my second off landing

[The111 1]

About two months ago I had my first off landing. It was far from textbook, I walked away from a very ugly landing in a tiny backyard due in large part to luck. My landing accuracy has always been my weakest point, and I've spent the past 50 jumps focusing on it. I've got down to 10-20m almost 100% of the time, but it's still very hard for me to get the 2m required for C, only have done that 4 times. Also, 10-20m should be 10-20m ANYWHERE, but I know that when I have a small target field to shoot for, that means doing almost my whole approach over obstacles which I don't want to land on. Theoretically the 3-leg pattern should transfer fine, and I can land fine in unfamiliar LARGE areas (first time at new DZ can be right at target in middle of field), but an unfamiliar small area can cause me to freak and I'm aware of that. Losing calm is the first step to an incident. So I've been semi-anxiously awaiting my next off landing and hoping I'd be ready for it. Yesterday I had it. It wasn't picture perfect, but I made mostly good decisions, and stood up a nice 30ft surf facing a solid tree line 20m in front of me.

I'm going to try to recount what happened, in hopes that I can be offered advice from others, even though I know what I did right/wrong. I apologize for the length of this post, I often get very detailed when telling stories like this.

A picture can be found here (too big to attach) which will assist my story. I got the picture from Microsoft's TerraServer site in case you're curious. It's a great resource.

This was at Space Center in Titusville. The green shows my normal landing pattern through the day, I was aiming for a tiny towel I set out there for accuracy. From that pattern you can deduce groundwind direction. The turquoise line represents jump run. Uppers were opposite direction from ground wind, with the change in direction occuring around 3000ft. It was nice for the tandems opening high, because they could ride the uppers back to the DZ. But for me, I was opening downwind of the DZ every single time all day (seated at 3000ft or just below), but none as bad as the last jump of the day. The groundwinds were 5-10mph so it wasn't too hard to make it back unless you were REALLY far downwind, as I was on the last jump of the day. Admittedly, the spot in the door looked a bit long (we were at 18000ft so was a bit harder to tell), and I should have probably pulled 1000ft higher, and I knew it. But as it turned out, I was seated at about 2500ft, and I was so far West that I was out of the frame of the picture shown. I was actually over I-95 if you know the area. I flew toward the DZ, and the entire time it looked very borderline as to whether I would make it or not. I knew there was a moderate headwind in my face, and I was flying light 1.1 WL on Spectre, so I decided against trying to use risers or brakes to flatten my glide, figuring with such a light WL and moderate headwind, it would hurt me more than help. I did try half brakes for a few seconds and tried to re-assess the accuracy trick, but at 2000ft the accuracy trick is harder for me to use. The "movement" of the ground objects is not as pronounced to my eyes. Half brakes slowed me down so much I was having an even harder time determining where I was headed, but I looked about the same (borderline I *might* make the edge of the DZ), so I went back to full flight and kept going for it (there were no landing options between I-95 and where I was headed, so that was the best thing to do). At about 1200ft I was starting to cross a medium sized field, and still wondering if I could make the DZ. At 800ft I was just past the field (upwind of it) and still uncertain if I could make the DZ.

It's still a shock to me now how hard my mind resisted. My subconscious REALLY wanted to try to make the DZ. But somehow a little voice in my head said, "Know where you're going to land by 1000ft!!!" If I had kept going at that point, I would have been commited to the DZ and possibly fell slightly short and hit a road, powerlines, or a fence. But I listened to the voice, and aware that I had a perfectly good field just behind me, I turned around.

I was now at 800ft and the beginning of the yellow pattern drawn on the picture. The green pattern I had been using all day should, theoretically, transfer to the red pattern for a landing in the center of the field. But as I mentioned before, I get nervous when I see a small landing area and my body forcibly tries to "shrink" the pattern so it hugs the comfort zone tighter, which leaves me no room for a final and creates a risk of overshooting. I was well aware of this and trying to fight it, while at the same time being afraid to go too far downwind and *undershoot* the field. Since I was below 1000ft and downwind of the red pattern start point, I figured I would merge into it mid pattern. At the time I thought I did a pretty good job of simulating the ass-end of the green pattern in a new location, but it wasn't until just now when I made that picture that I realized how far away from the red pattern my actual pattern (the yellow one) was. That error was a function of the panic I was feeling... not as much panic as my other off landing, I tried forcibly to stay calm, but I certainly wasn't as calm as normal.

As you see the yellow pattern has 4 legs. It wasn't intended to be that way, but as I finished the "base" leg, I could tell I was still waaay too high (obvious why now since I cut the pattern so short). So I did a gentle 180 to circle back for another base. It would have been smarter to do the second base further downwind, but again I have issues getting away from the "comfort" zone of the field, so my base legs were actually just skirting the edge of it at this point, I was overtop the West tree line of the field and those trees felt too close for comfort already, even though I was still 200-300 feet high probably at the beginning of the 2nd base. As I neared the end of the 2nd base, I could tell I was still a bit too high, i.e. if I turned onto final I would probably overshoot my field and hit the east treeline. But I wasn't so high that I had time to do a whole 180 and do a "third base"... the trees were getting close. So I chose to turn 90 right onto my final, but since I knew I was higher than I wanted to be, I purposely did a sort of aggresive 90, a toggle hook if you like, but just to clear things up I still had WELL over 10 seconds of level flight after that turn leveled off. So that "hook" served its purpose and dropped me down a little more than a gentle turn would have, I was now on final and not so high, but as I looked at the east treeline I could tell I was still a bit higher than I wanted to be and there was a small chance I wouldn't touch down before that east treeline. So I did two kind of semi-aggressive 45 degree S-turns, knowing that would cause me to lose a little altitude. It worked, I came in for a somewhat fast landing (still had some extra speed from the turns), stood it up perfect and actually surfed very far for me (someone who doesn't attempt to surf), and came to a stop a little too close to the tree line for comfort (as described earlier, maybe 10-20m away). Again, look at the 4-leg yellow pattern on the picture.

In retrospect, the mistakes I made.

1) Bad spot.
2) Didn't open high on bad spot (was last to exit plane).
3) Landing pattern to small field was not very good simulaton of open field landing pattern. Too afraid to go far away from the "comfort zone", which is close over the field.
4) The little "toggle hook turns" I did at the end, a 90 to drop down fast into the field and not overshoot it, and then the two 45's halfway across the field to drop down a bit more and ensure I wouldn't overshoot... I know those types of maneuvers aren't a good idea, especially when dropping below a tree line and possibly hitting wind shear. You're distorting your canopy and swinging your body out from under it, all close to the ground and all close to possible turbulence. I've done it before in open fields when trying to shoot for accuracy, but I was told by another jumper at the DZ a smarter approach would have been to turn onto final and just use double fronts to get a steep approach into the field and avoid the overshoot. That way I'd stay under the canopy and not distort its shape.

Obviously, it's not a desirable situation to be in where mistakes 3 and 4 can be made (i.e. I could have avoided the whole thing earlier), but these are the ones I am most focused on, because if and when this does happen again I want to be able to handle it even more calmly and accurately. Here's my biggest concern:

Even if I *had* gone a little further downwind of my field (left the "comfort zone"), there's still a chance my straight in final wouldn't have been right on the money. What's the best way to alter that straight in final if you know you're going to overshoot? The winds were light enough by that level that brakes probably would not have worked to steepen my glide, so I'm thinking the best solution would have been to use double fronts as my other friend suggested. I really haven't tried them too much in close comparison to straight in approaches though, to notice exactly how much more they can steepen your glide. Is it significant? Is this a common tool for accuracy?

www.WingsuitPhotos.com

[FrogNog 1]

First, as many people will comment, you did good. Kept your head, made some smart decisions, didn't get injured, and _still_ managed to learn from it. :)

Second, front riser theory has multiple facets, and they might not have helped you get to the ground with more distance ahead of you before the trees. I won't try and expound on double front riser details like some sort of expert, but I'd say "try it in your regular field a few times in different amounts of wind first" to see what it's like.

Third, deep brakes still might have helped, but I think trying anything out for the first time while trying to land off is not the best plan. If you use deep enough brakes, you should be able to get a steeper glide. I would be concerned about the altitude needed to dive and return to full flight (I have had two close calls on this before) and the stall point. Another good thing to play around with up high - how far can you brake the canopy without it collapsing?

You mentioned a concern about turbulence in the landing area. Someone in the know should comment on whether a fully braked canopy or a front-risered (and therefore highly pressurized, I would assume) canopy would be more stable in the face of turbulence.

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Pull.

[chuckbrown 0]

Good job mofo. You definitely had some lousy choices & made the right decision. My only comment would be to have not even thought about making the DZ. I would have been on that field like a fly on stink immediately. Learn your canopy's stall point & practice sinking it with deep brakes. If you're still overshooting try doing flat turns (turning while in brakes); you'll lose the foward speed without the rapid loss of altitude.

If I even remotely think I might land off, I start looking for a out immediately. I think one of my most frightening jumps was landing out at night (night CRW). I have NO problem with walking back to a DZ. Better that than making the wrong decision and riding in an ambulance.

[The111 1]

Yeh, I have no problem with the inconvenience of a walk (and as it turned out me and the guy I jumped with who landed next to me both got a ride back immediately), I just fear landing out in medium to small sized fields because I still doubt my ability to hit that target to some extent. I consider the field I chose "medium" size... anything smaller and I would have been terrified, but I knew I could probably make this one.

As far as "sinking", which both people have commented on so far... I know it's useless to parrot information, but Scott Miller has told me several times that even deep brakes on a Spectre (and many other popular canopies), in no wind conditions, will simply flatten your glide (the opposite of a sink). In light winds like I had, I would have had to apply very deep brakes to sink, which scares me near the ground (maybe I need to get over that), and also made me more susceptible to any wind shear at treetop level.

I trust Scott's word, but I'm still curious... on a no wind day is it possible to sink a Spectre in? Like I said, I don't like deep brakes near the ground, but I could set up in deep brakes at 2000ft, on a no wind day, or aim myself crosswind, and see if I maintain stationary over the ground until 1000ft. Maybe I'll try that out this weekend...

www.WingsuitPhotos.com

[FrogNog 1]

Yeah, I am finding out that wind has everything to do with it. Practice and experimentation is the order, I suppose.

I will refrain from giving a useless, 74-jump "my experience has been" comparison of double front risers and deep brakes across various winds.

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Pull.

[pccoder 0]

Hey, did my out landing there 10 days ago. Titusville doesn't have too many choices does it? Glad to hear you did well.

PcCoder.net

[chuckbrown 0]

I can't comment on the flight characteristics of the Spectre, my experience is pretty much limited to highly loaded Triathlons & Lightnings. With light winds, you're better off doing flat S turns to slow your forward ground speed & lose the altitude. I've been to T-ville & the outs pretty much suck. You should definitely spend some jumps focusing on accuracy & being able to put your canopy anywhere you want to.

[The111 1]

Quote

Hey, did my out landing there 10 days ago. Titusville doesn't have too many choices does it? Glad to hear you did well.

How did you handle it? I was pretty scared, but like I said I know my accuracy isn't the best and I mucked up my last off landing. But I stayed halfway calm and set it down at the edge of the field, which I guess is acceptable though not as good as the center.

I'm assuming you did it well though, and I remember reading you saying you're confident with your accuracy, which is cool considering when I had that many jumps (which wasn't too long ago!) my accuracy was HORRID. At least now it's borderlining on acceptable.

www.WingsuitPhotos.com

[Ron 10]

You did well..You lived and you listened to the Voice of Reason instead of trying to make the DZ.

Quote

1) Bad spot.
2) Didn't open high on bad spot (was last to exit plane).
3) Landing pattern to small field was not very good simulaton of open field landing pattern. Too afraid to go far away from the "comfort zone", which is close over the field.
4) The little "toggle hook turns" I did at the end

1. Bad spots happen...Next time if it looks iffy...Get a second opinion, or just go around. Even a 180 would do it.

2. If you were a solo...Yeah you should have opened higher if you thought the spot was bad..Plus you were last out..so you could open wherever you wanted.....Now if you were not last out...Try to open as normal as much as you can.

3. When in doubt don't flyover anything you don't want to land on....I see no issue with your approach...

4. Turns like that build speed...you have to then eat up distance to get rid of that speed, and that puts you closer to the trees at the far end....Braked turns would be better.

Do your next couple of landings and use different brake settings on final (Let it fly about 50-75 feet up for a good landing) but see how half brakes will make you land short...After you get that fiqured out...try using front risers...

The thing about front risers is..while it WILL increase your desent rate...It will also increase your speed. That speed then has to be bled off to land. Many times putting you at about the same landing point when you stop. The real problem is it makes you go faster, and faster is bad when you might hit something...Braked turns are better.

But you did well considering that this is not "incidents" and that you were able to walk to the computer and post it yourself.

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

[pccoder 0]

I was really scared too. If you look back in Safety & Training you'll find my thread on this story. I detailed thoroughly my experience that day. I learned alot too, and the people in this forum offer a lot of really helpful information. You made a good decision to turn around. With me, I came up short of where I really wanted to get to, but was able to make it to a small field on the extreme north side of the DZ. However, my landing pattern was NON EXISTENT. I flew straight in from the time I opened till the time I landed, winds were really strong and right in my face.

PcCoder.net

[The111 1]

Oh, when you said "did my out landing there 10 days ago", I thought you meant in the exact same field as me. Guess you just meant same DZ...

www.WingsuitPhotos.com

[TimDave 0]

A few comments about whether braked turns or fronts are better. This is very specific to the situation but here are some points to consider. Using fronts will be more stable in turbulance since you are maintaining your airspeed = pressurized canopy = safer. You are not increasing your forward speed but increasing your descent. This is an increase in your speed vector which will probably put you in the same place as full flight in the end (on a light wind day). The thing to remeber is that you have to trust your capabilities and practice all that new stuff up high. The deep brake approach takes a lot of practice.

[The111 1]

You mentioned the same thing as Ron - that double fronts would cause me to end up in almost the same place because of the extra speed when I plane off. The way I see it, this has a lot to do with how *long* I stay in double fronts. If I stay in double fronts for a very long final approach, then I bring my landing point back considerably, and even if the plane off at the end swoops me forward a bit, it's probably not enough to recover all that distance I moved my landing point back. But if I only stay in double fronts for a low, short final approach, it will only bring my landing point back slightly, and that distance will probably be recovered by my longer plane off.

Does that sound right?

www.WingsuitPhotos.com

[Ron 10]

Quote

The way I see it, this has a lot to do with how *long* I stay in double fronts. If I stay in double fronts for a very long final approach, then I bring my landing point back considerably, and even if the plane off at the end swoops me forward a bit, it's probably not enough to recover all that distance I moved my landing point back. But if I only stay in double fronts for a low, short final approach, it will only bring my landing point back slightly, and that distance will probably be recovered by my longer plane off.

You would have to stay in double fronts pretty long..And that can be hard to do with some 1.1 loaded canopies.

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