Hornet 190 openings

[txhoss 0]

I was wondering if anyone owns or has jumped a Hornet 190? It feels like I am getting hit by a train every time I have opened it (3 times). Is there something that I can do to slow it down? I have to make a decision as to keep it or send it back and not buy it.

Have Rig will travel ...

[D22369 0]

Is there something that I can do to slow it down?***

boy, I hear this a lot from hornet owners.... for some reason its the ones who own the larger canopys... (nothing wrong with that)
but yes you can do something about it.....everyone will start telling you about packing tips, the exotic packing (rolling the nose, stuffing the nose...) etc...
but you can eliminate the problem by having your rigger make you an oversized slider-and the problem will go away, I jump an icarus fx-85 that was very painfull to deploy, my rigger made me a slider that was 2" wider and 1 5/8 inch larger front to back with dual drawstrings, .... you cannot tell it wasnt the stock slider by looking at it (excellent work)

these dimensions worked for my canopy, call the factory and tell them the problem - they will probably recommend a larger slider and will be able to either provide it, or give you the dimensions needed to fabricate one.

my openings are almost scary soft.....no opening shock what so ever...my stiletto never opened this soft.

hope this helps.

Roy

They say I suffer from insanity.... But I actually enjoy it.

[jadaj 0]

I own Hornet 190 and slider is very big comparing to other canopies.
I psychopack it because of small container and openings are always soft but not always on heading.

Jacek Dajnowicz

[AggieDave 6]

PM FlyingFerret and ask him to measure his slider. He has a fairly new Hornet 190 and I believe the newer ones have a different slider. That could point you in the right direction. Or talk to a rigger about sewing pockets like they used to do for the old Sabre.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[Peej 0]

The slider advice you've been given is great but the packing tips shouldn't be ignored, do a search on Hornets and you'll find plenty of little tips and tricks, i jump a 170 and after tweaking my packing slightly it doesn't slam open anymore.

Advertisio Rodriguez / Sky

[FrogNog 1]

I have at least 200 jumps on my Hornet 190; I got it when it was "new", although I'm pretty sure it was manufactured a long time ago.

When first brand new mine opened like a snail. Then after a dozen jumps it started to be normal, and that sometimes included some painful openings.

Eventually I figured out that ensuring the slider was hard against the stops was the key. I don't bother rolling the nose. I make sure to pull the slider out in front and to the sides. I have folded the coccoon and stuffed it in the bag many different ways and except for the one time I reverse psycho-rolled it and it didn't start opening for about three long seconds, none of this folding or stuffing ever affected the hardness of the opening. (These things just affected how badly off-heading it opened. )

I'd love to jump your Hornet 190 to see if it's genuinely different but I'm up in Washington state.

I guess you could try to get a master magical packer at your DZ to pack it for you and see if it still opens the same.

My personal bottom line is that I won't buy a canopy that beats the hell out of me - even if it's "my fault".

-=-=-=-=-
Pull.

[voodew1 0]

Aaron go back to the basics and pull stable

The pimp hand is powdered up ... say something stupid

[Newbie 0]

what's your exit weight out the door? I'm guessing it must be about 1:1, as you are still a student? Anyway i've got about 150 jumps on my Hornet 190, loaded at 1:1 and had it from new. Occasionally i get a hard opening, but that's more to do with my packing technique (or lack thereof) than the canopy itself, i'm pretty sure.

When i pack slowly and consistently, i get sweet openings off it. I only ever pro-pack, i don't roll the nose, but you can try rolling the top skin a few more times when you have put the nose in - this can slow the opening a little. Don't go nuts, just try an extra couple of rolls.

As someone else said, make sure the lines are stowed well and the slider is fully quartered so that it catches air properly.

Good luck

"Skydiving is a door"
Happythoughts

[labrys 0]

I have one. It was fairly new when I got it and I've put about 100 jumps on it since. When I started out, 1 or 2 rolls of the nose were enough to give it a nice, soft opening.

I have to fight it to get it to open anymore. I stopped rolling the nose a long time ago. The more I jump it, the slower it opens. I think one of my problems is that I'm loading it very lightly. I've lost over 30 pounds since I started jumping it.

I'd also be happy to measure my slider the next time I jump and send you the size for comparison.

Owned by Remi #?

[steve1 5]

The newer hornets come with an oversized slider. There may be a reason for that. I have a hornet 170. Have made almost 300 jumps on it. When I first got it, it was nocking the hell out of me nearly every jump. I went to the chiropractor more than once with a messed up neck. My groin area, on one side, still hurts. And I have a permanently bent finger where I rammed it into my leg on opening.

So, I started psycho packing. This helped a lot, but I still had the occaisional hard opening. I started rolling the nose quite a bit, while psycho-packing it, and pulling out the slider slightly to catch air more quickly. Now my openings are almost too snivelly. In fact I plan to use it for a camera canopy this summer, and my camera's plus helmet weigh too much. I now love this canopy.

I know another Lady who had her Z-1 torn completely off her head when she tried out a new hornet. She swore she wouldn't jump one again.

So, some of the hornets do open hard, if you don't pack them carefully.

I've talked to some people who never have hard openings under their hornets. Maybe they are just good packers or possibly the opening problem may vary from canopy to canopy.

I've often wondered about new canopies versus old canopies that are broken in. New canopies are usually harder to get packed up. Now that my canopy is getting older it now folds up easily. Another nice thing about the hornet is that the material is nice to work with compared to other low-po material....Steve1

[MarkM 0]

I have a 150 and it opened very briskly until I started to stuff the nose. Now it's very gentle, I was suprised how much of a change doing that 1 thing did.

[txhoss 0]

Thanks everyone.

Have Rig will travel ...

[adamsr 0]

2 words - psycho pack!!

I have a hornet 190 and had really inconsitent openings when pro packing, tried loads of different techniques for rolling the nose and tail but couldn't get it to open softly and on heading.

I started psycho packing and it was an instant transformation, now opens really softly and on heading (most of the time!) if anything i have to pull the nose out to speed up openings!

[propilot 0]

I used to have a hornet 210 and would have horrible openings....I used to cringe every time i pulled..waiting till the last second because I didnt want to open

After tons of try this, try that, I found something that worked for me...

I used the smaller rubber bands on the locking stows, instead of the regular sized ones that i used on the line stows.

havent had a hard opening since.

[jlkilpatrick 0]

I have a Hornet 210, and it generally tries to kill me upon opening. (My brother has an identical canopy, and it's gentle as a lamb). I've tried every packing trick out there, and haven't gotten any kind of consistent results. Finally, I got some advice that worked. Make two things part of EVERY deployment. First, spend about five seconds "getting big" and slowing down in freefall. It takes about that long to really slow down. Second, as the canopy deploys, stick your butt way back and take the opening shock on the back of your thighs instead of the inner thighs at the crotch. You get a shock absorbing effect that takes a lot of the pain out of the equation. Good luck!
Have Fun!
Luke

Don't just eat a hamburger, eat the HELL out of it!
-Ivan Stang

[propilot 0]

I have heard of putting huge sliders on spankers to calm them down. Talk to your rigger for more info and advice on that.