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I agree, at low enough level nothing is gonna save you, but up higher My Lotus deals better with turbulent air then open cell mains. I feel the jirking around a bit more but the wing holds its shape better. imagine one side of your main collapsing 500-150ft agl, now recover from that... with an air locked main it won't (or at lease is far less likely to) happen. and FrogNog your profile says you fly a sabre2 .. try a lotus (now in the MAX linset variant) I think you'll like it, a little less tapered then the Sabre2 but I think overall it flies better
Good Judgment comes from experience...a lot of experience comes from bad
judgment.
Good Judgment comes from experience...a lot of experience comes from bad
judgment.
Raistlin 0
Thanks everyone for the traditionally great answers!
jump23 0
I have jumped a Jedei since 1997 and it is the best canopy I have ever had. When it used to get windy turbulant days I would quit jumping. Now I keep on, I watch other friends under different canopies bounce around but I do not and the next canopy I buy will also have airlocks I would never buy a canopy without.
Quote[email]
QuoteWhen it used to get windy turbulant days I would quit jumping.
Smart man.
QuoteNow I keep on,
That's an awful lot of faith to place in airlocks.
If the conditions are such that you feel you "need" airlocks then maybe jumping isn't the best thing to be doing just then.
Blues,
Ian
Performance Designs Factory Team
kaerock 1
Agreed,
My decision to purchase the Samurai wasn't based upon the fact that it had airlocks...I just see them as a bonus, the canopy's flight characteristics are what attracted me to it. There may have been few situations where having an airlocked canopy made a difference, where I thought "airlocks probably helped" rather than thinking, "airlocks will save me" . Airlocks move the odds slightly in your favor, they aren't a force-field.
-R
reply]
Smart man.
That's an awful lot of faith to place in airlocks.
If the conditions are such that you feel you "need" airlocks then maybe jumping isn't the best thing to be doing just then.
Blues,
Ian
My decision to purchase the Samurai wasn't based upon the fact that it had airlocks...I just see them as a bonus, the canopy's flight characteristics are what attracted me to it. There may have been few situations where having an airlocked canopy made a difference, where I thought "airlocks probably helped" rather than thinking, "airlocks will save me" . Airlocks move the odds slightly in your favor, they aren't a force-field.
-R
reply]
QuoteWhen it used to get windy turbulant days I would quit jumping.
Smart man.
QuoteNow I keep on,
That's an awful lot of faith to place in airlocks.
If the conditions are such that you feel you "need" airlocks then maybe jumping isn't the best thing to be doing just then.
Blues,
Ian
You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE
JumpRu 14
>around but I do not and the next canopy I buy will >also have airlocks I would never buy a canopy >without.
same here, I will buy my next canopy with airlocks, they helps. I have several landings on video (in a terbulent day) and my sam is solid like a rock :)
same here, I will buy my next canopy with airlocks, they helps. I have several landings on video (in a terbulent day) and my sam is solid like a rock :)
gerrcoin 0
QuoteAre you talking about valves on crossports?
Er, yes, it appears that I was. So my understanding from this thread is that air-locking is a system of valves in the nose of each cell, designed to keep the cells pressurised in turbulent air. Is that accurate?
yep, you got it now (check out Bigairsportz.com) or the description of the PD vengence
Good Judgment comes from experience...a lot of experience comes from bad
judgment.
Good Judgment comes from experience...a lot of experience comes from bad
judgment.
alan 1
QuoteThe only drawback I have seen is when you jump in 20 to 25MPH winds.. and getting the canopy collapsed is a bit of a bitch.. best bet is to dive in into the ground after you land... spin around and get the bridle under your foot. Once you do that the wind does the work of collapsing the canopy for you since you have it by the top center of the canopy.
I guess by now I've got nearly 1000 jumps on my Jedei, not sure cuz I quit counting a couple years ago. I mostly use it on demos now or on back to back jumps. At any rate, I ve found that nosing the canopy into the ground adds to the effect of the airlocks with the ground closing off the nose too. What has worked best for me is to pivot around after landing and at the same time, pull in both rear risers. This puts the canopy on the ground with the tail into the wind, the top to the ground, with the nose pointed downwind. In this attitude, the wind acts like your hand on a tube of tooth paste and helps "squeeze" the air out past the airlocks. The key is to not have too much pressure on the canopy because that is what causes the flap on the airlock to seal against the top skin. Work your way up to the canopy, coiling the lines as you go, and pick it up by the tail, giving it a few gentle shakes as you pick it up. This allows you to gently shake the remaining air out as you pick it up. As you said, standing on the bridle during all of this helps keep things under control as well. One other thing I've found over the years is that in 20 to 25 mph winds, the best way to control the canopy on the ground is to leave it on the ground. I have much more fun drinking beer in 25 mph winds than I do jumping. Prolly safer too.
alan
Now, at "critically low heights," the ground is the limiting factor. In the dust devil video I'm thinking of, airlocks probably wouldn't make a diff. But turbulence up higher, which may be to blame for a few incidents we've read about, might have been more recoverable before the ground came up with airlocks.
That said, I don't jump airlocks because I have not yet run across an airlocked canopy that worked for me.
-=-=-=-=-
Pull.
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