Flare!!!!

[Jeji 0]

I don't know why I can't seen to get this part of my jump right!!!!! I don't know if I just have lousy depth perception or I just need to take up knitting!!!!!!! My last jump was my first off the radio and it went great, just 15 ft from the peas, but I flared 10' too high. So yesterday I redid my L-6 (didn't do my backloop) off the radio still and flared aout 20' too high. Hit the ground like a sack of you-know-what!!! Getting REALLY good at my PLF!! They did move me up to my L-7 because I have demonstrated that I have all of the survival skills I need at this point, BUT they are putting me back on the radio so I can work on my flare. I swear it looks like 6' when I pull those toggles at 25'!!!!!!!! Any advice whould be greatly appriciated!!!
Jeji

[OmriMon 0]

the trick is looking at the horizon and not down below u, u loose all depth perception if u look down, look at the horizon and u'll do fine
Free Skies,
Omri

[PLFKING 3]

Why does this topic seem so familiar to me ? Oh, that's right.......because I only have 7 stand-up landings in 40 total jumps........
Jeji, you have my sympathies.........if you figure it out, be sure to e-mail me !
They don't call me the PLF King because I have blue blood.

[GeekStreak 0]

I did that on my first jump... a little too much ground-fixation, fear or whatever. It wasn't a pretty landing.
Before my second jump one of the instructors gave me a tip that helped me. He said, "When it looks like you could kick somebody standing below you in the head, flare."
It worked for me. I stood that landing. 1111,
GeekStreak

[Merrick 0]

Quote

"the trick is looking at the horizon and not down below u, u loose all depth perception if u look down, look at the horizon and u'll do fine"

Omri is absolutely right... A loong time ago, while I was still a student & still on radio, I posted a question about "Depth Perception," I was almost convinced that there was something wrong with me... 2ft looked just like 20ft & visa versa. Someone gave me this same advice & I never had problems with flaring too high/low again (well, maybe a few times)... Once I was off radio, I never really had any trouble with my landings.
The 'trick' that Omri explains allows the view of the ground to come up in your perriphial vision, and - at least for me - your depth perception is a lot more dominant that way..... Just like in freefall, 'relax,' you'll do just fine!
I don't know how to (or if you even can) bring up threads from the Old dz.com, or I would post it for you... there was a lot of good advice in there... this is just what works for me.
"OMG there I was, thought I was going to die.. she walks in with a can of motoroil & jumpercables.."

[DiverDown 0]

My first few jumps I was doing the same thing, beginning my flare about twice as high as I should have. One of the jumpmasters who watched my landing suggested I try looking down to the ground at about a 45 degree angle to help with the depth perception. It worked! (At least so far). Looking at my log book I now have 28 jumps with the last 24 being standups. Now if I can just land on the actual drop zone more often it'll all be good. (I swear the DZ is smaller than the floor plan of my house).

[Pammi 0]

I feel for ya. I still land badly most of the time. I stand it up maybe once in every 4 or 5 jumps! Just be careful, slide it in or PLF if you have to, and buy good stain remover until you get the hang of it :)
Pammi
Some new pics.

[HotLoad 0]

Look on the ground in front of you, find the spot that is not moving. this is where you're going to land. I had some difficulty in getting my flare right while using the horizon as a reference. what I do is set up for landing, and as the ground really starts to come up at me, I glance over to my side and take note of how high I am in relation to known objects/ ground. You do not have the same sensation of the groung coming up at you that you get when spotting from the horizon in front of you. Only use it as a reference, DO NOT keep lookingover your shoulder as you land. It has really helped me to make soft landings. The main thing is experience, and the only way to get that is by making jumps.......heehee.

[Dutchboy 0]

Like others have said look in front of you and not down. Also, if you tend to flair early try to force yourself to count to two after you think you should flare before you really do it.
The Dutchboy
http://www.geocities.com/ppolstra

[Merrick 0]

Quote

"I had some difficulty in getting my flare right while using the horizon as a reference."

Oh I agree... using the horizon as a "reference" for your flare is def not the thing to do... The "trick" is to simply look out in front of you, yes, at about a 45 degree angle & you will be able to see the ground coming up at you much more clearly. I've also looked out to my right/left side to get a reference to the ground, which works OK too. The accuracy trick (finding the spot on the ground that doesn't move) is a good idea too, but may be a little difficult for a student on final approach.
The best thing to do is to talk to your instructors, ask them about suggestions you've gotten here, and accept their opinions/feedback as gold.... they know you, & have seen you fly & will be able to critique you better than we probably can!
"OMG there I was, thought I was going to die.. she walks in with a can of motoroil & jumpercables.."

[Jeji 0]

Thank you everyone for all of the input. I think I do fixate entirely too much on the ground right in front of me. Glad I get to graduate AFF next week (weather, babysitter depending) but it won't be quite so sweet with that radio back on me!! Thinking back to my L-1 I remember them saying over the radio to not look at the ground and me thinking, "WHAT!" I'll let you all know how the next one goes. Thank you all!!!
Jeji

[msdeva 0]

I go by the 3 'oh shit' rule:
The first time you say 'oh shit' - don't flare
The second time you say 'oh shit' - don't flare
The third time you say 'oh shit' - FLARE
I didn't make this rule up - but recently tried it as I just downsized to my pretty mardi-gras colored Sabre 150. I was coming at the ground alot faster than I was used to and wound up flaring way too high - did a nice superman slide across the ground - in a friends suit(!). A friend of mine saw this and mentioned the 3 'oh shit' rule. The next jump - I only did 2 'oh shit's and still flared too high - but only went to one knee. The 3rd jump on my lovely new canopy I followed the rule and have only had stand up landings since!!! (15 in a row) I even jumped in my bikini last weekend - pretty daring for someone who had regularly fallen onto her knees every landing. I now have 49 jumps and am finally confident in my ability to land - yea!
Hope this helps!
Deva

[FallingMarc 0]

I must be wierd or something, I've never had trouble with flaring too high, but a couple of times I've been coming in on final, thinking I'm getting close, so I start to flare, but then I think "wow, I've still got plenty of room up here, I'll just flare slowly and-SMACK!"
Marc

[DiverDown 0]

I just came across this article (kinda long) on canopy flight. Has some good tips on the flare about halfway through. A good read.
http://www.pierltd.com/new/main/flyingthecanopy.htm

[skymama 35]

I was also really bad at judging the flair, but have stood up my last 8 jumps. Looking out into the horizon and waiting an extra second did it for me. But mostly, I think going to the dz more often and doing more jumps each day has really helped by just getting a better perception of what the ground looks like at the right flair time. Although, doing that has really put a dent in my wallet since I'm still renting equipment!
Andrea
"Up high, I feel like I'm alive for the very first time"...Creed