Bubbles, Good to have you back on the forum CHTG. I think there are several parts of this discussion that are getting out of hand. From what I have read I don't think anyone disagrees with the sentiment of Scott's letter. Highly wing loading a newbie is not the best thing to do, in CRW or otherwise. His tone may not be the best, but the point about wing loading, I believe, is right on. I don't believe Bubbles was ready for the 126 and she and I have talked about this several times, both before and since her accident. While she may have had several successful landings on the 126, I saw other less successful landings (on the 126 and the 143). What has been said and is absolutely correct is wing loading matters most when the shit hits the fan, not on the run of the mill skydive (if there is such a thing). At the end of the day, Bubbles knew the risks/rewards of the smaller canopy and made a choice, it was her choice and hers alone. It should be made clear that no CRW dog pressured her to fly the 126. This accident, like most, was the result of a chain of events and decisions that have been discussed throughout the forums. After the CRW formation was broken down she chose to attempt another formation that put her farther from the DZ than expected. Instead of landing in a good, off airport area, she tried to make it back (maybe because of an earlier jump in which she landed off and had to walk through swamps for an hour to get back). Maybe a lighter wing loading does change something about the jump and "landing", maybe she gets back to the DZ at a higher altitude because the glide ratio is altered. Then the last part, the penultimate decision, to bury a toggle at 50' instead of a down wind landing. Bubbles (CHTG) will have to think long and hard about that and hopefully will learn from it and have a chance to avoid the same mistake in the future. To say this was a wing loading issue I believe is partially true, but clearly is not the final straw. It is one piece of the puzzle. I do believe if nothing else a bigger canopy may have reduced the damage. This discussion I think needs to be two separate discussions, one about wing loading and one accident specific. I think it started as two separate topics, just generated from the same incident. Let's not start a civil war (or give anybody a black-eye, although that may be too late). I just want to skydive. Peace. Spiderman
