flyingstrauss

Jump 0-30, various student canopies, Mantas, Navigators, sizes 280 and 260. After that I started learning classic accuracy on a 260 canopy, as well as jumping Raider 220. When I was close to 200 jumps I did a couple of jumps on a Vengeance 170 (WL was under 1, I was 155lbs out the door back then), decided I wasn't ready for it, so I waited another 100 and something jumps before I tried Cayenne and Stiletto 150, I felt pretty confident, so I ended on Springo 120 a little before I had 400 jumps. Wingload at that time was 1.29 (exit weight was still 155), nowadays, at 700+ jumps it's the same canopy, only the Wl has changed to 1.47 (managed to grow some muscles in the meantime). Doing a lot of classic accuracy, I had my doubts about my progression (difference in size, in performance, in flying tehnique), but since I do spend a lot of time under canopy, some things are quite natural for me, like braked turns and aproaches and stuff like that, so I never felt like I'm pushing things with the 120.

Hey man, if you don't mind flying more "alternative" canopies, I'd suggest you go and try Springo. Great openings, short recovery arc, pretty responsive (not as much as the Stiletto though).

So, do you think the software Jeb was using on his "Flying dagger" project could be used to simulate a swooping course up high? So people would have 2 or 3 "landings" plus the real one at the end? :) Here's the video of the simulation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=0AE7eFkYB5Q#t=348[url]

Try here. http://www.cahayabox.net/2013/01/07/adobe-je-poludio-besplatno-skinite-photoshop-premiere-ili-citav-creative-paket Sorry, don't know how to make it clicky.

Thanks for your advice phoenixlpr, I'll practice these things. Hopefully I'll become better at it.

Ok, thank you for your answers.

Hey everyone, Could someone explain aerodynamics of oversteer? I'm flying Springo 120 at 1.3, and when I practice different types of input up high, I noticed that it can oversteer really, really much. For instance, if I make a 360 degrees front riser turn, without counter input it can turn for like another 360. I learned to stop it with proper counter input in the harness, but I'm wondering does it have something to do with this type of canopy being trimmed too flat (Stiletto type of a canopy, with really short recovery arc)? Thanks.

I'll take a look in your posts and video, thanks a lot.

Ok, thanks for answers everybody. Saskia, I saw one of your posts somewhere in swooping and canopy control forum where you said that Springo collapses very easy in turbulence, can you descibe your experience please?

Hi everyone, can someone tell me is it true that PdF Springos are sized one size smaller than PD canopies? Like, a 120ft Springo is equal to 107ft Stiletto? A friend of mine heard this, but I'm not really sure. Thanks.

No thank you Drew, I'm not into getting wild and hurting myself. Besides, I fly a 120ft canopy loaded at 1.3 for style jumps, and it's pretty exciting for me. Straight in approach, 5 meter turf surf, and giggle for the rest of the day (or until next jump). It's not very SoFPiDaRF, but for some strange reason, I don't like pain.

Find a new dropzone. I'm into classic accuracy, and outside of competitions, it's not that exciting.

So, is there a canopy pilot, who is considered a good pilot, maybe even top-of-the game pilot, that doesn't have rods, plates and screws in his body left from the learning process? Is it possible for someone to become a good pilot with his bones intact? And if possible, are there any living examples? I'm just curious...

Mind if I ask for an explanation?

???

What about light jumper lightly loading small canopy (150ft), but with certain amount of jumps (350-500), almost all of them being on a large accuracy canopy? Does jump number count in that case? With my weight, Brian's chart says I can jump a 135ft canopy, but my jump number doesn't really count, right?

I get what you mean by "it's your leap of faith". Fair answer.

I left it alone, it was only a few jumps

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?

Mircan, are you saying that GoPro would do the job with great flying? Although this guy's not newbie (1300+ jumps), he's not great flyer. Good, yes, but not great. I suppose that you guys are actually recommending a camera for me, right? In that case, recommending some models that are cheaper than cx-105 would be great. :) And thanks for answering. :)

Hi, can someone recommend a camera for shooting tandems? A guy at my dropzone is looking to buy a new one (he has some SD Sony model right now), and he wants to buy GoPro. Considering the fact that GoPro has really wide lens, would you say it's good decision? Like, if he's only 5-6 ft away, tandem will probably look too small on video...

And I forgot to mention that I'm from Serbia, and that there is no canopy coaches here, NOT A SINGLE ONE. So, it's buying a rig, and going to Hungary to learn how to not get killed. That's one more reason why I want to gather as much informations as I can here...

Yes, my profile is correct. I am not going to get into swooping any time soon, since I'm low on cash, and will have to buy rig part by part. By then, I'll probably have 300 jumps or more. I'm jumping accuracy right now, so I think I'm pretty capable of landing in the place I want to.

I need an advice about getting a rig that I will use for canopy piloting. Would you recomend a rig with or without hip rings??? What are the pros and cons of a rig with hip rings???

Mr. Cris, I meant a rig that I'm going to use pretty much only for hops and pops from 5000ft. My question is, is rig with hip rings more or less comfortable during canopy flight, and similar things...