Target Fixation

[skymama 35]

At 200 jumps, I decided to take some more canopy classes with Scott Miller from PD on Sunday. I can fly my canopy adequately, and I've landed on my feet in front of the dz for the past 75 jumps or so. I even get a sweet little glide out of my Sabre 2 170 now on my landings. But, I wanted to know more about my canopy and get better at my accuracy before I consider downsizing.

So, on my first jump with Scott, we talked a lot about what I needed to do with my patterns to hit my target, the peas for simplicity, and off I went. It was a very low-wind morning. As I was coming in on my final, I was still trying real hard to hit the peas but because of the winds being so low, I saw that I was going to overshoot. On any normal day, I would have just picked an alternate spot and landed fine. But, since I was being videoed by Scott, I was trying real hard to hit my spot.

Well, I fixated on my target, and I did exactly the wrong thing for my canopy- I pulled a little on the brakes. Sounds good in theory, brakes slow you down on a car after all. But, of course especially in no winds they only slow down your vertical descent, they actually make your horizontal descent go out further. So, I shot over the top of the peas, and like an idiot put my canopy back up to a full glide, which kind of gave me a surge forward and left me with very little to work with on my flare. As a result, I went skidding on my ass across the runway! Fortunately, the only thing I hurt was my pride (I knew better!) and a cheap pair of pants had the seat torn out of them.

I'm just posting this as a little helpful hint for the newbies, or anyone out there, to not get fixated on your landing spot. And, I just want to add, my other landings after that were just fine!

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[Unutsch 0]

I know it's not related to your post, but in a way it is.
2 years ago, when I was still jumping on an old Raider 220 (my first canopy - I LUVD iT!!!), I got so fixated into making a 90° right turn with my toggles prior to landing, that even when i realized that I was to low to land it gently, I went on and made the whole 90°.
Thank god nothing happened to me, but I made a 3 meters long canal in, ehmm, I don't know how it's called: the round thingy on most of the DZ's where the accuracy jumpers land, as I swooped on my chest and stomach!!!

Check out the site of the Fallen Angels FreeflY Organisation:
http://www.padliangeli.org

[dropdeded 0]

But, of course especially in no winds they only slow down your vertical descent, they actually make your horizontal descent go out further. So, I shot over the top of the peas

Paying attention here,filing info,thanks
dropdeded

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The Dude Abides.
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[skydiverbrian 0]

I know how you feel. As I recall earlier this summer, someone we both know hooked their canopy over the wind flag near the packing tent. At least he could blame it on an unfamiliar landing area.

In a world full of people, only some want to fly... isn't that crazy! --Seal

[riddler 0]

Hmm - visualizing skymama in pants with no seat. Mmmm.
Anyway, I have a fixation problem with with landing too, but it starts higher. I feel like getting to the target is my strongest skill right now, but I find myself getting visually fixated on the target - starting at about 1,000 feet.
I think this is not a good thing. The landing area is like a funnel - as you get closer to the ground, people under canopy get closer to each other trying to make the landing area. I think it's even more important to keep your head on a swivel and keep looking around for others as you get ready to land.
I have to force myself to think about others when I land. From about 2,000 feet, I try to know where every other canopy is in the air and I try to determine the order that I am going to land (i.e. who lands before me and who lands after). Of course, many people try their hardest to foil my mental picture by spiraling down right over the peas, but I adjust when that happens. Usually by 500 feet, I know who is before me and who is after and I am working to time my landing exactly halfway between the two, and the final target reasonably far from the person in front of me. If I can safely get into the peas, I will, but I will immediately start looking up and behind me after I land, and I always expect the next person to be aiming right for me (worst-case scenario).
Using your car analogy, the landing area is like driving in a parking lot - you always have to watch out because people come from every direction out of nowhere. I'm still working on forcing myself into good habits on landing, but I haven't run into anyone else yet!

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[dreamsville 0]

Experience has taught me to look around until just before the flare, if at all possible. You can be overtaken by faster canopies that will factor into your landing, whether or not they belong there, etc. Also, I had a camera flyer spiral from above right in front of me (he says he saw me).

Once you are ready to flare, assuming you are not using the risers for some kind of swoop, make sure you are in full flight. If you have altitude and feel you will be long, you can always sink the brakes a bit to shorten it up. Anyhow, the momentum of full flight will give you the momentum for the flare to brake your vertical speed. I also find that looking outward towards the horizon helps with the flare.

Harry

I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane.

Harry, FB #4143

[RichM 0]

Quote

But, of course especially in no winds they only slow down your vertical descent, they actually make your horizontal descent go out further. So, I shot over the top of the peas



Paying attention here,filing info,thanks

dropdeded

Quick note here: applying a little brakes under a zp canopy in full drive will result in the glide angle flattening out. Skilled use of this technique delivers a "surf" or horizontal glide over the ground, but minor variations of toggle input can result in a flatter glide down, or even an uopward glide. All of these results trade air speed for lift, and as the canopy slows down so the lift reduces so more input is needed to maintain the flattened glide. With no further changes the canopy will eventually stall.

I just want to encourage skydivers to understand the dynamics of canopy flight rather than thinking black and white.

Rich M

[Squeak 17]

there has been a couple of references to "the peas" in this and other threads, excuse my ignorances but what are they refering to. (It maybe somthing differnt ihere in Australia)

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[DTOXX 0]

A lot of drop zones use pea gravel (very small sized gravel) for the landing target site. This is commonly referred to as the peas.

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D.T. Holder
SIMstudy