Instructors...weigh in...

[jumpjunkie2004 0]

I weight 148-150 - I have a Spectre 210. I experience alot of turbulence - almost every ride is bumpy. I bought a 210 because I wanted to be conservative. However, some people have told me that I should go to a 190 because I don't weigh enough for my canopy. I have had some landing issues, but now I've seemed to have gotten the hang of it and I'm feeling more comfortable under my canopy. Not all my landings are standup, but the last four in a row have been - in an assortment of wind conditions. I only have 80 jumps. I checked the PD site - the Novice recommended weight is 189. Should I keep jumping the 210 until all of my landings are perfect or should I down size? Which is safer?

Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

[AggieDave 6]

There typically isn't anything wrongn with a .8:1 wingloading. Are you flying over objects that can cause thermals? Are you flying around obsticles that cause turbulence with a little wind?

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[Ron 10]

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However, some people have told me that I should go to a 190 because I don't weigh enough for my canopy

I weigh about the same, how much you wanna bet that I can land that canopy with no problems? My first canopy was 220 sqft and I weighed 140 pounds. I jumped that canopy for 250ish jumps.

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I checked the PD site - the Novice recommended weight is 189.

150 + 25 for gear = 175. Seems the 190 would be perfect for you.

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Should I keep jumping the 210 until all of my landings are perfect or should I down size? Which is safer?

You have gotten hurt landing right? Smaller canopies will hurt more given the same mistakes.

Bigger canopies will only be dangerous in really high winds. Don't jump in those winds. Smaller canopies are ALWAYS more dangerous.

Given that you have had problems, I would stay with what you have till you can say with 100% confidence that you stand up all your landings, not just a handful.

This is a problem, smaller canopies do not help you land better. Everything happens faster and you have a smaller window to do things right. If you are having problems, don't make them worse by downsizing.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[bodypilot1 0]

This would be answered best by a local Instructor that has seen a few of your landings.
At your weight, the canopy size seems abit too conservative, but there could be other factors involved as to your choice.........
Get some experienced canopy coaching at your home DZ.



Be safe
Ed

www.WestCoastWingsuits.com
www.PrecisionSkydiving.com

[jumpjunkie2004 0]

Thanks guys. I'm taking Scott Miller's course on 6/18. Maybe after he watches me under canopy a couple of times he will be able to give me advice based on my performance.

I'm not in a rush to downsize - I want to be as safe as possible. I have injured myself. So, I would like to be under the canopy that would be the safest for me - whatever that might be.

Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

[jumpjunkie2004 0]

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I weigh about the same, how much you wanna bet that I can land that canopy with no problems?

I bet you could land a tandem rig with no problems even without a student!

Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

[AggieDave 6]

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Thanks guys. I'm taking Scott Miller's course on 6/18. Maybe after he watches me under canopy a couple of times he will be able to give me advice based on my performance.

If anyone can, he can. Good luck with the course. You'll probably find, as I did, that it benifits you to take his courses more then once.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[jumpjunkie2004 0]

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If anyone can, he can. Good luck with the course. You'll probably find, as I did, that it benifits you to take his courses more then once.

I'm counting on that : ) I took it once before, but I only had 13 jumps at the time.

Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

[LawnDart21 0]

Another thing to consider, unless you bought the Spectre 210 brand new, it's possible that if it's been jumped alot, that it may simply be out of trim or going out of trim. That will affect how it flies.

Take it to a local rigger and ask them to inspect the line trim.

I had a 1992 Sabre 150 with over 1500 jumps on it that I was jumping in 2001, and I believe it was on it's second or third line set when I got it. I put about 50-100 jumps on it with the ratty lines and it had issues from time to time, then I relined it and it flew like a brand new canopy.

--
My other ride is a RESERVE.

[jumpjunkie2004 0]

I bought it from the DZO. He wasn't sure how many jumps it had on it, but it was student rental gear.

It feels brand new - it's a bitch to pack. Everyone thought I bought it new. So, I'm guessing that it had less than 200 jumps on it when I got it. Unfortunately, I don't know how to find out how many jumps it's had : (

Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

[NWFlyer 2]

But you can find out if it's in trim by asking a rigger to check it for you.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[LawnDart21 0]

Next time your canopy is out of the bag, ready to be packed, weigh down the rig, tie your risers together (a pull up cord through the big ring of the 3-ring works well), and then ask someone to hold the two front risers together while you run up all your A-Lines (All the lines attached at the leading edge (front) of the canopy)). They should all be about the same length. If your canopy is going out of trim, they will look more line an arc, with the outside A-lines on reach side noticably shorter than the other inboard lines. This shrinkage of the outside lines is caused by the friction of the slider running down the lines each time the canopy inflates after a skydive. If you see a noticable arc (or "smile" of your A-lines, that could be a sign of the canopy going out of trim.

--
My other ride is a RESERVE.

[darkwing 5]

I can't imagine anyone here giving you better advice than your instructors and Scott Miller. Certainly not me, which is why I'm not giving any.

-- Jeff
My Skydiving History

[SkymonkeyONE 4]

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I weigh about the same, how much you wanna bet that I can land that canopy with no problems?

I bet you could land a tandem rig with no problems even without a student!

My tandem main is a 350. That's 25 square feet smaller than the main canopy I had in my "work" HALO rig when I was in the Army. I never had any problem safely landing that canopy, standing, every single time, with or without a rucksack hanging on me. I never weighed more than 155 the entire time I was in the service (21 years). "Underloading" that canopy when I was jumping Hollywood is an understatement, but I, and every other lightweight HALO jumper I know, had no choice in the matter. That's was our only choice at work, so we simply dealt with it. You are not underloading your canopy. You may not be loading it at the recommended "perfect" wingload for your experience level, but it's plenty safe and you definitely ought to be able to land that canopy fine.

Chuck

[kelpdiver 2]

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I weight 148-150 - I have a Spectre 210. I experience alot of turbulence - almost every ride is bumpy.

Is the bumpiness during landings, or the flight up higher when you open? I've had similar experiences whenever I travel south to Lake Elsinore. Some of the guys there think it's wind sheer from the nearby mountains - from 3k-1.5k esp I'm getting bounced around enough to be distracting and I wondered if it was too lightly loaded.

But closer to the ground, it settles down for the most part, so I've developed a new sense for normal when flying there.

[Ron 10]

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I can't imagine anyone here giving you better advice than your instructors and Scott Miller. Certainly not me, which is why I'm not giving any.

I am one of her instructors....I just have not seen her in a while.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[jumpjunkie2004 0]

I have experience turbulence at every altitude. It's definitely worse up top, but I've had issues on final approach as well.

I'm sure Scott will be able to help me out when I see him.

Thanks to everyone that replied : )

Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

[jumpjunkie2004 0]

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I can't imagine anyone here giving you better advice than your instructors and Scott Miller. Certainly not me, which is why I'm not giving any.

I asked this question here because I have 80 jumps at 9 different dropzones. Everywhere I go, people are surprised that I jump a 210 and I've been told a number of times that my canopy wingloading is so low that it might be better for me to downsize to a 190.

I will hold off until I can spend sometime with Scott - I'm sure that he will be able to recommend a solution to my bumpy rides. The other issue I have is my final approach on windy days - I pretty much start my final almost right above where I want to land because I don't get any forward penetration. It feels like I'm coming straight down.

Jump, Land, Pack, Repeat...

[skr 1]

> I'm taking Scott Miller's course on 6/18

That's the right idea.

You will probably get a smaller canopy of
some kind later, but right now education
on canopy flying is way more important.

Also you could start noticing which experienced
jumpers approach canopy flying like Scott does
so you have some good influences to hang out
with after he leaves.

Skr

[skybytch 273]

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The other issue I have is my final approach on windy days - I pretty much start my final almost right above where I want to land because I don't get any forward penetration. It feels like I'm coming straight down.

That one's easy to solve. Don't jump when it's windy.

I load my main around .95. I hate landing straight down. So when students go on wind hold, so do I.