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pjdonovan

More accuracy landing with a pulse 230 - would a silhouette be a better option

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Hey all - i've been trying to get my landing accuracies for my B license but I've been struggling. I fly a Pulse 230 loaded at about 1.1. Most of my issues are overshooting - I can put it in full brakes and I won't find the stall point- because it won't sink like I'd like it to.

I know the pulse has a good glide to it (I LOVE being able to get out of most bad spots), but I do wish it would sink in more.

I was hoping someone would be able to tell me if I just need to keep on going with the pulse or if I'd be happier with a Silhouette (same size/wing loading).

Otherwise, if you have any tips for being more accurate with a pulse, I would be very grateful for your help!

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Keep in mind that going into brake reduces your glide ratio only if going against the wind.
If you're going with the wind, jt will make you go further.
And even when going upwind, there is a chance that you're actually extending your glide ratio anyway, if the wind is not strong and if you're closer to half brakes than your stall point. But since you don't want to be closer to the stall point, plus you are wasting flare power, going into deep brakes for accuracy purposes is really not the best idea, on regular sport canopies at least.
I personally don't like to fly the pattern into more than quarter brakes unless I have a very good reason for it. Hitting the pea is not really a good reason.
Being into deep brakes at low altitudes and hitting the wrong gust could really fuck your day up.
Once you're on final, you're commited, your accuracy adjustment should haopen BEFORE getting on final, the later you are the less you can do.
There are more advanced techniques to shorten the glide path, but if you don't dont them properly they can get tricky especially because you're below 300ft.
If it's a small correction, "getting bigger" might help, but don't expect it to make more than a few ft of difference, but at least it's relatively "harmless".

If you want to improve your technique for accuracy, a basic canopy class, like flight 1 101 and 102, has a big part that is focused mainly at that and will go thorough what every input does in different conditions etc etc
Totally recommended, you will see an improvement in your accuracy almost immediately.
I'm standing on the edge
With a vision in my head
My body screams release me
My dreams they must be fed... You're in flight.

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Di0

If you want to improve your technique for accuracy, a basic canopy class, like flight 1 101 and 102, has a big part that is focused mainly at that



Seconded. Your canopy is not the thing you need to address here ;)

Accuracy is one of those things, some people just need a little more practice or maybe some coaching (if it helps, I didn't really start landing accurately (consistently!) until I got some coaching either).

Stick with it! This is a fundamental skill that will serve you well throughout your jumping career, rather than a hoop you need to jump through once to get your B. It will click soon enough.

[edit: the one thing the coaches told me that helped the most, was to plan a pattern and then fly it, and not try to crib or cheat (or sink or plane or...) if I thought I was going to miss my target. Rather to get down and see how much I had missed by, then go back up and fly the same pattern as before, but with the turn points moved accordingly. And repeat. The point being that your pattern is the most important thing! Get coaching though, it's absolutely worth it.]
--
"I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan

"You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

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The Pulse is just a better canopy than the Silhouette but the super-flat glide does lend itself to over-shooting (done it a couple times myself with that wing).

If I was trying to be very accurate with it I'd tend to set up very far and stretch my final on rears if needed especially since a big one will float along seemingly forever. The biggest I've flown was a 170 at 1.2 or so and getting caught in thermals off the runway basically stopped my descent nearly completely a few times.

I wouldn't recommend trying to "sink-in" a Pulse, that sounds like a broken tailbone waiting to happen. :P

NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

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When you talk about wanting to sink it in, I hope you mean allowing it to go back to full glide with enough altitude so you don't get slammed into the ground. The altitude that the surge back to full glide takes can be surprising and will hurt if you get it wrong. That kind of landing is often done by some tandem instructors to get a little bit of extra speed. When going back to full glide, the speed at which the toggles are raised is also critical to how the canopy will or won't excessively surge. Done poorly, you get hurt. Done well, and if you anticipate how much more forward glide you'll get, it can help with accuracy if you're going to overshoot otherwise. Also, there is a risk of conflict with other canopies around/behind/above you, as they may not expect this, so there are plenty of things to consider.

There may come a day when an off landing forces you to land in such a small area that you can't do a full glide landing. Being able to sink a canopy in a way somewhat similar to real accuracy competitors can be a valuable capability/skill (landing in relatively deep brakes with little or no final flare). Such a landing done on a largish sport canopy would of course mean a vertical speed greater than that with a proper accuracy canopy - meaning you better be prepared to PLF. I choose to jump a canopy big enough that I feel comfortable with it.
People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

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Have you learned your canopy yet? Have you opened at 5,or6 K and played with the canopy? Do you know what it fells like just before it stalls? How it recovers from the stall? Have you put it in a 360 degree turn and seen how much altitude it loses? What about 2 or 3 turns? Until you have taken your canopy to its limits at altitude don't mess with it near the ground.
When you turn on final can you tell where you will land or are you just guessing? Pick a spot and in normal flight see where you end up. Over or under, then adjust your final start altitude or distance from your chosen landing point.
U only make 2 jumps: the first one for some weird reason and the last one that you lived through. The rest are just filler.
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Di0


If you want to improve your technique for accuracy, a basic canopy class, like flight 1 101 and 102, has a big part that is focused mainly at that and will go thorough what every input does in different conditions etc etc
Totally recommended, you will see an improvement in your accuracy almost immediately.



I was struggling with my "C" accuracies, since the Flight 1 101 and 102 there has been a drastic improvement.

Key for me is:
- Use Spot assists before the jump to look at recommended pattern and turn points
- Use high entry points (1,200; 700; 500)
- Pick an alternate landing area without traffic (if possible)
- Don't touch your toggles on final until your flare; adjust left/right with gentle weight shift. If you go long/short adjust turn points for next jump.

I recommend getting a fly-sight and recording your exact turn points, as you might not make them as accurate as you think and you can analyze canopy flight and make better adjustments.
It will also give you a true glide ratio, which you can feed into spot assist.

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