riddler

I don't entirely agree with this. On every jump, I split my time about 50/50 between risers and toggles. I agree that toggles are quicker and more responsive than rear risers, but it makes sense to practice using all your available control inputs. There's only 8 inputs (if you include harness shifting) - practice with all of them. When I first open, before I do anything else, my hands immediately come up to rear risers. If I open directly toward another canopy, I can pull one rear riser and avoid them quicker than fumbling for toggles. Also, if for some reason, I open absurdly low to the ground, I will be able to setup my upwind approach quicker than reaching for toggles, and without the chance of grabbing quickly for a toggle and missing it. After safely opening, I then do a "clearing" turn with rear risers to check for canopies within a 360 degree radius (I look first, of course). This also gives me a feel for the riser response, vs. toggle response. After all this, I collapse my slider, stow it behind my head, and grab toggles. Typically, with toggle still in hand, I'll play with rear, and sometimes front, risers. Definitely play with rear risers up high - it will give you a sense of the response time (i.e. you typically won't turn as quickly with rear riser as with toggles on larger canopies). Do a 360 with both rear risers and toggles and count seconds for each to prove it to yourself. After that do another 360 with both rear riser and toggle watching your altimeter before every turn. You probably won't see much if any altitude loss on the rear riser turn, vs. the toggle turn. Also, you can do a flat turn with toggles just as easily as rear riser - pull both toggles down to half brakes and let up on the opposite one that you wish to turn with. You may lose a little more altitude doing a flat turn with toggles, vs. risers, but you will probably be able to do it quicker. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

What are you having trouble with? Is it getting to the landing area, or just flaring at the appropriate time? Canopy control is something that you should have by 11 jumps - knowing how to get to the target in no winds, light (student) winds, etc. If you're having a problem with this, get a canopy coach. Landing is where most students are likely to hurt themselves, and it takes practice to get the timing right. Like learning to ride a bike - you can either crash a lot, or you can use training wheels until you get it. I think not getting hurt is one of the best ways to keep students in the sport, so I don't think there's anything wrong with spending quite a few jumps teaching students when to flare by radio. Eventually, you'll see the timing. There are also a few different landing techniques - some work better for some people. Ask your instructors to give you a different way to learn to flare. Also, consider this - do you trust your instructors to flare you correctly every time? Most of the time, they do a fine job, but I've seen them flare students too high , and I've seen them flare students too low . At some point, you'll start to trust yourself more than your instructors. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

*cough*google*cough* Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Rather than encouraging newbies on their way to the darkside, why not show them that they can use their power for good, rather than evil? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

The little suckers are almost impossible to spot in the wild too. I was fortunate enough to see three of them this year in Honduras. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Err - so what happened to the massage table that she traded you for the juicer?? Or should we keep this little conversation between ourselves? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Hmm - OK as soon as we get the RV, we're camping out in your backyard until you teach me how to do that Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I believe you can do 150-160, but 120?? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

He may tell you he can go that slow, but I suspect it's really the extra drag from the pilot chute he's holding that's slowing him down. When I teach AFF and pull out the PC for the first time to show the students, I tell them it's the parachute. Some of them actually believe me Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I've been thinking the same thing most of my adult life Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Damn! Someday I wanna be able to sit with a 90 pound girl on her belly! Right now, I can't even belly with a 90 pound girl on her belly. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Ditto on Dragonlance, but you forgot the whole Shannara series Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

You mean they don't make explosion sounds when they're destroyed in space? Seriously, I don't watch television, but I'm looking forward to it coming out on DVD. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I don't think Aerodyne ever came out with a formal statement as to why they are switching ZP fabric. Does anyone have a link on this? This was also discussed on another thread. Without Aeordyne making a formal statement, I have to lean towards assuming that they themselves feel it's better, cheaper or easier to acquire. I'm kind of disappointed with the move - easier packing is one of the main reasons I recommend Tris to students. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

If you start at 3K, claw your way over the jumpers vying for the door, open the door and actually get out, you'll probably be at 1K anyway. Now if I'm already hanging outside at 1K, no problem. Maybe we should all just float the takeoff? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

In my experience, the jumpers that are most concerned about aircraft safety are the ones that are pilots themselves. The skydivers that aren't pilots (myself included) wouldn't know how to read a maintenance report, even if it was posted in the front door of the DZ. From the things I've heard pilots say about DZ aircraft, it's probably a good thing that I don't know what's wrong with them - it would probably stop me from jumping altogether. Here's a question for you pilot types - are commercial, passenger aircraft subject to more FAA scrutiny (more inspections, more maintenance, et al) than say a typical skydiving plane? I don't exactly ask for maintenance reports when I get on Delta, either Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Except for the people that had too much to drink the night before Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I never used to mind turbulence on airplanes until I started skydiving. Now, after flying my canopy around in turbulence, I hate it! The feeling you have in those conditions is caused by a few things. The most common are canopy deflation/inflation ("breathing") and line slack. When you are flying in "normal" conditions, you are inside the airmass, moving with it, and the air inflates all 7 or 9 cells of your canopy more or less with even pressure. When gusty conditions cause some cells in your canopy to have less pressure than other cells, the cells with less pressure will deflate some, and the overall size of the canopy will decrease. The "big-square" canopy will become "less big-probably still square". Since the canopy is smaller for a short time, it will have less lift. Combine that with pressure changes in the air around the canopy, caused by gusting winds, and you will feel a short drop. When the cells pressurize again, the canopy will get back to it's normal (bigger) size. All of this happens fairly quickly, but if you look up at the canopy in turbulence, you will often see it shrinking and expanding like an accordian - we call this "breathing". Some canopies have features, such as airlocks, that inhibit air from escaping the cells, so you don't lose as much lift in those conditions, and the distance dropped from breathing is reduced. I fly an airlock canopy specifically because I don't like turbulence. Under "normal" flight, the tension on your lines is caused by your body weight suspended underneath the canopy. Sometimes the canopy over your head also gets pushed down by the gust of wind, and that line tension will be less, causing the lines to "slack". You will also feel a drop here, as gravity pulls you back down to get back to equilibrium. There's no canopy design that I know of that can prevent line-slack. It's a good idea not to fly in these downdraft conditions - I've seen people get broken badly from downdrafts on landing. Also I agree with the others. If your instructors let you jump in 20 MPH and gusting wind and the pilot let you out way upwind to compensate, then they made a mistake. Doesn't matter if they are USPA dropzone or not - no student with 3 jumps should be expected to land safely in those conditions. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

??:2:0 2 days at the DZ and 2 jumps to show for it. Flat tire on King Air on the first day caused a few hours delay. High winds on the second stopped jumping alltogether. I hate winter. Bah. Humbug. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Kudos, Israel. All that hard work at the Academy is just starting to pay off. It only gets better from here Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I've been nervous on a few skydives, but I can't say I've ever been scared. Last weekend, turbulence was bad from gound level to about 7,000 feet. On my last load, winds picked up to 26, and DZ rules said everyone lands in the plane, so we did. Pilot had never landed a full load of skydivers before, and it was just as bumpy going down as it was going up. Skydiving doesn't scare me. Landing in the plane scares me Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Yep - definitely candidates for new line set, if they've not had it. FYI - I think that having a pocket on my slider also gives me fewer off-heading openings. But I can't figure out why that would be? Maybe it's just a perception. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I was under the impression that there is slight ellipticity (if that's a word ) in the Tri as well, and that it's hard to find any modern canopy that doesn't have at least some "bend" in it. Can anyone clarify? Would you consider a Tri a true square, or semi-elliptical? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Yep - while both are "true" ZP, the "south-african ZP" is much easier to pack, which is why I recommend Tris to new students. However, Aerodyne decided that it doesn't last as long as the ZP fabric as other manufacturers, so they have switched to the more slippery kind. I promise I will try to be more careful with my wordings from now on. Also on the openings, there's nothing wrong with the way Tris open. I felt that the Spectre's I jumped were "slightly" better on opening, the difference of which can be made up with a slider pocket, if it's a big deal. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Err - and let's not leave used ones lying around the ground in tent city, like we did at Rantoul, Okey? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD