Gear Info for a Beginner

[jimstermer 0]

I'm relatively new to skydiving and am looking to get my first rig. I don't know much about used gear since up till now I've rented my own gear. How old should a good rig be or what would be the oldest i should be willing to get? Under how many jumps should a good beginner rig have?

There are a couple rigs that I'm currently looking at. They have Hornet canopies. I personally have never flown a Hornet and was wondering what people thought of them.

[skybytch 259]

Some of the info in this article might be helpful.

The Hornet is a 9 cell semi elliptical zp canopy - will fly much the same as a Pilot or Sabre2. While it is no longer being produced, Aerodyne will provide support if needed.

[KNewman 0]

I have a 190 Hornet, and LOVE it. I have not had a single problem with it. It opens nice and scoots around the sky great. It also packs up nice. There are colored tabs where the lines terminate at the canopy that make sorting your line groups during pro packing easy. The landings I have had are fabulous. Once I figured out the canopies flaring characteristics (opened higher than normal and played around) I have been able to land standing up consistently. The Hornet is a great canopy provided that it is sized appropriately for your skill level.

Kevin

Blue Skies and Stand-up Landings!!!!!!

[jimstermer 0]

Right now the rigs I'm looking at are:
http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/detail_page.cgi?ID=38229&d=1
http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/detail_page.cgi?ID=39146&d=1
http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/detail_page.cgi?ID=39457&d=1

any comments or suggestions?

[brianfry713 0]

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/detail_page.cgi?ID=38229&d=1
http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/detail_page.cgi?ID=39146&d=1
http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/detail_page.cgi?ID=39457&d=1

First off, learn how to make clickys, use {url} and {/url} with [ and ] instead of { and }

Other than that, try to figure out what you want. A F111 or ZP main?, an AAD?, a freefly frendly rig?

Also try to figure out the value of each package by looking at similar items in the classifieds, or just go with whatever works best for you.

[riggerrob 561]

Our school has four Hornet 190s that we rent to graduates and visiting jumpers. During the past four years, those Hornets have only suffered two malfunctions, both attributed to sloppy packers: a pretty good record.
Everyone who has jumped those Hornet 190s enjoyed their soft openings and soft landings.
A few of our graduates even bought Hornet 190s, 170s and 150s.

[riggerrob 561]

How old should a good rig be or what would be the oldest i should be willing to get? Under how many jumps should a good beginner rig have?

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

Any rig less than 10 or 12 years old will be Cypres-ready, freefly-friendly, etc.
Several major dealers (i.e. Square One) want nothing to do with used gear more than 10 years old, because it sells too slowly/sits on the shelf too long.

By the time a main canopy has about 500 jumps, it is probably due for new suspension lines.

Where equipment is jumps makes a big difference in its longevity. The California desert is the harshest environment with blistering sunlight and salt in the soil. The same parachute would last twice as long if landed in a Wisconsin cow pasture, never dragged, never slammed into door frames, packed in the shade, etc.