Answer the following questions using the value of

the answer provided in parentheses.

Experience and Currency

• Number of jumps: 26-50 (5); 51-200 (4); 201-500 (3);

501-2,000 (2); more than 2,000 (1) ________

• Years in the sport: Less than six months (5);

six months to a year (4); more than a year to three years (3);

more than three years to five years (2);

more than five years (1) ________

• Number of jumps last year: Fewer than 25 (8); 26-50 (5);

51-200 (3); 201-500 (2); more than 500 (1) ________

• Number of jumps last month: 0 (5); 1-9 (4); 10-25 (3);

26-49 (2); 50 or more (1) ________

• Number of jumps at your current DZ: 0-10 (6); 11-25 (4);

26-50 (3); 51-200 (2); more than 200 (1) ________

Canopy Information

• Wing loading: .6-.9:1 (1); .91-1.1:1 (2); 1.11-1.3:1 (3); 

1.31-1.7:1 (6); 1.71-plus:1 (8) ________

• Canopy square footage: 260-plus (1); 210-259 (2);

170-209 (3); 135-169 (4); 120-134 (6);

119 or smaller (8) ________

• Canopy design: Low aspect ratio, rectangular (1);

rectangular (2); elliptical (3); high aspect ratio,

elliptical (6); cross-braced (8) ________

• Number of jumps on your current canopy: 0-10 (5);

11-25 (4); 26-50 (3); 51-200 (2); 

more than 200 (1) ________

Training Experience

• Structured lessons or competitions on your canopy:

0 (5); 1-3 (4); 4-6 (3); 7-9 (2); ten or more (1) ________

• Hop-and-pops above 5,000 feet dedicated to 

canopy practice (no RW, etc.) on your current canopy:

1-5 (5); 6-10 (4); 11-25 (3); 26-50 (2); more than 50 (1) ________

• Give yourself one point for each maneuver you have 

NOT performed on your canopy in the last 50 jumps:

Braked turn ________

Flare turn ________

Reverse turn ________

Braked landing ________

Riser flare (high or on landing) ________

Extended glide ________

Flying a pre-planned pattern ________

Accuracy within two meters ________

Crosswind or downwind landing ________

Induced-speed landing ________

Add up your entries to determine

Your Canopy Quotient:

Wondering where you fit in with all

the talk about canopy piloting? 

Complete this questionnaire, and see

where your score falls on the canopy

risk scale.

UNITED STATES

PARACHUTE

ASSOCIATION

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actual current risk. You can start by getting training,upsizing or both. Also, after a bad spot, you shouldnot be one of the jumpers who tries to stretch it outto the last couple hundred feet to make it back to theDZ. Pick a safe alternative early.

Jumpers who want to learn performance landings

and get ready for swoop competitions should notmove into the high-risk category by getting smallercanopies to train with. To reduce your risk beforetrying high-speed landing maneuvers, start jumpingmore, make only high hop-and-pops, and considerdownsizing only after your score fits you into a lowerrisk profile. Before going big on landing, train with acoach. Always keep your risk low when learningperformance moves.

51-76: Scary

No matter how you got this score, you and the

jumpers around you are in trouble. You’re jumping acanopy that’s too advanced for your experience andcurrency, and you haven’t been trained well enoughto fly it safely. You probably should not continue tojump your current equipment, and you definitelyshould not visit other drop zones. Overly aggressivecanopy pilots new on the DZ have become one of aDZ manager’s biggest headaches.

At home, your friends should insist that you land

by yourself, away from them. You really should putyour current canopy away for a while, upsize tosomething safer and work with a coach until he feelsyou have the skills to handle your current gear. Andplease don’t try anything fancy on landing.

If you feel that you got this score unfairly because

you bought gear that some people told you would befine if you jumped it conservatively or were careful untilyou got used to it, then those people have simply notgotten the message. Advice a lot of people in the sportused to consider a little aggressive but reasonableturned out to be dangerous. Sometimes, it takes awhile for people to get the word. Not only does thescary profile describe those in the accident reports, butthe accidents themselves have severe consequencesfor the jumpers and others around them. Frankly, therest of the jumpers in the sport are sick of it.

This isn’t a scientific survey, and you have to consider what you did to get your score. Your canopy risk quotient can change up or down depending on

your circumstances on any given day. Look especially at the number of jumps inthe last month or year and the number of jumps at a particular drop zone or ona new canopy. Visiting a new DZ with a brand-new canopy or signing out ademo at a boogie can really punch up your canopy risk quotient. And althoughnot on the survey, fatigue and health figure in, of course ... Make sure to factorin that hangover.

 does your score mean? 

 does your score mean?