DocPop

Hence my original post about being last down on a load of hop and pops with no traffic. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

But you can't choose how you land before you know how to fly a canopy. Catch-22? "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

What, in your view, indicates that a jumper is ready for an elliptical? "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Excellent idea! The more I get into this sport the more it concerns me how little attention many people pay to canopy skills. Ultimately, poor canopy skill is far more likely to get you killed than poor freefall skills. Only this weekend I spoke to a jumper with almost 2000 jumps who said she was scared of her canopy. A little incentive for people to push their comfort zone when it is safe to do so (eg deliberate stalls, downwind and crosswind landings, flare turns on landing etc) would increase new jumpers' confidence in their wing and ultimately make them safer jumpers, especially in unplanned circumstances such as off-landings. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

I had 3 x dislocations and the surgery. I went in the tunnel before I went back in the sky to "test it out". I would rather it popped out in the tunnel than on a jump. Also, I still wear one of these: http://shop.bauerfeindusa.com/cgi-bin/cart.pl?Dynamic+products.txt+OMOTRAIN+template.html+3. Highly recommended. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

IMO this is a very dangerous attitude. You are jumping without a plan which makes you unpredictable to other jumpers. It is true that no jump ever goes 100% as planned, but it is far better to be making minor adjustments to a plan under canopy than making it all up as you go. It leaves more of you attention to take care of unexpected issues such as jumpers without a plan coming at you out of nowhere. I know exactly where I want to be over the ground at what altitude for each of the 3 key points in my pattern. Do I always hit those points at the right altitude? Hell no, but I have a plan and just because I am high at my entry point doesn't mean I can't adjust and be right back on course for my turn onto the base leg. I would urge you to rethink your "no plan" attitude for the safety of you and others in the air. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

We might see fewer injuries due to low turns if people were not so concerned with having to land right into the wind. Is that point (landing into the wind) over stressed during AFF training? It seems to me that for new jumpers on large, forgiving canopies (and wind speed constraints) there might be better ways to determine the landing direction, e.g. follow the first person down or, even better, everyone agrees on the ground and then all jumpers can plan a pattern before boarding. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

...are my new favorite thing to do. Last jump yesterday (hop n' pop, last one down, no canopy traffic) was about a 20 mph downwinder and it felt great! Apart from being an essential canopy skill, it feels awesome. I used to love no wind days, now I can enjoy the wind! "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Thanks dude! Just this weekend I did the Flight-1 Essential Skills and Advanced Skills courses with one of the PDFT pilots. It is just awesome to be able to get coaching from that level of pilot. This was my third (and fourth, if you count it as 2 courses) canopy course in my short skydiving career and I really think that some sort of canopy training should be part of the B license requirements. Maybe that would go some way towards addressing the fatality statistics and it might also show some other low-time jumps just how much there is to be learned on any one canopy. Thanks for answering about why you like the ST. I guess it's all personal preference and it certainly seems like there's a big place for the ST in skydiving. Back to the OP - I have not jumped one, but from what I know of canopy flight characteristics and the way students fly, I don't think the ST is a good choice for inexperienced hands. Mistakes will be made (I know I have made mine, and been lucky) and a forgiving wing goes a long way towards keeping people out of the ER/mortuary. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

I am in that ballpark for jump numbers and I could not agree more. I find myself asking questions or considering trying stuff now that I would not have done at 50-60 jumps. I think the answer is that ALL lower time jumpers (read

The other option is to increase the length of the stows, rather than to double stow them. That said, I would rather have a baglock that a aorta-ripping slammer. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

(or rear risers) "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

have a nut allergy which really hinders my jumping because the DZ is full of fucking nuts. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Huh? How are clouds going to collapse your canopy? "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Thanks Sal - I appreciate the completeness of your answer. Hope the weather warms up for you! "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

What sort of delivery times are people seeing for their Infinity at the moment? "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

One thing I have tried to increase penetration into a head wind is to apply then release the front risers a number of times, almost as though you are doing a series of double-front landings. This seems to me (and it is only my opinion) to build up airspeed which you allow to "surf" you horizontally as the canopy recovers. As the airspeed/groundspeed bleeds off you repeat the procedure. I also try to make myself as small as possible during this to reduce the parasitic drag on the canopy. Any thoughts on this from the experts? "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Could you please explain a little more why this is true? Is it simply because the Sabre2 is PD's canopy with the next longest recovery arc, or are there other reasons shy the Sabre2 is a good training vehicle for the Katana? "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Did you mean that? Or did you mean "running"? "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

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

7th August 1990 JSPC Netheravon, UK Static line from 2,800' out of a BN Islander GQ 6.5m Aeroconical main parachute Top pull, belly mount reserve with FXC 1200 AAD Four jumps that week then nothing until: 10th June 2007 AFF1 from 13,500' out of a Grand Caravan Navigator 200, no idea what reserve and a student Cypres "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Thanks Paul. That was very helpful. Personally I found the BPA website to be completely useless at answering this question. I looked at the BPA requirements for A, B, C and D and they look broadly similar to the USPA ones. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

Hahaha - yes I do! You have just proved that it was a totally unconscious action as I can't get it right when i think about it! "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

It is certainly a characteristic of my Sabre2. I think it is a function of slower openings and lighter wing loadings. Maybe AggieDave could comment - I believe he has quite a few jumps on Sabre2's loaded in the 1.7-1.8 range (maybe higher). "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA

I don't know what makes one person able to control a one-handed landing and another not, but I do know that I did have a nice soft landing with one hand on my 67th jump (dislocated left shoulder; Sabre2 150; WL 1.3). I did flare asymmetrically but successfully countered the turn. I have no idea why my brain 'knew' to move the toggles to the outside of the turn as I had only practiced one handed flare on that jump (out of necessity). I am sure that being relatively lightly loaded under a somewhat sluggish canopy helped enormously and I would not hesitate to do it again, should the need/desire arise. "The ground does not care who you are. It will always be tougher than the human behind the controls." ~ CanuckInUSA