Emmie 0 #1 April 12, 2002 Ok you hornet owners, I know there are lots of you out there, and I need some advice. Yesterday was my first time jumping with the hornet 170. It flies beautifully, I discovered that there is such a thing as penetration. However, the landings were weird. I would come in at full speed and flare about 8 feet off the ground, but the canopy would still have forward speed so I had to slide out all of my landings, which was fun, but 2 of them were through mud puddles, and jumping in wet clothes isn't very fun. My jm was there to watch the whole thing, and he said that I did everything right, so why doesn't the canopy stop right away? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rgoper 0 #2 April 12, 2002 emmie:i know what ya mean about the glide! i went from the 7 cell triathlon to the 9 cell hornet. triathlons have a tendency to "sink" in, thus making it easier to do a stand up landing, by getting in the brakes. the first 3 flights with my hornet, i'm gliding in, and i'm using the same landing pattern i was using for the triathlon, i wound up landing wayyyyyyy away from my target, so i had to shorten my final into the wind. when i started doing this, i started landing where i want to, and getting max glide out of the hornet. once you play with your landing pattern a little, and "find the brakes" on your hornet, i believe you'll have it fixed. next time your flying your canopy, just playing around, look to see how much slack you have on your 4 steering lines in full glide, then do some caution stalls to see where your canopy will stall at, this will also give you a good indication of where you shoud be at the bottom of your flare on landing. when i first got mine i did a hop-n-pop from altitude and just played with it all the way down, figuring if i have problems, i'd have plenty of time to clear it. eventually, you'll love the extra glide the hornet provides, and the crisper turns it has!Richard"I'll Give You 13 Guesses What I'll Be Doing Today, The First 12 Don't Count!" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChromeBoy 0 #3 April 12, 2002 As Richard said hop and pops are a great and necessary way to learn your canopy. Now that you are off AFF ask your jumpmaster if you can do a few hop and pops before the coached jumps. Jump out at altitude and deploy once you reach terminal velocity. Watch your altimeter and figure out the average amount of feet it takes once deploying to get a full canopy above your head. Then work on flaring and different turns. Have fun doing some spirals. After doing this you feel much more confident about your canopy. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skycat 0 #4 April 12, 2002 That is perfectly normal for a semi-elliptical semi-tapered or whatever they are calling that type of wings these days. What is happening is the first part of your flare is stoping your decent rate, the second part of your flare is what stops your forward speed. The key is to learn how to continue flying the canopy threw the 2nd part of the flare even though your feet are on the groud sliding. Depending on your wingloading and the winds this slide could be quite long or you may even have to run. Once you get used to it you won't ever want to go back to the canopies that just stoped when you started to flare, cause this one will be more forgiving on miss-timed flares until you get the feel of it down.Up high try different kinds of flares, ask rgoper, just the other weekend I was teasing him that he has a beautiful triathalon flare, only problem is, he was jumping a hornet So up high after you find the point that the canopy planes out at and get a muscle memory feel for it try hitting that point at different speeds like getting to it fast then slowly finishing out the bottom, then try getting to it slow, no matter how you do it, do it smooth not jerky. The guys here with alot of jumps on a hornet can tell you the technique that works for them such as, is it closer to a sabre flare or a safire flare (sabre - control range is high like shoulder level, safire - control range is low down around your waist), really it's just a matter of getting used to it and that will only time. have fun and be safe Kelli Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 20 #5 April 12, 2002 Honestly... it sounds like you had not flared all the way and as such your forward speed had not fully been converted to lift when you touched down. 8 feet maybe a bit low to stop you with a stand up landing under ZP unless you can surf. Try at about 10 feet slowly and smoothly going to just above the flare point. Once you are about 2 feet off the ground, transiton to the full flare position. This will help to rapidly transition the forward motion to lift. Then just walk out the landing. When you slowly, smoothly move the toggles you will start to geta better glide rate so plan on over shooting your target untill you get the flare down."Hey.. Its my camera, and my remote... I'll rewind if I want to!" ~ Goat #2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cloud9 0 #6 April 12, 2002 I think Phree hit it on the head. On my Hornet I flare fairly low maybe 6ft. That planes me out at just where my feet will drag if I let them. Then as I start to sink I finish the flare and it will pop me back up so I can just kind of step up and the speed is gone. I rarely have to run out my Hornet loaded at about 1.4. You just need to get used to a little surf. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rgoper 0 #7 April 13, 2002 **Up high try different kinds of flares, ask rgoper, just the other weekend I was teasing him that he has a beautiful triathalon flare, only problem is, he was jumping a hornet **i'll see you tomorrow! i will get you! J/K take care...Richard Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymama 37 #8 April 13, 2002 Emmie, I had problems with my Hornet that I had until I took a canopy control class here in Deland with Scott Miller. Of course, he would explain it better to you, but I'll try my best. Up high, play around with flairing, and try to find your "sweet spot". If you picture yourself like a penduleum, it's like where you can feel your legs and feet kind of swing out a little in front of you when you get partially through your flair. When you get to that spot, that's when you want to finish your flair. But, don't put your feet down right away. I was putting my feet down too soon, and not letting it ride out, and I would end up on my knees. So, I just started keeping my feet up a second or two longer than I had before, and I started landing on my feet after that. I'm no expert, but that worked for me. Good luck!AndreaI'm high as a kiteI just mightStop and check you out. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lazerq3 0 #9 April 16, 2002 I have about 10 jumps on my new hornet 150 and the noly problem I had was that I started learning to do 90 degree riser approaches and the chute would start bucking...I had my DZO fly it and he agreed although he said it didnt want to collaspe so that was good and to let out my breaks...so I lete them out 3 inches and now it turns sooo smooth with the risers......( when pulling on the front risers it was also pulling the tail....brakes where a little too short)!! Now when i come in I do a "2 stage flare" where I'll start the flare about 5 to 6 feet off the ground and lvel out and then finish the flare out at the very end....I 've always gotten tip toe runs outs form this canopy!!! (excpeted the time I reached) DOH!!! I really love the way you can make it surf in ( ok so Myabe I can only get about 15 to 20ft of surf right now but thats a lot for mejasonjason Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jsaxton 0 #10 June 30, 2002 Hummmm, mine seems to buck a little in front riser turns also......(thinking). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rgoper 0 #11 July 1, 2002 lengthen your brake lines?--Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nicknitro71 0 #12 July 1, 2002 I could not agree more with you guys. I weight 157 and jump a Hornet 150. Now my landings still suck but here is what I've learnt: Flare at 12-15' stick your legs in front of you and wait, wait and wait. Sometimes I flare a bit too low ~8 and slide my but still land on my feet; kinda cool actually. If this is your fist semi-high performance canopy just don’t be greedy to put your feet down. Yesterday I broke my big toe nail because of it. The hornet, although not being radical, swoops decently. Just enjoy the ride close to the ground. CoolMemento Audere Semper 903 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jimbo 0 #13 July 1, 2002 A while back CobaltDan started a thread called Balance and Canopy Control, there's some good advice in there for people having difficulty landing their new canopies. The thread is here: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=23977;search_string=Balance%20and%20Canopy%20Control;#23977 - Jim"Like" - The modern day comma Good bye, my friends. You are missed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
