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Description
Canopy flight. There are no photos from when we were higher up and under canopy, since you can't really do that safely.

Canopy opening seemed to happen suddenly; one second I was belly-down, then I was sitting in a swing. Then I could actually hear my instructor talking to me.

Canopy flight is very peaceful. It feels like you're moving forward, rather than down, and that's the idea. It's easier to get visual context of how much you're moving.

Part of the tandem routine is when your instructor hands the steering toggles to you and lets you steer the canopy for a bit. It was exactly like the first time I drove a car. I understand the theory: pull the toggle, that side of the canopy slows down, and you turn. But I was very tentative; I didn't know how much the canopy would react to me. I got a few nice, slow, flat turns in just to test the thing out. Then the instructor (who, like a good driving instructor, has his own control of the brakes) helped me demonstrate some much faster turns.

I'm not a roller coaster guy. If my stomach hadn't been empty for hours, I probably would have ralphed. I made it through okay.

Landing was easy. We did some maneuvering to line up over our target, then our fast final approach turned into a dead stop. I think I put my feet down a little harder than I should have. My ankles stung a bit, but no injury.

Description
Canopy flight. There are no photos from when we were higher up and under canopy, since you can't really do that safely.

Canopy opening seemed to happen suddenly; one second I was belly-down, then I was sitting in a swing. Then I could actually hear my instructor talking to me.

Canopy flight is very peaceful. It feels like you're moving forward, rather than down, and that's the idea. It's easier to get visual context of how much you're moving.

Part of the tandem routine is when your instructor hands the steering toggles to you and lets you steer the canopy for a bit. It was exactly like the first time I drove a car. I understand the theory: pull the toggle, that side of the canopy slows down, and you turn. But I was very tentative; I didn't know how much the canopy would react to me. I got a few nice, slow, flat turns in just to test the thing out. Then the instructor (who, like a good driving instructor, has his own control of the brakes) helped me demonstrate some much faster turns.

I'm not a roller coaster guy. If my stomach hadn't been empty for hours, I probably would have ralphed. I made it through okay.

Landing was easy. We did some maneuvering to line up over our target, then our fast final approach turned into a dead stop. I think I put my feet down a little harder than I should have. My ankles stung a bit, but no injury.