kas@hp-pcd.UUCP (kas) (03/14/85)
Well, my long-awaited first jump with my new gear is finally
history--actually, the first four are history. The necessary
conditions (low homework load and blue skies) finally came to pass
last Saturday, so off to the DZ I went. At the suggestion of some
of the resident sky-gods, I made a couple of solo sub-terminal jumps
first, just to stretch out everything and "set" the stitchery under
moderate loading conditions. (I don't know if there is any validity
to that theory). Then, I was able to get on a couple of 4-way RW
loads, only to discover that I've got to learn to fly all over again.
Those of you who read my letter a few weeks ago will recall that I
had been jumping with old conventional (heavy) gear, including a
1972-style cotton jumpsuit (straight arms and legs, no wings, etc.).
Needless to say, I used to fly like a rock. With this new, lighter
gear and jumpsuit (a standard-fall-rate Flitesuit) I discovered that
I float like a cork, even when compared to jumpers using similar suits.
Now, it appears that my problem is going to be staying DOWN with every-
one else. Oddly enough, I found that I couldn't achieve anything close
to a vertical, head-down body position for fast diving--the best I
could do was about a 45 degree angle, which made me track like hell but
not drop all that much faster. It seems that I have a lot of lift on
my upper body, even with my arms tucked tightly at my sides. I also
had my legs straight, feet together, and waist slightly bent--the
position I've always used successfully in the past. About the only
modification I can think of that might help would be to spread my feet
a foot or two (no pun intended). Any other ideas out there?
The new canopy (a Raven III) has the highest advertised glide
ratio of any I've seen (it's 4/1). I was frankly skeptical about
that ratio--until now. Of course, I have no way to accurately measure
it, but one thing is for sure: that sucker goes forever. I consistently overshot the target because I'm accustomed to jumping an old Strato-Star
with a glide ratio of about 2/1. The Raven isn't one of the fastest
canopies around (I think they advertise 25 mph), but it'll fly to the
next county and back because it stays up so long. The Raven is a joy
to fly, stalls and recovers very predictably, and lands soft and easy.
All I gotta do now is remember to set up a longer approach.
I've never used a throw-out pilot chute before, so I was a little
nervous that I would accidentally yank on the break-away handle, which
is right where my ripcord used to be. Well I didn't, but one minor
problem that I had was locating the pilot-chute handle. It only took
me a second or two to locate it, but it's somewhat unnerving because I
can't really see it. I've noticed that some throw-outs are located on
the belly-band, which makes them easy to see, but others, like mine, are
located on the leg strap. This makes it rather hard to see without
twisting my head and shoulders slightly, so I go mostly by "feel".
Even so, I've managed to remain more or less stable during my first few
deployments.
The Raven opens very briskly--in fact, a little too briskly. I've
been told that rolling the nose during packing will slow it down a
little. Any comments or other suggestions on that? I discovered that
body position during opening shock can make a big difference in elimi-
nating opening shock bruises. Rather than leaving my body "straight",
that is, everything hanging more or less vertically, I draw my knees up
a full 90 degrees, so that I'm "sitting in a chair". This puts the
legstraps in a position such that the load is placed on the backs of
the thighs rather than in the crotch. It's like sitting on a swing,
and a lot more comfortable. That reminds me of something--I was once
told that in this position the opening shock forces would cause your
legs to spread like a Thanksgiving turkey and your harness would slide
right off!
Ken Scofield C-9355
Hewlett-Packard PCD
Corvallis, OR
{ucbvax!hplabs, harpo, ogcvax}!hp-pcd!kasalcmist@ssc-vax.UUCP (Frederick Wamsley) (03/28/85)
> one else. Oddly enough, I found that I couldn't achieve anything close > to a vertical, head-down body position for fast diving--the best I > could do was about a 45 degree angle, which made me track like hell but > not drop all that much faster. Whenever I've been in a good head-down dive, I've always felt almost upside down. Experiment with trying to kick your feet backward once you're head down. The feeling of starting a head-down dive is unmistakable-- you feel like you've lost all support. In fact, you feel like you're falling :-) > I've never used a throw-out pilot chute before, so I was a little > nervous that I would accidentally yank on the break-away handle, which > is right where my ripcord used to be. Well I didn't, but one minor > problem that I had was locating the pilot-chute handle. It only took > me a second or two to locate it, but it's somewhat unnerving because I > can't really see it. I've noticed that some throw-outs are located on > the belly-band, which makes them easy to see, but others, like mine, are > located on the leg strap. There have been religious wars fought over pilot-chute placement. Belly-bands are easy to see, but also easy to run under the main lift web. My personal favorite is putting the pilot chute in a pocket on the FRONT of the legstrap. Reaching for your hand-deploy will be second nature after a few weeks of active jumping. > The Raven opens very briskly--in fact, a little too briskly. I've > been told that rolling the nose during packing will slow it down a > little. Any comments or other suggestions on that? My experience with a Cruisair may not be very applicable, but rolling the nose worked fine for me. Thank you for the review of the Raven, by the way. Fred Wamsley D8844 -- UUCP:{ihnp4,decvax}!uw-beaver!ssc-vax!alcmist ARPA:ssc-vax!alcmist@uw-beaver It's not my employer's fault if I say something absurd.
kas@hp-pcd.UUCP (kas) (04/09/85)
>There have been religious wars fought over pilot-chute placement. Belly-bands >are easy to see, but also easy to run under the main lift web. ...or twist, or forget to buckle, etc... A friend of mine geared up one day and started walking out to the plane with his belly-band dragging along behind him. Must've had a bad night. Fortunately, when I did an equipment-check on him I discovered this rather glaring ommission. (Kind of reaffirms the notion that ALL of us should check and be checked on EVERY load--we tend to get lax about these things from time to time.) This same person had another problem with his belly-band mounted throw-out one day. Seems that when he pulled out his throw-out, it and/or the bridle line came around his arm, causing a "total" until he managed to shake it off. It's difficult to describe in words how it happened, but if you think about it and go through the motions you'll get the picture. It has to do with the fact that your arm is not stretched to full length while the throw-out is being extricated from its pocket, and air currents can whip it around your arm. I don't think this can happen with a leg- mounted throw-out because your arm is nearly straight and in a different position relative to the wind blast during pull-out. By the way, thanks for all the other info and suggestions as well. Ken Scofield C-9355 Hewlett-Packard PCD Corvallis, OR {ucbvax!hplabs, harpo, ogcvax}!hp-pcd!kas