Are you afraid of flying your canopy?

[leslieb 0]

I've got 1.. Guess you could call me a scardy cat. I made a few injuring mistakes in the first 50 jumps that have made me not such a fan. I'm planning on taking the next canopy course that comes along tho.... It's time :)

[Peej 0]

Absolutely not. Since i got into high performance canopy flight it's rare that you'll see me doing a fun jump that isn't a H&P or doing a two way freefly with another CPilot and we break off early and pull high.

Advertisio Rodriguez / Sky

[ROK 0]

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Do you enjoy your canopy flight as much as you free fall

Canopy flight is just as addictive as freefall for me.

When I stopped being a passenger, and started being a pilot, an entire new world opened it's gates.

When I punch into the beginning of my flare just above the ground and glide inches above wringing out every ounce of energy the fabric has left, I feel what the canopy is doing in my forearms. It's like my canopy becomes an extension of my body and not a separate entity...

I just started on my wingsuit journey, so now I get to fly twice on the same jump!

[Broke 0]

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When I punch into the beginning of my flare just above the ground and glide inches above wringing out every ounce of energy the fabric has left, I feel what the canopy is doing in my forearms. It's like my canopy becomes an extension of my body and not a separate entity...

That is beautiful

Divot your source for all things Hillbilly.
Anvil Brother 84
SCR 14192

[popsjumper 2]

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...I remember a couple hundred years ago, jumping a T-10 and realizing nuthin' but the itty bitty strings were keeping me from falling...

And I remember thinking:
1st thought: that the big piece of material over my head was not slowing me down very much.
2nd thought: Thank you bro' for making me do PLFs off that 8 ft platform.

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

[darkwing 4]

I enjoy freefall. The canopy ride is just a means to freefall again. I take canopy flight seriously though, it just doesn't do anything for me. I worry more about collisions under canopy than I do in freefall. It is harder to keep track of everyone under canopy, especially that you have to keep track of others who weren't even on the dive with you.

-- Jeff
My Skydiving History

[cocheese 0]

There comes a time when the landing is 50% of the fun, 50% of your heart beats, and 50% of what makes you smile after the dive. I wish that all skydivers could stay in the sport long enough to feel this. Damn, i need a swoop.

[2fat2fly 0]

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I remember a couple eons ago, realizing nuthin' but some feathers and a little wax were keeping me from falling...

Gear fear...what rush!

Edited for accuracy.

I regret that normally I don't have as much time to play under canopy as I would like.

I am not the man. But the man knows my name...and he's worried

[L.O. 0]

I am right on the verge of enjoying the canopy flight more then the freefall. I have at least 4000 High/P canopy jumps. I love my fast canopy so much.I also have at least 500 crew jumps. So canopy stuff is my thing.

I always have that tiny fear in the back of my mind though. It keeps me from doing things that kill me (or at least keeping those things toned down).

It isn't a big enough fear, because I still push well beyond the edge on a regular basis.

Obviously those in the sport don't fear the canopy flight enough, it kills more of us then anything else.

We need to start being more cautious and maybe even a little frightened. Maybe then we will stop dieing so often under canopy.

Think on that one.

Be afraid maybe even very afraid it might save your life.

HPDBs, I hate those guys.
AFB, charter member.

[phoenixlpr 0]

I'm not afraid of them, but I fear them. Specially for the first 10-15 jumps. Canopies are wild creatures: they bite and hurt you if they fill that you know everything better....

[skybytch 259]

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There comes a time when the landing is 50% of the fun, 50% of your heart beats, and 50% of what makes you smile after the dive. I wish that all skydivers could stay in the sport long enough to feel this.

It's not a matter of time in sport or number of jumps. It's not inevitable that every jumper will want to swoop eventually. There are many very good canopy pilots who don't swoop and never will. There are also many people who would like to swoop but don't because for whatever reason the added risk that is involved in swooping is not something they can accept.

I wish all skydivers could stay in the sport long enough to realize that how they land or what they do in freefall does not make them better skydivers than those who choose to fly their bodies and/or canopies differently.

[Lastchance 0]

I love canopy flight. I'm always sorry to see it end. I love being up there all by myself enjoying the ride and the scenery. I've always loved being as far off the ground as possible. I've never quite understood why everybody is in such a big hurry to get to the ground. You've payed for the skydive, so why not make it last as long as possible. If I had my way I'd be doing hop and pops at 10,000 almost every time. This is not to say that I don't like freefall. I just like the dive to last as long as possible.

I may be getting old but I got to see all the cool bands.

[DougH 270]

I respect that my canopy can kill me if I fawk up. I don't fear it or let myself get nervous about flying it because that will only slow me down. A scared reaction is usually a stupid reaction.

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[cocheese 0]

It doesn't have to be a swoop. It can be an accuracy landing or a demo or maybe just landing on a beach.

High performance landings are caused by boredom with normal ones.

To be a rock and not to roll......

[rave4funn 0]

I finally got my own rig last week. Before that I was flying student gear(Manta 288 or Navigator 260 at best). I was not afraid of flying those canopies; it was simply not fun. Now that I've got my own rig with a smaller more responsive canopy(Spectre 210), I love flying my canopy (the nine or so jumps I've made on it). One one jump, I got out at 14K and threw out at 10K to really be able to play under my new canopy. It was amazing! I had enough time to try pretty much everything I could think of under canopy. I think I may do that a couple times a month from now on.

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http://www.myspace.com/rave4funn

[AnKaLi 0]

I love being under canopy, it's my favorite part right now as an IAD student. When I was struggling with my door issues, my instructor and I decided "once you get out, you get a canopy ride!" was the way to get me out the door. It worked for awhile too :)
I cannot wait to get under something smaller so that I can play with it more, and fly it more, right now I'm under a tuna-boat 230 and I can't really practice anything with the front risers or harness turns. I took Germain's canopy control course a few weeks ago, and learned a lot of valuable information. I cannot wait to utilize it more after I get more experience in the air!

[flyinchicken 0]

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Making aggressive turns low to the ground is NEVER a good idea.

Ok I'm going to throw myslef to the wolves. I disagree. Totally. I have had two canopies now and on both I taught myself EVERYTHING I possibly could under both, some who didn't understand what I was doing thought I was an idiot. Well, I CAN avoid an object close to the ground with a flat turn, and I KNOW how fast my canopy will get while doing it. So far the day hasn't come when a building or tree is right in front of me at a low altitude, but I'm ready for it.

I think manuvers should be practiced up high first then put yourself out last pull high let everyone land and go for trying a few very GENTLE s turns keeping you canopy flatter(you know how to do this cause you have done it up high) on the second leg and beginning of your final. It is very interesting to see how much speed you do get even from this slight maneuver, and with the ground closer, you get reference.

"Diligent observation leads to pure abstraction". Lari Pittman

[AFFI 0]

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Making aggressive turns low to the ground is NEVER a good idea.

Ok I'm going to throw myslef to the wolves. I disagree. Totally.

I am eager to expand my understanding and knowledge, always.
Can you please explain when making aggressive turns low (-150'agl) to the ground is a good idea?

Mykel AFF-I10
Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

[ladyhawke 0]

I LOVE FLYING MY CANOPY! It's what I live for! Really! As soon as I pull my pilot chute out, the skydive begins for me. I humor my friends and do the 2, 3 & 4 ways with them. But to me that is work and the canopy is my fun! I love to practice flat turns and do spirals. I love to look at the land and the clouds and the other canopies. I hope one day a hawk will fly with me! HA! It just makes me smile! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!! Oh, I love the landing part too (mainly when I stand it up not the plf so much)!
:)

"It is our choices that show what we truly are far more than our abilities." - A. Dumbledore

[trigger 0]

I think canopy flight is the single most important part of the skydive.

Incidents reports say it all,more people are killed under perfectly functioning canopies than anything else.

It doesn't matter what you jump,you should learn to love that thing,that means remaining totally focused on the flight,being aware of others around you,honing you accuracy skills. If you land off in a tight area with limited or no outs you better have your shit together.

Yes you guessed it canopy flight is the most important part of my skydive

.CHOP WOOD COLLECT WATER.

[Butters 0]

I don't love flying my canopy (but I don't hate it either). It is a means to an end. I keep my head on a swivel while I practice things over and over and over and ...

"That looks dangerous." Leopold Stotch