Canopy upsizing

[ShortBus 0]

Lets pretend a jumper..oh i think ill call him sam....ok sam jumps a 149 crossfire an is jumping it at not that high of a wing loading considering he weighs 180 out the door...winter goes by and sam gets fat and puts on an extra 30 pounds.....should he upsize his canopy since he got fat? This has no ties what so ever to anyone i just though i would make conversation since i dont know anyone on here. Show some love for the bus

He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man

[Jimbo 0]

Sam should manage to stay current.
Sam should know the limits of his abilities.

Should Sam upsize? I think that really depends on Sam. I don't know that there is or isn't a right answer for that question.

-
Jim

"Like" - The modern day comma
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[rgoper 0]

at 180# plus gear sam would be loaded at: 1.37. ok, so he laid off the winter and gained 30#, now his weight is 210# plus gear sam would be loaded at 1.577. i don't see a problem with this, depending on sam's experience, and jump numbers, etc...it's doable, with the right jumper. ultimately, sam should seek out the advice of a learned colleague before making that jump, if he is not experienced enough to supervise himself.

--Richard--
"We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"

[PhreeZone 15]

If Sam is in doubt... UPSIZE. Its always better to have a bigger canopythen what you need then a smaller one then you want at that time.

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[Yoshi 0]

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[crazy 0]

Quote

winter goes by and sam gets fat and puts on an extra 30 pounds.....should he upsize his canopy since he got fat?

IMNSHO, Sam should improve his eating habbits and do some work-outs. Winter is only 3 months. 30 pounds of fat within 3 months is a lot (almost 20% of the initial weight), whatever the size of the canopy the risk of injury is quite high. Even bowling would not be recommended.
Come

--
Come
Skydive Asia

[Kirils 1]

3 years ago, my skydive partner went through her AFF. I bought her a Tony freefly jumpsuit as a "graduation gift". It was a perfect fit at 150#. BUTT (pun here) she gained a lot of weight and size over the 4 month winter layoff. So much she couldn't get into the suit, let alone, zip it up! She was jumping a 170 Heatwave before the winter layoff. In the Spring when we started jumping againI bought here a larger suit. Problem was on her landings...the more weight she gained the faster she came in! By the end of the next season she really had put on weight (210+?) and while the 170 now was too small she refused to go larger saying the canopy was defective and she really didn't weigh any more than she had. The last couple months we jumped she PLF'd all of them. She no longer jumps now because of the larger canopy required (240+#)

Ohio has the highest % of bodyfat per capita in the USA and entire world! It's quite an impediment to sports participation, especially skydiving. ( if you're a NFC guy, your out of luck)

"Slow down! You are too young
to be moving that fast!"

Old Man Crawfish

[ramon 0]

180 out the door - 1.208 wing loading
210 out the door - 1.409 wing loading

depends on jump numbers and skill. Some people at 180 wear weights also for RW, if this person did (tall skinny), which they probably are not if they pork on 30 pounds then they could just loose some lead and it would not be a big change.

A cross fire can be fairly forgiving (albeit you can kill yourself at .8 wing loading), and 1.4 though agressive is not high wingloading compared to 1.2.

If this person has like 100 jumps is uncurrent, and jumps at a DZ with a tight landing area I personally would recommend upsizing until skills are current and confidence is there. if this persons has like 300 + jumps and was very current before the winter pizza binge and if the landing area is comfortable even with a full load of traffic, then it may not be a big deal.

As you can see it is touchy feely.
how many jumps?
how current is the jumper?
how heads up (did they stand up all previous landings)?
how dangerous are the outs close to dZ and is landing area tight?

I upsize when I go to a new DZ because landing off at 2.2 can be dangerous (low power lines between houses are hard to see from turn altitude)

ramon

"Revolution is an abrupt change in the form of misgovernment.", Ambrose Bierce.

[wlie 0]

That's why I'm sticking with a 170. If I need more performance, I'll gain weight. I need a more forgiving chute, I'll lose some. No need to buy a new chute that way. Save the cash to buy more jumps.

[CanuckInUSA 0]

I wish it was that easy (at least the part about losing weight).

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[billvon 2,400]

>.....should he upsize his canopy since he got fat?

It would be the smart thing to do. If sam is like 99.99% of the skdivers out there he will, of course, not do it. He will rationalize that he'll "be real careful" until he's current again and he loses the weight or learns to fly the canopy at the higher loading. Of course, since he's being real careful, he will never really learn to fly the canopy at the higher loading.

[freeflir29 0]

I have done the reverse this summer. I bought my canopy in May I think and originally loaded it around 1.3. Since then I have lost about 14-16 Lbs and it is really killing my performance. I'm probably more like 1.25 or less now. Time to downsize!!!! As soon as money allows..... Going the other direction may be a bit scary......