pd reserves

[chipperfly 0]

i'm in the process of upgrading my gear.sweet new wings container,120 stiletto and pd 126.i've heard pd reserves "fly larger" than most equivalent others,is that true.i'm 180 lbs.without gear,so i'm loading it a little.have had 3 reserve rides on my 150 tempo,and it was like landing a manta...fat and gentle.anyone out there loading their pd as much or more?(of course there is).how were your landings?

[Dazzle 0]

I demod a 113 at eloy at 165 + gear and weight. Decent rate was pretty quick but flared out nicely and gave a gentle(ish) landing. It didn't plane out but was not problem to land.

If you can get hold of a demo it'll take the worry away - I'd happily order a 113 now rather than before where I'd have been a little concerned.

[freefalle 0]

Im just asking, Do you think you can land that 126 reserve on a no wind day in the back yard between the fence and the swiming pool without hitting the power line on your way over the street after the stress of a really shitty high speed malfunction? Would you at your EXIT weight normally fly a 126ish main? Just wondering

[cvfd1399 0]

or knocked out with a broken leg

[dguy 0]

As a student, am I missing something here?
I thought a reserve was something you hope you never have to use, and if you do, does it matter that it flies like a Manta? Surely, reaching "terra firma" safe and sound is the important thing?

"Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt"
- Abraham Lincoln

[mr2mk1g 10]

Quote

does it matter that it flies like a Manta? Surely, reaching "terra firma" safe and sound is the important thing?

Would it still count as "safe and sound" if you landed so hard you broke your leg... or if your reserve flew so fast you didn't have time from your super low opening to spot and land anywhere safe?

[Brains 2]

I am about 195 out the door and i own and have landed a pdr113. Yeah, it saved my ass from my nasty spinning main, but that was about it. Like others have said, read my sigline.

Never look down on someone, unless they are going down on you.

[dguy 0]

Quote

Would it still count as "safe and sound" if you landed so hard you broke your leg...

IMO no! What I was trying to say was that surely it is better to have a reserve that flies slow and responds well so that you can land it where you want without harming yourself.
I'm sorry if I didn't put my point over very well, as you can see from my profile my only experience is 8 jumps on 280 square foot student canopies.

[LawnDart21 0]

Thats a great point. I always thought it would a cool "extra" when demoing a reserve at a boogie or something to have them drop you at 2100ft over a housing development.
The otherside of the coin, landing a small reserve with a higher loading can be done too. We had a jumper loading a PD113 about 1.8 and had 2 cutaways this season, he landed both in the peas. Granted he has 4000 jumps, but it can be done by the right person. Should it be, I dunno? Can it be, yes.

--
My other ride is a RESERVE.

[mr2mk1g 10]

It's alright bud, I got the wrong end of the stick about what your point was.

[davelepka 4]

Quote

Do you think you can land that 126 reserve on a no wind day in the back yard between the fence and the swiming pool without hitting the power line on your way over the street after the stress of a really shitty high speed malfunction?

Do you think you could land your reserve there?
I didn't look at your profile, I don't know what you fly, but thats a pretty tight scenario. Be honset with your self. Better yet, put a frisbee next to a building ro under a tree, and see how close you can get.

For the record I have landed many canopies from 120 to 90, loaded at least 1.8 in those situations. These were mains, built to swoop, not for accuracy.

[LawnDart21 0]

I'd land in the pool. Then it's just a "chow".

--
My other ride is a RESERVE.

[davelepka 4]

Good point.

[TALONSKY 0]

If you are questioning how the reserve would land, I would get e demo of it from PD. I believe its like some small amount $ 40.00 to demo. That way you know exactly what your reserve will fly like before your in a tight spot with it.
Kirk

[riggerrob 563]

i've heard pd reserves "fly larger" than most equivalent others

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Your confusion is caused by different manufacturers using different measurement methods.

20-some-odd years ago, PIA tried to resolve this dilemma by writing a standard for measuring ram-air canopies. The PIA standard measures span across the top skin a few inches aft of the leading edge. PIA measures chord in a straight line from the top leading edge straight back to the trailing edge.

Unfortunately only a few manufacturers adopted PIA's method (i.e. Para-Flite and PISA).

Performance Designs uses a more complex formula that roughly equates to bottom skin area, ergo PD canopies are advertised as having 10% less fabric than their PIA numbers.

On the other hand, Precision, etc. have another measuring method that over-states area, ergo, numbers published by Precision are larger than if then canopy was measured by PIA.

[mysky 1]

I am 225lbs out the door and have a PD113 reserve. No worries about landing it. I've seen heavier jumpers then me come in silky smooth under the same size reserve. This is only my opinion not a suggestion but I think PD reserves fly incredible for something that's not ZP. Now granted a 143 or bigger is going to give you a slower ride so it's whatever is in your head you are comfortable with along with your skill level that should make your final decision.

There are 3 kinds of people in this world, those that know how to count, and those who don't.

[LawnDart21 0]

A side topic also worthy of discussion I think:

Most very experienced jumpers that choose to jump a tiny reserve have a "safety skill set" that greatly reduces the chance they will ever end up in that "tight spot" situation. Whether its a higher decision altitude, better spotting or just an over all increase in safe skydiving. You rarely see the uber-experienced jumper landing a tiny reserve in a tight spot becuase they generally don't allow themselves to be put in a position like that to have to cutaway & land in that shoe box backyard. Its usually lower time jumpers that botch something up, either cutaway alti, delay in decision on where to land, bad pattern, that set them in shoe box backyards and pound in.

Any thoughts?

--
My other ride is a RESERVE.

[LawnDart21 0]

My only reservation about jumping a reserve loaded 2.0 is the increase potential for line twists on opening due to the higher loading. My only cutaway to date is from a spiralling line twist mal that I could not correct, the canopy was loaded 1.9 and it was spiralling FAST. If my reserve spun up like that at that loading, I can't see a clear resolution/correction. Granted F-111 square reserves would probably spiral slower than a HP canopy, but I don't want to be the one to find out that isn't the case.

--
My other ride is a RESERVE.

[GravityGirl 0]

You can order a demo from PD. That will help you make the most educated decision.

We had a couple of seminars here called, "Flying the reserve." We had a full range of demo PD reserves for folks to fly. We had imaginary senarios that they got to play out in real life. It's a great experience.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peace and Blue Skies!
Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

[chipperfly 0]

flying like a manta is a good thing!

[chipperfly 0]

thanks dazzle,i'mpretty sure i'll be fine with my 126,but will be doing a jump on it as a main before it goes in to my container.funny,my 150 tempo is a sweet reserve,an older 150 micro raven i did a jump on was a bag of s***.

[chipperfly 0]

very probably yes,and yes

[chipperfly 0]

thanks rob,
didn,t know any of that,have you finished the wrist mount for my camera yet?

[chipperfly 0]

if you're unconscious and landing on a highway in front of semi,do you think you'll make out better with a larger reserve?point being,you can't prepare for every scenario,i'm trying to find out how this thing flies and flares at that wing loading.

[nate_1979 9]

Quote

i've heard pd reserves "fly larger" than most equivalent others

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Your confusion is caused by different manufacturers using different measurement methods.

20-some-odd years ago, PIA tried to resolve this dilemma by writing a standard for measuring ram-air canopies. The PIA standard measures span across the top skin a few inches aft of the leading edge. PIA measures chord in a straight line from the top leading edge straight back to the trailing edge.

Unfortunately only a few manufacturers adopted PIA's method (i.e. Para-Flite and PISA).

Performance Designs uses a more complex formula that roughly equates to bottom skin area, ergo PD canopies are advertised as having 10% less fabric than their PIA numbers.

On the other hand, Precision, etc. have another measuring method that over-states area, ergo, numbers published by Precision are larger than if then canopy was measured by PIA.

Ugg, I'm a bit confused by this, would like it stepped down to a dumber level for me if you would ... So, if you have one PD canopy, and one Precision canopy, and they are both published as "200 sq. ft" they would be different sizes? And which would be larger / smaller?

FGF #???
I miss the sky...
There are 10 types of people in the world... those who understand binary and those who don't.