Canopy Training

Wanted! Canopy Training

October 2002

Recently, a good friend of mine had a skydiving accident that cost him his life.

He was 24 years old and had about 270 jumps. He carried out a turn too low to the ground; whether this was an attempt at a hook turn or just an error in judgement remains a mystery.

My point in this article is to raise the issue that has been debated countless times before; what can be done to prevent this sort of accident from recurring?

We have seen safety posters about low turns for years, ranging from the 'Free quick ride, or a slow costly one' to the more direct 'Hook turns are killing BPA members' but these are obviously ineffective. Legislating for this kind of thing would prove unworkable. You can't force people to land in a certain way; it's in the spirit of the sport to allow people freedom of expression. Enforcing minimum jump numbers before hook turns are attempted, would, I think, not solve anything, as it would be hard to enforce and only serve as a red rag to a bull.

Danger Signs
If this particular accident was an error of judgement, rather than a deliberate attempt at a radical landing, then what can be done to reduce these errors? To my mind, errors like these occur because a set of circumstances have arisen to put the jumper in much more danger than they would be on any other day. Consider yourself handling your canopy correctly as walking a tightrope. Done many times over, it becomes second nature and you consider it easy. The truth is far different. A slight slip-up can result in disaster. The set of circumstances that surround accidents act like weights on a tightrope walker's pole; too many weights and you upset the balance. You should adopt a points scale in your head and award points to any factors you consider put you or your fellow skydivers in danger.

What should be on the danger list?
Well, think for yourself. Jumping different kit, at a new drop zone, out of a different aircraft, doing something new or different, a bad spot or in weather conditions that are less than perfect, anything out of the ordinary. If you find yourself awarding points in more than one category, you should be extra aware of safety issues. Be vigilant and make a point of mentioning points such as break-off, landing patterns, canopy control, reserve drills, etc to yourself and to your friends. Make a point of going through this checklist and do it with the same thoroughness you apply to checking your rig. If your mates laugh it off, ignore them. At least someone has raised the issues in people's minds. You never know, stepping back and thinking in this defensive frame of mind could make all the difference when it matters.

Low Turns
Canopy landing accidents happen mostly not to intentional swoopers but to jumpers who just turn too low. Even the best can be caught out trying to get into wind when they do not have the altitude to complete the turn. Be aware it is more important not to hit the ground in a turn than it is to get into wind. If you are low when you begin your turn, use an elevation or shuffle turn (start from half brakes and let up on the opposite side to the way you wish to turn). You can easily abort the turn at any time and land crosswind if you run out of height. Jumpers may think they are safe because they don't 'hook it' for a posy landing. The ground will bite just as hard if you pull on a toggle low, even if a swoop landing is not the intention.

Swoop Landings
Let's now look at the facts about intentional low turns. Hook turns are cool. Look at any skydiving video for sale. There's footage of people swooping for miles over ponds, under bridges, into aircraft hangars... the list goes on. Impressive? Of course! I agree these guys are the dog's. They know exactly what they're doing and it's very cool. On your home drop zone you have one or two, maybe more, jumpers that are known to be radical under canopy. Last lift of the day, these are the guys that make everyone else come out and watch as they carve up an unbelievably long swoop to the enjoyment of the rest of the drop zone. So what's the problem? All sounds perfectly normal so far.

Thousands of jumps
The same guy who just flew along the length of the taxiway with his toes in the grass probably has thousands of jumps, with hundreds on that particular type of canopy. Before that, he probably had another canopy that wasn't so hot, but he learned how to swoop on that, making the odd mistake on the way. The problem is the vast void between the person under the canopy and the person most likely to try and copy him.

Fast Track to Glory
In the same way we all know the big swoopers, we can all recognise the other end of the scale. Young lad, maybe early twenties, did an AFF course and is now hooked. Wants to do it all, and wants to do it all yesterday. He watches the last lift of the day, sees the reaction from the rest of the drop zone to the hot

landings and decides this is a fast track to glory. Based on what? Watching guys with jump numbers in four figures whilst he has a few hundred. This is a disaster waiting to happen. Add in buying a canopy that is maybe a little on the hot side and you're well on the way.

All this guy knows about canopy flying is what was taught to him on his first few jumps under a big, docile student canopy. He learned about finding the stall point, base legs, final approaches and keeping the canopy into wind. I don't believe front riser turns at 200 feet are part of the syllabus. That comes from picking up titbits in the bar and watching the big boys.

So what can we do?
Impressionable young skydivers need to have their enthusiasm channelled in the right direction to avoid accidents. A much stronger emphasis on the canopy part of each descent is needed. Nearly all of our training after Cat 8 is focussed on freefall skills and the canopy ride is taken for granted. This is now the most dangerous period of the jump, so let's take it seriously.

Canopy Skills Training
I had the fortune to attend a canopy pilot skills seminar run by Chris Lynch earlier this year. The information that Chris has should be heard by absolutely everyone who wants to learn how to pilot a canopy correctly, from packing, opening, flight and landing.

Whilst this was an excellent day, the wrong people went. People who really need telling how to fly canopies safely are the people least likely to attend. The information within this seminar needs to be incorporated somewhere into the official training schedule as a mandatory part of calling yourself an experienced skydiver. Maybe before IC1, as well as demonstrating five landings on target, you should attend a canopy skills class and carry out the exercises within that successfully. Why not make it a requirement before the issue of an FAI A licence?

Video Debrief Landings
Video is a major training aid. If all AFF instructors and WARP / Skydive U coaches with camera helmets videoed their student's landing, that would be a good teaching aid, providing valuable feedback to an area of the jump normally overlooked after the first handful of descents. Certainly being videoed after you have purchased a new canopy is going to help a novice skydiver handle it better and land it safely.

Food for Thought
This writing is not designed as the ultimate guide into preventing this sort of accident from recurring. I am merely providing food for thought and trying to encourage other skydivers to come up with ideas of their own, thinking of safety as well as fun. I believe the answer lies in education, not legislation. If a skydiver wants to learn how to swoop, he or she is going to. You can't stop them. With a bit more training and attention to their canopy habits, we can however give them the best possible chance of walking away from their landings - as opposed to never walking again.

Addendum
A BPA Panel of Inquiry / Working Group is looking into this problem, considering changes to the requirements of IC1 and the possibility of an IC2, both of which will deal with the educational aspects of canopy handling.

Canopy Skills Seminar
Friday 25 October
Packing, deployment, short and long spots, canopy drills, extreme handling, riser turns, canopy choice, safety issues and more. Includes videoed landings. Seminars in the morning and jumping in the afternoon (weather permitting). Cost is £20. Meet at Headcorn PC, at 8.30 to kick off at 9am.

Swoop Seminar
Saturday 26 October
Learn and improve swoop technique, safely. Risers, toggles, dive recovery, urgent recovery. Landings will be videoed and debriefed. Places are limited, so priority will go to people who have already attended one of Chris's seminars, either the day before, or earlier this year. Cost is £20. Meet at Headcorn, 8.30 for 9.

Canopy Skills Tour
Chris will be doing a tour of his canopy seminar next year. If drop zones would like Chris to visit, please contact him: chrislynchxl@compuserve.com

Words by Chris Hollis
Hollisc@ttint.com

Images by Steve Utter

Back to October 2002 contents

Links to canopy safety related articles

Pilot or Passenger
by Chris Lynch, December 2000

Size Matters
by Dave Morris, December 2001

Understanding your Wing
by Jim Slaton, August 2001

Burnt Toast
by Adam Rosen, April 2000

Shuffle Turn
by Adrian Nicholas, April 2000

Land Alone
by Eno van der Post, December 1999

Canopy Control
by Dave Morris, June 1999

High Performance Landings
by Bryan Burke, August 1998

Unnecessary Risk
by George Pilkington, August 1996