New to the sport

[flymissionary 0]

Hey guys...I'm pretty new to the sport...I've been to the DZ twice now and have made 4 jumps. I love it...it's amazing. I'm doing a static line training program to get my license. I'm not really having any troubles flying the canopy as I'm a pilot and a lot of it suprisingly relates with that.

One of my issues so far are my landings. I'm not able to stand them up yet. The first time I was out there I had a few nice slides but came down to my butt...but at least they were soft. This last time I came out I tried to put my feet down but came down really hard and bruised my heel pretty good...was a little painful I'm not gonna lie. I was told not to look at the ground that I would pick my feet up and to look at the horizon...but when I did that this time I nailed in pretty hard. Do ya'll have any tips and tricks that might help me out on standing these up my next time out? Thanks guys...

[BIGUN 1,077]

Neither the ground or the horizon... Depending on the canopy.. just like an aircraft... approximately 45 degrees until you find the glide slope. Talk to your instructors about the type of flare you should be doing on that particular canopy. Some are a full one-step flare... others a three-staged, etc.

Finally, please stop butt-sliding and take the PLF/R (fall/roll) like you learned in class. Practice it some more if needed.

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[AggieDave 6]

Stand up landings are NOT the indicator of a good landing. A proper flare that you FINISH (thank you Scott) is a good landing. If something is amiss and you toss out a PLF, then I will applaud you. If you try to pull out a stand up landing and break your leg, then we'll all make fun of you while drinking beer after someone drives you to the ER.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[popsjumper 2]

Quote

Finally, please stop butt-sliding and take the PLF/R (fall/roll) like you learned in class. Practice it some more if needed.

Worth repeating.
Picture what could have happened if your butt-slide hit as hard as the one where you bruised your heel.

You're a pilot. Where are you looking when you land your plane? At the end of the runway at the tip of your nose? At the clouds? At the far end of the runway? Where? Canopy no different in the big scheme of things.

See if you can get someone to video your landings. A pic is worth a thousand words.
FUll flare is important. PLF is important.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[Hellis 0]

i also had the same problem as you earlier.
every time i got below 100 feet my only thought was: how bad is it going to hurt this time

what helped me a lot was to flare in two stages.
at about 10-12 feet i pull the breaks down to head-shoulder height so the canopy will slow down a little.
after that you just flare as normal at about 6 feet.

i don't want you to try my advice until someone more experienced says its "ok".
im just a beginner as you.

[flymissionary 0]

Well I would like to clarify a little. When I did my butt sliding...I landed on my feet and just slid along a bit...then just slowly eased down.

When I actually hit my heel...I was trying to do a PLF...though I landed into the side of a small berm was the reason I hit my heel so hard.

I like the idea of the two stage flare...seems like a good way to slow down and have a softer landing...as long as I remember to finish off the flare before the ground.