jigneshsoni 0 #1 June 17, 2005 I have the following questions about options after opnening the parachute? 1) Once you open the parachute, can you fly for a very long time? I mean can be flying in the air for say 1 hour instead of just 5-6 min? 2) In my tandem jump I realized that you can pull string on right to turn right and left to turn left. How do you move forward or backward? 3) what does it mean by flaring and braking? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lisamariewillbe 1 #2 June 17, 2005 Read the Sim, or the Skydivers handbook.Sudsy Fist: i don't think i'd ever say this Sudsy Fist: but you're looking damn sudsydoable in this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gus 1 #3 June 17, 2005 Quote1) Once you open the parachute, can you fly for a very long time? I mean can be flying in the air for say 1 hour instead of just 5-6 min? Not really. As a very general rule a skydiving parachute will descend at something like 1000 feet a minute. Skydiving parachutes are not designed like paragliders to glide and catch thermals. Therefore if you open your canopy at 3000 ft you can fly for 3 minutes. Imagine how congested the sky would get if we all stayed up there for an hour! Quote2) In my tandem jump I realized that you can pull string on right to turn right and left to turn left. How do you move forward or backward? Basically you are always moving forward. Modern, rectangular, ram-air canopies (like the one you did your tandem on) are wings just like the wings of an aeroplane. These canopies don't slow your descent simply by producing drag (like jumping off a roof with an umbrella) instead they produce lift. But, like aeroplanes, to produce lift there needs to be air flowing over the wing so basically you are always moving forwards. Some canopies will fly backwards but they're not really designed to do so. Quote3) what does it mean by flaring and braking? They're pretty much the same thing, it's when you pull down on both steering toggles. That increases the amount of lift the canopy is producing, therefore slowing your descent ie for landing, and also the amount of drag, which slows your forward speed. GusOutpatientsOnline.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,085 #4 June 19, 2005 >can you fly for a very long time? Depends on your parachute, the wind conditions (i.e. thermals/lift) and where you open. At Lost Prairie we do a cross country every year; some jumpers spend 20 minutes under canopy flying back. They open high, use a large parachute and fly in brakes. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
point_code 0 #5 June 20, 2005 Hey! I tried jumping off the roof using an umbrella when I was a kid. It created no drag whatsoever. what size umbrella do you use? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflygirlz 0 #6 June 20, 2005 a jumper on my dz used to do drop tests with cats and hens when he was a boy. He used self-made little parachutes (rounds of course) of bed-sheets and droped them of the window or a bridge. I guess, he didn't produce a lot of lift as well..... poor cats... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mjosparky 4 #7 June 20, 2005 Rounds produce no lift at all, just drag. SparkyMy idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
