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skybytch

Basic Canopy Skills Courses - Have you taught one?

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Thanks Peek for the video. Less blocky would be nice though.

You'll know all this, but there aren't many stall videos out there to use for a skills course.

Stalls are not exactly risk free for line twists, if one doesn't manage to exit symmetrically. (I got a video off skydivingmovies to demonstrate that.)

And a video doesn't replicate how sudden and violent a stall seems if one isn't used to it.

There just isn't much formal instruction on stalling a canopy, other than usually a bit during student days where they might not even go past a little rocking with arms fully down on a docile canopy.

So it is easy to see why people are so wary of them.
If someone has never really stalled their canopy, it gets awkward to teach if they are now on a small crossbraced canopy. They should have learned while they were still on something moderately sized.

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Thanks Peek for the video. Less blocky would be nice though



I don't do enough video editing to remember what I did the last project.

I just added another one in NTSC resolution. Tell me what that looks like. And if the text is readable at that resolution.

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If someone has never really stalled their canopy, it gets awkward to teach if they are now on a small crossbraced canopy. They should have learned while they were still on something moderately sized.



That's what I think too. What are we missing?

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That's what I think too. What are we missing?



IMO better instruction from AFF instructors or just after AFF. From my experience there's so little emphasis placed on canopy flight (probably due to the massive amount of information the student has received) that this gets pushed aside in most cases. Well, not exactly pushed aside, but glossed over for sure.

I'd like to see it change, but it starts right from the beginning - with the instructors.

Ian
Performance Designs Factory Team

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Ian, I agree about better instruction but I'm not sure it can come from the FJC or the intial instruction, although it can certainly start there.

I don't think anyone would argue that one of, if not the most dangerous part of jumping is the canopy flight. Just look at the fatality reports. And that doesn't even tell us how many get injured. But it doesn't have to be that way.

We owe it to our sport to educate these young jumpers better. I'm not sure canopy flight will ever be adequately taught during the FJC or the subsequent initial training jumps.

And I'm not dissing instructors. They have their hands full and I respect most of them, although I have seen some that are questionable at best. For the most part they are doing a great job.

But I do believe that we are fooling our selves if we think we can adequately teach canopy flight and bring people to the level required to fly todays amazing wings through the normal channels of instruction.

Look at how far our canopies have come and yet we still conduct a first jump course in one day. The same amount of time as mine. in 1973.

Should we lengthen the FJC? I don't think so.

But just how much information can a student absorb during an AFF debrief.

IMO we need to encourage people to participate in a full blown dedicated canopy course before they get their B license.

I really don't think there is any other way around it.

Everyone I've spoken to who has ever taken a canopy course says it's the best decision they have ever made (besides the one to start jumping).

BTW Gary, nice job with the stall video. We did the same thing a few years ago so that people can see several different canopies in a full stall from a point of view video. I think the key to teaching stalls is to properly teach them how to recover without scaring the crap out of them. It's quite simple to teach and once they have the technique it takes a lot of fear away from them.
Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

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Good post.

I also agree that there's just so much information to already absorb it's not practical to put it in the FJC.

Unfortunately, as mentioned, theres not requirement or emphasis (in most cases) placed on doing one afterwards by the instructors, or dz.

Im fortunate to jump at a pretty progressive DZ when it comes to canopy flight and even we still have room for improvement.

I'd definitely like to see, like you, people take a course prior to their B license. The issue then becomes educating those who will teach those classes....as we both know, there are lots of canopy myths out there that perpetuate to this day.

I'm glad to see this is on as many people's radars. It's certainly high on mine.

Side note: Until I joined the team I got formal canopy coaching on a yearly basis (I still get coaching but in a different way). Sometimes I'd take the Essentials classes to refresh myself on things, and what I'd be teaching, and sometimes it'd be dedicated coaching for competiton. The point being, that NONE of us are above getting educated on this. Hopefully that attitude becomes more prevalant - especially amongst instructors.

Blues,
Ian
Performance Designs Factory Team

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I think the key to teaching stalls is to properly teach them how to recover without scaring the crap out of them. It's quite simple to teach and once they have the technique it takes a lot of fear away from them.



Yeah, I just made that video to show people that if you can do that with a Stiletto, then they can surely place their canopy in an imminent stall (where it simply becomes mushy), without worrying.

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Thanks for the input, everyone. We did another course last weekend, with some changes based on some of what we read here.

We're trying to keep the day's cost as low as possible (we're charging jumps plus $25), so we kept it to four jumps by including effective flare technique on the first jump instead of the second. This worked well for our situation since almost all of the participants were locals who we have watched land numerous times already (the only exception was the guy who had just graduated from AFF at another dz). It might not be a good idea when presented with a more experienced jumper that we've never seen land a parachute before, though.

We're using two video angles as well; one front on, semi-close view (shows arm/hand/leg movement very well) and one wider side view that includes the canopy and the horizon. Have gotten good feedback from participants on the benefits of two angles.

We included stalls this time and will in all future courses.

It's very cool to see a couple of jumpers who took our first course because they were having some issues with flaring now landing standing up with very good flare technique.

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In my humble opinion I believe one of the most important jumps is the "stalls".

I've discovered most average jumpers are scared to death of stalling their canopy and often won't finish the landing flare because of it.



I am going toward my B-license and there are 5 canopy control jumps involving stalling the canopy. I too think that stalling is important, if only to know where is your full flare.
It allows you to know that, if in a rush on landing, you can just pull on the brakes without worrying about stalling (since it will become second nature where to put your hands to flare as opposed to stall).
Stalling on purpose also allows you to get a feel for the canopy just prior to a stall and reacting properly to stop it - once again, being properly conditioned makes you react much faster and better.

When would you recommend taking a basci canopy course? As soon as one gets his A-license and own rig or later, once the person has a decent feel for his/her canopy?

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When would you recommend taking a basci canopy course? As soon as one gets his A-license and own rig or later, once the person has a decent feel for his/her canopy?



How about now?

Good coaches teach techniques that can be applied to modern canopies, so something you learn on that Navigator 240 will translate to the Pilot 170 the jumper eventually buys. Waiting until someone is "comfortable" with their canopy may be too late for that person to learn an important piece of information that may save them from injury or worst.
--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

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How about now?



And regularly. I took Lisa & Keith's course a few weeks ago - there were 8 attendees and we had a guy fresh off AFF (he did his first hop & pop as part of the course!) up to 900+ jumps. I had just under 500 at the time and most of the attendees were in the 100-200 jump range. I think we all got something out of it.

Not that Ian's ego needs any more stroking,;) but it was his post upthread about continuing to get canopy instruction (even the basic refreshers) regularly that inspired me to attend this one. It had been over 3 years and 300 jumps since my last one and it was great to get re-engage the brain on canopy flight and do some jumps focusing on nothing else. I still struggle with landings and it was good to get video and debrief and see that my flare technique is actually spot-on; I just need to be more confident in my ability to land on my feet.

Also, I'm going for my coach rating in a couple weeks and figured the class would be a good reminder of good ways to teach canopy control (and it was). That'll help me give feedback to students on more than just freefall skills.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

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