Home Page Idea

[skymama 35]

Hey Sangiro-
Here's something I thought of to go on the homepage, so I posted it here so you could get other people's opinions, in case it sucks.
I got so much out of the post by skybitch (or was it skybytch?) titled "shocking docking" where she asked what she might be doing wrong while she was docking. So many people wrote in and had great suggestions, and I even printed them out. What about some kind of learning type column, where all of us newbies could benefit from simple yet important information like the type that was provided. There could be all sorts of interesting tidbits on different subjects like RW, freeflying, canopy control, packing hints, etc.
For example, here's a subject that's fresh on my mind- I suck at being able to judge the winds, and adjust my pattern to reflect the changes in the winds being stronger or lighter, and still be able to hit my target. How can I perfect this so I'll be able to earn my "B" license?
Other things-
I hear alot about steering with the risers. Why would I want to do that, instead of just using the toggles?
How can I get better at landing on my feet? I usually go down onto my knees.
How can I get better at judging a spot? I usually just rely on other people's judgement to tell me when to go.
I got alot of useful information from everyone about what I needed in a jumpsuit. Maybe you could get a few factory reps for jumpsuits, and canopies to give some useful info. Like, what's the difference anyway between all the brand names of canopy suppliers, and how do I know which one would be right for me for my first one?
You all don't have to give me the answers now, I was just providing a few things that have been going through my mind, and might be going through other people's too. There's so much to learn, and so many experienced people we can learn from.
So, is anyone else interested in this kind of stuff, or am I the only clueless one out here? Andrea

[unclbennie 0]

Skymamma,
You are not the only clueless one out there, I was thinking that on the safety page maybe posting a question a week and seeing what kind of response was generated.
Just a thought
Karen

[skreamer 1]

Hi skymama
Don't think you're the only one with problems on their canopy control. I started doing my designated 5 consecutive accuracy landings yesterday, and the sight of me frantically sachaying in attempting to make the pit gave the spectators a good laugh.
Here's an idea I have for the site : how about every now and then we get a skydiving celebrity in for a chat room session? It is really hard for these guys to keep up with their personal email, so this might be a good idea for us all to *chat* with them and ask them some questions. Maybe the idea isn't feasible because of the technical problems (afterall they will be all over the world), but it would be kinda cool to be able to ask them some questions about their discipline and get some tips.
/s

[chronistin 0]

Good Idea!
could have spared me the looooong walk back on the day I thought I could steer a canopy kind of like a sailing boat... with halfwind
I guess that's called learning by doing
Andrea || Chronistin

[Grogs 0]

Hi Skymama. I know the questions you asked were just examples, but I'm sitting around bored at work and figured I'd try and answer some. I'm certainly no expert, but hopefully I can help a bit.

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For example, here's a subject that's fresh on my mind- I suck at being able to judge the winds, and adjust my pattern to reflect the changes in the winds being stronger or lighter, and still be able to hit my target. How can I perfect this so I'll be able to earn my "B" license?

Well, I'm still not great at this myself, but here's what I try and do:
There should be a point upwind of your target where you enter the 'pattern', somewhere at 500-1000'. Face the canopy upwind at this point, and look down at the ground to see how fast you're moving over it. This should give you an idea of how fast the canopy will be moving when you turn upwind on final. If the winds are strong (and thus your forward speed is slow), enter the pattern lower since you'll go downwind in a hurry, and when you turn to do your crosswind, don't pass your intended target very much since you won't be able to penetrate very much on final. You'll probably also want to shorten up your crosswind leg on high wind days, since when you're turned crosswind you'll probably still be getting blown downwind a bit. On low wind days, do just the opposite - start the pattern a bit higher, overshoot the target a bit more, and take a longer crosswind leg. In the end, it's still takes some practice to judge it right, but this will at least give you some guidelines to start with.

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I hear alot about steering with the risers. Why would I want to do that, instead of just using the toggles?

2 reasons come to mind. When you first open up the canopy, you can immediately grab a rear riser and steer away from a nearby canopy if you have to without fumbling around for your toggles. Front riser turns are more for swooping than anything else I think. When you make a hard turn with the toggles, you deform one half of the canopy, and your body gets thrown way out from underneath the canopy. When you release the toggle, the canopy has to recocer it's shape, and your body will oscillate back and forth a bit under the canopy before it returns to truly level flight. I've been told this can take as much as 3 seconds, and during this time the canopy won't flare properly. A front riser turn doesn't deform the canopy nearly as much and doesn't throw your body out like a toggle turn, so when you let up on a front riser turn you can flare almost immediately. This means front riser turns down low are much more forgiving since you can recover quickly and flare if you make a mistake. Front riser turns also make the canopy dive and lose altitude quickly, which causes the canopy to speed up. That's why people swooping their canopies usually do a hard front riser turn (or 2 hard turns in opposite directions) just before landing to generate speed for a long surf. Open high on a few jumps and play with all the control surfaces, front risers, rear risers, and toggles and see what the difference between them is.

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How can I get better at landing on my feet? I usually go down onto my knees.

Well, the 'standard' response seems to be practice, but something that might help is having someone video tape your landings. You'll be surprised at the difference between what you think is going on vs. what is really happening when you land.

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How can I get better at judging a spot? I usually just rely on other people's judgement to tell me when to go.

Again, practice is key. Talk to the folks on the ground about where the spot should be and the direction of the jump run. If possible, try and get them to draw it out on an overhead photo showing the direction of the jump run and the release point. Then go up on the plane, look out the door with an experienced spotter doing the actual spotting, and see if what you see from the door looks like what you saw on the aerial photo you were looking at from the ground.
Hope this helps a bit.
Blue ones,
Grogs

[skymama 35]

Wow, Grogs-
You da man!! Thanks so much for all the info. Let me know the next time you are bored at work. There's plenty more of those kinds of questions floatin' around in my head. Skymama

[froggie 0]

this sounds like a job for the not yet created DROPZONE PUB!

[airann 1]

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Man, you are SO RIGHT. I have had alot of legendary bad landings, (shut up my friends) and lately found out I only flare 1/2 way. I had no idea.
So, what you think you are doing and what you are actually doing all comes out in video. Not only for landings but for your freeflying skills as well. (or RW)
Clear Blue and Extra Alt,
AirAnn