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angrypeppers

Not so soft Pilot opening

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Dear Chris,

Please could you provide me with the following information so I may better address your problem:

Weight out the door
field elevation of your drop zone where you jumped
type of Pilot chute (ZP or F1-11)
Line type on your canopy (Microline or Dacron)

Many thanks

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I'm not worried either. I'm still new, and the rig is new to me, so I'm on a big learning curve. I think any rig can throw a bad opening your way any time. But, I wouldn't mind if it opened properly on my second jump with it! :P

Burn the land and boil the sea,
You can't take the sky from me.

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Quote

I hope this isnt indicative of the Pilot's. I just ordered a new pilot 168 to go into my I5 with a PD 160.



I don't think you have much to worry about ;) From my own experience, and from talking to other people, the pilot is one of the softest opening canopies around.

When packed properly, mine opens gently, on heading and consistently. It even did that on my third pack job.

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I PM'd my info to Bushman, and here's his response:

Hi Chris,

Probably should post this on the forum too, but I'll let you decide if you do that or not..... but people will definitely learn from this feedback.

1) Exit weight at 220, means you should probably have dacron line. Most people don't order it due to increased pack volume related issues.

Field elevation being 5000 feet, and you opening at 5000 feet AGL, increases opening shocks as you are now opening at 10000 feet MSL. (ask any military jumper that does haho how extreme the openings are at altitude) Thinner air, higher fall rate! Higher fall rate, higher opening shocks. Less forgiving of any packing related issues.

The rest of the information re the pilot chute you'll have to get back to me on.

Hope this gives you some explanations and answers to the possible problems you are experiencing. (again I encourage you to post this in the forum)

Kind regards and best wishes

Bushman


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I still need to check on the pilot chute, but that will have to wait till the weekend. I really need to learn how to pack, and then pack carefully! I've read enough reviews on the Pilot to know that this one particular opening is most likely not what I should expect most times, even at our altitude here in Colorado. Slammers happen, but I am convinced that this was due to a pack problem, or bad body position, or both. I appreciate the responses and advice from everyone, and it's extra nice that the Pres. of Aerodyne took some time to check this out for me. Thanks to everyone!

Chris
Burn the land and boil the sea,
You can't take the sky from me.

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Jumped my rig again today, and what a difference! I wouldn't say it's buttery soft yet, but it was a much better opening than the twisty one last week. I had one of the packers pull out the main and repack it w/out rolling the nose. My body position was spot on, so I'm sure that helped too. Except for my (somewhat) controlled crash / landing, it was a great jump for me. Thanks for the help, everyone!
Burn the land and boil the sea,
You can't take the sky from me.

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why not pull a little high on your next Jump and practice your flares get one of the canopy guys at your dz to advise you or watch your landings. If there is no one available get a video guy or some one with a video to film your landing. make sure your flare is even. I did some good biffing before i got it right :D


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Good point. I learned that you don't stop flying the canopy till it's laying on the ground. Actually, I didn't learn that this jump, but my landing emphasized how true that is. I didn't flare fully, popped up a bit, and rather than correcting, I quit flying and braced for impact. Luckily, I didn't get hurt, but I'll remember that landing!
Burn the land and boil the sea,
You can't take the sky from me.

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