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ArmitageShanks

canopy size

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let's say you weigh 180 naked.

most of your jumps are on a mojo 280. you've done well with this canopy, and love the way it operates.

you're thinking about a new canopy, and reckon you might as well have a bit more fabric over your head for gnarly stuff, and some vents for low stuff.

current thinking says a 300' canopy might be just the ticket.

that would mean a rock dragon 303' or a troll 285' (301') mdv.

questions:
would a black jack 310' just be way too big? especially with the zp option: would a person just float away, never to be seen again?

would a black jack 280 or flik 293 vtec fly like a bigger canopy than the mojo 280 (especially a bj with zp?) any benefit there, or too small?

thoughts?

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I am in a similiar position... Just sold my flik 293 and am in the market for a new canopy. My other rig has an ace 280 that I am very happy with but usually use for slider up jumps. I'm looking at either a BJ 280 or 310, both with the zp option. The pro's of the 280 are having two same sized canpies and having more confidence is how fast it will deploy on ultra low free falls, the cons are that I am at the high range of wing loading. The pro's for the 310 are that I can fly it super slow and land in tight landing areas with less forward penetration, the cons are that is it a bulkier, heavier canopy that will take a few extra feet to deploy, also I would feel silly jumping a 310 w/ a wingsuit. I hav't even checked to see what the pack volume compares between the two of them and a flik 293. That will help make up my mind since it will have to fit in my old container.

I am interested in peoples opinoins also.....

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also I would feel silly jumping a 310 w/ a wingsuit.



Why? I load my favorite wingsuit canopy at 0.60
A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world.
-TJ

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forgot to add, I weigh around 195 lbs.....




This has been discussed at this thread..."GOING BIG"
further down this site..
I`m 165lbs and i have put an order for the Troll DW 285...

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You're making a disturbingly common mistake.

Every canopy manufacturer measures size differently. A Blackjack "310" is actually pretty much exactly the same size as the Troll "290" that I own.

Picking the canopy based on the number being approximately what you think you should be buying is silly. The numbers vary by manufacturer by as much as plus or minus 20.

Saying "I'll buy canopy X because it comes in a 297, and that's my ideal size" is definitely not the way to go. I treat canopies as size groups. In my reckoning, a Flik 293, a Dagger 288, or a Blackjack 280 are all the same size, or close enough as to make no difference (or, certainly, less difference than the differences between the canopies themselves, regardless of size).

Pick the canopy you want, then get the size that's closest. Don't pick the canopy based on the size.
-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

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would a black jack 280 or flik 293 vtec fly like a bigger canopy than the mojo 280 (especially a bj with zp?) any benefit there, or too small?

thoughts?



I can't say anything about mojo or flik vs. blackjack, but based on the 25 jumps I have on my new CUS (zp option) Blackjack 260s vs my previous non-zp Blackjack 260s (500 jumps between the two of them), the CUS (zp) Blackjack flies like a ONE SIZE SMALLER non-zp Blackjack, specifically as far as turn response and dive goes, it also has more forward speed. The CUS Blackjack will allow you to fly yourself into trouble on tight approaches much easier if you don't keep it under a tight reign. You do get to keep the 'square-footage' of the same non-zp Blackjack as far as braked flying and low-speed flying goes. I have heard from a few people that you can actually fly the CUS Blackjack slower than the standard one, but I don't think I have enough jumps on the CUS Blackjacks to know that yet. The standard Blackjack is capable of such good deep brake flight anyway that it might be a moot point.

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would a blackjack 310 w/ CUS fit into the same container a Flik 293 fits snugly in? IF they don't have similiar pack volume I may not have a choice between the 310 and 280.....

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