Nov 9, 2004, 6:20 PM
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The Comet.
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Anybody ever owned or jumped a Comet? A 228sq. ft. 7 cell made in the early or mid 80s. Nothing good has come from anything named Comet. The Jetliners crashed, the car was junk, and the Canopy, at least mine was scary. This pic was not all low turn, a turn I pulled off at the DZ many times, but this particular time the canopy really took a bad dive and never recovered. I finally recovered from a broken femur.
Did many jumps on an X228, Australian clone of the comet, Great CRW canopy, several world gold medals were won with it, (not by me) Used to OK for Accuracy as well,
Hi-ett, Made a couple dozen jumps on a 228 comet back in '83. Nice canopy for a 7-cell. Sounds funny that your chute was such a dud! Did you call Bill Gargano and see if he would do something about it?? Did you have one of Bill's canopys or one from Chuck Embry?? Willy handed off the Comet line to Chuck when he developed the Hobbit, Spirit and Wizard series. I had one of Willy's Wizards and it was a great canopy!!
I have an X228 sitting on my floor right now, I'm thinking about giving it a go just cos I'm curious. Problem is it doesn't have a slider. Do you reckon I could use it with a ZP slider? Also, it's got a few big holes in the top skin, with broken masking tape around them. I was going to use some gaffer tape to patch them up but now that I've been reading up on it here it feels like I could be defacing a collector's item. Any advice?
I have an X228 sitting on my floor right now, I'm thinking about giving it a go just cos I'm curious. Problem is it doesn't have a slider. Do you reckon I could use it with a ZP slider? Also, it's got a few big holes in the top skin, with broken masking tape around them. I was going to use some gaffer tape to patch them up but now that I've been reading up on it here it feels like I could be defacing a collector's item. Any advice?
Never jumped a Comet, but I do remember them when they started showing up around Perris in 1980. Lots of people bought them and really liked them. The thing that surprised me was just how populat the 300 ft Comet was. Especially nowadays, when so many people have downsize mania. Back then the Comet 300 was extremely popular with a lot of the "hip" crowd.
I had a Comet 228. Loved it. I got my BASE # with that canopy. I jumped a couple Hobitts, too, even had one as a reserve in a Handbury rig. Bill Gargano TSO'd a system to pack it in a 2-riser 2-pin reserve container using a diaper, and Skybill used to pack it for me. (Tacos 'n Hobbitts, haha.) Had another one of Bill's canopies, a Lumen, made some base jumps on that one too.
Any chance of resurrecting the Nasgull?
(This post was edited by dudeman17 on Sep 30, 2011, 1:29 PM)
I had a Comet 300 before sizing was was made the same for manufacturers . Actuall size turn out to be 288. Ididnt pack it when I demoed it. That was the only cutaway ever on it. It was the retired after 600 jumps
I had a 228 Comet reserve that I deployed 3 times. Couldn't tell much difference in performance in it from my Cruiselite main.......except the Comet opened everytime.
I jumped one for a couple of years and did all my BASE jumps with it. It was actually re-branded a 'Spirit'. This shot is the morning after I'd done my 'B' and 'E' during the previous night.
I did put more than 700 jumps on my Comet 228 that i still keep in a box in my basement. It was my first canopy and i did everything with it!! It was a great all round canopy but i agree that the openings were increasingly specials with the years..!!
What's the gripe on the older Comets? I owned 4 early to mid-60's Comets. Awesome cars - cheap to buy, incredibly easy to work on, good mileage (all had either the 144 or 200 straight 6), and real metal that did not dent when leaned on. Solid cars; way, way better than today's lower priced pieces of junk.
Wow, am I glad you posted this. I flew a big green one and for the past 30 years I though it was a 5 cell.
I don't remember any bad flying characteristics but I was pretty conservative anyway when it came to close to the ground stuff.
It was actually owned by Jim Stoyas who died with it on an attempted canopy transfer in July 1982. I flew it a few times after that and as I recall it was considered by others as being a bit sluggish.
(This post was edited by captain1976 on Oct 3, 2011, 5:45 PM)
I had a Comet 228. Loved it. I got my BASE # with that canopy. I jumped a couple Hobitts, too, even had one as a reserve in a Handbury rig. Bill Gargano TSO'd a system to pack it in a 2-riser 2-pin reserve container using a diaper, and Skybill used to pack it for me. (Tacos 'n Hobbitts, haha.) Had another one of Bill's canopies, a Lumen, made some base jumps on that one too.
Any chance of resurrecting the Nasgull?
Hi Matt!!!!, How well I remember Tuesday night "Tacos and Hobbits!!" Your mom's Taco Tuesdays were great! Not many people remember Willie's TSO'ed Diaper on the hobbit. You could use the diaper or stow it in a freebag if you wanted. I believe Willy was one of the first people to use a semisemetrical airfoil instead of the typical flatbottom that other ramairs had.
broken leg jump.jpg
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