Landing and wind direction

[ianmdrennan 2]

I'm pretty sure I've flown more than one
However since I've only flown the following:

Skymaster (student canopy)
Cruiselite 210
CO-D 170
ZP 170
ZP 150
Sabre 150
Pre-hornet 150, 135(can't remember what it's predecessor was called)
Heatwave 135
Spectre 120
Bladerunner 120
Stiletto 120
Heatwave 120
Hurricane 120
Velocity 103
Velocity 96
Velocity 90
Velocity 84

I'll concede that it's possible, although unlikely, that other canopies I haven't jumped exhibit this behavior.

Edit: As Quade has pointed out, lets not get too picky.

Blue skies
Ian

Performance Designs Factory Team

[bch7773 0]

I'd much rather land crosswind then downwind. like someone already said, landing crosswind has the same forward speed as landing in a no wind day.


but a question... you all are talking about how a canopy can't get turned by the wind... then what happens to me sometimes when on final when the wind is coming from over the hangers (quite turbulent), my canopy will sometimes make like a small turn to one side at about 100-20 feet? turbulance?

MB 3528, RB 1182

[quade 4]

Guys don't get too picky on the minor detail of this one.

ALL canopies can be turned by a gusts either positive or negative (wind shear). Ian, if you want an explanation as to how that works, I'd be glad to help you out.

Generally speaking though, we're not talking about gusts but rather steady or "average" winds which is "close enough" for a discussion of this type. Usually, unless something really bad happens and you get hurt.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[quade 4]

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I'd much rather land crosswind then downwind. like someone already said, landing crosswind has the same forward speed as landing in a no wind day.

Actually, if you do it right it's far better (slower) than a no wind landing.

It is all in the trigonometry. Not that you actually have to do any in order to land cross-wind, but it will explain the speeds.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[ianmdrennan 2]

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Generally speaking though, we're not talking about gusts but rather steady or "average" winds which is "close enough" for a discussion of this type.

Agreed.

Yeah I understand about gusts, but I guess we got caught up in the grammer and terminology.

I think we've all explained the concept well enough
Blue skies
Ian

Performance Designs Factory Team

[kallend 2,146]

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Guys don't get too picky on the minor detail of this one.

.

Minor details can kill in aviation.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[DrewEckhardt 0]

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This weekend I got to thinking a bit about landing and wind direction. Let's say you find yourself unable to make a landing into the wind for whatever reason. If your only two choices were 90 degrees across the wind or straight downwind, which do you take? Does it depend on how much wind there is? I'd love to hear the voice of experience.

If there were other people on final approach into the wind, I'd take the down-wind to limit the number of people I could collide with and make collision avoidance easier.

I think a ~5 MPH tail wind is nearly ideal for swoop distance. With that sort of wind and no traffic, I'd down wind it for fun.

Otherwise, I'd start with a cross-wind landing and turn as far into the wind as I could after plane-out. With some speed and a modern non-square canopy it's real easy to turn at least 90 degrees before you run out of lift.

[quade 4]

Drew --

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This weekend I got to thinking a bit about landing and wind direction. Let's say you find yourself unable to make a landing into the wind for whatever reason. If your only two choices were 90 degrees across the wind or straight downwind, which do you take? Does it depend on how much wind there is? I'd love to hear the voice of experience.

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If there were other people on final approach into the wind, I'd take the down-wind to limit the number of people I could collide with and make collision avoidance easier.

I think a ~5 MPH tail wind is nearly ideal for swoop distance. With that sort of wind and no traffic, I'd down wind it for fun.

Otherwise, I'd start with a cross-wind landing and turn as far into the wind as I could after plane-out. With some speed and a modern non-square canopy it's real easy to turn at least 90 degrees before you run out of lift.

While you are a "voice of experience" with (according to your profile) 1300 jumps and your current canopy a Samurai 105, do you think your's is a "voice of reason" when speaking to a person with (according to his profile) has 80 jumps and is currently flying a Sabre 190?

Downwind, opposite direction or same direction then carving across final?

I dunno man, seems a bit out of place all things considered.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[CanuckInUSA 0]

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While you are a "voice of experience" with (according to your profile) 1300 jumps and your current canopy a Samurai 105, do you think your's is a "voice of reason" when speaking to a person with (according to his profile) has 80 jumps and is currently flying a Sabre 190? I dunno man, seems a bit out of place all things considered.

Some form of context needs to be factored in here. Yes I see your point of not overloading the younger skydiver with more advanced piloting techniques. But at the same time, I think it's okay for Drew to talk about certain skills. And we all really need to practice these skills up high first before we ever think about using them down low. But when you need them, it's nice to know you know how to do it (based on your experiences up high).

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over