Line twists - packing or body position ?

[lintern 1]

I have been jumping for 2 years now and I have done 110 jumps, 65 of those were on RAPS where I never got further than 3 sec delays.

Then I did AFF without any difficulties or repeats.

Not long after finishing my consolidation jumps I started downsizing from the student 280 canopies to 235, 210, and 190 canopies.

Then I bought my own rig which is a 145 Icarus Safire 2.

I asked many people for advice before I bought my rig and as I've found out with skydiving, there was no consistency in the advice, but the majority of people said I would be fine on a 145.

The fact that I am only 5'6" and 10 stone (140 lb) is the reason most people said I would be fine on a 145 because with an estimated 20 pounds added to my body weight to get my exit weight, my wing loading works out at 1.1 (160 pounds / 145 square foot).

Now I am trying to learn to PRO pack the bloody thing and with it being almost new (about 30 jumps) and zero P it is a nightmare !

Having packed the whole thing by myself for the first time I nervously went to jump it !

When it opened I had twists which were slowly working their way up towards the canopy so I had to kick VERY AGGRESIVELY just to stop them getting worse. Only then I was able to concentrate on kicking to get the twists out.

So my dilemma now is...

1) Was it my packing that caused the twists ?

or

2) Was it my body position on the pull ? But as far as I can tell I stayed on heading when I pulled.

I have put about 15 to 20 jumps on my new rig and I have NEVER had twists.

But to complicate the matter, when I jumped my friends Merit 150 a few months ago I had really bad twists and I almost came close to chopping it - luckily I managed to stop the twists going too far up towards the canopy.

The person who had packed it is highly experienced and people suggested that I may have turned slightly on the pull causing the bag to twist. It was from this point on that I focused even more to stay on heading when I pull and for the moment I have even stopped doing the wave off (I only jump solo at the moment) thinking this may help.

I have NEVER had twists on freefall before, only occasionally on RAPS.

How can I find out whether it was body position or packing ?

When I had packed my rig for the first time by myself I double stowed a bungee on one side - could this have caused the twists ?

People have told me that if you double stow one side you should double stow the other side too, to keep everything even and symmetrical.

I also had difficulties getting the canopy in the bag and it may not have gone in very symmetrical - could this have caused the twists ?

I need to know what caused these twists as it is starting to concern me, especially as I don't know whether its my body position or my packing.

Twists on the larger canopies were just a nuisance but on the smaller canopy they wind up alot faster and like I said, I had to kick very aggressively just to stop the twists getting worse.

[Shivon 0]

IMHO it could be one, or the other, or neither, or both. It's really hard to say. With just over 100 jumps, and having jumped five canopies in that time, I don't believe you have really had a good chance to consolidate how you pack so that you are consistant every time. IMHO, I would also say that the average person with 100 jumps would not be able to feel / know what was a solid, stable deployment that wasn't in a small bit of track / slightly backsliding, or with uneven legs on deployment, etc etc. Especially if 65 of those jumps were small to no delays.

So what can you do. The packing things seems pretty easy to fix or identify if indeed it is the problem. Just get a senior jumper / packer / rigger to watch what you are doing. It should be pretty easy to find out if that is the problem. Regards what's happening at deployment, I would try and con someone senior into jumping with you, preferably with a camera if possible. Camera's a great learning / teaching tool. You can slow it down, watch what the legs are doing, etc. For example, you may be able to work out if you are inducing a turn by your 'throw' action.

With your questions about double-stows though, my advice would be to get totally away from doing that all together. The stow may be able to be put on differently to make it tighter. Have a chat to someone who knows what they are doing at the DZ.

[Hazarrd 1]

i think the saying goes...

the best body position can correct the worst pack job, but the best packjob cannot correct the worst body position.

.-.

[parachutist 1]

I had very similar canopy progression: I went from a 195 Clipper to a 149 Safire at 150 jumps.

There are two changes that are affecting your openings:
1) Changed from a square canopy to an elliptical. Ellpitical canopies are more fickle during openings than square canopies
2) Changed from a 190 to a 145. The smaller the canopy, then the more fickle it is during openings.

My third jump under my brand new Safire was a cutaway because of line twists that would not stop. So I was pretty annoyed and I went asking everybody what in the world was the problem. The best advice I got was: Watch the horizon during opening. Up until that point I'd been in the habit of looking down, watching for people below me, etc. during openings. I still check where everyone is and make sure that no one is below me, but as I reach back for my pilot chute, I look out at the horizon and make sure that it's level, make sure that it's not turning. Maintain that level, non-turning body position throughout the opening and you should have an uneventful deployment

As far as the pack job goes: It's not the pack job that causes line twists. Just don't roll the nose or push in the nose. Getting the Safire in the bag was frustrating me too because it was brand new... I got some good lessons from a packer... that requires showing the tricks in person though... you really need to see someone do it. I'd suggest finding an experienced jumper who has a tiny rig and ask them to show you next pack job =]

[cobaltdan 0]

if your canopy flies perfectly straight without any control inputs (brakes stowed and brakes unstowed). than your twists have to be caused by: body position, packing, or possibly a faulty pilot chute.

when a pilot chute gets ragged out it can slip air uneavenly and rotate. in all probablilty it is your body position. have someone video your opening and you should be able to diagnose.

sincerely,

dan<><>
atair

Daniel Preston <><>
atairaerodynamics.com (sport)
atairaerospace.com (military)

[Rdy2skydive 0]

Try keeping your legs together as your canopy is opening. It keeps your body more symmetrical when the canopy is opening and helps prevent line twists.

I'm not an instructor but Scott Miller gave me this advice when I took his canopy class last year and it's worked very well for me. No line twists and my openings are more on-heading.

[TimDave 0]

Packing and body position do affect the opening enough to cause line twists. With the Safire, rolling the nose should be avoided, but with other canopies like a Sabre or Monarch uneven nose rolling can cause a turn severe enough to twist the lines (especially if loaded moderate to high). I have a few thousand pack jobs and don't experience line twists when I pack very often. It does happen occasionally though. But I know a packer that seemed to cause line twists very frequently. After a friend observed them packing noticed that when stowing the lines the bag was being twisted inadvertantly. After changing the way they packed the problem magically went away. Packing definately can and does cause line twists. Getting someone to look at your packing and getting someone video your deployment sequence should be the start of the end of your line twist problem.

[dbattman 0]

When you put it in the container, pay attention to how much slack you have between the last stow and the risers. If you don't have enough slack, the risers get pulled along the bottom of the reserve container. On opening the risers can bump the container causing a spin. When you stow the risers, place them so the come straight down the sides of the reserve and not at an angle along the bottom of the reserve container.

How much is enough? That's a good question, and you'll have to find what works on your particular rig. I like to leave about 24" or so, enough for about 1.5 stows.