Landing in Turbulent Conditions

[kai2k1 0]

Any advice for landing in turbulent conditions?

There's no truer sense of flying than sky diving," Scott Cowan

[ianmdrennan 2]

Don't jump in them.

Seriously.

Should you find yourself in them full flight is the best to fly in. There is also a school of thought that going into brakes if your canopy suddenly collapses is something else to do (stay in full flight until then).

Blues,
Ian

Performance Designs Factory Team

[LawnDart21 0]

My personal experience/philosophy is to let the canopy fly in full flight. IMHO, full flight gives the canopy the best chances of staying pressurized.

To be clear though, there is no one universally accepted answer to that question. Unfortunately, the only clear answer is: "It depends"..............on actual wind conditions, type of canopy, loading, etc, etc.

The best answer is: "Ask an instructor at your DZ, they have the best idea of your skill, the canopy you fly and the general landing conditions/turbulence effects at your DZ.

Good luck, stay safe, Tom

--
My other ride is a RESERVE.

[grega 0]

like it was said, don't jump them...

otherwise don't use front risers or abruptly change your speed or direction. stay in full flight, fly very conservatively and be prepared for a collapse of your canopy or sudden move in any direction...

Also depends on how strong winds are and the obstacles in the upwind direction...

"George just lucky i guess!"

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

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Any advice for landing in turbulent conditions?

I will second Ian's advice; just don't jump in turbulent conditions OR high winds. When I was 20 and jumping a 200 square foot canopy I did a lot of very stupid things. I would talk the pilot into taking us on crosscountry jumps in 30 mph winds and 2000 feet of altitude. Canopy bucking the whole time, whahoo attitude, ass drug off my jumpsuit. You can have that stuff now; not me. These days if it's bumpy out, I am the first one to sacrifice myself to weather god (and crack a beer). I don't have any business flying either of my sub-100 mains in marginal (or worse) conditions. It's that mindset that has kept me in the sport for 24 years and my 41-year-old bones unbroken.

To answer your question though, if you simply must jump, just fly straight through turbulence. Also, understand that you should attempt to land in the cleanest air possible when it's windy and/or bumpy out. That means you will likely be humping it in from out next to the runway or way out in the girl's landing area. Once again though, I simply don't jump when it's ugly out, nor do any of my grown-up friends.

Chuck

[DShiznit 0]

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I simply don't jump when it's ugly out, nor do any of my grown-up friends.

When I see old timers sitting out, I take the hint.

My personal limit is 24mph steady or gusting under 6mph.

[DrewEckhardt 0]

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Any advice for landing in turbulent conditions?

Don't use a braked approach, fly your canopy all the way to the ground, and PLF if you get dumped.

Going home when the winds get gusty is a better idea.

[SCR10480 0]

"Any advice for landing in turbulent conditions?"

Land on a 12 pack of beer, and don't move until you've completed all 12 exercises. Then, once you have demonstrated this skill to the satisfaction of your DZO (Drinking Zone Observer), wait 12 hours, lather rinse and repeat.

Seriously...don't jump in bad air. "It's much better to be on the ground, wishing you were in the air...than being in the air, wishing you were on the ground!"

[scottthefreak 0]

I'm a firm believer in the art of self preservation!! If you are even questioning the conditions, sit it out! If you are on your way to altitude and get word from the pilot that things have kicked up and become squirly on the ground, don't be afraid to ride the plane down. Sure, you may get a little crap from the invincibles but at least you know you'll be walking at the end of the day. If you do find yourself in less than favorable conditions, NEVER STOP FLYING YOUR CANOPY!! Land in the cleanest air possible (away from obstacles), and FLY YOUR CANOPY!! Too many people get freaked out and tense when flying in bumpy conditions. All too often you see people doing things they wouldn't normally do (i.e. flaring at twenty feet, making sudden changes, using poor judgement, etc..) under canopy when conditions are less than ideal. Use good judgement, keep yourself calm, get yourself to the ground safe......

[raymod2 1]

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"It's much better to be on the ground, wishing you were in the air...than being in the air, wishing you were on the ground!"

It's much better to try, and fail. Than to not try, and succeed.

Maybe you should have suppressed your signature line on that post since it contradicts the sentence right before it.

[billvon 2,471]

> Any advice for landing in turbulent conditions?

Moderate turbulence - let the canopy fly; put just enough pressure on the brakes so you can feel what the tail is doing.

Severe turbulence/collapses/hard stalls - go to 1/4 to 1/2 brakes (i.e. put the brakes at deployment setting) to help the canopy reinflate while preventing a dangerous surge. That's the brake position it was designed to inflate in. Get ready to PLF if close to the ground.

[druspork 0]

Usually rear risers instead of toggles give better flow over the canopy. Does this apply to turbulent conditions the same as "normal" conditions?

Still, it's a good time to practice alternative skills in the bar.

Dru

[billvon 2,471]

> Usually rear risers instead of toggles give better flow over the canopy.

Why do you think this?

[hookitt 0]

Here's a long winded post.

The weather at the DZ I have the most jumps at, has a tendency to change rapidly during certain seasons. When that happens, you may simply find yourself in conditions WAY different than when you got in the airplane. Here are a few observations.

If it is sunny out, stay away from asphalt such as roads. If there are known thermal areas, do your best to avoid those as well. Pay attention to the windline. Do your best not to land down wind of hangars Motorhomes, etc... head out to the biggest clear area you can find.

The wind in Byron seems to switch direction between 2 and 3 oclock so we look for that. When it starts to switch you can almost always count on dust devils and other turbulant conditions.

The key to turbulance is to keep flying the canopy. Let it fly the best you can and use what ever control inputs you find necessary, The advice already given is a good generalization so use it as you will.

A few years ago, the wind came up after we took off in the airplane. When it was time to land, I flared and was suddenly going up. I let the toggles all the way up and found myself at 10 or more feet up and flying backwards. I let the canopy fly but kept the wing level and with light toggle inputs. I looked back to see what the new landing target was and steered ever so lightly to land where it was clear.

They key to landing that one with out injury was keeping the canopy level and into the wind. I'd gone up around 12 feet and backwards about 30 or 40. I flared a tiny bit but didn't let go of a toggle until my feet were planted on the ground. At that point I spun around, sat on the ground and reeled in a toggle very quickly.

That was some of the best canopy flying I've ever done. No one can teach you how to do that, you have to just deal with it.

1) Keep the wing level
2) it's not over till it's over so keep flying

The only time a canopy partially collapsed on me was when I borrowed a clapped out fury 220. It started turning rapidly without input so that was the first clue something happened. I quickly pulled the brakes down a few times and it reinflated and I kept it at 1/4 ish brakes and got bumped around some more but all went fine.

If it's known that it's turbulant, standing down is best however if conditions change, your in it and have to ride it out.

The best advice I can give is keep flying and stay as calm as you can until you're really on the ground with the canopy wadded up in your arms.

You'd be amazed (and at some point probably will be amazed) at what a tiny bit of luck and a whole lot of not giving up will do.

Hope that makes sense.

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[druspork 0]

Easiest to explain if you work both toggles/risers towards a stall.

Pull both toggles a bit and the brakes engage, this distorts the rear edges of the canopy immediately effecting laminar flow over the wing. The result is slower forward speed and increased drag (a bit). If you keep pulling the toggles, it ultimately folds along a line half way between the left and right side of the canopy.

Pull both rear risers a bit, you keep laminar flow but change the angle of attack so forward speed doesn't change but you float. Keep pulling the rear risers to stall and it ultimately folds along a line half way between the front and back of the canopy.

Erm, I didn't do a degree in aeronautics, but I think I got the basics together.

Dru

[billvon 2,471]

>this distorts the rear edges of the canopy immediately effecting laminar
>flow over the wing.

No more so than ailerons affect laminar flow over an airplane wing. That's how the canopy is designed to turn, and 1/2 brakes is how the canopy is designed to open. Since most of the wing is unaffected, the majority of the function of the wing is unaffected.

>Pull both rear risers a bit, you keep laminar flow but change the angle of
>attack so forward speed doesn't change but you float.

Well:

1. Forward speed _does_ change

2. You are introducing a distortion in the center of the wing; this can radically affect how the canopy reacts to turbulence.

I would never recommend touching rear risers (or front risers) in turbulence.

[druspork 0]

Thanks for the correction

Dru

[rhino 0]

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Any advice for landing in turbulent conditions?

Try not to fly over blacktop, runways, or downwind from any trees or buildings.. Most of the chop is around those areas. Also undo your chest strap a bit after you get under canopy.. The canopy tends to spread out and fly better. Know your limits,,,

Remember you have a bag of luck and a bag of experience.. you want that bag of experience to fill up before your bag of luck runs out... If in doubt.. Sit it out...

Rhino

[Designer 0]

Just this past weekend I made sure to give the young-uns an update on the conditions.Thank goodness some of them listened!A winter time cold front swooping down from the north looks,acts 'IS"still a winter time cold front even though it occurs in spring.The same problems exist.I want my friends to keep jumping.I told them why I didn't bother bringing my rig that day.Humm,winter time condition winds from the Northeast.No Thanks!rob

[dharma1976 0]

dont jump, see I got lucky, my New Bionic barometer in me leg tells me when not to jump...

And if you keep jumping in turbulant wind, you too will have a titanium barometer in your leg or somewhere else that will tell you when not to jump ;)

Cheers

Dave

http://www.skyjunky.com

CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.