GentleTiger

someone sent the following message to me, it was so full of info, I thought I'd pass it on: Preventing and Curing Line Twists Line twists have gone from a common nuisance to a common malfunction on small, highly loaded elliptical canopies. There are techniques for reducing the chances of incurring line twists and correcting them if you do get them. The first step to handling line twists is to prevent them in the first place. The looser the chest strap is the wider the 3 rings will be on deployment, which makes it harder for line twists to develop. Of course, be sure that your harness is secure enough to keep you from sliding out of it. Make sure your leg straps are even. For free flyers, a piece of bungee or elastic between your leg straps will help keep the leg straps from creeping to the back of your knees and keep the risers loaded evenly on deployment. Evenly loading the harness on deployment by keeping your hips and shoulders level with the ground will help keep the canopy opening on heading. A pre-mature brake release can easily cause line twists and limits your ability to steer away from others immediately after deploying. When stowing the lines on the deployment bag, keep the stows neat and even. Refer to your owner's manual or call the manufacturer for the correct size rubber bands. Leave 12 to 18 inches of excess line between the side with the least amount of excess and the corner of the reserve container. This will prevent the lines from hanging up on the reserve container and twisting the deployment bag as it leaves the container. A worn out pilot chute can spin on deployment, which can spin the deployment bag. Replace a pilot chute that has holes in the fabric or tears in the mesh. Re-line a canopy that is out of trim. If one end cell “A” line has shrunk more than the opposite side, the canopy will open turning in the direction of the shorter line. Also, if one steering line has shrunk more than another or has excessive twists in the line, the canopy will want to turn in the direction of the shorter line on opening. Take care when setting the brakes of your canopy and take out any twists in the steering lines, which shorten the line. Pulling the slider down to the 3 rings can prevent self-induced line twists and most importantly, smooth control inputs. Even if you take all possible precautions, line twists still happen. If you find yourself under canopy with line twists and the canopy is flying straight, simply kick out of the twists. Make sure you are kicking in the right direction. You can also twist the risers to bring the twists closer to you and reach above the twists for leverage to get yourself out of the twists. Let's say that you weigh 170 lbs. And that when you open, you have 60% of your weight on one leg stap and 40% on the other. So the harness shifts on opening, so that the links are not even. The canopy begins to spin, creating spinning line twists, i.e. harness steering. As the spin rate increases, so do the "G" forces. Initially you had 102 lbs. (60% of 170 lbs.) in one leg strap and 68 lbs. in the other leg strap, a 34 lb. difference. Now, because of the spinning, you are pulling 2 "G"'s. Now in one leg strap there is 204 lbs. and 136 lbs. in the other, a 68 lb. difference. If the canopy is spinning with line twists, react quickly, look up at your links and make them even by shifting your weight in the harness. Be careful not to overdo it and cause the canopy to spin in the opposite direction. At the same time, make sure your brakes are still set. You can use any reference you want, but I’ve found using the links to make the risers even is easiest. The canopy should stop spinning and fly straight. Now kick out of the line twists. Again, make sure you are kicking in the right direction. A canopy that is spinning in line twists loses altitude rapidly. It is critical to maintain altitude awareness. If you are on your back, it is because as the canopy opens and you sit down into the harness, you are in a de-arched and stable back-to-earth free fall position. The speeds generated by a spinning canopy can be close or even overlap with free fall speeds. The same aerodynamics forces that would put you back-to-earth in free fall will put you back-to-earth under a spinning canopy. Remember under a highly loaded elliptical, you don’t have much time depending on your pull altitude and you do not want the twists to include the excess cutaway cable in the back of your risers. This can make for a difficult or impossible cutaway. Riser inserts and keeping the cutaway cables clean have been proven to reduce the pull force during a cutaway. ________________________________________ Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a tiger in the sky!! Throw down some steaks and run for the hills!!!

holy sheeeeet pretty canopy! bbs ________________________________________ Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a tiger in the sky!! Throw down some steaks and run for the hills!!!

It was a hopnpop, so I may very well have been unstable, but I don't remember it...I don't remember spinning or anything, but that doesn't mean that's not what happened. I didn't pack the canopy myself, so I can't vouch for that. It was a big ol' Skymaster 290, so I was surprised. It was a great lesson though...the mal happened, and I handled it just right. How would the packing have done this? bbs ________________________________________ Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a tiger in the sky!! Throw down some steaks and run for the hills!!!

A Day of Fleeting Moments I look to the stars and see meteors lightly pass across a stilled sky. In the high mountains I skim a stone across the morning lake glass. I hear the wistful mourning of the guitar in the afternoon airwaves, like the cry of the Hawk as she scans her pastures. The sun behind western mountains, my horses race up the hill. Manes and tails joyfully flailing, they arrive in the barn breathless and foaming. The evening comes, they turn their backs to the darkness; standing still in the night by the grove. Thinking about tomorrow, I seduce the heart of a perfect skydive. The question I humbly ask The Infinite; Are the moments we touch as fleeting? ________________________________________ Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a tiger in the sky!! Throw down some steaks and run for the hills!!!

Hi all, I can't tell you how much I love this website, I've learned so much from everyone's experiences. Once in a while I feel I might have something to contribute. Today I had a line twist, about 18" deep. It was a nasty one. As I was spinning getting deeper, I started to kick in the opposite direction...it helped stop the twist. Next, I pushed the risers toward the outside, as I kept kicking out the twist, and I looked at my altimeter and the ground to see how fast I was dropping. I had plenty of altitude. Finally, the last 4 - 6 inches, unwound itself. I guess the message here is to stop the twist by kicking in the opposite direction, and to keep your eyes open for how quickly your losing altitude. bbs, Tiger ________________________________________ Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a tiger in the sky!! Throw down some steaks and run for the hills!!!

wow, really good thought mig...along with what teason said, I could well be bringing my feet up to my butt and flying backward on opening...so the surge and backward flight could exagerate the "lunge"...will check that out, thanx!! blues, ________________________________________ Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a tiger in the sky!! Throw down some steaks and run for the hills!!!

until the canopy is fully inflated, you're still falling vertically...it's when the canopy is fully inflated that you begin forward motion. now me, having a butt the size of manhatten , am slow to move forward...in fact, there is no forward motion until the canopy starts flying (fully inflated). I guess technically, the canopy is in a stall until it fully inflates? blues ________________________________________ Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a tiger in the sky!! Throw down some steaks and run for the hills!!!

I like blue stripes 3 or red baron ________________________________________ Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a tiger in the sky!! Throw down some steaks and run for the hills!!!

wouldn't that depend on the wing loading? it seems to me that if you have a higher wingload, it would be less obvious because your weight under a small canopy would bring you under canopy sooner. My windload on a Nav 260 is .65, so I'm still falling when the canopy starts flying forward. do you have any explanations for the phenomena? I'm not asking you to believe me, I'm inviting you all to check it out for yourselves.

no...I watch as the canopy opens and the slider comes down, but I'm still falling straight down as the canopy begins flight. It just appears to be lunging in front of me, but it actually isn't. I don't think you get quite the same affect under smaller canopies...this is a big ol' Navigator 260, so it's much more obvious. Check it out.

I talked with one of the guys at my dz (I swear these guys know EVERYTHING!), and the explanation for the canopy "lunging" on opening follows: when the canopy is inflated and turns into a "wing", it begins forward motion, but since I'm still falling vertically, it appears as a lunge since I'm not underneath it right away as it begins its forward movement. tadaaaa! blues to all, Tiger ________________________________________ Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a tiger in the sky!! Throw down some steaks and run for the hills!!!

No comment. ________________________________________ Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a tiger in the sky!! Throw down some steaks and run for the hills!!!

Age: 45 Sex: As often as possible Score: .22 I think I'm either retarded or in deep shit. ________________________________________ Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a tiger in the sky!! Throw down some steaks and run for the hills!!!

I'm glad that works for you.

As I wrote in a private message to you, I know skydivers who've been in longer then you, with 10,000+ jumps, and they are far from bored. As for Dems vs. Reps, perspective has its tendons in everything we do, from taking a pee to major life decisions. It's when you can see the bigger picture that you become wise, and therefore, a better skydiver. Someone once told me that skydiving is a not just a sport, but a lifestyle, so how can your perspective on things NOT infiltrate your jumping attitude?? Do you think your boredom with the sport makes you a better jumper? Blues and Peace Tiger ________________________________________ Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a tiger in the sky!! Throw down some steaks and run for the hills!!!

Republicans...hmph. ________________________________________ Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a tiger in the sky!! Throw down some steaks and run for the hills!!!

Re: Kerry the war criminal What were President Bush's best 3 years? Fifth Grade. VOTE KERRY, get this "nucular" illiterate out of office! ________________________________________ Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a tiger in the sky!! Throw down some steaks and run for the hills!!!

must've been a blonde moment thingy ________________________________________ Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a tiger in the sky!! Throw down some steaks and run for the hills!!!

yep, thought I was going to have to cut away..it just lunged in front of me. ________________________________________ Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a tiger in the sky!! Throw down some steaks and run for the hills!!!

I don't think so...when I pulled I was stable...what are your thought? Tiger ________________________________________ Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a tiger in the sky!! Throw down some steaks and run for the hills!!!

Today my canopy (a Nav 260) opened and stayed in front of my face...when I released the brakes and pulled, it reluctantly came back above my head...what causes this? BBS Tiger ________________________________________ Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a tiger in the sky!! Throw down some steaks and run for the hills!!!

Yesterday someone said, "don't you get bored jumping alone now?". No Way. First of all, it's nice not having a "babysitter", secondly, one of the many reasons why I love this sport, is that there is always something I can do just a little bit better. For instance, today, I did some 360s and some long practice touches. I did the PTs just to practice being stable at pull time...I tend to bring in my legs and drop my shoulder. I want to practice it until my first response at pull time is remaining stable. Secondly, I want to smooth out my 360s and do them a little faster. And those are just 2 maneuvers...how can anyone possibly get bored skydiving by themselves??? And then there's landing. Here in Colorado conditions are constantly changing...wind shifts, humidity, turbulence, warm and cold columns of air, the works. So each landing is a little different from the last, and there are always things to do to improve those. Boring skydives my butt! BBS, Tiger ________________________________________ Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a tiger in the sky!! Throw down some steaks and run for the hills!!!

Hi Annie, It seems you have learned some very difficult and painful lessons, and your advice to us all is wonderful. One thought occurs to me, is that there are lots of ex-jumpers out there who miss the sport, maybe you could start a group or something, gather your experiences and perhaps share the most appropriate ones by teaching about them at different dz's, you all have so much to share. Perhaps you could try to understand that the bonding of skydivers comes in by the moment...being up in the plane together, talking about the jump, what to do next...it's all very dynamic and unfortunately, by not being able to participate, it may make people uncomfortable, especially if they are superstitious by nature. It sounds as though you are examining your circumstances very carefully, not to be stopped by them, but to overcome them wisely. That is SO cool. Best of luck and Stay Safe. Regards, Tiger ________________________________________ Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a tiger in the sky!! Throw down some steaks and run for the hills!!!

Hi Billy, I can give you my perspective as a yoga instructor, for whatever it's worth...with an injured disk it's really a good idea to give it as much room/space as possible through gentle stretching exercises. For instance, lying on the floor, on your back, using your arms to gently and slowly bring your knees to your chest...this will give the vertebrae enough room to "breathe" and give the nerves a rest. Then ice it down so there is no swelling, that will prevent healing and contradict what you've done by stretching. A good physical therapist can show your friend gentle stretching exercises (there are several), but I prefer someone who practices both eastern and western medicine...they can choose the most appropriate stretches from both fields of wisdom. Best of luck, BBS Tiger ________________________________________ Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a tiger in the sky!! Throw down some steaks and run for the hills!!!

Thanks DS, I console myself knowing that I've got the rest of my life to jump, and the rest of the summer too, so I'm not so grumpy about it anymore. I'm really eager to learn the skills that it will take for me to jump safely, so my JMs (who are really wonderful) will have an attentive ear. What exactly is plyometrics? Regards, Tiger ________________________________________ Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a tiger in the sky!! Throw down some steaks and run for the hills!!!