin may accelerate rapidly. In
this situation the orbiter should cut away first. This will fling the orbiter clear of the
entanglement and does not alter the other person’s orientation to the entanglement.
If the jumper who is hanging downward releases first, it can cause the orbiter to change
orientation to the mess and could make the situation worse.

Communication

When jumpers become involved in a wrap or an entanglement, the first
thing to do is to communicate. You need to communicate the altitude, the problem and the
plan. When someone has a canopy wrapped around them they may not be able to read their
altimeter. In all the excitement they may have forgotten what the altitude was the last
time they checked. You certainly don’t want them to panic and cutaway. 

It is very
reassuring to hear the altitude called out every 500 feet when you are totally engulfed in
nylon. It can also be encouraging to hear that your canopy is OK. --do
it.

If you cannot get any response from the person wrapped up in your canopy, then you
should go ahead and cut away. They probably have nylon across their face or around
their neck and can’t respond orally. They may not even be able to
breath at all. You need to release the tension by releasing
your risers, (cutting away) and leaving them with a ten pound mess of canopy
--or a re-inflating canopy that jerks their head/leg off from time to time.
Point is --better to leave them sooner than later if they are NOT
communicating.

If you are the person who is wrapped in a canopy, you should communicate that you are
working on the situation, if you can. This information should be conveyed at regular
intervals. Be cautious of your terminology. Don’t say to the other person,
"Don’t cutaway!", or anything else that could be misunderstood!

Once the decision to cutaway has been made, don’t panic. Do it right!
Keep your shit together. It only takes seconds to do
right. Follow the numbers straight-thru and you survive according to the
statistics --I think.

First, get your hands on both handles and insure that you are clear of any lines. You
should peel your cutaway handle off the Velcro, but leave the reserve handle in its
pocket. If you have a hard pull on the cutaway handle, you can momentarily release your
grip on the reserve handle and use both hands to cutaway. Keep your eyes on the reserve
handle, so you can regain your grip quickly. Be prepared to do a freefall delay, if you
have sufficient altitude. Look down where you will fall and figure you need
around 400 feet or more of clear air beneath you.

If there is going to be more than one person cutting away, the first one out needs to
freefall for five to ten seconds, altitude permitting! This will provide sufficient
vertical separation for the next person who cuts away to safely deploy a reserve.

The most important thing that can be done to maintain a margin of safety is to
remember your altitude!

Most problems begin during docking or break-off. USPA states that the minimum altitude
for docking is 2500 feet. How low would you want to be in a wrap?

The next question is, how low would you want to be in freefall? USPA states that the
minimum safe altitude to initiate a cutaway is 1800 feet. These limits have been
determined by years of experience and several fatalities. Respect them.

It is also conventional wisdom that a cutaway initiated below 500 feet has almost no
chance of being successful. At that altitude you may save yourself by deploying
your reserve into the malfunction. It is better to increase aerodynamic drag than it is to
accelerate toward the ground in freefall.

Docking

What causes wraps and entanglements? Usually, bad docking techniques. The three
factors most often involved are speed, (closure rate), angle, and distance from center. If
you have too much speed, your body continues to travel forward after you have docked. The
point where the target jumper grabs your canopy remains stationary, but the rest of the
canopy continues to move in your direction of travel.. The canopy may then lose
pressurization and wrap the person you docked on. Because objects tend to swing in an arc,
it is common for the canopy to dissipate its momentum by wrapping securely around the
jumper that you docked on.

There are good and bad angles to dock from. Docking from straight behind, a zero degree
angle of approach, is the safest angle. Docking head-on is obviously the worst angle. A
head-on dock can result in injury.

Docking with your canopy heading 90-degrees to the target jumper’s heading will
still give you too much speed. The most efficient angle is 45-degrees to the side of
straight behind. Docking unintentionally with an end cell is more likely to generate a
wrap than docking with a center cell. These three factors combine to make a dock safe or
unsafe.

Formation Funnels

Another cause of wraps and entanglements is when the formation
"funnels." This can be the result of the unanticipated collapse of a mismatched
or misflown canopy. It can also occur if a canopy in the formation stalls.

In a plane formation, the nose of the canopy below you is pushing on your brake lines.
Your canopy can stall if you apply as little as half brakes.

If someone docks and wraps the corner of a formation, it can cause part of the
formation to funnel. It can also funnel at breakoff because the trim of the formation
changes as canopies leave it and the stress distributed throughout the formation changes.

Another problem is carelessness. Some people don’t look where they are going. You
should always look before you turn. Don’t fixate on the formation.

(Many people have gotten wrapped on a freefall jump by not looking where they were
going, after opening. If you are looking at your toggles right after your canopy opens,
you may experience a sudden and violent encounter with someone else who is doing the same
thing).

Avoiding Problems

What can we do to prevent or ease wraps and entanglements? The foremost
preventative measure is thorough planning. Perform a thorough dirt dive. That is the time
to share techniques that will work for the type of formations and transitions that you are
planning to accomplish.

CRW is very three-dimensional and, therefore, quite complex. Participants can easily
miscalculate a maneuver, if they are trying something new. Don’t just dirt dive the
formation. Share what you know. If someone is approaching too hot, you can spread out your
arms. and prevent the canopy from wrapping you. Even if it does wrap, you can extract
yourself easier because you won’t be cocooned so tightly. Nylon will stick to itself
like a Chinese finger trap when it is wound tightly around you. If you can give it some
slack it will come loose. You can grab the area of nylon with the most tension, then lift
it, if only an inch, then as you let it down it will loosen and start sliding down your
body.

If you are in a formation and someone below you gets wrapped, hold on to them until
they can sort things out. Do not drop them unless they expressly request it. This gives
them more time and less to worry about, as it will keep their canopy on heading.

If you are planed on the jumper above you and they have become entangled in your lines,
you can apply light front-riser pressure. This re-tensions your nose and tends to keep
your canopy from spinning. They may then be able to slide up your lines, which will allow
their canopy to stay inflated. This front risering must be done initially, as the problem
occurs. Once the two canopies become entangled, one or both of you will have to cut away.

If an end cell wraps around your foot, it can be difficult or impossible to release.
You can’t lift the jumper’s weight up with one leg. Attempting to do so can
injure you. As a canopy starts to wrap around your foot, you should stick the other foot
in there, also. This will enable you to lift the jumper who is fouled on you and will
allow you to get your hands on the canopy to relieve the tension on your legs and feet.
This can help prevent injury.

Example wrap: The canopy
hits you with its left end-cell. The end cell stays (you gripped-it or
snagged it) and the canopy flies around in front of you counter-clockwise
(left turn) and continues around and stops back on its original heading when
it first made contact with you. Reach over with your right hand andgrab your
left front riser, Reach with your left hand in front of your right arm and
grab a hold of your right front riser. Stiffen your body and pull your hands
together and and out to your sides --this will turn you to the left 180
degrees --repeat the same move again and get the correct grip for a solid
point. (Don't forget to present the point) it shows you know what you are
doing.

If the canopy is collapsing and
re-inflating, you don’t want to fight it. Have the
bottom person cut away. The snatching action of the rapidly inflating-deflating canopy can
really damage your ankles.

The best strategy to prevent or reduce the effects of wraps and entanglement is to wear
proper equipment. All participants should wear thin, leather gloves, shoes, socks and long
pants or a jumpsuit. Wrist mounted altimeters are not recommended. Your RSL should be
disconnected. AADs are fine. If you are too low and going too fast, you want your reserve
coming out, regardless of the circumstances.

You need a CRW parachute to do safe and sane CRW. The time to learn CRW is not
after completing a freefall opening at 2000 feet on your little micro-lined skyrocket.
Learn it from an expert, using the proper equipment, and at the proper altitude.

Part One Jumps

Basic Techniques

1.Introduction:

The student exits 1st and is promptly docked on top by Instructor
A. Instructor B docks on the student from below, on Instructor B’s center cell. The
student will catch Instructor B’s center cell and take foot grips in his center
lines. On command from Instructor B, the student drops the grip. Instructor B will re-dock
on the student, approaching from the right side. Emphasis should be placed upon the
student’s technique in properly and smoothly catching Instructor B’s center
lines and getting quick foot grips, then returning to toggles in hands.

Instructor B is then released by the student, and docks the student from the left.
After the third dock by Instructor B, the student then releases his grip on Instructor B
and then retreats when Instructor A releases him.

The two instructors shall then form a biplane and the student will set up low, on
center, and float up for a center dock.

(always get the student from the top on their first CRW jump, you never know how they
will react and you need to be in control. Keep the docks from Instructor B smooth and
accurate, encouraging the student to catch the centerlines without a lot of moving around,
etc. Setup with Instructor B quickly for the student. They usually will approach from
straight behind, and may even use front risers, however, the ‘plan’ for the
classic bottom-up approach instills confidence, wave them in or tell them to 360 and set
up for them if they abort. Make sure they understand if you move to not follow; they wait
for you to stop moving and then they continue their approach.).

2.Base Setup Repetitions:

Instructor A exits. Student follows 5 seconds later. Student positions canopy
next to Instructor A. Instructor B positions himself behind and below. Student leaves
Instructor A and positions himself next to Instructor B. The instructors continue to
provide various approach angles for the student to practice.

(use the rear risers to float up behind the student, telling them to do the same, 360
fast, they do the same. 90 out, 180 back, then on heading, they do the same, creep out
front, have them tuck up knees to get to the scrimmage-line…be creative!)

3.Sashay Wing Rotations - No Grip:

Student exits first. Instructor A docks right wing. Student turns out to the
left and back, then down and over to dock left wing on Instructor A. Instructor B then
docks left wing on student. Instructor A leaves and student turns out to the right and
back, then down and over to dock as right wing on Instructor B. Instructor A waits for
student to dock. Instructor A then descends to make contact as right wing on student.

(use the word "Point" between formations, get them to react quickly,
encouraging direct approaches. Try to get a flow going, have fun!)

4.Sashay Center Rotations with grip:

Student exits first. Instructor A docks the student on top; Instructor B docks
student on bottom. Rotation begins with emphasis placed on keeping the formation on
heading. This should be the students’ first successful dock.

(each time you dock them, tell them to check heading. Make sure they get their toggles
in hands quickly after they catch, emphasize the importance of piloting the
formation… holding steady while someone else is rotating, correcting the heading if
necessary after the catch.)

5.Tri-Plane piloting exercise:

360,180, and 90-degree turns. Emphasis is placed on recognizing formation
appearance, taking proper grips, and observing the leading edge characteristics of other
canopies and how to handle them. Also, awareness of the DZ should be emphasized.
Instructors should fly slow, leaving student leaning forward on top.

(toggles in hand & 4^th finger grips on centerlines for stability,
arching and proper foot grips. Proper turns, smooth but deliberate.)

Part Two Jumps

Top Docking, Rotation and Sequential

6.Top Dock, Plane - Repetition:

Student spots the jump run, taking mental note of actual ground
speed to compare with future spotting during course. He exits 3 seconds after Instructor A
to set up for a top dock. Instructor B follows student. Emphasis is on keeping the
student’s focus on instructor’s canopy leading edge. The instructor’s
leading edge should be kept level with the student’s body while the student
approaches. The student will be given every opportunity to complete his top dock. After
the dock, the formation heading is changed intentionally. The student then descends the
instructor’s lines to form a bi-plane. Instructor B sets up behind, low and to the
side on heading and the student leaves the top to go back and get him.

(help them with vertical separation, but make them work everything else. Tell them not
to look at their canopy but keep their eyes on yours. When they climb down the lines, have
them do it symmetrically bare handed, then leaving from an arched, straight-legged posture
with toggles in hand.)

7.Warping and End Cell Tag:

Adding equally opposing forces on the airfoil, with a front riser and an
opposite toggle while maintaining heading and stability, the student uses strength and
finesse simultaneously. Emphasis is on using deep front riser and deep opposite brake
without inducing heading changes. Tagging begins as the instructor flies end cell to end
cell and bumps lightly on one side. The instructor then backs-up a little and flies over
to the student’s other side and flies forward a little and bumps again on the end
cell. After the instructor bumps each side once, the student unwarps his canopy while
maintaining heading, then performs this same tagging on his instructors’ end cells
(Instructor goes into a warp after his 2^nd tag). Student gains experience of
passing through burble and is encouraged to be aggressive towards bumping end cells.
Instructor B stays close throughout dive to increase students’ awareness.

(this is going to be new to them. Explain it as though they were under a round in this
warped configuration, where the unwarped canopy has the advantage. The burble can be
explained as the area where a bridled pilot chute points… teach them where it is so
they can avoid it, or use it. Bumping end-cells shows the canopies can take
it --repeat the dive to be more aggressive if required., Make sure
you just bump fabric-to-fabric (no line groups closing --loss of control). Also, warping can be a great way of top docking from
above. --encourage thinking along these lines --ie top-docking, warps,
flying 'down the chimney' with a close pair, your own reason for
excelling.  Get them turned-onto doing their best)

8.Stack-Plane-Side by Side Repetition:

A lot of line work with flying & catching fast empasized--not
sloppy but more aggressive than last dive...

Student is positioned on the bottom at the beginning of the exercise. Emphasis
is on smooth, clean docks, creating smooth planes and smooth side by sides with clean
break-offs and quick comebacks. Student must show communication skills during all side by
sides, i.e., simple conversation.

(simple conversation, jokes, good vibe stuff, no yelling, have fun, eye-to-eye. Watch
out for risers snapping back into the face during the breaks. Keep aware of handles during
grips. Get the toggles back in the hands quickly after breakoffs for a quick turn back
into the stack approach. Hit the breaks a little harder for a quick smooth plane then
back-off the nose away from the lines and settle it in tight.)

9.End to End, top or bottom:

The best sequential drill I can think of for single-flying. 8
seconds between points is a good pace...

With the student at the leading edge of Instructor A end cell, the student taps
the outside edge of Instructor A canopy with his foot. Then he flies towards the opposite
end cell without passing it, and taps it with his other foot. Then the student returns to
the opposite end cell without going past. Instructor B is relative and preventing him from
going past Instructor A end cell (Instructor B is 1/2 span distance from Instructor A,
level with student, on heading). Then student Sashays out across, back & down into a
wing position on the bottom of Instructor A and flies from end cell to end cell on the
instructor’s body. The instructor will then sashay into a wing position on the bottom
and the dive repeats. Emphasis is placed upon flying relative to the instructor, while
using deeper than normal brakes throughout most of the flying.

(this is slow, controlled flying. Stay close to them, almost crowding. It’s a
difficult dive worthy of a thorough dirt dive. This is a good time to introduce the idea
of catching with the feet only.)

Towards the end of the dive, with the student on top, the student uses a foot-grip-only
walking method to get to the other side of the canopy, while maintaining his heading, and
he practices until breakoff.

(stay light to make it easier on them.)

10.Wedge Rotation - No Grip:

Fast dumps, risers, warps --whatever it takes. No grips / No
worries. Juyst make the slot as fast you can without waiting for a grip
and go to the next point. Call the points to get the dive going faster.

Student starts as left wing, then rotates to the pilot position, then rotates as
right wing, then pilot again, then rotates as left wing, etc. Emphasis is on proximity
flying with contact, where required (You can place your canopy on his hip…. but he
keeps his legs together and away from any grip, when he rotates as wing on you, you let
him touch your body at the hip more or less, but do not take a grip - just fly relative).
From the pilot position, the student learns to rotate diagonally across the top skin of
the adjacent canopy and down, taking the wing position (as in dive 4 with coaching by
Instructor B). In the wing positions, the student is encouraged to make contact with his
canopy end cell on the instructor’s waist area, while staying to his side of the
centerline of the pilot.

(make sure they can get across your top skin when they leave. Awareness of missing the
bridle as they skim the skin is important!)

Part Three Jumps: Relax

Gain Smoothness and Fly with Finesse

Pieces, Wing docking

11.Three Stack Rotation:

Clipping the tail, sashaying out & in. 
Toggle hard & back with front riser & breaks --just teach the
method you're best at to 'show' the student.

Or:

Emphasis is placed on over-the-top rotations, staying on center
and docking with minimal momentum.

(teach whichever method you’re most comfortable with, but teach how to stop
the canopy, i.e. dinking the risers after the toggles.)

12.Wedge Rotation with Grips:

Emphasis is placed on promptly acquiring grips, preferably with feet only,
and maintaining the proper position relative to the other canopy. Hence the hand grip, if
used, must be quickly obtained, so that the student can quickly return his hands to
his toggles, enabling him to stay relative and on heading. The student is reminded that a
legal grip can be with a hand or foot, so long as the shoulder is directly above
the grip.

(might be a good time to show them some part 53 stuff and get them turned-on to
competitive flying. You can also explain the use of outside riser trim,
inside toggle or warping when
flying in a wing slot.)

13.Tri-Plane Rotations:

This exercise involves building a tri-plane. Student is pilot, Instructor A
second, Instructor B third. Student leans forward in his harness and applies brakes to
float up, creating a two stack with a third canopy planed (called a "One-Two")
formation. He then releases his foot grips and rotates up, back and over the top of the
biplane, and uses risers to get his canopy level with the shoulders of Instructor B. He
then docks on Instructor B, and applies brakes to plane cleanly. Emphasis is placed on a
smooth and timely transition from plane to stack, and risering to shoulder level as
described.

(keep them forward as they slide up to avoid the head or reserve snagging the bottom
skin. Make certain you can observe when they release the risers to give them a real-time
critique of stopping at shoulder level.)

14.Two-Stack Rotation:

Initially, the student will serve as the pilot of a three-stack. Instructor A is
second. Instructor B docks third. After the initial formation is completed, Instructor A
drops Instructor B. The student keeps his grip and flies his two-stack up, over, down and
behind to dock on Instructor B. After the student docks his stack on Instructor B,
Instructor B will then release grips and rotate to the bottom of the formation to create
another three-stack, with the student on top as stack pilot. The student then repeats the
two-stack rotation again. Emphasis is placed upon smoothness, acquiring proper grips, and
good, clean riser work.

(teach them to step on to their own feet to hold the grip on the lines, then risering
down will not cause them to slide down the lines…)

15.Student organizes!

Dive ends with a Downplane, and an accuracy landing in the peas.

(go along with anything they want. Make them responsible for dirt-dive, pilot
communications, spotting, calling points, breakoff…everything. Stick to the 2500-foot
breakoff rule. If they win at the accuracy – buy their jump! Explain that 15 CRW
jumps should give them respect for the dangers… not to go out by themselves and do
CRW with just anyone, but that they should now be able to fly safer and be more aware of
others, etc.)

AccViaCrw Test

Multiple choice (check all that apply), true/false, etc.

VISUALIZE EACH SITUATION

1. What are the three steps towards successfully surviving an
emergency?

1. Altitude awareness, anticipating the problem,
   wearing the proper equipment.
   
2. Have a plan, practice it, then do it!
   
3. Proper flying techniques, trimming the canopy,
   adjusting float
   
4. Mental preparedness, a will to survive, fast
   thinking.
   

2. How many categories of CRW emergencies are there?

1. 1
   
2. More than 5
   
3. 3-5
   
4. 2
   

3. What are the categories of CRW emergencies?

1. Stalls, spirals, unintentional end cell docking
   
2. Wraps & entanglements
   
3. Equipment failure, incompatible canopies, line
   lengths
   
4. Formation funneling, poor beakoff/transitioning
   techniques
   

4. Which type of emergency can be compared to a low speed freefall malfunction?

1. Biplane with pilot chutes entangled
   
2. Mismatched canopy stall inside formation
   
3. Wraps
   
4. Top person passes through the lines of the bottom
   canopy
   

5. Rules for wraps

1. Bottom jumper cuts away
   
2. Top person cuts away first
   
3. Top person cuts away
   
4. Bottom jumper cuts away first
   

6. Rules for entanglements

1. Bottom person cuts away
   
2. Top person cuts away first
   
3. Bottom person cuts away first
   
4. Top person cuts away
   

7. Who is usually the one that passes through the lines of the other person during an
entanglement?

1. The person who docked last
   
2. The person on the bottom
   
3. The wing position
   
4. The top person
   

8. If you and another jumper are orbiting an entanglement and he is beneath you, you
should

1. Tell him to cut away
   
2. Be the first to cutaway
   
3. Check altitude, then tell him to cut away
   
4. Be the last to cut away
   

9. What is the 1st thing to do if you become involved in a wrap or entanglement?

1. Immediately try to get out of the situation
   
2. Communicate
   
3. Get out your hook knife
   
4. Check your own canopy first
   

10. If you cannot get any response from the person wrapped up in your canopy you
should…

1. Maintain a stable heading
   
2. Apply light rear riser pressure
   
3. Tell him to cut away
   
4. Cut away
   

11. The most important thing that can be done to maintain a margin of safety is to:

1. Remember your altitude
   
2. Wear the proper equipment
   
3. Look before you turn
   
4. Always know where the landing area is
   

12. When are the two most likely times problems may occur?

1. During Breakoff
   
2. Using mismatched canopies
   
3. During docking
   
4. While in a asymmetrical formation
   

13. What usually causes wraps or entanglements?

1. Poor communication
   
2. Improper equipment
   
3. Mismatched canopies
   
4. Bad docking techniques
   

14. What is the safest angle to dock from?

1. 90 degree angle of approach from either side
   
2. From directly below
   
3. From above, on center
   
4. Zero degree angle of approach from straight behind
   

15. What is the most efficient angle to dock from?

1. From above, on center
   
2. 45 degrees to the side of straight behind
   
3. Zero degree angle of approach from straight behind
   
4. 90 degree angle
   

16. True or False

Docking unintentionally with an end cell is more likely to generate a wrap than docking
with a center cell

1. True
   
2. False
   

17. If someone is approaching you too hot you could

1. Pull your knees up and hope he misses
   
2. Spread out your arms to prevent the canopy from
   wrapping you.
   
3. Yell at him to abort the dock
   
4. Try to deal with it after he docks
   

18. If you are in formation and someone below you gets wrapped...

1. Hold on to them until they can get things sorted out.
   
2. Yell out "Drop the bottom man"
   
3. Call for "break it down"
   
4. Turn the formation into the direction of the landing
   area
   

19. If you are planed on the jumper above you and he begins to get entangled in your
lines you can...

1. Pull some breaks to lighten the load on him
   
2. Turn away slightly from the entanglement
   
3. Tell him to drop you
   
4. Immediately apply light front riser to retention your
   nose and help keep your canopy from spinning,
   

20. As a canopy starts to wrap around your foot you should...

1. Apply deep front riser to sink and get your foot out
   
2. Immediately reach down and grip the canopy
   
3. Stick your other foot in there too!
   
4. Look first, then turn away from the wrap
   

21. If you have just one foot wrapped 360 degrees

1. Call out for more breaks from the man below
   
2. Apply deep front riser to sink and get your foot out
   
3. It should slide off of you on its own
   
4. Turn away from the wrap and backwards from your
   canopy
   

22. If a canopy is collapsing and reinflating...

1. Apply breaks to stable out the airfoil
   
2. don’t fight it have the bottom person cut away
   
3. Use alternating front and rear risers
   
4. Get a good grip with gloved hands and wait it out
   

23. What is the recommended breakoff altitude for CRW?

1. 2500 feet
   
2. 1500 feet
   
3. Depends on the experience level
   
4. Depends on the formation type
   

24. Under what circumstances is being on top NOT the safest?

1. With a mismatched canopy is approaching the formation
   
2. When the person on top has little or no experience.
   
3. When both sides of the formation funnel
   simultaneously
   
4. During turbulent wind conditions
   

25. When is it preferable to spot going downwind?

1. In High winds
   
2. In lower winds
   
3. In no wind
   
4. In average winds
   

26. When is it preferable to spot short, going upwind?

1. During high wind conditions
   
2. When There are freefallers on the plane
   
3. When there are low winds
   
4. During multiple jump runs by the same plane
   

27. When piloting a canopy formation you should always know where the landing area is

1. True
   
2. False
   

28. As your walking towards the plane you notice there are five or six groups of
freefallers on the same load. You want to get out short and work towards the DZ since
there is no wind. You should…

1. Ask the pilot to insure all groups exit on one pass
   
2. Change your spot to another side of the windline
   
3. Change plans and get out last avoiding a potential
   go-around by the freefallers.
   
4. Get out first and work towards the DZ
   

29. You are in a biplane at 1500'. You notice the pilot chutes are entangled. You
should...

1. Immediately breakoff
   
2. Try climbing back up to a stack position
   
3. Retrim the nose of the bottom canopy
   
4. Plan on landing the biplane
   

30. You have a canopy docked on your left leg. Another canopy attempts to dock on your
right leg however the dock is sloppy and it begins to come around. You should...

1. Drop the good canopy
   
2. Turn away from the sloppy dock
   
3. Call for a "break it down"
   
4. Try to keep the good canopy and salvage the dock
   

31. How might you achieve greater float without drastically sacrificing forward speed?

1. 1 inch of rear toggles
   
2. Pick up your knees and apply light front risers
   
3. Warp the canopy
   
4. Rear risers
   

32. If you’re approaching a target from beneath and lose sight of the target, you
should…

1. Frontriser to the side until you can see the target
   and then setup for another approach.
   
2. Rear riser back up to dock
   
3. Use toggles to float
   
4. Turn with a toggle and go setup for another approach
   

33. A formation can funnel at breakoff because…

1. Canopies may leave the formation in an asymmetrical
   fashion.
   
2. Some formations have a tendency to funnel by
   themselves
   
3. The trim of the canopies changes as they leave it and
   the stress distributed throughout the formation changes.
   
4. Very high winds aloft
   

34. A planed formation can funnel because… -

1. In a plane formation the nose of the canopy below you
   is pushing on your break lines and you may stall in as little as half brakes.
   
2. There are too many people in formation
   
3. No cross connectors are being used
   
4. People that are docked are not looking where they are
   going
   

35. You open your canopy. Everything is wrong. Weather, lots of traffic, (canopies in
the air) bad spot. You should…

1. Achieve vertical separation
   
2. Find a landing area.
   
3. Look for hazards
   
4. Look for alternate areas
   
5. e Determine wind direction for landing
   

36. Your canopy opens, another jumper opens his right in front of you, facing you. You
should…

1. Execute a rear riser turn away from him
   
2. Dive down into clean air below you
   
3. Perform a hard toggle turn to avoid him
   
4. Call out to him to get his attention
   

37. When approaching a formation after exit when should you execute your turn to setup
your approach…

1. When you are directly along side
   
2. After you pass the side of the formation
   
3. Before getting to the side of the formation
   
4. Below and behind the formation
   

AccViaCrw

Answers

1. What are the three steps towards successfully surviving an
emergency?

• b Have a plan, practice it, then do it!

2. How many categories of CRW emergencies are there?

• d 2

3. What are the categories of CRW emergencies?

• b Wraps & entanglements

4. Which type of emergency can be compared to a low speed freefall malfunction

• c Wraps

5. Rules for wraps

• d Bottom jumper cuts away first

6. Rules for entanglements

• b Top person cuts away first

7. Who is usually the one that passes through the lines of the other person during an
entanglement

• d The top person

8. If you and another jumper are orbiting an entanglement and he is beneath you, you
should

• b Be the first to cutaway

9. What is the 1st thing to do if you become involved in a wrap or entanglement?

• b Communicate

10. If you cannot get any response from the person wrapped up in your canopy you
should…

• d Cut away

11. The most important thing that can be done to maintain a margin of safety is to:

• a Remember your altitude

12. When are the two most likely times problems may occur?

• a During Breakoff

13. What usually causes wraps or entanglements

• d Bad docking techniques

14. What is the safest angle to dock from

• d Zero degree angle of approach from straight behind

15. What is the most efficient angle to dock from

• b 45 degrees to the side of straight behind

16. Docking unintentionally with an end cell is more likely to generate a wrap than
docking with a center cell

• True

17. If someone is approaching you too hot you could

• b Spread out your arms to prevent the canopy from
  wrapping you.

18. If you are in formation and someone below you gets wrapped...

• a Hold on to them until they can get things sorted out.

19. If you are planed on the jumper above you and he begins to get entangled in your
lines you can...

• d Immediately apply light front riser to retention your
  nose and help keep your canopy from spinning.

20. As a canopy starts to wrap around your foot you should...

• c Stick your other foot in there too!

21. If you have just one foot wrapped 360 degrees

• d Turn away from the wrap and backwards from your
  canopy

22. If a canopy is collapsing and reinflating...

• b don’t fight it have the bottom person cut away

23. What is the recommended breakoff altitude for CRW

• a 2500'

24. Under what circumstances is being on top NOT the safest?

• b When the person on top has little or no experience.

25. When is it preferable to spot going downwind?

• a In High winds

26. When is it preferable to spot short, going upwind?

• c When there are low winds

27. When piloting a canopy formation you should always know where the landing area is

• a True

28. As your walking towards the plane you notice there are five or six groups of
freefallers on the same load. You want to get out short and work towards the DZ since
there is no wind. You should…

• c Change plans and get out last avoiding a potential
  go-around by the freefallers.

29. You are in a biplane at 1500'. You notice the pilot chutes are entangled. (Or, you
can’t see the pilot chutes…) You should...

• d Plan on landing the biplane

30. You have a canopy docked on your left leg. Another canopy attempts to dock on your
right leg however the dock is sloppy and it begins to come around. You should...

• a Drop the good canopy

31. How might you achieve greater float without drastically sacrificing forward speed?

• d Rear risers

32. If you’re approaching a target from beneath and lose sight of the target, you
should…

• a Frontriser to the side until you can see the target
  and then setup for another approach.

33. A formation can funnel at breakoff because…

• c The trim of the canopies changes as they leave it and
  the stress distributed throughout the formation changes.

34. A planed formation can funnel because…

• a In a plane formation the nose of the canopy below you
  is pushing on your break lines

35. You open your canopy. Everything is wrong. Weather, lots of traffic, (canopies in
the air) bad spot. You should…

• a. Achieve vertical separation

36. Your canopy opens, another jumper opens his right in front of you, facing you. You
should…

• a Execute a rear riser turn away from him

37. When approaching a formation after exit when should you execute your turn to setup
your approach…

• c Before getting to the side of the formation