greeny 0 #1 July 30, 2005 In reply to some questions posed in PCA characteristics: I'm not sure of the figures, but I know when you are low, releasing the breaks wrong, can make you dive into the ground hard. (This has all been posted before you might want to try a search). Try it on higher jumps where you have room for error. This is just my take on things: When you unstow your toggles and let the breaks off you canopy wants to accelerate forward. The faster you let your breaks up the harder it tries to accelerate, the deeper your break setting the more exaggerated this is. I believe what causes the canopy to dive is the canopy accelerating and (initially) your body staying relatively still. Think of a ball on the end of a rope. You kick it and it goes in a circle. Your canopy acts the same way around your body and the only place it has to go is down! If you are high enough, then your body soon catches up and you regain level flight. If you are not high enough then you meet the ground while your canopy is still in its dive (A good PLF helps here). The way to avoid this is to release you toggles and let your breaks up slowly. The slower you do this the flatter your flight will be and if you look at it on low objects (sub 200ft FF, sub 130ft SL / PCA) you will also see that when you let your breaks up slowly you get more distance from the object before you land. There is a noticeable difference. Remember you do not need to be in full flight to flare. On the lower stuff you may only get your breaks half way back up before you need to flare. You can also be doing all this while initiating, minor, flat turns to avoid obstacles on you landing area. Just let your breaks up unevenly and you will turn. As with all things, practice your landings from partial breaks and flat turns. I am not sure at what height I keep my toggles stowed and land on risers, I just go off the feeling that I am too low to unstow my toggles. To land on rear risers with your toggles still stowed: Flare very gently. Rear riser flares need less input as they pull down the whole rear of your canopy, not just your breaks and you are also still in breaks. Don’t forget to PLF. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *The rest of this is something I am only just starting to play with so hopefully someone else will have more info.* ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Consider is how deep do you want your break setting for low objects? If object strike is not a problem (Low Bridge), I think a shallower break setting might be better, as your canopy would be flying faster and give a better flare with out releasing the toggles. Also: If you have a low off heading, think about which impact is better to accept: A hard rear riser / toggle turn away from the object, but into the ground Or Bracing and accepting the impact low on the object and any secondary impacts as you drop down. Maybe hitting the wall 10ft up is better (you are wearing body armour right??) I had a 120R opening on a 170ft FF (60R as it opened, but it continued to turn). A little left riser stopped the turn and brought my impact point back left about 6ft, just enough to accept the softest point between the big rocks. You may have no choice but to accept the landing you are given……… Hope this helps Greeny P.S. If any of you or your girls are big enough to use your multi as a G-String you have more problems than I can help you with. I love my Multi and (my full ZP top skin) and although I admit I didn’t always use it at first I now have 130 jumps on it (out of 245 total) and for anything technical where I need a set up I can trust I use my Fox 265 with Multi, V-Tec, and ZP top skin. Apex are currently starting construction of my new rigg. A fox 240 Multi, V-Tec, with ZP top skin. I did 4 PCA's for a friend first jumps this week all on a fox with a multi and all on heading Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
