Swoop Training

[kkeenan 14]

After reading on the Incidents Forum about still another canopy crash, I figured a comment or two in this forum was appropriate.

I think that most of the swoop accidents are caused by people progressing too quickly through learning the types of entry manouvers available. There are several ways to gain the speed that a canopy needs to do a decent swoop. At one end of the spectrum is a srtaight-in approach on front risers, and on the other is a 360 degree front riser entry.

It's common knowledge that things are easier to learn if they are broken down into parts and learned in a progressively harder sequence. Keeping track of one's location in space throughout a radically descending 180 or 270 degree turn is hard enough to do without throwing in the problem of having the ground very (possibly fatally) close. To any but the incredibly brainless, that can be damn distracting.

If new swoopers train by starting out with straight-ins, they learn what to do with the extra speed that they will be arriving at the ground with. They have their landing area in sight throughout the swoop, and can get a feel for the angle and descent rate.

Once they are good with that, go to a 90 degree front riser turn to final. This is the next harder step, and teaches how to control both descent rate and turn rate to get the final to come out where you want it, both in heading and altitude. The key to both of these is that the landing area is in sight the whole time. If something is not right, you can bail out of the turn before it's too late. Making a swoop where you can't see the landing area until you are way into the maneuver should wait until these first two types of approaches are mastered.

If you are watching the landing area and projecting where the approach puts you, there should not be an incident where you are pulled from a crater in the dirt with your front riser loop still in your hand. Just remember, this is aviation, not skateboarding.

People who are old, like me, are used to not being listened to. So, I won't take it personally when another dozen swoopers frap this year. I subscribe to the theory that you can't survive to make all the mistakes yourself, so it's good to study other's mistakes. So look at the incidents and try to learn something from each one.

BSBD
kevin k
SCR 3022

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Dude, you are so awesome...
Can I be on your ash jump ?

[Chrisky 2]

I appreciate this post very much, as it addresses an issue i am interested in (and concerned about).
I'd consider myself as an "advanced" jumper and am aproaching swooping. That's why i'm happy about ANY advice ican get on the subject.

Dont want to end up crying on the lawn!

The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open.
From the edge you just see more.
... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...