Hooknswoop

A canopy simply reacts to input. It will continue to spin because the risers are uneven. With more weight on one leg strap than the other and the added "G" forces from the spin, it will continue to spin. For example, if the jumper has 90 pounds on one legstrap and 70 on the other and they are pulling 2 "G's", that means there is 180 on one legstrap and 140 on the other. This is more than enough to harness turn the canopy into a spin. Unless the jumper adds enough input (riser or tiggle) to counter this harness input, or shifts in the harness to correct the weight inbalance, the canopy will continue to spin. Derek

Short answer: Uneven risers from the jumper being uneven in the harness, the legstraps being tightened unevely, or the legstraps being on different parts of the thigh during opening. Long answer: "Preventing and Curing Line Twists Line twists have gone from a common nuisance to a common malfunction requiring a cutaway. 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. Take care when setting the brakes of your canopy and take out any twists in the steering lines, which shorten the line. 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, one side will have less excess in the line from bottom of reserve container to last stow on deployment bag lines than the other. If your last stow was on the left of the bag, the right side would have the least amount of excess lines in the bottom of the pack tray and vice versus. 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 on deployment 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 (the line that attaches to the nose of the canopy) 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, the canopy will want to turn in the direction of the shorter line on opening. Pulling the slider down to the 3 rings can prevent self-induced line twists (caused by jerking on a toggle and the canopy turning faster thant he jumper) 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. 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, so watch your altitude. Remember under a highly loaded elliptical, you don’t have much time and you do not want the twists to include the excess cutaway cable in the back of your risers. This can make for an impossible or difficult cutaway." Derek

Me: Your student canopy, do you mean the Cobalt?” Atair: “yes i mean the cobalt and previously the space/alpha. we are also offering our 'indigo' canopy for this season in sizes 170, 190 & 210. it is slightly less tapered than a cobalt, and the openings are tuned for lighter wingloadings.” Me: “Do you recommend putting students under Cobalts at a 1.2 wing loading?” Atair: “yes, anyone you would consider safe under a sabre, safire or hornet is equally safe on a cobalt.” Me: “Has this been done?” Atair: “yes” Me: “At what wing loading is a Cobalt "ideal" for beginners, and how many skydives (range) do you define "beginner" as?” Atair: “around 1.2 off student status. again anyone you would consider safe on a sabre, safire or hornet.” Me: “Does Atair have a chart showing performance vs. wing loading for the Cobalt?, not a recommended wing loading chart, most manufactures have those, PD has it right on the label.” Atair: “check out our web site faq page.” Me: “How do you define performance? Max speed? Max turn rate? Glide ratio? Altitude lost in a 360-degree turn?” Atair: “all of the above, depends on context.” Me: “Why do you say a square canopy (Sabre) will have more forward speed at the same wing loading as the Cobalt, but the Cobalt has less drag and is more efficient? Isn't this contradictory?” Atair: “no it isn't.” Me: “Would you agree that a common characteristic of elliptical canopies is a higher max turn rate and faster turn response than an equally sized, material, and wing-loaded square canopy?” Atair: “reducing drag from the ends of a canopy will translate to a faster turning speed all things being equal. but they are not, there are more variables to consider. a designer can make an elliptical canopy that does not turn as fast as a less elliptical canopy.” Atair would not respond to further questions such as: “Where? What DZ?” [are Cobalts used for student canopies?] “What wing loading is used for students?” [With Cobalts] “You said it is better to view "a chart of a canopy's performance vs wing loading". But Atair doesn't have one on the web page. Why? If it the best way to go?” Some other Atair nuggets: “btw without knowing anything about your flying skill, i would generally recommend against double down sizing.” “safe loadings for students range from .8-to 1.2 depending on the design and what measuring method the manufacturers uses to determine area.” [The largest Cobalt is a 170………..] “if i accidentally interchanged 'student' with 'begineer' my appologies.” [Several times, some accident] Jan 28, 2002, 6:52 AM “so far tested in a fullsize wind tunnel are 5 crossfires both on the 'list' and not on the list. i am waiting for 2 more crossfires with newer line trim modifications to arrive for testing before the report will be released.” [Everyone is still waiting for the report to be released] Do a search on “cobaltdan” and "Cobalt" or "Crossfire" and you’ll see their marketing tactics. Derek

Connecting it after you have a good canopy is silly. If you are going to jump an RSL, leave it connected. Derek

His profile: "Gear Container: Micron Main Canopy: Cobalt 135 ft² (1.48 lbs/ft²) Reserve Canopy: Smart 150 ft² (1.33 lbs/ft²) AAD: Cypres" Derek

Winchester Defender 1300 with the combo pistol grip & stock. A lot of shotgun for the $$$. Derek

Exactly. And like Mary says, the arch is from the hips, not the chest. Derek

Does it have louvers that open to let air in/out? Derek

It's almost done, check the link flyangel2 posted, there are pics on their website. Or check the Colorado wind tunnel thread in the wind tunnel forum. Derek

The wind tunnel in Colorado will be open by the end of the year, makes for a great combo trip, sking and the wind tunnel. Derek

LOL, ya, Flyangel2 posted the rest of them for me. I am going to try and get some better shots from tha air. Derek

That's all you get, the rest are MINE Derek

Ya, he flew around it once taking shots from all around it. Derek

An aerial picture. Derek

No rating required to build containers or reserves. Derek

Let the manufacturer replace the ring, the harness will be more than strong enough after they repair it. Derek

If the toy hauler's a rockin'......... Cool! Derek

Very good idea. I have seen the difference 3 tandems does to a persons level of information absorbtion in their transition course to solo freefall class. Everything makes much more sense. Derek

Because regardless of the cause, it has spurred some great conversation about how to teach AAD's and RSL's, which is good. I am hoping the original poster will ask the jumper and post her response. Derek

Exactly, you see the conflict between too much and too little information. They can both cause or prevent problems. Too much and they may simplify it down to, "all I have to do is cutaway.", too little and they don't know how everything works, which could cause a problem. So how does everything get taught so they understand and are not overwhelmed? Derek

Agreed. I don't mean to take away responsibility from the jumper. I am only trying to present how it could have happened, without oversimplifing it down to she just froze, because it isn't that simple. How do we prevent this from happening again? How do we fight human nature and prevent jumpers from relying on an RSLor AAD? That is where I have been trying to take this thread. Fair enough, she should have, but why didn't she? Did she not do enough to ensure she understood her training? If yes, then why? Why did she feel she knew her EP's well enough to be safe that she didn't seek out more training? What was missing that may have given her an indication that she misunderstood? How can other jumpers that are in the same exact situation be indentified and corrected before they have their AAD fire? Sure, but what do you work on? If you think your EP's are solid, why would you seek more training on them or check to make sure they are correct? Derek

Again, this is a hidden danger of the RSL. If you are expecting it to activate your reserve, event hough you know to pull both handles, when it doesn't, it could cause you to panic and freeze up. I'm not saying this is what happened, but it could be what happened. I am not saying that if this is what happened, then it is not her fault. I am saying we should consider it as a possibility and think about how to prevent it from happening. I am thinking not just about this jumper, but all jumpers. How do we prevent this from happening? How do we prevent someone from thinking all they have to do is cutaway and the RSL will handle the rest? Derek

The student either goes in or their AAD fires, i.e. the AFFI is unable to catch them. Derek

You missed my point(s). 1) You are wrong about "No Action Taken". She cutaway and expected the rSL to activate the reserve. When it didn't, she was unable to figure out why and take action. 2) I am not blaming anyone, that is my whole point. I am trying to explain how this can happen even with a good student and good training. That is an over simplification. She didn't brain-lock at first, she did pull her cutaway handle. It isn't so simple that she had a mal, brain locked, and the AAD saved her. If she hadn't have misunderstood how her RSL works, she would have cutaway and pulled her reserve, or just pulled her reserve. That is my point. She can and did take action, but because she misunderstood her RSL, did not pull her reserve handle. Derek

I have posted several times in this thread how someone could very easily walk away from their FJC with the understanding that all they have to do is cutaway and the RSL will handle the rest. Derek