Widgeon

If this was an actual performance vs conditions scenario....I think it would be wise to sit that load out, IMHO or have some real faith in the spot. If you open up downwind of the DZ and you are trying to fight your way back, front risers are not the hands down correct answer. Altitude permitting, a small addition of fronts(while INCREASING your descent rate) might give you more ground speed to make it home. If you've got the altitude to work with, it might be your best bet. However, I think you'll find that a certain place in the control range of your rears will yield better results. Rears flatten out your glide and retain more speed than toggles will. Use of the accuracy trick is the only way to know for sure, and what input to use will be unique to the situation. If you open upwind of the DZ and are needing to stretch it back, toggles will conserve the most amount of altitude while lowering your ground speed. This might be better than rear risers and on most canopy designs I've been jumping, this would most likely be the first technique I would try in the situation you described above. I would find it to be very rare that full flight is the best flight mode to get back. Maybe in a severe crabbing situation with a very strong crosswind to heading relationship but I seriously doubt it. I don't think your that far off, but you can't deal with absolutes in these scenarios because they're never the same variables.

It will totally depend on the situation of which input to use. I don't really buy the 'leave the brakes stowed' method at all. You could end up fighting your way back and then find yourself below your hard deck, try to release your brakes and then:"OH SHIT, one of 'em is stuck. Now WTF am I going to do?" This is no shit, it killed a girl out in Perris awhile back. Bottom line is, every canopy/pilot/wingloading combination will experience different performance in rears/brakes. You'll have to experiment to find out for yourself.

No, you didn't. Seriously though, do a search on this forum about the comparisons of each canopy. You'll find enough to read about it to keep you busy for awhile.

Jesus Ryan, use the damn spell check.

Not if they keep hanging around Mark.

Reason I asked is because I have an old vest in great condition that holds 16 or 18lbs(I can't remember) I'll give you if it would fit and you want it. The weight pouches are devided individually to hold 1lb per pouch. The weight plugs are just peices of freebag bridle doubled over into 5" sections, sewn together around the edges and filled with lead shot. You could make enough weight for the whole vest for under $25. It should fit you if you wear L/XL T-shirt size. I don't need it, I've had it awhile and I'm not sure where it came from, and by the time I'm using weight, I'd rather wear a belt.

How much weight do you want to wear?

You know....

I would have to agree with Canuck on the riser pressure issue as well. I'm talking about the full spectrum of front riser pressure, not just what you feel initially to get the canopy turning. You might feel that the safire is heavier in the beginning of your turn but it doesn't build up at the rate of the crossfire. By the time you pass 180 degrees of rotation and really have it diving HARD, you'd be pretty hard pressed to budge the risers any more to complete the turn. Enter the harness shift. A smooth transition from front risering to harness is a very powerful technique an one you'll have to learn once you get a crossfire so why not stick with the safire for now to make things easier? There are ways to overcome the initial riser pressure. If you've tried the brakes technique without any success or noticeable difference, try again: you're doing it wrong. Going from about half brakes to the dive loops has to be done swiftly or the canopy's natural surge forward will negate any attempt on your part to get it diving any more. If you want a crossfire, get a crossfire. The safire, IMHO will provide you at this level a bigger learning curve. I went through this proggression and learned alot from both canopies, but the crossfire flies like a crossbraced that doesn't dive near as much. But it will get you ready to fly a crossbraced, it's an excellent transition canopy.

You're not the first person that I've heard say that. Not everyone got as lucky as you, but the formed nose advantage is hard to argue with. Glad to hear it worked out for you. I'd be curious to do some jumps on an old, cheap baffed out sabre, and then get the mod and compare.

Training... I've been working my ass off between school and packing. All my free time I spend in DeLand getting coaching. Getting some jumps in though. I'd love to take some time off and get up there. Things kinda sucked last year when my bud died a week before the boogie. Man, I can't believe its already been almost a year. I'll see what the Holiday schedule is like and try to get that weekend off. I'll bring my guitar too if Robby doesn't get too shitfaced to play. Can't wait to give the big pond a go.

That was the concept with the Howard modification, but it yielded other benefits as well. Improved aerodynamics once the wing was deployed was one. The H modded canopies fly distinctly different, IMHO to canopies without them...but you're right, they open alot softer too.

And you've probably already been jumping one for a year!

Not really consistent at all. Weird. I've just been watching and trying to pick apart every decent swoop I see lately and when I started really watching, I saw it more often. Once in Deland last week and twice in Titusville on two seperate loads spaced out by six hours and a different wind direction and speed. The guy on the velo sold his Xaos27 78 about six months back because it happened to him on every jump. Called it the 'death machine' because it would start buffeting so violently after the speed picked up, that he had a hard time keeping control of heading. He said it felt like it was opening again. This is the first time I've seen this happen to him on his velocity, but he wasn't aware of it, just said the swoop felt kinda slow to him. Control inputs might be it. The guy I was talking about uses almost all riser in his turns as he feels he can regulate the dive better than with a harness turn. You may be right. The guy he sold the Xaos to jumps it here regularly and says he's got no idea WTF said velo pilot was talking about. I'd like to hear some more about this "reflex" theory. How dangerous can it get? Is it an indication you've done something wrong or just maybe a trim issue? I'm stumped.

Several canopy designs touch on this issue. The crossfires and the cobalt competition come to mind. I think one of the Parachutes de France canopies (the Ninja or Electra or some shit) incorporates this design aspect as well. While not being airlocked, or crossbraced, the leading edge of the nose is partially formed in between the cells so it gives the nose a cleaner more efficient profile. The Katana and Mamba get in on this as well, but not in the same design method of the crossfire 1/2 and cobalt comp. I don't know whats going on with them. They both appear to be pretty normal ellipticle canopies but the results speak for themselves. I've heard several people who owned both a katana and the vengeance said the katana was more rigid than any airlocked canopy they've flown. Jeff..........you take up the whole back of the cessna, stop it.

Thats a maybe. Thanks.

Negative..........Brakes were plenty long. You can still see the bow on the vids. This isn't like the pulsing, thump, thump, thump you see on a sabre2 or something, this a weird, fierce vibration like effect. You got me...

What would cause this? I've now seen on several canopies (Xaos27 72, Velocity 84, and a VX89) once the pilot started his/her turn, the tail seemed to buffet and flutter all over the place. All three canopies were in good condition as were the lines. These incidents took place at different DZs and in different conditions. The only constant I observed would be that these pilots used alot of risering for their turn technique, and two of them were unaware it was even happening. The only thing I can think of is some kind of contradicting combinations of inputs like opposite harness to turn direction with risers. I don't know but it is some scary looking shit.

Neptune in my helmet and a Suunto Vector as a visual. It took some getting used to, and it really messed me up at first, but I like the swoop mode alot on the Neptune. I just use it to fly my setup points and like not having to take my eyes off whats happening. I find myself looking at my Vector only twice under canopy now: once as soon as I open, and one more time a few seconds before I start my turn. This combination works really well for me.

That'll work What about controls? Riser pressure etc.

I've seen some posts here and on canopypiloting.com that certain sizes of canopies seem to "have it" and others don't, regardless of minor to moderate overloading. The katana being one for sure as I've seen alot of praise for the 107/97 and the people I see posting about their experiences on these canopies would have been taking them to 2.1+ at least. What would you expect to gain overlaoding a canopy a little? I know you'll sacrifice some distance and some bottom end flare, but what do you think is on the other side of the coin?

Where do you think the performance starts to fall off on a non-crossbraced design? I'm talking about a noticeable drop in distance and shutdown power, but want to retain the most potential for speed and power. Those of you that jump crossfire/katana, what WL/size combination do you like and why?

The Intergrated styles that I looked into when I wanted to study again were very impressive, at first. I think anywhere you go there will always be some individuals who excel in what they do and would be formidable fighters if they were trained in any discipline. The reason the impressive nature of these styles wore off was because I revisited the basics of the styles I studied in the past. Talented stylists in any of the systems I was involved with would not let a situation get bad enough to take the fighter out of his element. These conglomerate systems are the quick fix to the problem. Although they teach a more rounded platform for self deffense, I think to some extent the discipline and the emphasis on focus is diluted. I hold a seconed dan in Moo Duk Kwan Tae Kwon Do, a first degree in Shorin-Ryu Karate, and dabbled for a few months a piece in Tai-Chi, Wing Chun, Aikido(wish I had time to have stuck with that for sure) and Kempo. All schools were very traditional in nature. Good luck finding a discipline that will offer everything you seek.

Happy birthday, Jay.

Send Brian a PM about this question. He almost always answers within a week or less unless he's off coaching somewhere and busy. I've always gotten replies from him overnight. I believe his screen name is 'BrianSGermain'.