FLiK Review Article
Title: "Building and Flying the FLiK - Basic Research's latest BASE specific canopy" by Jim Jennings Article:
Designing and Building a BASE canopy today requires a great amount of testing, imagination, and canopy knowledge. As part of their ongoing
research and development process, Basic Research goes to great lengths to seek out the most advanced BASE jumpers today, provide them with a range of test canopies and capture their feedback in order to develop superior products.
The input used to design and develop new technology is backed by jumpers who are currently pushing the envelopes in BASE, jumpers who's talent has been proven at BASE competitions, and pilots with thousands of skydives and BASE jumps who have experience with multitudes of different canopy types. Also highly regarded by Basic Research are the contributions and viewpoints from the average, everyday jumper. The end result of this extensive and continuous development, testing and feedback is the FLiK, Basic Research's newest BASE specific canopy.
Aside from the development of the Tail Gate several years ago to prevent slider down line overs, another major safety enhancing technology in BASE jumping canopies has been the introduction of bottom skin vents or Vent Technology, Vtec for short. Three years ago Basic Research introduced Vtec on the FOX canopy to improve slider down canopy inflation. Vtec has markedly improved inflation time during slider down or slider off BASE jumping, providing a steerable wing immediately to help avoid object strikes. Moreover, the past three years has provided plenty of occasions when this innovation has saved jumpers from serious injury or death by maintaining a rigid and steerable wing during an object strike. This occurs because air is rammed up through the bottom surface of the canopy, keeping it inflated while it is in a descending direction instead of flying in a more horizontal direction requiring forward speed to keep the canopy inflated, as with a conventional BASE canopy. Additionally, with faster inflation times Vtec has safely helped bring BASE jumping to a new level, more specifically a lower one, opening up a new range of objects previously thought too low to safely jump. Vent Technology has been proven to make BASE jumping a safer activity, regardless of the experience or skill level of the jumper. As with the Tail Gate, the success of Vent Technology has been so great that almost every other BASE canopy manufacturer has chosen to copy the Vtec without varying the size, location, or number of bottom skin vents; a tribute to the innovation and success of Basic Research.
After three years of Vtec in the field on the FOX canopy, Basic Research accumulated the feedback they needed to develop "vent covers" that restrict the outward flow of air during flight thus improving the glide angle and enhancing the flaring characteristics. As a participant of the test jumping, I flew fly several different designs of vent covers. The major concern in the design of the vent covers was the impact they may have on the opening characteristics, possibly slowing down inflation. Another concern is the efficiency with which it actually covers the vent to improve glide angle. After an extensive number of prototypes, the desired cover was found. The covers on the FLIK evolved into a design that does not change the opening as compared to a Vtec without covers, and they cover the vent completely when the canopy is in full flight when air would otherwise be escaping out of the vent. In my opinion, it is the ultimate vent cover design.
Often BASE jumping exits are far removed from optimal landing areas so a need to cover long distances is sometimes required, therefore the glide angle of a BASE canopy should be flattened. Improving the glide ratio or glide angle of the canopy has not only been achieved by adding covers to the vents, but also by slightly increasing the aspect ratio from 1.97 on the FOX to 2.04 on the FLiK. Basically this has made the canopy a more efficient wing in terms of glide ratio and flare. The aspect ratio is a sensitive variable to change because it can negatively change the on-heading opening performance. In addition for the need to land in often tight areas, this is one of the main reason why BASE canopies have seven cells instead of nine. The FLiK has an aspect ratio that improves the glide angle and flight characteristics, however testing has proven that the on heading performance has not been affected.
Another feature of the FLiK has been an increase in the size of the stabilizers as compared to the FOX canopy. Larger stabilizers improve the turning characteristics by reducing side sliding and making for a tighter turning radius. This is a desired feature in BASE jumping in order to avoid object strikes through quicker response to riser or toggle input, or when flying in restricted spaces (such as in a narrow canyon). Several stabilizer sizes and where the line attaches to it were tested to formulate the most efficient wing while increasing the performance level. The testing also established that the larger stabilizers did not affect heading performance.
The line length of a BASE specific canopy can also affect on heading performance and the risk and severity of line twists. Add a slider into the equation, and the potential for offheading openings and line twists is increased because the slider has more distance to travel and the time it takes for the slider to reach its final resting place is increased as well as the time to full inflation. These considerations were a factor in the invention of the FOX by minimizing the line length. Compared to the FOX canopy, the length of the FLiK's lines were further decreased to provide, in my opinion, a BASE canopy that has superior on heading openings and more consistent opening speeds compared to anything else on the market.
The other change of the lines on the FLiK has been the addition of a fifth upper control line. This line was added to pull down more of the tail during the flare. The line is located inboard of the existing upper control lines and makes a substantial difference in the flare characteristics and turn response. This added upper control line in addition to the larger stabilizers results in a "sportier canopy" from the words of the parachute's creator Anne Helliwell, co-owner of Basic Research. The fifth upper control line has made such a significant improvement on the FOX and FLIK in the testing phases that Basic Research is now offering the fifth upper control line as a retrofit option to all existing FOX canopies.
Another feature of the FLIK is reduced pack volume to help make handling during packing easier and to counter the addition of bulk from the added vent covers. The FOX canopy was built with extra reinforcement, beyond the forces that could be achieved in BASE jumping. The sport of BASE jumping is always being redefined and it has been determined that some of the reinforcements on the FOX were in excess. To reduce the size and pack volume of the FLIK, some of the overkill reinforcement has been reduced resulting in a tighter, smaller, easier to pack canopy.
Production of canopies has been streamlined at Basic Research by the installation of a computerized hot knife cutting machine. This machine, provided and installed by Jyro (Paul Martin) from New Zealand Aero Sports, cuts a canopy out piece by piece with a computer controlled mechanical arm mounted with a hot knife – Jyro uses the same machine to cut out the Icarus canopies he produces. The computer software allows any pattern specifications to be entered into the system, allowing for easy alterations during the development of the FLIK test canopies, expediting the process. After cutting out the canopy, the pieces are handed over to the Basic Research sewing staff with ninety-three years of combined canopy sewing experience. This streamlined production process allows for test canopies to be produced immediately after the idea has been conceived, and it provides for an unparalleled turnaround time for custom orders. Basic research is now the only all in-house BASE gear producer, lending to the best customer service in the business, because the production timeline can be easily predicted and the manufacturer has complete control of the entire production process from taking the order to shipping.
During testing I personally performed nearly one hundred jumps on the FLIK, covering the complete delay spectrum from low freefalls and static line jumps to an array of delays up to terminal velocity, while often landing in small undesirable locations. I can now say that the FLIK out performs any canopy I have jumped by a wide margin. It has a reliably consistent and crisp opening with instantaneous inflation providing an immediate, rigid, and steerable wing, maintaining unsurpassed on heading performance. The response to riser pressure in stowed or unstowed brakes or via the toggles, is very quick, reliable, and predictable. Responsiveness to toggle pressure during the flare is also reliable and consistent, and the FLIK has an explicitly positive flare that holds deep until touchdown. This canopy has been nothing but a pleasure to fly, and to improve upon this canopy design in the future will require pioneering imagination extensive and testing. However I am confident that Basic Research's R&D team will be there mulling through the process.
