Date: 30.06.2004
Manual
Revision: 0
DEMON US
Page: 14
Performance Variable e.K. Am Tower 16, D-54634 Bitburg
In other words, if you pull your toggle down any more than it is necessary, you will pass right through
the control range you want. The result of this could be dangerous
. The exact position of this small
area of the control range of the canopy is different on almost every jump.
You must have a complete
and intrinsic understanding of your canopy to know exactly what to do for every approach.
Remember that the last thing you do in a swoop landing is land. If you let yourself get in where the
canopy does not have enough air speed to fly
,
you drop from that altitude. If that happens to be ten
feet high, you fall ten feet!
Once you have mastered the canopy, you may decide to try approaches at high air speeds. lt’s logi-
cal that the faster you go, the harder you will hit, so be careful. There are three methods to gain ex-
tra airspeed on approach: front risers, front riser hook turns and toggle hook turns.
Pulling down both front risers
on a straight-in approach is the least dangerous method. A minimal
pull down on the front risers (less than two inches) will result in a very large increase in airspeed
(increasing the flare power on almost any landing). The flare then begins with a smooth release of
the front risers and is continued by smoothly pulling the toggles down as much as necessary.
The altitude to begin the flare varies with each approach and how fast the flare is executed. It takes
practice to determine these factors
. This practice can be hazardous to your health!
When using
front risers to gain extra speed, never let go of the toggles for any reason.
Also, be sure
not to use front risers in gusty or turbulent winds.
Pulling on front risers in these condi-
tions could cause your canopy to collapse.
Front riser turns are very dangerous.
The forward speed gained with this maneuver is much more
dramatic than with a straight front-riser approach, and you may undercut the airflow. A collapsed
canopy (A-line stall) may be the result.
The big disadvantage is that it is much more difficult to judge correctly. If you misjudge this type of
approach, you could seriously hurt yourself. PV recommends that you
do not try
this.
Toggle hook turns are the most dangerous
of the three options and offer no advantage in per-
formance. Because both the bank angle and the altitude at the start of the turn must be exact, toggle
hook turns are very
difficult to perform correctly.
They are also very unpredictable in turbulence.
Do not try
a toggle hook turn under any cir-
cumstances.
