Articles by Brian Germain

Video
• Powered Paraglider Flight Video
• Canopy Flight Course: Holland DZ Hoogeveen
• Videos by Brian Germain

Radio Interviews
• Skydive Radio Interviews
• Maximizing Life with Scott Chesney

Psychology
• Brian Germain Talks to Medical Students April 2008
• Why Fear Education
• The Long Haul
• Meditation Preparation
• Skydiving and the Mind
• Swooping is not a Crime
• Transcending Fear References
• Secrets of Survival

Flying
• Airlocks After Landing
• Surviving the No Wind Landing
• Ground Launching
• Brian Germain Offers In-Depth Canopy Flight Courses
• Canopy Skill Drills
• Collapses and Turbulence
• Downsizing Recomendations
• The Stall
• One Possible Solution

Rigging and Design
• Brian's Famous Pilot Chute Packing Method
• AirLock
• Slider Locking Mechanism

Skydive Radio Interviews
Available for FREE Download! Brian has been doing interviews for Skydive Radio on several topics including Canopy Flight, Freeflying and The Psychology of Fear. Listen in and hear Brian discussing some of the hottest topics in our sport today. These in-depth discussions provide answers to questions emailed to Skydive Radio from listeners worldwide. Don’t miss out on this free opportunity to hear Brian teach!

Here are the shows:

Show #14 “General Canopy Flight Dynamics”
Show #18 “High Performance Flight”
Show #27 “Emotional Factors in Aviation”
Show #33 "Freeflying, Part One"
Show #48 "Freeflying, Part Two"
Show #74"Brian answers listener questions Pt 1"
Show #75"Brian answers listener questions Pt 2"
Show #88 "Hook Turn Restrictions"
Maximizing Life with Scott Chesney
Show #98 "Traffic Patterns"

Skydiving and the Mind: Clearing the Mind
In the previous article, we discussed the profound usefulness of meditation preparation as a tool to prevent overreaction and panic. In this installment we will take a closer look at one traditional meditation technique, as taught by the Tibetan Buddhist monks.

Meditation Preparation
Most skydivers exercise some form of mental preparation on the way to altitude. What most do not realize is how incredibly important this is. The mental state that we are in prior to exiting the airplane determines how we respond to any given situation, and this response is the most important contributing factor in how the situation ultimately evolves. In other words, mental preparation is every bit as important as a pin check.

Surviving the No Wind Landing
One of the most dreaded conditions of all is the no wind scenario. This fear is so profound that many jumpers in fact avoid jumping in no wind conditions. Although landing with the benefit of a headwind is unarguably easier, there are specific methods that markedly improve the chances of standing up your landing. Here are a few tips that will help you to land softer and safer when the wind goes away:

Collapses and Turbulence
There are many variables to consider when looking into a canopy collapse:

1. What was the pilot doing?
2. How fast was the canopy flying when it collapsed?
3. Where was the pilot flying?
4. What is the canopy design?
5. What is the wing-loading?
6. Was there any re-active solution employed?

These are the principle considerations, but not the only ones. I will take each one separately.

Brian's Famous Pilot Chute Packing Method
Many years ago, Brian came across an incredible method for packing throw-out pilot chutes.  This technique seriously reduces the risks of a main reserve entanglement due to a horseshoe malfunction.

The Long Haul
There are many areas of this sport in which we can invest ourselves, so many avenues in which to excel. By focusing heavily on a single discipline, we are able to achieve significant notoriety in a fairly short period of time. By utilizing the superior training techniques, personal coaching and wind tunnel rehearsal, modern skydivers are able to reach significant prowess in just a few months of participation in the sport. Although the speedy gratification of our desires is tempting and rewarding in the short term, there is a larger, more important goal. We must survive.

Ground Launching
You can ground launch any skydiving canopy if you have enough slope and enough up-slope wind. The heavier the wing-loading, the steeper the slope has to be. I don't recommend trying anything higher than 1.3 or so until you get more experience. As for the technique, it's fairly straight-forward.

Brian Germain Offers In-Depth Canopy Flight Courses
Parachute Designer Brian Germain, President Of Big Air Sportz, is now offering a new type of canopy class. Unlike other canopy camps, the focus of Brian’s courses is the classroom information, rather than only filming landings. Although jumping is often included in the course, this is intended to be an in-depth ground-school of parachute flight.

Canopy Skill Drills
Learning to fly our parachutes is absolutely necessary for long-term survival in this sport. The philosophy that the canopy is simply a means to get down from a skydive is gradually becoming a thing of the past. This may be as a result of individuals with such an attitude dropping out of the sport due to canopy-related injuries, or from the insurmountable fear that comes as a result of a lack of control over their experience. Regardless, many jumpers have been taking an increased interest in flying their parachutes better.

AirLock
There is a considerable amount of chatter about “valved” parachutes going around these days. Many skydivers believe that airlocked parachutes are the way of the future, while others see the introduction of this new technology as a temporary fad. In this article I will discuss the pros and cons, as objectively as I can, to this new development in parachute design.

Slider Locking Mechanism

The Stall
The stall is one of the least explored and most feared aspects of flying. Avoidance of this flight mode causes many canopy pilots to be uncomfortable with flying slowly, and unpracticed in this important art. This article will discuss the governing variables relating to the stall, in hopes that this knowledge will help parachute pilots to become less afraid of this essential aspect of the flying experience.

Airlocks After Landing
Big Air Sportz canopies are equipped with the Germain Airlock System (US Patent 5,573,207, Brian Germain). This restricts the exhale of the canopy’s internal air pressure in flight, but also after landing as well. This is a bit of a bother to those pilots unprepared for an inflated wing after landing, but a non-issue for those that have developed a technique for deflating the canopy.