Long Spot

[skydive4play 0]

When faced with a bad spot and you have a long ways to the DZ. Which is the best way to get the most glide from you canopy going to the DZ. (1) Slightly pull on your brakes and glide in. (2) Slightly pull on your rear risers and glide in.???????????????

[Slowfaller 0]

I'm no expert ( 32 jumps ) and I could be wrong but what I have done is if I'm w/ the wind I leave my brakes stowed and keep the riser pulled down to get the most hang time. If I'm against the wind I would Pull my legs up and put the slider behind my head. Maybe a little front riser action to gain speed. If I'm wrong please somebody clarify.
CHris
"..and your hands and knees felt cold and wet on the grass beneth." - modest mouse

[PhreeZone 15]

The most efficient glide rate for most canopies is:
Slider pulled behind your head,
Chest strap slightly loose,
Rear risers slightly pulled (1/3 way) and seperated to the outsides of the canopy.
This all changes based on wingloading and wind speed and lots of factors but those are the easiest things to control.
Do I HAVE to do another raft dive???

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[quade 3]

A lot would depend on the wind conditions.
In no wind, your best glide will probably be with the brakes unstowed and slight rear riser. You'd need to experiment with this considerably to actually find the best glide ratio. Holding rear risers for a long period of time, however, can be tiring. You may find that 1/4 brakes does "almost" as well, but is a lot easier to hold for a long time. Certainly worth experimenting with the next time the opportunity presents itself during your regular jumps.
In wind and upwind of your target, you may not actually want the best glide speed, but rather what's known as minimum sink speed. It's a speed that you might try to fly that is slightly slower than "best glide" but will give you more time aloft. The concept here is that you can let the wind help you get back to your target for a longer period of time.
In wind and downwind of your target, you may want to fly slightly faster than best glide. Conditions may actually call for a little front riser to make your target. The concept on this one is to give yourself less time aloft to get pushed back by the wind.
In any case, you'll want to minimize your drag if at all possible. Pull your legs up and curl into a ball making as little frontal area as you can. This too can be tiring if held for more than a few minutes.
In ALL cases remember it's FAR better to land off safely, than to risk flying into buildings, powerlines, barbed wire just so that you can get back to the DZ.
Paul
futurecam.com/skydive.html

[PhillyKev 0]

Here's how you determine best glide for your canopy:
Look out in the distance at the spot that is not moving....that's where you're headed. If it's closer then the dz, you're not going to make it at your current glide.
Do this first with brakes all the way up, then go down to quarter brakes and find the new spot that is not moving. If that is further away then the last one, you increased your glide. If it's closer you decreased. If pulling the brakes 1/4 increased, pull down a couple more inches and check again. Keep doing that until you no longer increase the distance to the target...that's your best glide.
The same can be done with brakes stowed and manipulating rear risers. Bottom line is if you can find a glide that puts that immobile target at least as far away as your dz, start looking for another place to land.
cielos azules y cerveza fría
-Kevin

[billvon 2,476]

>The most efficient glide rate for most canopies is:
>Slider pulled behind your head,
>Chest strap slightly loose,
>Rear risers slightly pulled (1/3 way) and seperated to the outsides of the canopy.
Agreed. Some further points:
Picking your legs up as much as possible will help.
Body steer instead of using toggles.
When upwind, generally more rear riser/brake will help improve your glide distance over the ground.
When downwind, generally your canopy's natural glide speed is the best way to get maximum distance over the ground.
If possible aim to fly over plowed fields/highways/ridges with the wind hitting the upslope. I've made it back from a few bad spots doing tandems by using thermals.
-bill von

[PhreeZone 15]

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I've made it back from a few bad spots doing tandems by using thermals.

Hey! Thats cheating Do I HAVE to do another raft dive???

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[apoil 0]

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Look out in the distance at the spot that is not moving....that's where you're headed. If it's closer then the dz, you're not going to make it at your current glide.

Hopefully this doesn't actually need to be said, but fixating on that spot can lead to
a) not realizing that your path to that spot might involve you being too low to clear trees/powerlines/fences
b) not having time to turn back into the wind once you get there.
Follow the example of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, and make your decisions high.
- Saut A. Poil

[Iflyme 0]

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Follow the example of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, and make your decisions high.

... and don't forget to feed Fat Freddy's Cat

[Kelly 0]

bill von,
ha! i used that one about 12 or so jumps ago. Those damned thermals that had been bumping me around for the 2 weeks prior and also had been annoying/scaring the hell out of me actually got me back to the dz with enough time to set up for a safe final and do a couple of S turns to burn off some Alti... now i dont mind the thermals.