Raven reserve

[popeyefireman 0]

Now before anyone responds with "try a search" I have and my question wasn't really answered. And I was going to ask my rigger but he is on vacation and I feel this question can be properly handled by the fine men and extra fine women of dropzone.com.

So I am buy a used rig and it has a raven 1 in it, and I have read lots of threads on the comparison of raven to PD. Now I jump a 176 PD reserve right now, but have never had to use it. So my question is, can I trust a raven until I buy a PD again or are they good canopies and I should just jump with the Raven. No I know Tempos are crap, so i am just curiousif Ravens 1 fall into this category.

Thanks for any input

"I Yam what I Yam"

I am not afriad to die, only to die without living.

[brits17 0]

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So my question is, can I trust a raven until I buy a PD again or are they good canopies and I should just jump with the Raven.

I think it fully depends on the individual canopy. I've put over 130 jumps on a Raven I (for BASE), used and abused it and its wonderful. However, I hear some folks complain about the way they fly, especially the Micro Ravens.

PD is the best manufactured, strongest reserve on the market and many will agree. Its up to you... if you can afford a PD later on, go for it. They have the most consistent record as far as customer satisfaction and reliability history.

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No I know Tempos are crap, so i am just curiousif Ravens 1 fall into this category.

I'm cheap, I jump a Tempo And its saved me twice... quite nicely I might add.

_______________________
aerialkinetics.com

[skybytch 259]

Depends. What's your exit weight?

If you won't be loading it over about 1.0 it'll save your life when you need it to and land you just fine. If you'll be loading it over about 1.0 I'd suggest replacing it with a newer, stronger design - not so much because of the landings, more because it's not designed to handle a terminal opening at higher wingloadings.

[skymiles 3]

I've had 3 rides on a Raven I without a problem.

Phil

[brits17 0]

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If you won't be loading it over about 1.0 it'll save your life when you need it to and land you just fine. If you'll be loading it over about 1.0 I'd suggest replacing it with a newer, stronger design - not so much because of the landings, more because it's not designed to handle a terminal opening at higher wingloadings.

Very good point.

_______________________
aerialkinetics.com

[popeyefireman 0]

so 1.3 may be a little too much

"I Yam what I Yam"

I am not afriad to die, only to die without living.

[D22369 0]

Ravens work just fine as a main or a reserve as long as the wingloading is kept to 1-1 or less, when you get higher they like to stall really abruptly when flairing, I have one ride on my micro raven, one on a swift plus, and four on various tempo's

I know Tempos are crap***

you really shouldnt believe everything you hear, they work just fine.

Roy

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

[faulknerwn 37]

I love my Tempos, hate MicroRavens, like big Ravens, and like PD's...

Of all the choices, I have a Tempo 120 in my CRW rig with ~ 8 rides on it - it still flies great... MicroRavens ya have to either have wind or a lot of airspeed to keep them from stalling. PD's land really well and I like those too - I only own 1....

(I have a bunch of rigs - have 2 Tempo 120s, 1 Tempo 150, 1 MicroRaven 120, 1 PD 126, and a Swift. Not a bad collection - I have no problem jumping any of them now that I know how they fly.)

W

[mjosparky 3]

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No I know Tempos are crap,

Do you know this, or is it what someone told you?

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[riggermick 6]

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No I know Tempos are crap,

Do you know this, or is it what someone told you?

Sparky

Look at his experience level, he's just parroting what he heard some other self opinionated individual pontificating on. Over time he will come to understand that there is a lot of nonsensical negativity out there on just about every skydiving subject there is, especially equipment. It's all part of maturing.

Mick.

[popeyefireman 0]

this is what I know because this is what my rigger told me when I was asking about reserves a while back. I know my experiance is low, but please don't confuse that with inmaturity. Because my experiance is low I seek information from people with more experiance, if you ask me that is mature, rather then just finding out the hard way. If my rigger doesn't think much of Tempos and he calls them "crap" for many reasons all of which have been listed in other forums, then I will take his word on the subject. I am not saying that you (riggermick) does not know what he is talking about. With the experience you have listed I am sure that any information you give would be well accredited. I the future I will make sure to put information obtianed my other persons in quotations. Thanks for everyone input

"I Yam what I Yam"

I am not afriad to die, only to die without living.

[mjosparky 3]

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this is what I know because this is what my rigger told me when I was asking about reserves a while back. I know my experiance is low, but please don't confuse that with inmaturity. Because my experiance is low I seek information from people with more experiance, if you ask me that is mature, rather then just finding out the hard way. If my rigger doesn't think much of Tempos and he calls them "crap" for many reasons all of which have been listed in other forums, then I will take his word on the subject. I am not saying that you (riggermick) does not know what he is talking about. With the experience you have listed I am sure that any information you give would be well accredited. I the future I will make sure to put information obtianed my other persons in quotations. Thanks for everyone input

I think Mick was referring to maturing as a skydiver. Your rigger says Tempos are "crap" for many reasons. Has he ever jumped one, seen or heard of one failing when needed? If he answers no, than what are the many reasons? Because one rigger says something is "crap" does not make it so.

I have 4 jumps on 2 different Tempos. In each case, they opened quickly, cleanly and on heading. All 4 were standup landing at a place of my choosing. Now does that make all Tempos great, probably not. But it does make 4 of them not “crap”.

I think what Mick was getting at is wait until you have a little more time in the sport and acquire a little more knowledge before you decide what is “crap” and what is not.

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[airdvr 200]

because of the landings, more because it's not designed to handle a terminal opening at higher wingloadings.

Where does that information come from? I haven't seen any posts in the incidents department where someone's reserve blew up.

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[Hooknswoop 19]

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Where does that information come from? I haven't seen any posts in the incidents department where someone's reserve blew up.

http://www.precision.aero/servicebulletins.htm

They have been several that came apart on opening. Some inside max weight/speeds, some outside max weight/speeds.

Derek

[riggermick 6]

I think what Mick was getting at is wait until you have a little more time in the sport and acquire a little more knowledge before you decide what is “crap” and what is not.

Sparky

[EvilLurker 2]

Well, if your own rigger told you a certain reserve (it doesn't really matter which one) was "crap", would you run out and buy one? I wouldn't. Right or wrong, if I trusted the rigger, and intended to keep using his services, I wouldn't buy something that in his opinion was "crap", whether I personally agreed with him or not. Would you?
Same goes with a main, a container, a pilot chute or an AAD.

[skybytch 259]

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Would you?

Yes. I like to think for myself instead of letting others think for me.

[Hooknswoop 19]

If someone isn’t all that knowledgeable about gear, they should listen to an expert, a rigger. Same way an inexperienced canopy pilot should listen to an Instructor about what canopy and size they should buy and how they should fly it.

No reason to re-invent the wheel again.

Derek

[tbrown 26]

I know Tempos are crap***

[skybytch 259]

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Aerodyne's Amigo reserve

The Amigo isn't an Aerodyne product, it's a Freeflight Enterprises product. And AFAIK, it is still available new.

[NickDG 23]

I think it’s important to note (for the newer jumpers) that while many square reserves have suffered damage during deployment I recall only one jumper killed in this fashion.

I've forgotten his name, and the exact circumstances, but it was at Elsinore, some years ago. He was a rather large fellow getting re-current on brand new gear that was way too small for him.

The chance a correctly sized square reserve that has passed a rigger's inspection suffering a catastrophic failure (one that kills you), during a normal deployment, is too low to worry about.

NickD BASE 194

[EvilLurker 2]

I see you're a rigger and you jump a PD reserve like me. Funny that. I paid a lot more for it than a Tempo (which was available at the time), so accusing me of "not doing my own thinking" is a bit harsh (maybe you didn't intend it that way, in which case my apologies).
I was making the point; if your rigger's opinion is that something is sub-standard, whether or not you agree with him/her, going out and buying that component and expecting them to maintain it is a bit of an insult. Just my opinion, but you do see my point, right?
I guess the other option is to leave your rigger out of the loop totally, but I figured they might know a thing or two about gear and used that (free) information in making my decision (and by the way, he didn't tell me "buy a PD", I decided that myself and he didn't discourage me). Just to set the record straight.

[airdvr 200]

OK...so my Raven was made prior to those that had the problem. Here's the thing...I've got it loaded about 1.3. This isn't giving me a warm fuzzy.

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[hookitt 0]

All the rides I've taken on a Raven are with that same wingloading and higher.

If you do end up under it, test flare it several times because the control range is fairly short. Fly the canopy like it wants you to, not how you want to fly it.

If you just cram on the brakes when you get close to the ground, as some people do, it will stall.

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[nicknitro71 0]

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I know Tempos are crap

Based on what? DZ.com BS?

Tempos are fine reseves as long as you do not overload them pass The MAX SUSP WEIGHT like many do and then they bitch about it. Go figure.

I flew a Tempo 150 and I was impressed by the performence. Several at my DZ have flown Tempos and they all liked the way they flew and landed. None were overloaded. Some cannot say the same about Micro Ravens...

I have two Tempos 150 @ 1.15. I cannot say a single bad thing about them.

I agree that Tempos don't have the reinforcements that PDRs have. Keep in mind that the max exit weight of the Tempo 150 is much lower than the one for a PDR 143 (254 LBS).

As long as you stay within PISA's limits you're fine.

I would not jump a Tempo or any other reserve over the max susp weight.

Memento Audere Semper

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