What should i look for in a crew rig???

[VectorBoy 0]

Which trim do you have on your lightning? Steep or not so steep?

[dragon2 0]

Don't own a lightning anymore, but used to jump a sequential trim 126. Also jumped sequential 143, rotation 126 and sequential 126 with extra links to trim it steeper.

Of all these, the rotation 126 was the easiest to land, esp with 8kg of lead, but all were absolutely doable.

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[parachutist 1]

Quote

Topic for discussion:

True or false: Lightnings can land well if and only if you are willing to use your front risers on approach.

(I'm talking no- to low-wind days, now, not the nice ones where anyone can land tippy-toe...)

Wind or no wind shouldn't matter. If it will plane out, then you should be able to have a nice landing.

In my experience it depends on the particular Lightning you're flying. Each one has its own characteristics. I've flown a few 160 Lightnings, all with the same world record line trim, all at similar wing loading of approx 1.38. Some had plenty of flare during a straight-in approach, others would not plane out unless extra speed had been induced. I could still stand it up with one of these that didn't plane out, but it was always descending a bit and not comfortable. Add straight-in front riser input and the landings would improve a lot.

Really I think it depends on the canopy you have.

Then there are differences between the size models. I've always felt like the 143's generally have the best characteristics, though I was probably overloading the 126's a bit much to get an objective opinion on those. The 143's that I've tried have all landed great without any front riser input required... better than the 160's in my opinion.

Chris