After, what feels like, 1001 attempts.
I finally landed the backloop with the feet in footstraps and sailed away.

On a lake with dead onshore windswell...

Good stuff. Way too scary for me. I wonder if anyone has done a loop on a LT ?

Well done. How many of those "1000" attempts were on an onshore lake compared to typical sideshoreish ocean?

5% in sea water, beach breakers, sideshore/cross onshore

That was the same for me - I worked it out to be around 1200 attempts. Well done !

i think im a t 1000!!
so looking forward t it soon

Geary: Just between 1 and 200 to go ; )

@Mathew: What did it for you?

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Icelake said..
Geary: Just between 1 and 200 to go ; )

@Mathew: What did it for you?

To quote Ben Proffitt.... "When you get to the apex, do a chin-up"

Watching at a lot of other beginer-backloop'ers, I think I had the same issue as everyone... trying to rotate too fast which then causes over-rotation. The trick is to _not_ sheet out. Obviously. But it isn't obvious how to make that happen.

When you do a chin-up, it forces you to bring the boom closer to your chest and thus not sheet out.

As a bonus, since your front hand is on the harness line and your back hand is way back already, this behaviour also causes the sail to move across your chest a bit, making it ready for landing.

With enough repetitions it becomes more natural / less forced.... I'm now not-completely-crap ... @3:27

PvB's "Good Vibes" shows Jaeger doing it in slow-mo... a big jump, then the boom gets pull closer to his chest @1:21


?t=207
?t=81

@3.27 is not-completely-crap at all, it's a very nice backie!!! Good height!

Yes, a 'chin up' (hugging the boom) was it for me also.
In combination with sliding the already back backhand further back in flight. Just trying to do this will also help. Perhaps you have to keep the boom closer to do that.

After way to much spin in the beginning period (with an shoulder injury after a landing on top of the sail with a straight arm on the boom) I tried to kill the rotation with stretched/long arms and straighten the back leg. (that is so wrong).
With straight up and to much straight down.

Before the apex don't sheet in. Open the sail a bit.

It also helped to rake the sail back.
The timing for this is tricky and depends on the take off.
sometimes with the take off, now and then in the apex and at times not at all... Oh and sometimes keep it raked in the landing, and then again it has to put forward. Don't understand this, yet.

So, quantity for quality!


How much attempts did others need to claim the backloop?

That's fantastic, it's tough stuff onshore as the rotation is accentuated. I got really lucky and landed them in around 150 attempts, I was shocked to land them as it was never a goal to me, only forwards.

Hard to remember so long ago. Probably about 10 till my first clean one. Good conditions, slightly onshore.