Safety Check

Choose Your Outcome
"I'll be OK. I’m a conservative canopy pilot.” Instructors and S&TAs around the country often hear this from skydivers trying to purchase parachutes too advanced for their skill levels.

With literally hundreds of canopy types and sizes to choose from, the decision of what canopy to jump may mean the difference between a skydiver who ends up injured or killed and a jumper who enjoys a long, fun-filled skydiving career. Below are two scenarios, using an example of a jumper who weighs 130 pounds and has 75 to 100 jumps.

In the first scenario, our imaginary jumper did not receive much canopy training beyond the basic pattern work in his first few jumps. Up to now, he has been jumping a borrowed 230-square-foot rectangular canopy. He wants to purchase a used rig with a 150-square-foot elliptical canopy. A couple of friends suggest he buys the gear, since it is a good price and he will grow into it as he gains experience. It shouldn’t be a problem, since the wing loading is only a little above 1:1. The S&TA and school staff are all OK with it—after all, it’s how they all progressed, and none of them ever got hurt. His first few jumps on the new canopy are scary for him, but he is managing to land in the main landing area, albeit somewhat erratically. After a few jumps on the new canopy, he faces an off-field landing. The added speed and descent rate of the much smaller canopy prove to be more than he can handle. Due to his misjudged glide, he is headed for a row of trees, and he pulls down hard on one toggle in an attempt to stay in the clear area. The canopy dives hard—much harder than he ever expected—and he strikes the ground while still in a steep turn. His injuries are severe enough that he will be lucky to walk normally, much less skydive again.

In the second scenario, the S&TA and school staff have made an effort to learn more about canopy training. Each instructor even occasionally jumps the various canopies the school uses to remain familiar with the flight characteristics of each model. Our imaginary jumper has been trained using the Integrated Student Program. He understands how wing loading and canopy design affect the performance of a canopy, because he has read through the program and reviewed the material with an instructor. He understands that a small canopy reacts more quickly than a larger canopy at the same wing loading, a common and dangerous trap for lighter jumpers. He has learned how to fly his parachute in brakes, how to make a braked approach and how to perform life-saving flat turns. He chooses a 190-square-foot rectangular canopy, giving him a more reasonable 0.8:1 wing loading as a start in his skydiving career. His first few jumps on his new canopy are fun and uneventful as he familiarizes himself with his new parachute using the same canopy drills he performed with the student canopies. When he faces the same off-field landing as the jumper in the first scenario, his practiced canopy skills and slower descent rate combine to give him an uneventful stand-up landing in his first experience landing off the airport.

A parachute isn’t something a jumper can always grow into. A worst-case scenario can happen on the first jump under a new canopy. Training, education and common sense all go hand in hand when choosing a parachute. Safe landings don’t just happen by accident. —Jim Crouch

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