Parachute Testpilot

[winsor68]

This is good...Talks us through the process during a malfunction..

 

 

 

[BLA82]

I just added the video to the libary, great vid:thumb_up::thumb_up:

 

 

[Skyhog]

I've had that same malfunction 3 times.Once my parachute had been packed by somebody that had borrowed it on the previous jump and twice by a packer that I'd paid to pack it(you get your money back if it doesn't work).My malfunctions happened from 2000' so you get time to spin around 4 or 5 times then you get off it and get stable then deploy your reserve.All that stuff he talks about slowing yourself down inside doesn't normally happen as you will find yourself under the reserve parachute at about 700' to 800' giving under a minute before touchdown.If you were at 800' and didn't open the reserve you would have 4 seconds to live.

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

finding yourself at 800ft gives you about 30 to 40 seconds to get it flying, turn it into wind and find a safe spot for the off DZ landing and hope you get the landing flare right. all on a canopy you only saw for the first time 40 seconds earlier. try and slow your heart rate down? kidding ain't he!

 

ozzie

 

 

[Tomo]

That's an pretty awesome video!!

 

 

[farri]

Excellent demonstration of what can be done when one remains in control of self and situation.

 

I`ve only done one tandem jump and loved it,the problem was I wanted to go straight up and do it again and unfortunately it`s quite expensive.

 

I`ve been told that a parachute can collapse and deflate in turbulance,is this correct and if so can it be inflated and functional again,given the required amount of altitude?.

 

Frank.

 

 

[Skyhog]

Hi Frank.Parachutes can and have collapsed in turbulance.It depends a lot on how it collapses as to how much height will be lost.If one side collapses and the other side is still flying it may turn quickly enough to create line twists as seen in the video.This is rare and normally the parachute would just get buffeted around and stay almost completely inflated.I always maintained that in turbulent conditions that "airspeed is your friend".The canopy is only kept rigid by the air pressure against the leading edge that inflates the cells so the faster you are going the more rigid the "wing" is.

 

 

[farri]

Hi Skyhog,

 

Thanks for the info ,you`ve confirmed what I had worked out could happen.

 

One of the things I`d love to do is para gliding,it`d be just fantastic to be up there with only the noise of the airflow,I achieve this in my Drifter by going up high over my strip, shutting down the motor and simply gliding around and landing without restarting untill back on the ground,been doing it for years,but it`s not the same,the Drifter has only an 8 to 1 glide ratio.

 

A guy came here with a para glider but he told me that this area was too warm and not suited to para gliding.

 

Cheers,

 

Frank.

 

 

[Skyhog]

Hey Frank maybe you need a hang glider.The Flatlands championships have been held at Forbes for the last few years each January.They are aerotowed by about 8 Moyes/Bailey Dragonflies (half looks like a Drifter without a pod from a distance).These thermally conditions at that time of the year are the absolute worst possible conditions to fly an ultralight but perfect for the hang gliders.The tug pilots have more guts than me to fly in 40 degrees and thermals.Paragliders have that very wide wing which would have to be extremely vulnerable in turbulance.Cheers.

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

Great bit of footage, and couldn't that girl in blue fly nice, I'll have to show it to my daughter who has already expressed an interest in doing a tandem. That footage of the girl in blue may push her over the edge...so to speak.

 

I did a bit of test jumping in my day when sliders and squares were new to the scene. I actually have a few jumps with the original Parafoil reefing system of 'Rings and ropes' which is a story in itself believe me.

 

The mal footage is exciting, and reminded me of one I had on a 'foil with an experimental slider over Wilton. It completely spun and I and the canopy were both horizontal/parallel to the ground, and spinning. I can remember clearly looking over the back edge of the canopy at the horizon spinning past, so it had to be below the horizon.

 

When I chopped it, (russian capewells) it spat me several hundred feet..or so it seemed, before I could get stable enough to get the reserve out clean.

 

Hey Frank, you would have been a Jumper in another life for sure and there is still time to try some paragliding from Walshes' pryamid down to your place !!

 

 

[farri]

Maj,

 

Please keep the stories coming,I love them.

 

Cheers,

 

Frank.

 

 

[winsor68]

 

This is another good clip of a paraglider collapse due to turbulence I presume...This guy says he is at 9000 at the beginning...???

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

Ahh the great old days of invention and advancement of equipment. seems there were a couple of years of what cutaway/ deployment systems we using this week, canopys round square or triangular. I remember an old mate and i spent a couple of weekends at Wilton playing with an old Parasled that had been modified by a local rigger and was taking a thousand feet to open. performance of a house brick.

 

FRANK Paraglider canopies have come a long way over the last few years. there are now standards for the stability and recovery from "situations". ratings of DV1 to DV2 are very stable in turbulance quick to recover from mishandleing ect. The correct loading for the canopies wing area is critical The same as for high perfomance skydive canopies. A canopy that is to lightly loaded is just as dangerous as an overloaded one. DV3/4 are more for the experienced that are seeking competitive performance BUT the competition 4's have to be flown all the time to prevent shutdowns in turbulance. The ratings are all done by the same people in Germany who do the testing of hang gliders. Normal fun flying on coastal sites is just as safe as coastal hanggliding. Inland in summer is always interesting no matter what you are flying.

 

Ozzie

 

 

[winsor68]

All wings will stall...and a modern parachute/paraglider is a wing...

 

You should have a holiday at Rainbow Beach near Fraser Island...I always spend a few hours up the blow watching the paragliding...bloody fantastic!

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

Hey Ozzie, That Parasled you talk of wasn't green and black, or black and red was it. Could of been Stu Stubs' old one. We took out the center cell and turned it into a four cell instead of a five cell. Stu wanted SPEED, more SPEED !!.. Stu was just a little guy and he loved it, did many jumps on it over Wilton and other places. I never had the balls to try it myself, too busy jumping early Jalbert Parafoils with 'rings and ropes' for REAL excitment you know ....................

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

it was the black and red one.

 

 

[farri]

One day, a guy who was pretty sceptical about what I was doing in the Drifter,asked me where my parachute was,my reply was," I`m flying it",didn`t help him understand though.

 

I saw some footage on TV, long ago,very similar to the guy going into the trees and if I remember right it happened in Tasmania.

 

Frank.

 

"Safety Is Achieved from Those With The Courage To Try"

 

 

[Tomo]

Gee!! That was a pretty unnerving video...!:ah_oh:

 

It must have been a pretty quick descent if he was at 9000' (I wonder if that was AGL?)

 

I've always thought paragliding looked pretty cool to do, from seeing them at Rainbow Beach mainly, would be pretty hopeless out on the Darling Downs but!! Hang gliding is probably a better prospect out here...

 

Got to do a jump one of these days as well... next time I'm at the coast... or where ever they do them...

 

By the way, any more video's, story's would be cool to see/hear...!

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

I've seen that video before the height is ASL he was only about 800ft above the ridge. needless to say when they collapse and start to rotate they can burn altitude real quick. trick to a clean fast recovery is not to over do it and only apply as much toggle as needed to much to fast and it will just get worse. these canopies are also controlled by supplimenting weight shift that helps to turn. this can also complicate recovery. in bumby air you have to keep on top of controlling them. but all said DV1/2 canopies are very tame and SAFE. don't be afraid to have a go. they are a lot of fun once you know how to fly them.

 

Ozzie

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

Ozzie, yes I think Stu Stubbs one was red and Black....I wonder ?. Stu went up to PNG mid to late 70s to make some $$ and apparently was killed one night riding home on a motorbike. A life cut short too early....only the good ones !. We did a lot of interesting demo jumps together, including one for the Bathurst Races that was done with a huge mesh banner in freefall, for Endrust and channel 7.

 

We got out at 8 grand in driving snow above Mt Panorama (C 182), with a Video cameraman ( can't recall who) and had a live downlink for national TV coverage, which worked well. It was the year that Stirling Moss and Jack Brabham teamed up in a Torana (Moss crashed at the start after selecting reverse instead of 1st !) We landed behind the pits and had to spend the whole day there as there was no walkover then, and the race started shortly after our jump. Stu and I got about 20 paid practise jumps out of that demo at Wilton, but we needed about 10 of them before we worked out how to fly the 1 mtr x 5 mtr mesh banner successfully in freefall.

 

We lost about 3 banners after opening, and I can remember making new ones at night out of white mesh, and spray painting Endrust and the channel 7 logo on them. They had a wooden toggle at each end for us to hang onto. Stu and I got it down after a few jumps.

 

He used the black and red sled on most of his demos and was a good performer on it.

 

Wonder what became of it ??..............................................................

 

 

[farri]

https://www.recreationalflying.com/xf2/uploads/emoticons/024_cool.gif.7a88a3168ebd868f5549631161e2b369.gif[/img]

Amazing how these stories bring back memories

 

I raced motor bikes back in my late teens when 2 strokes were just becoming popular , one day at a dirt track meet,this guy with a 2 stroke was sitting on the start line revving it up, itching to go,the flag dropped and he went flying backwards into some bushes in the background,I`ve never seen anyone as supprised as he was since then,he must have had the spark too far advanced and the engine started and ran in reverse.

 

We all learnt something day and lucky no one was hurt,by the way,I had a 4 stroke.:thumb_up:

 

Frank.

[Guest Maj Millard]

That must have surprised him Frank, I've got a two stroke in an old golf buggy that we use around the property, that runs backwards as well as fowards. When Stirling Moss pranged at the start, they said he was on his private jet out of the place within an hour, it was so embarassing !. They had really promoted the teaming up of two previous world champions, to race at Bathurst.

 

To Jack Brabhams credit, they pulled the Torana back to the garage and pulled the boot out of the rear seat, and he reentered the race around 1 pm and completed the race. Good on ya Jack, thats the Aussie spirit..........................................

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

Ray D had the sled and the foil and some other canopies stashed at his parents . Ray passed away a while back and i think his Dad donated all of his belongings to the Salvos. He always wanted to make another foil from modern materials. I remember Stu and the news of his accident. i think i have some Super 8 footage with him in it. Was watching that Bathurst meet, just as you exited they wacked on an advert.

 

Looking at some of the higher performance canopies being made now, they have a lot of paragliding design features that keep the internal pressure high and hold their shape in rough air and mishandleing. Internal cross bracing, closed cells and lines that are so thin but have the capability to cut you in half when under tension. L/D is pretty poor and sink rate is high, but the speed is incredible. screw up and they can drive you into the ground at freeway speeds. No one bounces these days they frap in under canopy. There have been two fataliteis in the last two weeks due to canopy mishandleing. (hook turns to low). I'll leave these canopies to the 'young guns' and stick to something that won't land before i do.

 

 

[Skyhog]

I've jumped a 97sq ft parachute and believe me when I say it was quick.I've heard of some people in Aus jumping a 69sq ft model but this bloke (I think he's a Froggy) leaves all those for dead.You don't get a second chance on a 37 sq ft parachute!

 

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

Canopies will be obsolete soon. the way wing suits are being developed they will be landing under them in the near future. they are have a decent speed of around 35mph. There is some footage around of two wing suit flyers docked on each side of a small canopy. kids these days, sheesh!