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flyingstrauss

Wing loadings and skipping sizes

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A question about canopy size and wing loading. Since I'm awfully lightweighted, with a 135ft canopy my wing load would be 1.2, which I suppose is fine for getting into learning canopy flying. But what about that "start from the 190ft and progress slowly" thing? I mean, it would be a little docile, right? I made a few jumps on a 170ft Vengeance, it felt fast to me, but it was probably because it's elliptical. And there was no other 190 or 170ft square or semi elliptical canopy for me to try it. So, I ask you, what would be a smart thing to do? :)

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You know the drill...read:
http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/safety/detail_page.cgi?ID=47
http://www.bigairsportz.com/pdf/bas-sizingchart.pdf

There is also the recommendation to not both downsize and change canopy model... only one variable at a time.

According to Brian's chart the smallest you should consider is a 150 (since your exit weight is about 160lbs).

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So, I ask you, what would be a smart thing to do? :)


The smart thing to do is ask instructors at your Drop Zone what you should do. They are the ones watching you every day and can give you advice based on what they see. Internet is never a good place to be asking these types of questions. There are way to many variables to give you a educated answer.
Canopy course is always a plus. It will help you understand canopy flight much better.
Never give the gates up and always trust your rears!

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So, I ask you, what would be a smart thing to do? :)


The smart thing to do is ask instructors at your Drop Zone what you should do. They are the ones watching you every day and can give you advice based on what they see.


Nope.

It doesn't take much to get an instructor rating and that's mostly freefall skills. I know (knew?) at least three dead instructors who killed themselves (plus one tandem student) under canopy and another one who came close because she didn't manage to learn good piloting skills during her first few thousand jumps. Plus a few more who I also like but are only living because they're bouncy and/or lucky.

Even if they're competent, your local skydiving instructors are probably only seeing you under the best possible conditions with low winds, bright light, and a wide open landing area. You're sizing your canopy for the worst possible conditions at dusk with a low turn to avoid unseen power lines to a down-wind landing on asphalt. Consider the sunset load where the cute chicks flash the pilot for extra altitude, some one in your group gets hypoxic and gets their foot caught on the seatbelt so you take forever to climb out, and you have a long spot. Things seem to happen much faster, you may not stay flat enough in the turn to avoid a painful impact, and you won't get away with running out a landing where you didn't flare all the way.

A better starting point is second and third-hand advice off the internet originating from people like Brian Germain with 10,000+ skydives who've been around long enough to see such situations and make a career out of hanging out at different dropzones teaching canopy flight.

When local instructors tell you to be more conservative because of unique situations (altitude, a tight landing area, you aren't a good driver in the air...) that's good advice.

When local instructors tell some one to be more aggressive that's probably inexperience; although since the advice recipient lacks the experience to pass judgement and will be the one making friends with a nice orthopedic surgeon if things go wrong (I like mine, but would have preferred to meet him in a social setting) they'd do well to go with the more conservative advice.

At 100-200 jumps a year it doesn't take long for most people to downsize without exceeding Brian Germain's recommendations to the point where they don't want to go any faster. There isn't a good reason to do things in fewer jumps.

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Canopy course is always a plus. It will help you understand canopy flight much better.



Right.

You _really_ need to be able to make flat turns down to ground level and land down/cross-wind plus down hill and up hill.

It's fun, and you'll be using those skills unless you're an odd engineer somewhat afraid of skydiving who only jumps solo with a large parachute (I was surprised to meet him and learn that guy really exists).

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+1 You can't trust just anyone, even instructors. I know 2-3 AFF instructors and even examiners who have made radical canopy decisions/ progressions, leading to near death injuries through piss-poor piloting. When it comes to canopy flight, know who your talking to. Responsible instructors will make reasonable recommendations, but not all. Best reference is professional canopy pilots/course directors, who are able to give you direct feedback on observed jumps.

If you are ever questioning you canopy selection, the answer is that you are simply not ready for it.

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A question about canopy size and wing loading. Since I'm awfully lightweighted, with a 135ft canopy my wing load would be 1.2, which I suppose is fine for getting into learning canopy flying. But what about that "start from the 190ft and progress slowly" thing? I mean, it would be a little docile, right? I made a few jumps on a 170ft Vengeance, it felt fast to me, but it was probably because it's elliptical. And there was no other 190 or 170ft square or semi elliptical canopy for me to try it. So, I ask you, what would be a smart thing to do? :)



I wouldn't jump a fully elliptical canopy or downsize faster than Brian Germain's chart allows, and would do all of the things on Bill von Novak's at the previous size before jumping a smaller one.

It's not a big deal to land any parachute straight ahead into a large wide open landing area.

When things go wrong it gets interesting.

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When local instructors tell some one to be more aggressive that's probably inexperience; although since the advice recipient lacks the experience to pass judgement and will be the one making friends with a nice orthopedic surgeon if things go wrong (I like mine, but would have preferred to meet him in a social setting) they'd do well to go with the more conservative advice.



+1

View from a local standpoint... There was one incident some time ago, at a DZ which we could consider local to the OP.
The instructor told the student (demanded) to be more aggressive pilot. It resulted in low turn and shattered spine. The instructor had 1000+ jumps and enough years of experience but lacked the knowledge on "modern" canopy flying. Canopy was square (not even semi-elliptical) and in 150sqft range.
I`ll not name names, but the OP should really consider where he is getting his advice.
There is not single trained/qualified HP canopy instructor in this country.
(*classic accuracy excepted)
dudeist skydiver #42

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So, I ask you, what would be a smart thing to do? :)


The smart thing to do is ask instructors at your Drop Zone what you should do. They are the ones watching you every day and can give you advice based on what they see.


Nope.

It doesn't take much to get an instructor rating and that's mostly freefall skills. I know (knew?) at least three dead instructors who killed themselves (plus one tandem student) under canopy and another one who came close because she didn't manage to learn good piloting skills during her first few thousand jumps. Plus a few more who I also like but are only living because they're bouncy and/or lucky.

Even if they're competent, your local skydiving instructors are probably only seeing you under the best possible conditions with low winds, bright light, and a wide open landing area. You're sizing your canopy for the worst possible conditions at dusk with a low turn to avoid unseen power lines to a down-wind landing on asphalt. Consider the sunset load where the cute chicks flash the pilot for extra altitude, some one in your group gets hypoxic and gets their foot caught on the seatbelt so you take forever to climb out, and you have a long spot. Things seem to happen much faster, you may not stay flat enough in the turn to avoid a painful impact, and you won't get away with running out a landing where you didn't flare all the way.

A better starting point is second and third-hand advice off the internet originating from people like Brian Germain with 10,000+ skydives who've been around long enough to see such situations and make a career out of hanging out at different dropzones teaching canopy flight.

When local instructors tell you to be more conservative because of unique situations (altitude, a tight landing area, you aren't a good driver in the air...) that's good advice.

When local instructors tell some one to be more aggressive that's probably inexperience; although since the advice recipient lacks the experience to pass judgement and will be the one making friends with a nice orthopedic surgeon if things go wrong (I like mine, but would have preferred to meet him in a social setting) they'd do well to go with the more conservative advice.

At 100-200 jumps a year it doesn't take long for most people to downsize without exceeding Brian Germain's recommendations to the point where they don't want to go any faster. There isn't a good reason to do things in fewer jumps.

Quote


Canopy course is always a plus. It will help you understand canopy flight much better.



Right.

You _really_ need to be able to make flat turns down to ground level and land down/cross-wind plus down hill and up hill.

It's fun, and you'll be using those skills unless you're an odd engineer somewhat afraid of skydiving who only jumps solo with a large parachute (I was surprised to meet him and learn that guy really exists).


Ok I'm sorry I forgot I was on the internet. You should ask the people that are experienced at your DZ. They are the ones seeing you fly your canopy and would be able to help you move in the right direction.

I love when people ask advice about swooping and canopy flight on here. Better yet I love that people giving advice without know jumpers entire situation. I just don't think its to smart/safe. Just my opinion and you know how that goes. Some smell more then others;)
Never give the gates up and always trust your rears!

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You should ask the people that are experienced at your DZ. They are the ones seeing you fly your canopy and would be able to help you move in the right direction.


^ that

I asked my instructors because as long as they're not retarded (they aren't), they probably know better than you. Ask the experienced people around your DZ and see what the consensus is in theory and then find someone who would be willing to watch your landings and give you some feedback (who is not retarded). It's not always easy to get someone to do that but it is worthwhile. Jerry's point is that finding someone local is important. Up until recently on dz.com, the mantra was that people asking these questions should be directed to their instructor who would be able to offer advice or point you in the right direction for said advice but apparently that's not ok now either. I still talk to my instructors from time to time but I also talk to the S&TA and experienced friends, pretty much anyone who'll listen for more than 2 minutes gets canopy questions. I'd say take Drew's post as saying that you can't rely solely on one person's opinion because, they may appear to be knowledgable when in fact they're not.

Consensus is key, discard the outliers (get a 120 Katana! / stay on that Navigator 280) and try to get specific advice on your actual landings rather than just theory. Canopy course is good value and do some high clear and pulls to learn your canopy more, especially when you're demoing.

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A question about canopy size and wing loading. Since I'm awfully lightweighted, with a 135ft canopy my wing load would be 1.2, which I suppose is fine for getting into learning canopy flying. But what about that "start from the 190ft and progress slowly" thing? I mean, it would be a little docile, right? I made a few jumps on a 170ft Vengeance, it felt fast to me, but it was probably because it's elliptical. And there was no other 190 or 170ft square or semi elliptical canopy for me to try it. So, I ask you, what would be a smart thing to do? :)



What do you want your canopy to do? What are you trying to learn? Canopy piloting covers a range of things including swooping, accuracy, CRW and even just learning to be a safer, more heads-up pilot. You can learn the basics of most, if not all, of these at low wingloadings.

I think the best way to know if you are ready to downsize is to perform exercises such as those in BillVon's checklist, and when you are confident performing all the drills you are probably OK to downsize and start learning how to do them all over again on the faster canopy.

IMO, therefore, the best approach would be to start at a conservative sized wing and work though the checklist on each before downsizing. This might only take 10-20 jumps on each wing, but eventually you will find a canopy which has enough performance for you. If you felt that the 170 was fast, you might want to start this progression with a 200 or a 210.

Additionally, canopy coaching and dedicated, high-pull canopy drill jumps will accelerate your learning rate.
"The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls."

~ CanuckInUSA

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