DocPop

And there we have it. That is the whole summary of this thread. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

I don't really see the point of this. The post could have been abbreviated to: "Clear your airspace and bury a toggle". I don't believe that a self-induced, controlled spiral is going to be anything like a brakefire during opening. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

....and a good reason to practice landing with rears only. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

I don't have much tunnel time, but the little I do have helped enormously. Obviously it won't help your canopy flying, but it will really help your freefall skills. If you have the time and the money I say do it. I only wish there was a tunnel within reach of me. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Good on ya, girl! You're a true skydiver! "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Can't fail, mate. Enjoy the trip. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Another vote for the Revolve. I love it, although I have to confess I have not tried the G2 "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Yep - yours was a step-though. The other one I would also call a step-through, but yours was the more "traditional" one for want of a better word. 1 - I agree that a backflip is a terrible way of fixing this! In fact I think there was an incident where someone got hurt doing this. 2 - Good that you figured out how to spot it on your continuity check next time. 3 - You proved that it was landable (in this case)! "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

It sounds to me like you're describing a step-through. My opinion would be that if it passes the control check, I would land it. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

I have no idea how any canopy flies above 1.6 but I was just answering your question that, yes, it is within PD's recommended limits. In the Velocity flight characteristics document they mention "as long as you are >1:1" more than once. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

PD website says Velocity is fine down to a wingloading of 1:1. I still don't believe they would let me demo one at my jump numbers. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

From Germain's book The Parachute and its Pilot: "If we were to allow the risers to spread further apart from each other, our glide would improve somewhat. The first step in accomplishing this goal is to bring the slider down to the bottom of the risers, and loosen the chest strap. This allows the canopy to "expand out" and flatten more, and in fact grow the surface area.The effects of this are more pronounced on smaller canopies, particularly those with heavy wing loading. Another positive side effect of this reduced Anhedral wing shape is an increased ability to save yourself from a low turn, and a general dampening of oscillatory tendencies on the roll axis." In other words: - better ability to get back from a long spot - better ability to recover from a low turn - better canopy stability IMO, these are good reasons for any pilot to do this form of housekeeping. The only caveat is that it must be done with total awareness of canopy traffic. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Wow - why do you have your brakes set so short as to have the stall point at chest level? Would you consider lengthening the brakes to deepen the stall point? "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

As well as looking at container sizing, don't forget to get to look at Optimum reserves. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Do you loosen your chest strap with the toggles in your hand, or do you let go of the toggles ? If I loosen my chest strap with toggles in my hand, my canopy does some pretty funky shit, and I have sabre2 loaded at 1.45. I don't want to imagine what a more aggressive, more highly loaded canopy would do. I never take my hands out of my toggles after they are unstowed. I load my Katana at about 1.5 and I don't have trouble loosening the cheststrap. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

The more you load it the faster it goes. Changing it too often can be dangerous. I'd rather have peace of mind than a piece of a parachute "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Yes - every jump. 1 - It allows the canopy to flatten out giving more lift perpendicular to the ground, rather than 'wasting' some lift at the wing tips when the canopy is in an anhedral configuration. This only works if you either remove the slider or bring it down the risers. 2 - It allows me to move around more which is more comfortable and allows me to use harness input more effectively. It is always the last thing I do because I don't want to have a loose cheststrap and then find myself in spinning mal because I can't release a toggle. There is a chance in that event that I would not be able to find my cutaway and reserve handles. I can feel the difference in the way the canopy flies. Edited to add: I loosen it as far as it will go so it hangs down. When I ordered my new rig (Infinity) I had a 30" cheststrap put on it. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

To add a little bit more detail to the discussion, the plan was to direct bag me out of the plane and then a couple of the instructors were going to follow me out and get some video under canopy and of the chop. Here's the thing I think other inexperienced jumpers could learn from this: The dangerous thing about this idea was that I didn't doubt I could do it. And I still think it is possible. However, I now know that there are far more risks than I had considered. I hate to admit that this project I was so excited about was a stupid idea - but that's exactly what I have to do. I really appreciate the fact that you guys took the time to explain all the reasons WHY rather than just saying "You're a dumbass and you're gonna be a dead dumbass.". I really don't think that would have made me stop and think. This might be the most important thing I have learned from dz.com. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Jacketsdb23, AggieDave, danielcroft, Ron, NextGenSkydiver and davelepka: Thanks guys. I think this is a bad idea. I had thought that the real danger was the landing and that this would be a fun way to fly a Velo without the risk. From what you have said I can see that I was wrong. I'll ditch this idea and fly a Velo when it is an appropriate wing for me to be under. I am sorry for wasting your time but please realize that your comments have made me appreciate that this was going to be a very risky endeavor. The original thread was a legitimate question, but I am glad it got to this discussion. virgin-burner: Your comments are less than helpful and really have no place in this discussion. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Thanks man. Good points you raise there. I will be getting a full briefing before this jump and I won't be doing it until I get current on my Katana again after the winter! "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Because this is the forum for discussing canopy topics. Has that upset you in some way? "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

I am borrowing it just for this jump. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

I stand by that. I have no intention of buying or landing a Velocity. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Well, honestly, because I want to fly it. I also want to have a cutaway. I think there are some good learning opportunities from this jump. I realize that this is more risky than a regular skydive, but so are many skydiving activities (eg. wingsuiting, camera flying, freeflying, swooping). It will be planned and executed with the S&TA and several instructors and, I am sure you will agree, this is better than the uncontrolled downsizing that everyone rails against here. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

All twisted up and spinning out of control? Very hard to put back in its container when you have pulled it out? Most people's only have 7 or 9 cells? The smaller it is the cooler you are? "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA