staged flare or not?

[skydiveress 0]

Just after a few opinions as i've heard so many.

I have a merit 150, and are currently having slight problems with my flare.

I know i am flaring slightly too high, and a little too aggressive as i have been recorded doing so. i have been concentrating on both these factors and it has helped with my landings.

But, i've been told several ways to flare, some say do a staged flare others say just do one slow flare.

Which is best for my canopy and control of my canopy?

As i'm now confused as which to do.

Any opinions would be helpful.

Thanks

[AggieDave 6]

You'll hear people talk about a 3-stage or a 2-stage flare, in which their refering to the flare technique for landing a ZP canopy. The long smooth flare is an older technique for flying larger F111 canopies.

Basically since you're going to come in with more forward speed and the canopy will plane out, you flare a little ways, hold it, then finish flaring. Sounds like two stages, right? Well, it not quite two stages, its more like 1000 stages since there's a lot of little adjustments to be done while flaring and depending on your flare height.


My recommendation to you is to do the 9-flares drill. You want to go through different flare scenerios so you get a feel for the canopy and how it flares. Flare1: smooth 3 count flare, Flare2: paused 3 count flare smooth cadence, Flare3: quick flare to 2 then finish smoothly to 3, etc

Obviously you're doing this up high and away from other canopy traffic.

Another step you can take is have someone video your landings so you can actually see what you're doing. A lot of times people think they're flaring differently then they really are. Once they see and debreif their technique then they can work to change and improve.

Also, it basically goes unsaid that you should look into taking a canopy control course, for instance with Scott Miller or Brian Germain.


Good Luck!

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[Spizzzarko 0]

I think when people are talking about staged flares they are just passing on bad information! Think of it this way. in it's simplist form there are 3 areas to a landing.

1. Approach
2. Plane out
3. stopping

To transition from your approach to plane out you need to give input to the canopy wether it be toggles or rears. Now do you stop from there? NO. You have to give more input to the canopy to transition from plane out to stopping correct? Now I'm going to introduce a little bit more of a radical concept here, so everyone take a second and catch your breath.....


Let's first of all get rid of this concept of a two or three staged flare. You don't come in flare halfway, stop, and then flare the rest of the way do you? If so you are doing it wrong. Does that method work? Yes, sometimes, but we are a little more advanced than that, aren't we? I believed this concept was brought about by the ld timers who were transitioning from F-111 to ZEPO canopy's. They used this when their canopy's would ballon up when they flared all the way like they were used to with their F-111's.
Let's take the three area's that I spoke of earlier and make them into just one.

1. Landing

You need to start thinking this way because, when you are transitioning to smaller faster canopy's, landing doesn't just happen when your altitude reaches zero. Many of the high speed low drag dudes here will probably agree with me that landing for them starts just after they get everything stowed away after opening. Watch them, and talk to them, and you will soon see that every manuever they make is to set up for landing. There's really no more "Playing Around" when you get to small canopy's. Now let's get back to Landing. Your approach flare and stopping should all be one smooth movement. Only flare as much as you need to, to maintain the altitude above the ground that you want.

Try looking at the horizon during this part of you landing. I want you to standup right now and look at a far door knob or something out your window on the horizon. Now stand on your toes, and then back on your flat feet. Do you see the difference in your sight picture? Now how much have you actually moved? 3 to 4 inches if that.

Now that you have that mastered, think about continuing your flare only as much as you need to, so that your sight picture doesn't change! I told you it was going to get radicle! Now that we are flying flat and level over the gound we eventuall need to stop. Well just keep flaring, and maintaining your sight picture. Eventually you will have flared so much that your canopy will no longer beable to produce the amount of lift required to hold your body in the air. This is usually when you put your feet down on the ground.

I can't tell you how many people I see that don't fly their canopy to it's full potential, and then complain that their canopy doesn't have enough flare to support their fat ass's, and that they need to get a Velocity because it has a more powerfull flare

Learn to flare your canopy all of the way. You should not have to run out your landings very much if you are flaring it correctly, even on low wind to no wind days.

If you change your thought process, and learn to fly your canopy to it's fullest then you will be unstopable!

[ianmdrennan 2]

Great post!

Spizzzarko for president!
Blues,
Ian

Performance Designs Factory Team

[Spizzzarko 0]

All you have to do is feel the zen of the landing man...
Does that sound to much like a hippy pot headed freaky deaky swooper?

hahaha

[mfnren 0]

Also check out the canopy control section of the safety section. Flying and landing high performance canopies and the book of canopy control.

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[crewkeith 0]

stop the vertical speed it's what's gonna hurt you. then deal with the horizontal speed. remember the landing is what most people see so you gotta look cool doing it.


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