Downwind Landing

[Scrumpot 1]

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Another question, is it better to have the brakes down just below your rib cage for the PLF?

If you flare fully, and EVENLY ...(remember, you still have a canopy flying over your head during all of this!), by drawing your arms -in- together, in front of you, hands coming together at your crotch... will lessen the chance of them getting injured too. This is the proper procedure for a "standard" PLF as well. By understanding this, and PRACTICING this will also help you resist the instinct to "reach" for the ground, which if done with either your feet -or- your hands is always a mistake.

coitus non circum - Moab Stone

[billvon 2,400]

>Another question, is it better to have the brakes down just below
> your rib cage for the PLF?

I think we're talking about two different situations here.

There's a pretty standard technique to PLFing with a student canopy that involves a full flare, such that you PLF with your hands near your crotch. That's a good position to protect yourself in low-forward-speed falls of the sort you get with a student canopy.

Once you start jumping fster canopies in higher winds (i.e. you put yourself at risk for really fast downwind landings) you MUST be able to level yourself out a few inches above the ground without worrying about where you put your hands. If you're jumping a 1:1 canopy and you're still asking where your hands should be on landing, it's absolutely critical to get canopy training such that you can land the canopy safely before you someday find yourself having to land downwind.

When you're landing a Manta, it's reasonable to say things like "your hands should be here after the flare." Once you get to higher performance canopies that question is no longer usefu;. It's like a new driver asking you "how many inches, exactly, should I depress the brake pedal if I want to avoid hitting the car in front of me?" If they ask that question, they need more practice stopping, not the answer "exactly 2 and 3/4 inches."

So I think my answer to your question would be "do whatever you have to do with your hands to give you a good landing, but keep your elbows in to protect them" - at least, on higher performance canopies.

[udder 0]

As a lowly student I never thought about the implications for someone on a higher performance canopy. But at least I have things cleared up.
Cheers

"In one way or the other, I'm a bad brother. Word to the motherf**ker." Eazy-E