New Aerodyne rig

[philyus 0]

Hi guys, Just started jumping my new pilot 168 in a Icon container, but want to know if anyone else is having really slow openings and quite regularly off heading openings?


Phil

[chopchop 0]

Hi Phil, I have about 90 jumps on my rigs, Pilot 140s in Icons, and I have nice soft openings.. I guess they could be considered slow.. but they are very much on heading.

out of curiosity, what is your wingloading?

chopchop
gotta go... Plaything needs a spanking..

Lotsa Pictures

[philyus 0]

something like 1.29, Yeah I guess it is just slow compared to my sabre which opened like a brute. Just wondered. How much alt you lose before canopy open?

[larsrulz 0]

It is probably most likely that your off heading openings are due to body position and not pack job or canopy. As for the slow openings, there are little things you can do to speed this up; talk to your rigger and I'm sure he'll have a few ideas. If you insist that it is the canopy and not your body position for the off heading openings, then you could ask an experienced jumper at your DZ to take it for a ride.

I got a strong urge to fly, but I got no where to fly to. -PF

[mr2mk1g 10]

Just made pretty much the same switch as you - exe 170 (v similar to sabre) to pilot 168.

Are you still packing your pilot like you did the sabre? There's no need to roll the nose at all on the pilot as you would the sabre. Doing so may well cause very long openings and possible off heading openings.

[philyus 0]

Thanks mate... that might be all it needs then. Still glad I changed from my brute of a sabre though. The pilot is lovely, so just push the nose in and wrap it with tail? No nose rolling at all? Do you push the nose far into the pack job before you drape the tail?

Phil

[mr2mk1g 10]

The aerodyne packing manual is silent on what you do with the nose so I presume you simply let it hang there. For sure there's no need to roll it though. I've done both hang the nose and pushed it into the pack job slightly with no appreciable difference.

See what the makers say here: http://www.aerodyne-int.com/download/Aerodyne_maincanopies_manual_A4.pdf

[philyus 0]

Thanks mate.. have looked at it before and as you say it is pretty quiet on what you do to the nose but i'll try just leaving it alone and see how that goes.

Phil

[Fab 0]

Don't do anything with the nose...just leave it be and finish your packjob as normal. It will still give you a nice soft opening...

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[Thanatos340 1]

I have been Jumping a Pilot 188 for a several months.
Yes it opens slow (I Like that!!), Never had an Off heading opening (Unless it was Psycho packed and then it was 180 off - I don’t think the Packer flipped the bag) but I have had to fly the harness a little at times during the opening. Just a little moderate input to keep it straight if one side starts to inflate before the other.
I recently put a few Jumps on a Demo 168 and it was exactly the same.

Don’t roll the nose, It opens fine if you just hide it a little. Mine is a smooth opening canopy and the Demo 168 was exactly the same.

[Stumpy 256]

I made exactly the same change as you - i don't roll the nose, i just push it in but not too far.
You might find its a perception thing - mine felt slow the first few times but then i realised that it was just normal and i had been having brisk openings every time with my sabre!!!

Never try to eat more than you can lift

[philyus 0]

Yeah man.. my sabre openings were absolutely brutal! Glad I changed to the Pilot, and as you say its probably just me having to get used to it opening slightly slower.

Phil

[mr2mk1g 10]

I now know why they call it an opening "sequence" as opposed to an opening "event".

[larsrulz 0]

When I finished demoing the pilot I jumped, the Aerodyne guy asked that when I pack it to return it that I leave the nose alone and just a few wraps of the tail; hopefully that will help!

I got a strong urge to fly, but I got no where to fly to. -PF

[philyus 0]

yep all good advice.. cheers guys

Phil

[AndyMan 7]

I suspect there might be something funky with the Icon. I think it might be the smaller ZP pilot chute, combined with the "bridle tab" on the right main main flap holding the bridle back for a short time.

I almost chopped my first jump on my new Icon, it was a hop&pop and I pulled right out the door. After a few seconds the airspeed built up and it opened.

The first thing I've noticed is that the hesitation has gone down as I've done more jumps on the rig. I don't consider it a major problem, but it's certainly something I'll be keeping an eye on. I may swap to a larger "F1-11" pilot chute. Definately more observation required...

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[philyus 0]

Ah good point... I did wonder about my pilot chute...

[chopchop 0]

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The first thing I've noticed is that the hesitation has gone down as I've done more jumps on the rig.

Or you have gotten used to it..

Phil, regarding how long my openings take, I haven't thought much about it but my guess would be 600-700 feet.

chopchop
gotta go... Plaything needs a spanking..

Lotsa Pictures

[efex 0]

Hey,

I have put over 150 jumps on my pilot 150 and from my expierence the best way to pack it is to let the nose hang, dont push it in alltall (can cause a whole load of horrible malfunctions, no matter what canopy) , dont roll it, dont even kiss it ;). The slider wants to be about 1/2" infront of the nose, no more no less. Also only put as many rolls in the tail as you need to be able to keep it under control, less is better.
On average my pilot takes about 800ft to open and is so gentle its been quoted as "falling through butter". I particularly like this feature as after 6-7 jumps my shoulders and back still feel like there connected.
As far as the off heading openings go, ive found the pilot can be quite sensitive to body position on deployment. When I first started out it was going all over the place, but has now settled down into about 95% dead on heading openings, mostly due to just looking at the horizon on deployment.

Hope that helps some,
all the best

Warwick University Skydiving Club

[kelpdiver 2]

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The first thing I've noticed is that the hesitation has gone down as I've done more jumps on the rig.

Or you have gotten used to it..

aye, which one? I'm going through a similar experience with Wings, the 28" ZP PC, and a Triathlon. Don't have enough jumps on it to know what's going on, but it sure seems slower to open. I thought I eliminated the PC as I can tell when the snatch happens.

[tdog 0]

Quote

Hey,

I have put over 150 jumps on my pilot 150 and from my expierence the best way to pack it is to let the nose hang, dont push it in alltall (can cause a whole load of horrible malfunctions, no matter what canopy) , dont roll it, dont even kiss it ;).

Ditto... A wonderfully careful packer, during a 4way training day, rolled the nose and tried to make it super soft... It opened soooooo sloooooow that I wondered if it would ever open... Once it was open, it was in twists... I never have had a problem with my somewhat sloppy packjobs - with the slider quartered exactly center with equal fabric sticking out the tail and nose, and the tail rolled on the back side of the cocoon about half way down... As I propack it over my shoulder - I just let the nose out from between my legs at the last moment - make a quick inspection without touching it, then close it up...

[caldwellbuilder 0]

I also have a pilot 168 in an Icon container.
Mine usually takes about 600 feet to open which
makes for soft openings. My pack jobs have
been consistently on-heading, but when I have
had packers do them, I have had an increased
number of off -heading openings, but nothing
over 180 degrees. I would think that the slippery
fabric could be the culprit, as some packers have
struggled to control it going into the bag. That
should get better as the canopy gets more jumps
on it.
Later,
Will