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Thoughts on using a weighbelt before purchasing a smaller canopy?

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Hi everyone,

I recently recieved my solo cert and have been enjoying the sport since day one. I have around 23 jumps right now and my instructors constantly praise me on how well I picked up everything. I just need 2 or 3 more coach jumps to get my A. I started on a 288 manta and have been downsizing quickly using borrowed gear. I am currently jumping a spectre 210 I have borrowed from my instructors and its pretty awesome. The openings are great and it flies nice and fast. Landings are a breeze as well. So far every jump I made I have stood it up anywhere between 5-20 feet from the center of the landing area, my instructors are really impressed. My AFF instructor decided to let me try the 210 for my last 3-4 jumps and he thinks I can prolly go down a little, hes that impressed!!

My problem is I can't really afford new gear right now so I would like to keep borrowing for the time being (beer is still cheaper than a new rig ;).) My instructor suggested a 190 would be a lot of fun for me so I was thinking of using this weight belt they give to this smaller guy/girl couple and adding 20 pounds. That way I would have, rouhgly, the same wingloading as if I was jumping a 190.

Do you guys think using a weightbelt is a valid method for testing something out before I purchase my own rig? I figure the wingloading should downscale properly that it will give me a good indication of if I can do it. I'm just about to head out to the DZ and try it, its such a beautiful day! Let me know what you think

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I dont have an answer but rather another question on this.

Doesnt a smaller wing have certain characteristics about them other than wing loading?

ie.. A 190 will still fly different than a 210 with the same wingloading.

Please correct me if I'm wrong and sorry for semi-hijacking this thread.
SONIC WOODY #146

There is a fine line between cockiness and confidence -- which side of the line are you on?

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Not a good Idea. It's a LOT of weight to be wearing as a new jumper.

Faster fallrate during the skydive.
Faster fallrate at opening time.
Heavier load on the legs.
If you need to use the reserve, it will be loaded an extra 20 pounds.
Crash landings are already no fun. Crash landings with weights are even less fun.

A Spectre is a docile canopy. Loading it up won't make much difference in performance that you as a new jumper will notice.

Explore the flight range of the canopy you're using now and be happy with it. You've only just begun to understand canopy flight.

Good luck
My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

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The one time i wore a serious amout of lead, I landed f*cking miles away. A really sweaty walk back.

I also knew someone that had their fatal incident wearing more weight than they were happy with. It wasn't the main cause, it probably didn't even contribute - but it's another complication, another thing to worry about - and that may have been a tiny littly factor, taking a fraction of their concentration off the important bits of the skydive.

Why bother? Weight is for fallrate. If you don't -need- it, I fail to understand why the hell you'd want to bother with it!

There is a video online of some guy swooping a 280 (or something). There are also some pretty cool vids of people bouncing under little canopies. Look n learn.

edit: To answer your question. Yep. Good idea when you're ready fo it. I'd do it (so probably a bad idea!). Obviously can't say whether you are or are not though.

---------------------------------------
Ex-University of Bristol Skydiving Club
www.skydivebristoluni.com

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Keep jumping the 210 without weights. Get to work doing everything on Billvons downsizing check list. This will get you ready for the downsize before you purchase. Then before you purchase gear, demo or borrow a few different canopies in the size that you think you might buy, then decide. Also you did not include your weight in the original post. If your weight is much more than 170 lbs than moving down to a 190 might not be a good idea right now anyways.

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praise me on how well I picked up everything........Landings are a breeze as well...........I figure the wingloading should downscale properly



Here we go again.[:/]

You have 23 jumps, why are you is such a hurry to downsize. There is nothing you can learn on a 190 that you can't learn on a 210. And because the canopy is a bit more forgiving you might just learn faster. Slow down and learn to enjoy the sport.

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I figure the wingloading should downscale properly



And how did you figure that the wingloading would scale? Did you figure the other factors of a smaller canopy into this "downscale".
My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

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So you are considering wearing a 20 lb weight belt with the 210 sq ft canopy, to simulate the flight characteristics of a 190 sq ft canopy? Seems like a reasonable question to me! :)
But at 23 jumps I wouldn't wear weight belts just yet. In my newbie opinion, you'd be safer under the Spectre 190 "plain" than the Spectre 210 with a weight belt.

And I also think you'd be better off with some "live" PLF practice under a larger canopy! Sometime in the future you'll really need to PLF, but if you've just stood up your first 65 jumps, sounds like a recipe for tib-fib/ broken anke. My .02 - biff in a couple! :D LOL not really, but PLF a couple times while you do Billvon's downsizing checklist.

I bought a Spectre 190 loaded at 1.15 with 10 jumps :D, then let it sit in my closet until I had my own rig then jumped it on jump # 46 with my instructors recommendation. Still having a LOT of fun with it 150 jumps later, realax, enjoy the sport!

As the old guys say, things don't scale linearly with canopies, in real life. Although the wt/sq ft remains constant other things involved don't remain constant (air density, line trim/responsiveness etc).

If you've really stood up all your first 23 jumps in or next to the peas, obviously that's good. But/and, getting too-aggressive advice from your peers and instructors may be a continuing problem/hazard for you. Be sure to tell an old guy you are asking advice from (at the dz) your jump numbers when you ask them about things like this!

Cheers & good luck!
:)

You can have it good, fast, or cheap: pick two.

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Hi everyone,

...so I was thinking of using this weight belt they give to this smaller guy/girl couple and adding 20 pounds. That way I would have, rouhgly, the same wingloading as if I was jumping a 190.

Do you guys think using a weightbelt is a valid method for testing something out before I purchase my own rig? I figure the wingloading should downscale properly that it will give me a good indication of if I can do it. I'm just about to head out to the DZ and try it, its such a beautiful day! Let me know what you think



Unfortunately, wingloading- canopy size and performance do not scale.

Also the increase in wingloading you are achieving with an extra 20lbs is not that significant of a change. If your numbers are correct, you will aways be jumping a larger canopy than others for at least the next 500 jumps. A 190 is not an unreasonable size/ wingloading for your experince level. I wouldn't recommend going to a size smaller than 190 for at least 200-300 jumps.:)
"Buttons aren't toys." - Trillian
Ken

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