Every canopy pilot should understand the wing they fly and how it produces “lift”. Canopy pilots often relate lift to the flare because when we flare air is deflected downward resulting in an upward motion of the wing. It’s important to understand how the wing itself produces lift. Wings are shaped so that air flows faster over the top than the bottom. This builds low pressure above the wing with higher pressure below. As the velocity of air increases its pressure decreases which “lifts” the canopy upward towards the low pressure.
Hence, airspeed is crucial to performance. Larger wings can create lift at slower speeds, whereas smaller wings need more speed for lift. The wing of a paraglider is large and a paraglider can cover great distances at low speed. In contrast, smaller parachutes have less drag and more speed but they don’t have as as much surface area to carry the lift.
Ram-air parachutes require a certain amount of airspeed to generate the lift required to land efficiently. Larger wings with thicker airfoil sections (style & accuracy, student type) need less speed to land efficiently but smaller canopies require more airspeed to maintain their flight characteristics. High performance canopies are not designed to be landed at slow speeds. Even though its possible to land them using a straight-in approach its not always pretty and its not always safe.
Although smaller canopies at higher wing loadings fly faster they have less lifting ability at slower speeds and are stall sensitive. This is why skydivers who downsize too quickly are put in a dangerous situation. Speed up or land hard. Skydivers who transition to smaller canopies must generate more airspeed to improve their landings whether they realize it or not. If you fly a high performance canopy like a conventional canopy or vice versa you will land poorly. Think about airplanes. Which airplane do you think needs more airspeed to land safely. A twin otter with its long straight wings or a F16 fighter jet with its small swept back wings?
Smaller canopies need more runway for landing. Its that simple. The more speed your canopy has is the longer runway you will need to land safely. Pilots who downsize too quickly might not have the confidence or experience to land the canopy at the required speed for a good landing. If you fly the canopy too slow it complicates the landing. With less airspeed you will land hard on your feet or buttocks!
If you have downsized to quickly and are having trouble with your landings you probably need more airspeed for landing. This means you need to learn how to safely generate additional speed for landing without putting yourself at risk. Don’t get me wrong here. You don’t need to do a “hook turn” to land a smaller canopy, you just need to learn how to safely build a little more speed for your landings. I strongly discourage sharp, snappy final turns for landing. Don’t feel you have to downsize to gain more performance until you have learned controlled front riser approaches. Take the time to learn as much as you can about the canopy you fly. Knowledge is power.
*This article was originally written for Parachutist magazine in 2001
About the Author
Jim Slaton is an experienced skydiver and test pilot with over 10,000 parachute landings. He was responsible for getting the sport of “canopy piloting” accepted by the International Parachute Committee in 2003 and became 1st US National Champion of Canopy Piloting in 2004. He is the producer of the Pro Swooping Tour™ and chief instructor at the Canopy Piloting School™.
