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dorbie

Kiting your canopy - was: Demo injury

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Is a very important skill that we should ALL practise.... I don't see very many skydivers doing so but IMO it should be taught & practised much more.

Get out there with you canopies on a windy day people - One day, it COULD save you a sprained ankle (or worse).



Yup.

BUT - do it away from a DZ, or on a hop and pop where you've the landing area to youself.

People kiting their canopies in the landing area of a dz is dangerous, ignorant and selfish. It's a personal bug bear of mine.
When you're skydiving, land. Get your canopy down and under control. There are people coming in behind you...

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People kiting their canopies in the landing area of a dz is dangerous, ignorant and selfish. It's a personal bug bear of mine.




Good, someone else agrees...I'm glad it's not just me!



That's a strawman.

This is not about kiting your canopy in the landing area, it's about using kiting skills to get your canopy down quickly and safely.

You can practice anywhere.

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well i've had enough of listening to people argue about this... today after landing i let the toggles up after my weight was off loaded. the canopy came overheard and flew very well, winds 090 @20 Gusting 26. sure enough i wasnt dragged at all. i took a step or two back as well but i could have remained in place just fine. once the canopy was overhead i quickly stalled via rear risers and made sure to completely get it tail forward. then i bundled my lines and walked right in. very easy technique. i think this argument should go a different direction. we should teach people how to fly canopies. every AFF should have a dedicated canopy control course of sorts. the canopy is what is causing alot of needless injuries. if people cant even kite a canopy then i agree they should not be jumping in winds where this technique is helpful. but lets teach people and instruct new jumpers to learn more about the wing the rely on. so instead of bashing this concept. try teaching it on a windy day. oh and i also fly airplanes, helicopters and canopies. each is different but work on the same principles. educate yourselves and never stop learning.



Thanks for trying it instead of just offering an opinion.

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The kind of kiting I do, that I think he's talking about in the landing area, is simply to place the toggles back up high, to avoid having the canopy fall behind still inflated, and then immediately collapse it. I learned the technique in a Brian Germain class.

It takes maybe an extra second (literally), but it means that I don't have to fight the canopy to get it collapsed. Overall it's better control of the canopy on the ground when it's at all windy out.

Wendy P.
There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

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Overall it's better control of the canopy on the ground when it's at all windy out.



Not to be confused with Windsock Wendy trying to land.
"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

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:P

Edit to add: No one tries to land. One always succeeds in landing.

Wendy P.
There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

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Interesting. I have been "slamming" my canopy down in front of me since right after I got my first canopy. After my forward motion stops and I have my feet firmly on the ground. I reach up behind the rear risers, just below the lines. I push on the risers while bending at the waist and I'm done. Seemed like the simplest solution at the time. The one drawback is that when I want to kite I have to make a VERY conscious effort not to "slam" my canopy down when I land.

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The kind of kiting I do, that I think he's talking about in the landing area, is simply to place the toggles back up high, to avoid having the canopy fall behind still inflated, and then immediately collapse it. I learned the technique in a Brian Germain class.

It takes maybe an extra second (literally), but it means that I don't have to fight the canopy to get it collapsed. Overall it's better control of the canopy on the ground when it's at all windy out.

Wendy P.



Exactly, this is why I called the case against kiting as an argument against this technique a straw man although I wasn't aware this was being taught by Germain (although I have since seen some military jumpers in training use the technique). It makes some of the reactions to this suggestion look quite foolish.

I'm not averse to kiting personally but it depends on the circumstances, LZ etc.

A lot of it has to do with perception and what people are used to/comfortable with.

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well, this post died off for a while, however i thought i would just bring it back to say that i still land, quickly kite the canopy and collapse via rears. last weekend was a standard for windy hawaii. winds are generally 20+ all the time. i never once had to fight, strain, or battle a canopy, however i personally watched an entire load of upjumpers get dragged in the same wind. take a guess what they were trying to do... yep one toggle reel in. i personally feel more worried about people getting hurt by being dragged, or landing collisions due to one of those being dragged, than i ever would about someone being stationary with a predictably flying canopy for 4 seconds prior to quickly and efficiently collapsing it. i dunno, just my opinion, and i still think we need better canopy courses at the AFF level!!!

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