Freefly/Swooping

[ifell 0]

So my main motivation in the sport is Freefly and Swooping (k so thats 2) so I was wondering if I can get one rig that excels in both categories. Maybe its a stupid question... I know I don't have many jumps yet and I am working on it but I just figure if I am gonna spend on equipment (in the next couple months) it might as well be something that will last. After talking to my AFF instructors they said I needed different gear for Freefly than the student gear I had on so I shouldn't try sitting and stuff with that type of rig and after reading some posts here I learned that some canopies weren't good for swooping wich raises the question is there something out there for both?

[kra 0]

if you have 17 jumps, you'll be buying a few canopies before actually needing and being able to safely fly some swoop dedicated equipment.
Swooping requires very good pilot skills, and it'll take you at least a few hundred jumps to get them.

So, right now, just go with a freefly friendly rig, you'll spend some extra bucks on a high performance canopy, RDS etc. later.

Otherwise, to answer your question, yes, you can freefly with a swoop canopy.

Just remember that "Canopies don't swoop. Good pilots swoop.".
It might prevent you from living what some call the "nurse fantasy"

[ifell 0]

I just had read here that some canopies weren't good for swooping so I was wondering if you needed a specific type for that. Of course I don't plan on swooping any time soon but man oh man it looks like so much fun

[Brains 2]

For your use, any modern container will be fine for both. An appropriately sized main for you will get you on the way to proper canopy control, follow this with some canopy coaching and you will be on the way to swooping as well. You main canopy has no bearing on freefall portions of your skydive. And your container has very little to do with your canopy flight as long as it fits you well.

Never look down on someone, unless they are going down on you.

[aresye 0]

If you're going to get into FF, then make sure your rig is made freefly friendly first. That includes covering up ANY exposed bridle, and getting the bungee installed for the leg straps.

I had about 1 1/2in of bridle exposed before I had a flap put in by my rigger. If I tried to sitfly with that, I most likely would have had a premature deployment, or horseshoe already.

Skydiving: You either learn from other's mistakes, or they'll learn from yours.

[hookitt 0]

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I just had read here that some canopies weren't good for swooping so I was wondering if you needed a specific type for that. Of course I don't plan on swooping any time soon but man oh man it looks like so much fun

I grew up on canopies that aren't good for swooping and swooped the heck out of them anyway. That statement about canopies is generalized by folks that only believe certain canopies can swoop. Most can, some simply suck... like the Conquest, it's flat out dangerous.

Some canopies swoop farther than others with the same input howerver you'd be amazed how far the original Sabre or even a Spectre will swoop if the pilot actually knows what they're doing. It's not the canopy most of the time.

So, what I'm suggesting is not worry about swooping as a goal with your first canopy. Whatever you buy now will swoop but you need to learn how it's done first, one canopy flight at a time. When you're ready, move on to bigger and better (so to speak).

There are several rigs out that work just fine for any discipline. Freefly rigs aren't anything special. They're just rigs that have secure flaps and good containment of the pilot chute and bridle.

If you buy used, ask a lot of questions to people who know rigs, and freeflying, and rigging. I've been freeflying since the early nineties so I've seen what happens with rigs that aren't very secure.

Good luck

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

[ifell 0]

Well I plan on buying new stuff so seeing as how you have like 15 years of FF under your belt are there any rigs you would suggest?

[jurgencamps 0]

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Well I plan on buying new stuff so seeing as how you have like 15 years of FF under your belt are there any rigs you would suggest?

Any new rig will be ok.

[stevesimms 0]

Ive just bought my first rig. The thing I looked at firstly, was to make sure that it was 100% freefly friendly. Besides that, the canopy is a ZP170, and as for swooping, yeah, Id love to get there one day, but for now, make sure all your landings are standup, and within a 10m radius of where you pick on takeoff.
Try to flare out the landings, so that you glide along the top the ground a foot above it or so.
Once you've got that right, then consider downsizing, and only once that is 100% look at a performance canopy..
But have a look here for more info! www.canopypiloting.com