Hey guys need some help on standing the F up

[Darius11 12]

I have 21 jumps. My landings, and the canopy part of my jumps is usually the easiest and funniest parts for me. Here is my problem. I only have 3 stand up landings most have been on target but no matter how I come in I will automatically roll. I have been told that I could have stood it up many times, but I think I took the AFF always be ready for a PLF to heart. And a PLF has saved my ass once.

So what do I do?
My thought process goes like this. Ok landing looks good flair looks good Hmmmmm risk standing up or get ready for PLF. Most of the time I choose PLF or I should say a roll.

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[BBKid 0]

Have a sexy lady standing by the landing area!

Just kidding! Seriously, there's nothing wrong with rolling all the time, I know people with 1000's of jumps who still PLF 50% of their landings...

NOTE: This is just what I would do - CHECK WITH YOUR S&TA!!! Sorry for shouting!

Ask someone to watch you land, or give you radio talkdowns - it may be that your flare is a little early (so you come down hard), or a little late (so you don't bleed off enough forward speed), and try varying the point at which you flare.

I haven't checked how many jumps you have or what canopy you use, but if it's ZP, see if you can try jumping a canopy one size bigger, so you will be coming in slower. If it's F111 (or a student canopy), try a larger or equal size ZP canopy, to give you the extra lift on flare.

Basically, it's always seemed to me that if you don't have a lot of vertical momentum, you won't crumple to the ground, and if you don't have a lot of forward momentum, you won't roll forward.

I am not an instructor - I give out BAD advice!

Edit: I've just seen you jump a Navigator 260 - see if you can get hold of a Navigator 280 from anywhere. I was having trouble landing PD-280's when I was on static line, then jumped a 280 Navigator for a couple of jumps, and it halped me feel what a good flare is like, rather than just flare and wait until my feet hit the ground.

Nick
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"I've pierced my foot on a spike!!!"

[wmw999 2,148]

One thing you can do is to look out on the horizon (or at least no more than 45 degrees down) as you begin your flare. Things seem to happen a little slower then without the ground rushing up at you, and you can react to the speed of the landing and the feel of the flare a little better.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[bluewaterstream 0]

Take a canopy course.

[cvfd1399 0]

STUDENT EXPERIENCE BELOW
I am in the same boat. What is starting to help me is to not rule out a PLF for safety sake, but stay focused on standing it up. Also I had a problem with trying to reach the ground with my feet instead of letting the ground come to me leaving me all sprawled out not in a good position to spring or jogg off any extra speed when I touch down. So I started calming down, not looking straight down, and putting my mind on waiting for the ground to come to me and stand up. One thing that I am also doing is flaring too late. I have always felt that it is better to roll off a late flare than to drop 10 feet out of the air on a early flare. I am now starting earlier on the flare and holding it out. It feels really wierd to the point where I think I need to let up the toggles or it will stall, but if I hold it everything falls into place. I jump a super tug boat of a canopy(370' F-111) in hot/humid weather and flare from 1/2-full is like doing tricep extensions with 50 pounds attached to each line. Up high flares seem easy(possibly due to differences in altitude density above 2k) but I really did not notice how long it took or how much altitude I went through to fully flare it out. I started practice flaring and counting how long it took to go to a full flare. That gave me a little knowledge on when to flare v.s how long it takes for me to go to 100% brakes and for the canopy to fully respond. I constantly remind myself when hearing people talk about this, and reading posts about it is that I fly a different canopy and will most likley get different results. Like I said above this is my experiences with a large canopy and it might help you. If you care to try any of it ASK ST&A or INSTRUCTOR first it's always best.

[par 0]

Hi darius am i wrong, or you are from lithuania? :)

[Darius11 12]

No i live in the US but i am from Iran

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[happythoughts 0]

1. Have a friend video your landing from the ground so that you can really see what you are doing, not just what you think you are doing. It may surprise you.

2. Don't look down at your feet (I know that is tough to do). Look out 200 feet ahead of you. Get the big picture.

3. Make sure your arms are pulling your toggles completely down.

4. Get a local instructor to watch the tape of your landings.

[wgrayw 0]

Yo' Darius...all ya gotta do is ask. We've got some great instructors and canopy pilots at Jumptown.I'm sure any of the staff would be happy to answer your questions and jump with you. In fact why don't you come see me on Saturday or Sunday July 17, 18 and I would be glad to work with you and help get you some stand ups on your new gear!

Gray

[themitchyone 0]

Well, at least you've got the PLF down. There's a few times when I should have PLF'd but ended up coming in sliding on my belly. Not so fun to get dirt up the nose .

Anyway, I had a few good landings before my 20s, but it wasn't until recently when I've been able to land consistently on my feet. I think a few factors were involved. One, early on I was afraid to move the toggles too much on landing for fear of low turns, but this only worked against me. I took my pilot friend's advice about how landing a canopy is just like landing a plane. You need to make constant little adjustments (nothing below the ears). Also, I started using the canopy rentals as opposed to the student canopies. They fly faster which is better for flaring. They seem to flare considerably easier. Finally, there was a mental component for me. On earlier jumps instead of flaring completely, I was stopping short, fearing the ground, and sort of bracing for the fall. Maybe you are doing this, too? It took me a while to get over this, to have confidence and trust myself to flare fully and fly the canopy until my feet are on the ground.

You'll get it, too!

-Michele

"If the Bible has taught us nothing else, and it hasn't, it's that girls should stick to girl's sports such as hot oil wrestling and foxy boxing." - Homer Simpson

[Shydi 0]

Hey all,
I actually am in the same boat with my AFF training. On Sunday, I finally did my first stand up landing and it felt so awesome!!! I experienced the sweet spot on my oversized student rig and touched down so softly. Of course, the next jump, I hesitated and didn't keep running/jogging out the landing. I am telling myself that it is practice, practice, practice. And, as everyone else has said, ask someone. I had one of my AFF instructors watch me and he gave me some great advice.

Dianna

[Amazon 7]

Quote

I finally did my first stand up landing and it felt so awesome

Way to go DI.......

A stand up landing is all in the timing and that timing changes on just about every jump depending on temperature and wind conditions.

I always look out to where I am going to be actually landing. Looking down at your feet is nearly an impossible way to gauge the landing when its rushing past. Looking out in front of you to where you are actually going to be contacting the ground helps immensely.

The next thing is what kind of canopy it is. Is it a very lightly loaded single flare kinda canopy or a staged flare where you have to fly the canopy to a stop. If I am flying my Triathalon.. which is similar to many student canopys.. I wait till I am about 5 ft off the ground and start a single steady flare which rocks me back ever so slightly and pops me into a very nice stand under almost any wind conditions( except for Byron... landing a 1 to 1 wingloaded canopy in 25MPH winds is challenging)

I always think to myself to hold the beginning of the flare until the ground is REALLLY starting to scare me....and that is usually when my feet are at about 4 to 5 ft....its what works for me.. your mileage may vary.