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I am curious... what type of set up should i fly while skydiving. Most of the jumpers switch to a sharp shooter. I don't see how flying a 9 cell 145 sq. ft. is going to help my canopy skills on a 7 cell 220 sq. ft.

What do you guys think?



split off to prevent thread drift -- wwarped

i think its bullshit.
canopy skills transfer. paragliding skills transfer. speedgliding skills...you get my point.
after all its just another canopy, the mechanics remain the same.
become a good canopy pilot and it doesen't matter what wing you are under.
besides who wants to skydive with a sluggish, slow, f111 truck?
not me.

I flew a 9 cell 168 for a long time. Then when I started crw I went to a lightning 126. I transfered to my base canopy just fine. I think the most important thing here is that you get canopy time before base jumping.

Thanks for the info. I was thinking of just staying with a big seven cell, it just makes sense to me. Maybe not as fun, but more practice never hurts, right?

possibly very wrong.

if you fail to enjoy what you are doing, you are likely to either jump less, or take unnecessary risks.

if you only look at skydiving as a stepping stone to BASE, you are robbing yourself. skydiving can be fun, but you may not realize it. after 10 dates, do you really understand or appreciate your partner? time provides opportunities to learn unexpected things (some of which can be quite important). most people fail to realize what they do NOT know.

choose a parachute you will enjoy, so you can enjoy the journey. don't overly fixate on the goal.

Thanks for the info! I'll definately keep it in mind. Maybe just switch to a smaller seven cell or something. We'll see what happens.

http://www.performancedesigns.com/products.asp?product=ve

Great seven cell canopy. Also designed for those wanting something a bit smaller too.

A classic accuracy approach is not possible under a modern skydiving canopy, and a sport accuracy approach will not consistently land you in smaller landing areas especially where the landmarks are unfamiliar (so you can't eyeball altitude like you do at your home drop-zone) and winds variable (the winds from converging canyons are a lot more interesting than the wide open areas at most dropzones).

With traditional designs brake application causes the glide ratio to decrease gradually until you're coming straight down even with no wind (although you don't want to do that for too long since you'll be accelerating). The classic accuracy approach aims for a 1:1 glide path around 2/3 brakes although you can get over 2:1 if you're going to come up short or come straight down if you're going to over-shoot although that can accelerate you to an unlandable speed and you'll go backwards if you go to far. The square footage means you can come in very steep and still get an acceptable landing, with flaring from 3/4 brakes stopping you on youor tip toes.

With modern skydiving canopies, a little brakes or rear risers cause the glide ratio to flatten out to where it remains relatively constant until you're just short of a stall. I can add brakes to my 105 to stay relative to people my size under a 170 or 135; it just goes slower along the same glide path at better than 2:1. You need speed to convert back to lift at the end for a comfortable landing and if you wait too long you'll get a forward surge that slams you into the ground.


You need to get classic accuracy figured out before you jump into tight landing areas and ones with no outs and aren't going to do that jumping a small (even a new skydiver's first parachute under conservative guidelines is 50% bigger than a nice sized BASE canopy) modern design. 1000 or 10000 skydiving approaches will not consistently get you into a moderate sized 50' long landing area with no outs even where a 30' pea pit usually isn't a problem skydiving.

You can use S-turns and sashays as a crutch, but they use up space that other jumpers might need and don't work as well.

When things go wrong, the classic accuracy approach becomes more useful. You can end up on the wrong side of a ridge and land atop the only flat spot which is a 10x10x8' high boulder. You can be be paying too much attention to the idiot you were jumping with lying in the landing area after a cliff strike and need to land steeply before the trees at the end.

It's not at all hard, but it is different and takes practice that's easier when you're not starting a few hundred feet off the ground.


It's fun but not exciting the same that pool is (although you don't get to drink when playing classic accuracy).

Doing that for your only canopy would get old though.

You can always buy a big old rig for accuracy later - I paid $700 for a Javelin J8 + Raven III reserve.