DocPop

No, but I use the small bands so they are tight. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

I don't know, I just made that one up for this post Ehm, Canopy facing Right way Avoid obstacles Point into the wind any good? What about: Canopy Right above your head Avoiding obstacles Pointing into the wind ? "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

...Or stay on the ground (as you did). ...And plan your outs before you're on final. ...And know the range of your canopy so if you're going straight down onto an obstacle you can do something about it safely. ...And don't fly over obstacles on final. Lots of lessons here. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=search_results&search_forum=all&search_string=jumpsuit%20advice&sb=score&mh=25 "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

+1 I use large rubber bands and single stow all my non-locking stows. This means that the line is actually loose within the rubber band. I have to take care when putting it in the container but once it's there, the non-locking stows have done their job. I find my openings have improved a lot since I started doing this. I change my locking stows frequently. IMO bag strip is the thing to worry about - not line dump. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Interestingly I was talking to a respected jumper/instructor from PD they other day who told me that the XF2 was much closer to a Sabre2 than to a Katana. He said these similarities include steepness of trim, degree of elliptical-ness (if that's even a word - planform shape I guess you could call it) and recovery arc. This surprised me because all discussions I have heard before have put the XF2 as a highly aggressive elliptical. Having jumped the Katana and XF2, I have to say that the Katana felt much more aggressive to me in the way it handled, dived and built up speed. In the end, I think it would be silly for you to buy either without demoing them to be sure you're getting what is right for you. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Well, you get what you pay for.... "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

When it's downright dangerous, yes. It's not like this was advice on jumpsuit colors, or "should I buy a Javelin or a Mirage?". "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Well I'd say that giving absolute advice based on numbers over the internet is a bad idea. For you, for me, for pretty much anyone except the instructors who have seen how they fly. The point I was trying to make was that it is seems stupid to guess at what might be right for the OP - but that point seems to have passed you by. G'night. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Can you answer my questions please? I said nothing about a Manta. This last post was a little light on the facts. Thanks again. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Why stop at a 170? Why not a 150? Or a 120? You seem to be concerned about wind penetration, so smaller should be better, right? Is there ever a case where the canopy is too small? What is that point? Sorry for all the questions, but you really seem to know your stuff. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Fair one, man. I hadn't considered military. To be fair though, I never said it didn't happen, I just asked which one. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Pete? Is that you? "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Which reserve(s) is TSOd at 400lbs? "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

There is very little factual data in these discussions, because it is not reported or DZs are reluctant to release actual details. The problem with this situation is that everyone is making assumptions about the causes of collisions. I just checked and there are 803 responses in the two Perris incident threads, and over 100 here and most of them are people arguing about semantics, causal factors and what to do. In the meantime nothing gets done. I really don't have an answer but as a community, all this arguing amongst ourselves is not doing us any good. If we wait until the perfect solution presents itself we may never do anything. There are a few things most people can agree on - maybe that's a starting point. If every DZ in the country pledged to put up a canopy safety poster sized at some minimum dimensions (say, 36" x 24") in hi-vis colors and posted in a visible place for all to see that might be a start that hopefully would up set a minimal number of people. The poster could include and aerial photo of the DZ marking out HP, student and main landing areas, mandate landing pattern directions and rules for each and the consequences for breaches. This is just an idea as I didn't want to post my observations of in-fighting without at least offering a solution. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Because gravity is not an option - it's a LAW. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Don't worry too much about the numbers at this stage. You can't possibly know how the next size down canopy will feel until you jump it - and then you have committed to landing it. If you get competent and confident on your student canopy and can perform landings under various conditions (see http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/safety/detail_page.cgi?ID=47) then you might be OK to go down to the next size and start learning that one. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Navigator 200 Sabre 190 Sabre2 170 Sabre2 150 Katana 135 PD baby! "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Stu - Would I be right in saying that you are describing a turn with a decreasing radius and an increasing rate of change of heading? That would seem to make sense to me as it would lead to an increasing vertical speed and a progressive movement out from under the canopy due to centrifugal force. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

I agree with you, and I think others have answered the OP. Maybe I should have just shut the f*&k up and kept my thoughts to myself, but I don't know the OP and I don't know that they are aware of the size of the danger area downwind of obstacles. My intentions were good, even if they were misplaced or unnecessary. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

I think the OP's question has been answered by others. I was taking the view that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and trying to add a little more depth to the discussion as opposed to just "+1". "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

This scenario should not arise because of the following: The planned landing spot is downwind of the trees. It is taught that turbulence can extend downwind from the trees to as much as 10x their height. Assuming 30 foot trees this means that the landing target should have been at least 300 feet away from the trees, so the jumper "notices' they are going to overshoot by 300 feet into the wind!! This hypothetical pilot needs tuition on turbulence and canopy flight and may need to go back on the radio, IMO. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Stoked for you! Congratulations. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

ID: '08R/26L, Length: 2272 ft, Width: 38 ft, Runway Surface Type Condition: Asphalt or bituminous concrete, Excellent condition, Edge Lights Intensity: Medium Read more: http://www.city-data.com/airports/Sylvania-Airport-Sturtevant-Wisconsin.html#ixzz1KGlem941 "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

I realize it's only semantics, but it occurred to me that canopies do not just have collisions; pilots have collisions. The canopies just do what they are told - rightly or wrongly. Perhaps if we started referring to these incidents as pilot collisions it might lead to a culture where people take more responsibility for them, rather than blaming bad luck, circumstances etc Acknowledging responsibility for causing these incidents seems to me to be an important step towards a solution. So, pilot collisions - who's with me on that? "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA