crossfire performance

[bmason81 0]

so here is my situation I live on oahu where it is really windy right at sea level. I own a crossfire2 129 loaded and 1.47 which I have put over 100 jumps on and am having a lot of trouble getting it to dive. when I was on the mainland at skydive new england it dove like a dream for me I was doing slow 90 degree turns @ 400ft and it was perfect, now that I am back on oahu I cant get it to dive and to go from good swoops on the mainland to doing nothing out here is very frustrating. Any advice from some experienced crossfire pilots would be appreciated.

pull low, fly fast, PLF!

[AggieDave 6]

So you're getting shut down in the wind on the island? Its not that the canopy isn't diving, its that you're not getting the speed you're used to?

For one, the visuals while swooping into a decent wind are different. You're not diving less or more, the canopy isn't "diving longer" or anything goofy like that, it just looks different. When performing a turn in no winds you're not just turning and diving, the canopy is driving across the ground. That gives you a reference of "speed" and "dive." However, when turning into a stronger wind, you're still driving forward and diving the same, it just doesn't look like it since you're doing it into a wind that is slowing down your ground speed. Your airspeed is basically staying the same.

So the trick to swooping anything into wind is to have the least amount of drag on your body (baggy FF suits vs. spandex as an extreme example) and have your body in a fast position. Flying in a "gumby" position under canopy will create drag. Tightening up and arching will help you reduce that drag.

Doing the most efficent turn for your canopy and wingloading is very important too. If you're having to fight your canopy to keep it in the dive, you won't have the same amount of "power" in your swoop. If you're having to dig it out, you're loosing all your speed.

There's nothing wrong with 90 degree turns for swooping, however, it won't generate the speed you want to really cut through the winds. That is not an excuse to jump straight to 270s, though. You'll find as you get better and more experience and as you slowly start increasing your rate of turn and becoming more efficent with your turn and canopy you'll get better swoops.

With all of that said, having put about 700 jumps on Crossfire2s I can say that the canopy, even when loaded up around 2.0, has trouble "bucking" the winds. It just doesn't generate the speed to get you through them, when compared to something like a VX or Velocity being flown by a competent pilot. The XF2, however, can hang "with the big dogs" when flown correctly, though.

So practice practice practice, work on your turn, smile and realize that the better you get with the canopy, the better you become as a pilot, the better swoops you have overall.

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

[bmason81 0]

Thanks for the advice, Its hard to get past the fact that the winds are almost always 20mph here and gusty. One day I will make it back to the mainland where the conditions are a little better, But till then I will just have to deal with it and keep on practicing.

pull low, fly fast, PLF!