rears to toggles transitions?

[superstu 0]

Is there an advantage to switching from rear risers to toggles early during your swoop when you're already planed out for distance? speed? accuracy?

Slip Stream Air Sports
Do not go softly, do not go quietly, never back down

[Spizzzarko 0]

You should switch from rears to toggles when the rears feals in-efficient. This happens a lot earlier than you may think. Making that huge transition from rears to toggles if you cary the rears to long is far more in-efficient than tranferring early.

[superstu 0]

i've been using rears for some time now, but this question originated because i was watching Jay of PD on one of the distance rounds at IPC nationals and it looked like he was barely even in the rears before he switched to toggles. so i thought that he had a purpose to that. or it could have just been the camera angle.

Slip Stream Air Sports
Do not go softly, do not go quietly, never back down

[Spizzzarko 0]

Looking at pictures isn't the most effective mode of learning. You can't really tell where they are in the swoop when they are transitioning. A lot of it is also pilot dependant. Each swoop is different.

[ramon 0]

There is actually a new theory put out by Team Extreme and the PD boys.

keep in mind all parachutes are different as such a xaos may not act this way.

It is called the "double power band"
1 power band is pretty much being at maximum speed when you apply input to level out.

the "new" second power band is the point when you transition from rears to toggles. The theory as I understand it states that if you hold on to rears then as you feel it is time to swtich to toggles, you are already late and missed your power band. you can switch to toggles and complete your flare and have a decent swoop. If you switch to toggles slightly early (assuming a perfect rear swoop) you are supposed to get a distance increase as you will have much more power in your toggles and speed left over.

I don't know any of the "whys" for this, but I suspect it has to do with slowing down a certain amount with a changed angle of incidence (rear input) then changing your angle of attack with the toggles. Maybe if you have a certain amount of speed, it is a more efficient time to switch from rears to toggles as it may be a more efficient time to change the angel of attack on your canopy.

Bottom line is there is somehting to this, but it is probably only important if you had a lot of speed to begin with and had a good transition to rears to make huge distance early in your swoop.

Ramon

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

[alan 1]

Quote

I suspect it has to do with slowing down a certain amount with a changed angle of incidence (rear input) then changing your angle of attack with the toggles.

I agree, you are changing tha AOA (temporarily), but at the same time you are also changing the camber of the airfoil. I may be wrong, but a higher aspect ratio (9 cell vs. 7 cel for example) and a cambered airfoil are more efficient at lower airspeeds. Hence, at higher speeds we change the AOI and then as speed bleeds off we change the AOA and camber. Sailplanes come to mind here.

alan