| Author | Message | ||
| Jason Rating: N/A |
There is no doubt that the Flik has many advantages over the Fox. However, since first jumping the Flik I’ve noticed a few undesirable characteristics in the way that it performs that have been improved by removing the 5th brake control line. I’ve spoken to several other Flik owners who have all had similar issues with their canopies. I am posting my findings to help generate more awareness regarding the issue. I’m aware that canopy behavior will vary with canopy size, wing loading, jumpers canopy handling preference and the object being jumped. I have over a hundred jumps on my Flik and still regularly jump both my Fox’s. On my Flik I have found that delays of less than 1 second result in my deep brake setting being at the stall point on opening. I have also consistently found that it is easy to flare too aggressively and stall the canopy when landing. The toggle input required to transition from sinking to forward drive is small and difficult to control, with a sensitivity that comes across more like that of a skydiving canopy. Last weekend I removed the 5th brake control line and did several jumps on the modified canopy. Two jumps were into small landing areas surrounded by large trees and another was a downwind landing onto bitumen. I found the canopy became much more user friendly. It was possible to do a big downwind flare without stalling the canopy and the brake setting became much more consistent across the deployment speeds for slider down openings. I also found it much easier to locate the stall point. I felt much more comfortable with the way the Flik handled with only 4 control lines. If you have a Flik and are happy with how it performs then there is no issue. However, if you have found yourself with similar issues as myself it may be worth considering removing the 5th brake control line. If you would like more information on the subject feel free to contact me. If you do remove the 5th control line I recommend you adjust your brake settings and have at least two, preferably three, customized settings. Jason | ||
| Faber Rating: N/A |
I never inspected a Flik,how ever i got the 5th line mod done on boths my Fox´s (vtec and regular),and hvae only got good things out from it. I wondered(as i havent inspectede one yet)if the Flik´s last and 5th line are shortere that the rest of the lines? wh`y? i seems to have heard this,but didnt understand why as my mod lines are exactly as long as the rest of the setup(after the explain other places on this site),which never gave me any problems. take my oppinin whith a grain of salt as im still a newbie. Faber | ||
| Geoff Treeboy Rating: N/A |
hey Jase I have done mostly slider up with the Flik & didnt notice any problem with the opening on the 1 PCA i tried on it..so im not sure abt the openings on short delays... i definitely have notice the difference between stall & going forward..i didnt think thee canopies were meant to store with the vents..in france i cracked my elbow coming in really steep..mostly it has landed good(well i mean i have landed good on it)...but a few times the stall to forward transition hsa seemed very slight.. what is the main reason BR added the 5th break line? for the low jump, why do u just adjust your break setting? anyway...as i know ur punchin out alot of jumps interesting to hear how the canopy keeps performing with 4 brake control lines | ||
| Jason Rating: N/A |
I believe the 5th control line was fitted for a stronger flare. I don't like it but some jumpers may like it. It makes the canopy much less forgiving and more like a skydiving canopy. The issue of brake settings is another story which I will try and post soon. I do believe everyone who owns a FLiK or Fox should have a least 2 brake settings fitted. Just cause it comes with 1 setting does't mean that is all you need or that it will even be the optimum deep brake setting for you. So Treeboy when are you going to visit the Sunshine State? | ||
| phil Rating: N/A |
Ive removed mine after a trip to Qld watching Jas and listening to him, I didnt hate the way my flick flared but thought it was very different to the fox in the way it seemed to be very touchy in deep brakes in relation to finding the `stall` point. I was getting harder landings on sloped landing areas buy nicer tiptoe ones on nice flat ones.Ive only done one jump since taking the line off and it feels alot more familiar while I still get all the advantages of the flight characteristics | ||
| Geoff Treeboy Rating: N/A |
hey Jase..down south in mexico this weekend...i will come up to QLD the weekend b4 chrissie if i can get a ticket & cash is ok should be ok 2 make it if u guys r around | ||
| SLIM Rating: N/A |
This original posting was made in September. There are a lot more Fliks out there since then. How are people finding the stall point? It seems with the 5th control line the toggle range is much smaller making the canopy more "twitchy" and prone to stall. I just spoke with Jason who gave some more examples of instances where people have had landing troubles to the point where they are removing the fifth line. If you have a Flik it would be good to have your input. Not to say you are right or wrong but for others to read your thoughts. Particularly your experiences in tight landing areas in "deep" brake approaches. | ||
| Slim Rating: N/A |
Sorry Jason misread the posting date - was December. It would be good to have some more people's opinion on this issue for others to be aware of the options to make the most from their gear. | ||
| Faber Rating: N/A |
I did add the 5th line on my fox 265vtec(no valves)and i feel i have got a better flare on the canopy.I have only aprox 50 jumps on the canopy since i got the 5th line but i love it. | ||
| timmy Rating: N/A |
I have removed the fifth brake line on my fliks as well, i also found the the toggle range was just to small. There is only a small range between sinking it in and the stall point, and to rocover from almost stalling it to back deep brakes with minimal toggle movement i was finding that i would get a fair bit of swing up under canopy and coming into land quit hard. But with four brake lines i find the canopy still has simular if not the same performance and i have a lot greater range in my flair and also softer landings. it doesnt take much to take them off to try it, you can always get them put back on. | ||
| Stoney Rating: N/A |
I totally agree with Jason's/ Timmy's sentiment. I have found that when coming out of deep brakes to full flight there is a aggresive dive forward and increase of speed. This may be all good @ the DZ but totally undesirable when approaching a tight and often steep landing area. But hey, if you have the 5th line on and like it, and are prepared to deal with its level of sensetivity, good luck to you. Stoney | ||
| note that Rating: N/A |
If you are approaching a tight and steep landing area then coming out of deep brakes to full flight is sometimes not a good idea as all canopies will tend to dive forward and increase speed. | ||
| Jason Rating: N/A |
Hey "note that" what is your point? If you pull down one toggle the canopy will turn, WOW! Your statemant is irrelevant to this discussion. The fact you choose not to identify yourself shows you don't have a clue as to the point of this discussion. If you want to enlighten everyone on what happens when you pull the strings start a new discussion. I hope people will disregard your sentence as having any relevance to the 5th control line. | ||
| Slim Rating: N/A |
Good feed back. Anyone had any negative experiences with taking the line off? Weak flare? Less responsive? Issues? The importance of this thread can be shared with manufacturers as well as each other. | ||
| Livia Rating: N/A |
Question for "note that" - Why don't we base jump 240sqft stilleto’s? Just because two canopies are the same size and both use toggles to steer them doesn't mean that transitioning from deep brakes to full drive will have the same effect. Making Base canopies that are more sensitive to toggle input and glide further/faster has upsides and downsides (eg. less forgiving) - hence this discussion. I've seen the effect of over flaring a 5 line flick first hand, I don't think such a dramatic response to an aggressive flare is ideal. Obviously the severity of the response will depend on wing loading, conditions etc. and if you are an ideal pilot you'll never over flare - but if not, it would be nice to know you won't be sent straight down on your back. | ||
| feral Rating: N/A |
These Q's are for the people that own and jump a FLiK here in Austrlia . What made you buy the FLiK over the Valved fox and the CR canopys and the Troll . Do you think that It was about producing the best Canopy or about marketing . Jas Liv Phil and any others that have removed there 5th line have you emailed BR about it what do they think about it , and about the brake setting they only offer one how many people that have a valved fox or valved FLiK have added extra brake settings . bsbd feral | ||
| TomB Rating: N/A |
Is anyone noticing the correlation between higher performance wings and more dramatic stall points??????? Do accuracy guys sink in swoop canopies and do swoop guys glide in accuracy canopies. Do faster aircraft (jets) have higher stall speeds than slower aircraft (i.e. ultralights). Do higher performance wings need some airflow to maintain performance? Is the 5th brake line on the higher performance wing reducing the airflow? | ||
| Jason Rating: N/A |
No. | ||
| Jesse Rating: N/A |
As a very inexperienced jumper my opinion may not be worth much, but I'll post it anyway. I will be taking the 5th control line off my Flik as I agree with the above sentiments. To me it just makes sense that the 5th control line, while possibly improving the flare somewhat, does add an enhanced level of sensitivity to the canopy's control range. While initiating a stall when going from a deep brake approach to a flare could well be argued as being nothing more than pilot error, it seems that the 5th line makes the canopy particulary unforgiving of such errors. Anyway, it's not hard to take it off and play around with it to see if it's the goods. | ||
| SLIM Rating: N/A |
The text below is directly from the BR website. Interesting to note Annie's comments. I don't think there is any disagreement as to a smaller range of toggle movement which makes the pilot feel the canopy is "sportier" ie Tom's comments. The decision is whether a jumper wishes to increase that toggle range by removing the fifth line. To some, this may seem like a loss of responsiveness perhaps? However, the fifth line or "sportier" canopy is far less forgiving which eludes to Jason's and others comments. I think what is key is that everyone who owns one knows about this issue. See BR comments- "FLiK Basic Research of Perris California, is proud to announce the release of the next generation of BASE specific parachutes, the FLiK. Basic Research has been producing the FOX BASE canopy for over 9 years, and is now offering a new canopy to meet the demands of the sport. The FLiK is available in 6 sizes, 200, 220, 242, 266, 293, and 322 square feet. "We are offering 2 sizes that are larger than the biggest FOX, " reports Anne Helliwell. "BASE has gone the opposite direction to skydiving, that has been growing with smaller, faster parachutes. With BASE, bigger is better. We can now outfit jumpers that are 200lbs and heavier." The FLiK has several design differences when compared to the FOX. The FLiK boasts a slightly higher aspect ratio of 2.04 to 1 (1.97 to 1 on the FOX). It also has an additional inboard upper control line, having a full cell of extra control during flares and turns. "The control range has changed, (with a the additional control lines) it has condensed the toggle stroke, making it feel a little sportier", says Anne Helliwell. The FLiK uses the same airfoil shape as the FOX. "The FOX has been a great canopy for several years, we had no reason to simply ditch the information and performance of that airfoil,” Says Todd Shoebotham. “The FLiK is its own canopy, with new flight characteristics, including better glide and landings. It performs better than the FOX in every way except the slider off openings which feel the same”, reports test jumper Dwain Weston, after numerous jumps on the FLiK 242. The FLiK has optional Vtec (Vent Technology). The FLiK Vtec will come standard with a unique vent cover design. The cover allows maximum inflow during pressurization then shuts during flight to maximize flight performance. “The Vtec cover pivots well forward of the vent thus giving a large opening for the inflowing air. Any air that moves forward while the cover is open can escape through 3 cross port style openings in the cover,” says Shoebotham. The FLiK was designed for improved performance and a reduction of bulk. The FLiK has the Vtec and Multi as options, but comes standard with Tail Gate, Tail Gate Friendly Lines, Tail Pocket, and mesh slider." | ||
| Jason Rating: N/A |
I took Tom's comment as the FLiK airfoil being of higher performance than a Fox. I may have lost his point with his talk of jets. If not for the glide I would have trouble telling the difference between the FLiK and Fox both with 4 control lines. A Fox with 5 control lines is also similar to fly to the FLiK with 5 control lines. My point goes a lot further than 5 control lines making a canopy feel sportier and and making it less forgiving. Why have 5 control lines on a Fox? That makes it a high performance canopy and unsuitable for most jumpers in Australia. Why will my Fox with over 300 jumps on it out fly my FLiK from a 150 foot static line? The FLiK nearly resulted in broken legs twice with the Fox giving me a standup every time. Why have so many expierenced BASE jumpers and skydivers ended up on their ass's after landing a FLiK? I don't think you could blame pilot error for flaring just past your shoulders. Why have jumpers complained about scary openings on their FLiK? I don't think "making it a bit sportier" quite covers it for me. | ||
| timmy Rating: N/A |
What jason is saying is true, if anyone is to argue the point they should borrow someone flik with the fith brake line still on and then sink it in to a tight landing area. no matter how good of a canopy pilot you are i garentee you will find it harder than a flik with only four brake lines. I have two fliks one with 4 brake lines either side and one with the original 5 brake lines. Both canopys have exactly the same performance with forward speed/glide and also in turns,fifth control line or not. On landing especially in tight landing areas you need that extra toggle range to sink it in and still get a good enough flair to land softly. With the flik with 5 brake lines you can sink it in but when you flare you have nothing left hence you end up stalling the canopy. Ofcourse with the fifth brake line you get a better flair but to do so you must have alot more forward speed, great if you have an airstrip to land on, butfor most aussie landing areas its dangerous. unfortunatly no can be told this so try it. hey jesse, mel loves my new hand bag mate its great ill buy you one haha | ||
| karen Rating: N/A |
As the designer of the FLiK, Todd Shoebotham, after reading the entire thread, has made the following statements for me to give out to all. First is that he completely supports the fact that jumpers are making adjustments in the field to fine tune the FLiK to better perform for their particular situations and preferences. We've had many comments from both directions; some people love the FLiK so much that they've added the 5th UCL to their FOXes, and others that didn't like the 5th and removed it from the FLiK. This is good! We want people to have gear that performs it's absolute best for each individual. Next, when the FLiK was designed, it was meant to feel different and sportier than the FOX. We were aiming at a better landing performance; the 5th UCL has done just that. The FLiK will feel natural to a high-performance canopy pilot, but may feel strange to a long-time FOX pilot. We can understand why after flying a FOX for years some pilots have a dislike for the FLiK landings, especially when they flare the FLiK like they used to flare the FOX. The FLiK will definitely stall and drop you on your behind if you flare too deeply, so learning the stall point of the FLiK is important when first trying it out. For example, some of our German jumpers actually added 10 inches to the lower control lines so they still stalled at crotch depth rather than waist or hip depth, as they were use to with the FOX. The FOX and the FLiK are two different canopies, and will not turn or flare the same, especially when flown side by side. This was intentional, and most jumpers that were aware of the different intentions really did appreciate the design changes of the FLiK, both the 5th UCL and the higher aspect ratio. We have not stopped manufacturing the FOX for good reason; it’s a good parachute with strong attributes. Todd sees a day coming where we have even more site-specific canopies in our line; the Norwegians and wing suit flyers have different needs than the Aussies or Belgians that jump primarily low stuff with tight landing areas. There may come a day that we have a student canopy, as well, along with mid- and high-end performance canopies. And finally, we at Basic Research would like to tell you all that your input is a very valuable tool to us as manufacturers. It feels great when we get positive comments that you love our gear and are completely happy, but it’s even more important for you to tell us when you think our baby is ugly. Your negative comments tell us the areas that could stand improvement and spur us into action to address those issues and make any changes or adjustments to better our products overall. We’re often stuck in the office and shop, so we miss the talk in the field that enables us to improve or design to suit today’s needs and situations. Thank goodness for the web forums! Keep on posting, and please don’t hesitate to call or e-mail us with any questions you may have. As always, be safe, have fun, and soft landings! Karen Thomas Office Manager Basic Research www.basicresearch.com | ||
| Tom B Rating: N/A |
Whats that I hear???? An accuracy canopy is safer to sink in than an elliptical???? By Golly by gosh, is that why those vinyl clad S&A dudes use foils intead of extremes? Could it also "possibly" be that a Standard Fox may be a slightly better option for inexperienced people into those tight arse shitty landing areas - at least initially? NOTICE I SAID MAY BE AND I AM NOT CONSIDERING COSTS, JUST SAFETY. Folks - I am not saying that I am right or wrong. I am not saying that other people on this forum are right or wrong. What does concern me is that there are BASE jumpers who are absolutely adamant that their opinion is the only correct one. Remember that as jumpers we struggle with narrow minded perceptions from the rest of society - "all BASE jumpers are suicidal maniacs". Most jumpers hate this attitude. Even many skydivers have the same "whuffo attitude". BASE jumpers should not allow whuffo / narrow minded attitudes to creep into the sport. The sport has advanced because Carl talked to his peers, Todd S & Anne H talk to Adam F and other manufacturers. Eric and Zoo talked, Jeb talked with DW who used to talk to Johnny who spoke to me who spoke to Joe Bloggs, etc. We all talked, we listened, we agreed, we disagreed, WE LEARNED, we progressed. The sport will keep progressing if we keep this up. The day our minds close to new possibilities and other people's ideas is the day we as individuals (and hence the sport) stop progressing. Confucious said "The man who does not learn from a fool, is a bigger fool himself". This basically means that we have the opportunity to learn from everyone we meet, even those lesser experienced or skilled than ourselves. It is also true to say that we can learn a lot from history. History is about past experiences. Despite what many people seem to think, BASE jumpers CAN learn a hell of a lot from skydiving too. There are many transferable skills, techniques, equipment designs, experiences, etc. Things like vents which have been around in accuracy for many years, tail pockets, harness design, etc, etc. As Karen from BR states, feedback from the field is one critical component of equipment progression in the sport. By all means share your experiences and opinions. If you disagree with something or someone, give a logical reason, not just "you're wrong and I'm right". "I think you're wrong because . . . .reasons based on fact . . . . .state assumptions . . . state limitations on your data set (i.e. only 5 jumps or one person only or one site only) . . . . conclusions . . . . . . . OR "I support your statement because . . . . ... etc Stay Safe Have Fun Good Luck Tom B Nobody No Jumps No Experience p.s. no offense intended to anyone. | ||
| Tom B Rating: N/A |
Some sites on aerodynamics & parachutes: http://www.auf.asn.au/groundschool/contents.html http://www.afn.org/skydive/sta/highperf.pdf http://www.apf.asn.au/apf_admin/downloads/hpcanopyhandling.pdf http://www.skydiveaz.com/resources/book_canopy.htm manufacturers: http://www.pia.com/links.html Others: http://www.paratech-parachutes.com/references/ref-papers.html http://www.ae.su.oz.au/aero/aerodyn.html http://www.aae.uiuc.edu/m-selig/uiuc_lsat/faq_uiuc_lsat.html http://www.ahpcrc.org/education/HSSI/2003_CAU_Presentations/P7-Parachute_Aerodynamics_files/frame.htm http://precision.aerodynamics.com/tutor/index.htm http://www.mech.eng.usyd.edu.au/aero/contents.html http://www.aerodyn.org/ p.s. e.g. on history -> The Pooster had a pretty bad stall with the 5th brake line attached. When the line was removed, the stall was harder to get to (but still very possible ;) ). And the inputs were less responsive. Why??? | ||
| Lucifer Rating: N/A |
well, i think the most important thing is here to understand what are the physical/aerodynamicals effects of a 5th line mod over the wing response. apologizing in advance for my poor english, here are my thoughts. the 5th line mod and its effects might be illustrated by what has been an issue for aeroplanes at the beginning of their developement. on the very firsts profiles, the stall point was really hard to feel and most of the time unrecoverable, because the angle of attack was the same all along the wing. the stalling was happening on all the wing length at the same instant, as the stalling angle was reach at every point at this critical time. the solution was found in spinning the profile, from the center to the ends, assuming that the center of the wing was so having a steeper angle of attack than the extremities ("negative spinning"), so the center reaches the stall point first, announcing the stalling by generating vibrations, while the wing was still totally controllable with the stabs which are in the outer parts of the -still flying- wing. this provides a really sane and desirable progressive and recoverable stall. in paragliding, the same problem has been resolved with the positive spinning of the profile, letting the center of the wing having a weaker incidence, thus providing the same progressive stall, but improving the solidity of the (inflatable) wing but enough illustrations, whats the point with the FOX vs FLiK ? what does the spinning has to do with a square parachute? well the steering lines are inducing a positive spinning on the wing, as long as you pull on them. the outer parts of your canopy will have a more pronounced angle of attack, induced by the deformation of the profile by the steering lines. the center of the wing with his relative weaker angle of attack, will still be flying as the rest of the wing will be in the early part of a stall procedure. so in a general way: 1) reducing the size of the low-incidence "still-flying" portion of the wing (e.g. by adding some control lines) will produce a quicker, clear and overwhelming stall. 2) increasing it will intruduce a more noticeable,progressive and controllable sink-position between the "total-fligt" and the "total-stall". the stall recovery will also be softer because it will also pass by the intermediate "sink" phase if you release progressively the toggles but what about the performances? for the same wings(profile, incidence AND ratio) , with respectively 4 and 5 upper control lines the hands up flight performance will be the same. the steered flight performance will of course be better for the second one, as well as the ability to perform a perfect and beautiful tiptoe landing, and longer flares. the first one will induce more drag while steered, and btw have a badder (steered) glide,but will be more controllable at very low (close to stall) speeds, and will provide better sink characteristics; improving the safety of a low-forward-speed landing. it will let you follow securely a steeper flight path, which is a good thing if you consider landing in tight areas with surrounding obstacles, especially in stormy conditions. but all that is just the way i understand all that. i would appreciate any elaboration / comments on that. | ||
| Jason Rating: N/A |
Some more information for those interested. This weekend Stoney did his first jumps after removing the 5th line from his Fox. Although he found it took some adjusting to fly, the end result was a much smoother more controlled canopy ride. Rob did his first jumps on a FLiK with 5 control lines and found it noticeably difficult to sink. Sinking smoothly without oscillating between stalling and surging was apparently very difficult. The canopy (demo rig) was then left in the car for the rest of the weekend waiting for easier objects. I personally purchased a FLiK because I had heard mixed reports on the other canopies available at the time. The decisive factor was the fact a FLiK is basically an improved FOX and I believed the FOX was the safest canopy on the market. One advantage of having one dominant canopy is the ability to share information with other jumpers. Unfortunately if you own a Blackjack in Oz and are not happy with its performance you may not get a lot of help from others. The best way I can explain the difference between a Fox and FLiK with the same control line configuration is that a FLiK actually flies. It turns and glides like a much more efficient wing. It is a little faster, but so is any Vtec canopy with covers and I don't believe that removing the Vtec covers is the best way to slow down your canopy. The Fox and FLiK only need 1 brake setting for most jumpers most of the time. I would like to see BR fit canopies with multiple brake settings but understand their reasoning not to. If you are jumping objects that require different brake settings, other than the standard one, you should be competent enough to have them added where you need them. Also, the original setting may well not be in the optimum position so brake settings should always be customised to the individual jumper. I did over 50 jumps in the states from a large variety of objects on the FLiK with 5 control lines and had no issues. I did 5 back in Oz and had all sorts of issues. A shallower brake setting for short delays fixed some of those issues but then removing the 5th control line fixed all the remaining issues. At the time I was unsure of the full impact of removing the line and the result surprised me to say the least. Removing the 5th control line doesn't reduce the ability of the canopy to turn and has no affect on glide it just allows the pilot to make full use of their arm movement. I fully understand why people may feel the 5th line is great and have no desire to change. Both students and experienced jumpers have had the same issues with 5 control lines. From my first jumps on a FLiK I was very conscious of the fact my opinions could be tainted by having so many jumps on Fox's and Mojo's. That's why it took me me nearly 100 jumps on a FLiK to form my opinions. It is possible to do a large number of skydives on a canopy with 5 control lines and perfect the art of flying and flaring it. However this does not necessarily address the problem. Is a jumper going to take note of the down wind flare point, cross wind flare point etc? Is the flare point going to be the same when flaring from full drive, half brakes etc? When approaching a bitumen landing area surrounded by obstacles at high speed what is the reflex action when flaring? Is it possible to stall the canopy to loose height and recover close to the ground without surging? Does the FLiK with 4 control lines flare and fly so badly it requires the 5th control line? It has also been my experience that with 4 control lines there is less need for a small mesh slider for terminal delays and it may also slow down some of the very fast sub-terminal slider up openings I have seen. The best thing of all is that with 4 lines when you have finished flaking the tail your pack job still looks good! Jason | ||
| Tom Aiello Rating: N/A |
> The Fox and FLiK only need 1 brake setting for most jumpers most of the time. I would like to see BR fit canopies with multiple brake settings but understand their reasoning not to. Jason, Can you explain this to me? I don't understand BR's reasoning on this at all. Thanks. - Tom Aiello tbaiello@mac.com | ||
| karen Rating: N/A |
This is a comment from one of our customers who had the 5th UCL added to his FOX: Hi Karen Just a quick further update. Since my last email to you I did a couple of cliff jumps. These were on the coast, rock shoreline not sand. The landing area was rather tight and challenging, yet managed to sink it in accurately and still have enough flare left to stand up both landings. I actually prefer my new working control range being around my shoulders, rather then between shoulders and hips as it was with 4 lines. Please pass along my thanks to Todd, I am very happy with the new control line-set. The only problem I experienced was hiking back out, if you guys could do a third leg mod that would be great.  Thanks Will | ||
| Jesse Rating: N/A |
My own experience since removing the 5th control line from my Flik 266 has been overwhelmingly positive. As has been mentioned, my first experience with the Flik and the 5th line was fine. Landing on sand or at the bottom of an antenna gave me no real problems, and I was somewhat curious as to the implications of the 5th line that I was hearing about. It wasn't until I began exploring the control range of the canopy (direct correlation to doing more challenging jumps) that the difference became apparent. I had a hard landing onto bitumen following a deep brake approach that I am now convinced could have been avoided had the 5th line not been installed. The result of this incidence was a reluctance on my part to approach a landing in deep brakes, not a good reluctance to have considering the perils of Aussie BASE. Since removing the 5th line, the control range has definitely improved. I can only describe this improvement as allowing me a greater flexibility in slowing the forward speed of the canopy down while still having a more than acceptable flare. I have also noticed that sinking the canopy is now a much more predictable and stable flight approach without the 5th line, something I am very happy with. All my recent canopy flights in the mountains have felt less sensitive. Also, doing lowish roll-overs over ground, I feel it is more sensible to have a control range less inclined to drop me onto my back if I am over enthusiastic while releasing the brakes. After doing several accuracy jumps from an ultralight under two Fliks (one with, one without the 5th line) I am convinced that the difference is vital, at least for the control range I want anyway. I haven't noticed a significant weaking of the flare either. However it is certainly more effective at a deeper control stroke than it was previously. I think it is also important to note that I am not a seasoned Fox pilot returning to what is familiar. This is just my opinion. Thanks to Jason for alerting me to this. | ||
| Richard Cranium Rating: N/A |
Karin, Obviously Will is not an Ausie. We all have third legs from birth. |
