Front riser pressure

[OwenB 0]

I have recently downsized from a Spectre 170 (WL 0.90) to a Safire2 149 (WL 1.15). I was trying out some canopy exercises at the weekend and was surprised at how difficult it was for me to pull down on the front risers compared with the Spectre.

Understandably changing canopy will result in a completely different handling beast. I guess naively I was expecting it to be easier because it was smaller.

Is the reason it is more difficult something to do with the fact its now a 9 cell rather than a 7 cell? Or is it down to the different angle of attack each canopy has?

Thanks
Owen

[stayhigh 2]

all Icarus canopy has higher front riser pressure vs PD canopy.

Bernie Sanders for President 2016

[davelepka 4]

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Is the reason it is more difficult something to do with the fact its now a 9 cell rather than a 7 cell? Or is it down to the different angle of attack each canopy has?

It's more of a trim issue. One canopy may hang more of your weight off the front risers, and the other may hang more off the back. The less weight hanging off the front, the easier they are to pull.

Try slowing the canopy down a little before you pull down the riser. Go into 1/4 or 1/2 brakes, and give the canopy a few seconds to slow down. Then reach right up from the braked position and grab the riser(s) and pull down. The idea is to catch them before you have a chance to accelerate back up to full flight, so don't waste any time.

Once you grab the riser(s), there should be less tension on them, and should be easier to pull down. Once you pull them down, the airspeed and tension will start to build, but it's easier to hold the riser down with higher tension than it is to pull it down under tension.

It's just different than what you're used to, and riser tension is generally higher with the larger canopies. They do fly slower, but you're yanking on a lot of square footage, and it yanks back pretty hard.

[DrewEckhardt 0]

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Is the reason it is more difficult something to do with the fact its now a 9 cell rather than a 7 cell? Or is it down to the different angle of attack each canopy has?

It's because the canopy is different.

In steady flight the forces on front risers, rear risers, and brake toggles must add up to your weight. Different canopies split the load differently.