beginning HP landings

[unformed 0]

I'm gonna start practicing higher-performancee landings sometime soon and got a few questions.

first of all, i'm not downsizing, have no intention of intention to downsize any time soon (i'm jumping a Conquest 170 loaded at .9-1.0 and I like walking so I'll hold on to this for a while (or at least this size if I get a new canopy)) I'm reading Germain's book, and I will get some more coaching done in the future (I took Miller's basic course a little while ago.)

anyways, I know i'm not supposed to do front riser turns on my canopy. so i'm gonna come in with just front riser input, let go and flare.

now where to start, i'm reading numbers saying start from 100 to 300 ft, and i think i should just go until just before its time to flare and then let go of the risers and flare?

also, how do begin to learn where 50 or 100 feet is? My depth perception isn't top of the notch, and I don't have digital alti to compare anything to. Is the best way to just start high and slowly bringing it lower and lower until I've picked the right spot?

thanks ...

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[AggieDave 6]

How's your flare turns? Flat turns? Do you know where the "sweet spot" is on your canopy (the position of the toggles needed to flatten out the glide)? Have you played with high performance stuff up high? If so, then where is the sweet spot for your canopy with more speed?

How is your accuracy? How about your flight plan? Are you flying a consistant and planned pattern every jump? Are you landing where you intended?

Those are some of the things you need to be good at before moving on to actually yanking on front risers for your approach. I know it sounds like a pisser, but I promise you it will make you a much better canopy pilot now and a much better swooper later if you learn and become at those things.

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

[Spizzzarko 0]

i'm gonna come in with just front riser input, let go and flare.



That's probably not the best way to go about doing that. Dropping your fronts can lead to a dropped toggle, which can lead to death. Also, you are asking the canopy to do a lot if you are giving "front riser input, let go and flare" in that amount of time. Why not think about bumping your front riser initiation altitude up some. Smoothly give front riser input to build up speed, and then smoothly let your fronts back up to full flight. Your canopy will still be accellerating at this point. Now when it's time to flare then smoothly flare. You want this to be a process that takes a little time before you reach your flare initiation altitude. The gound will interfere with this process, and hurt you if you hit it hard. So practice up high.

[Conquest150 0]

i would recommend to stay of the front risers period on a conquest. i had one for awhile adn they do not like any front riser input at all. i played around with teh front risers up really high (about 8000') and all i did was pull both front risers down and the nose rolled under on me. i sure wouldnt want that to happen on landing. the canopy doesnt do it everytime but it does it often.

[Canuck 0]

The Conquest is known for its ill-behaviour when given front riser input.

Canuck

[unformed 0]

alright, everybody thanks for the info ... that's what i needed to know ...

and yeah, i'm working on flat turns and accuracy every jump .... i'll hold off anything more until i get a newer canopy ...

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[hookitt 0]

Ill behavior is being too nice. As mentioned by conquest150 Conquests fold under sometimes when the front risers are pulled down.

If you wish to see what happens... screw around with it at 5000 feet so you realize it's true.

It's not too soon to learn front riser input but get rid of that parachute first.

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