Silhouette

[Lenzo 0]

Any of you guys jumped a silhouette or own one that you use alot.I demoed one but do to the crowd only got to jump it once and loved it.My exit weight is 220 looking to purchase one in the 220 range any feed back would be appreciated.

Smile,pull,land

[billvon 2,426]

>Any of you guys jumped a silhouette or own one that you use alot.

I had a Sil-170 that I jumped for a while. Liked it a lot. Flew like a 150, easy to pack, landed well.

[bwilling 0]

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Any of you guys jumped a silhouette or own one that you use a lot.

On of PD's best kept secrets IMHO. I have a 100 jumps or so on the one I owned, and regretted ever selling it.

It's an easy canopy to pack, it opens as consistently as anything I've ever jumped and didn't take forever to do it, it's fun to fly with a nice sporty feel, and easy as hell to land. I jumped a 230 loaded about 1.2

I've never been able to figure out why that canopy hasn't been a more popular player in PD's line up, it's a great canopy! But I think they made it even better in the Pulse.

"If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

[pilotdave 0]

I'm borrowing a Sil 135 right now. I'm finding it much quicker than my Sabre2 135. It turns a lot faster. Much less toggle needed to really whip it around. The brake lines are a little short on this one, but I was really surprised by the performance. The flare is not nearly as powerful as the Sabre2's flare, but I just need to get the timing down. Openings are brisk compared to the sabre2, but not hard. It's a nice canopy. Not gonna replace my Sabre2 with it, but I might buy it for my backup rig. Beats my Tri 120 in all areas.

Dave

[bwilling 0]

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The flare is not nearly as powerful as the Sabre2's flare, but I just need to get the timing down.

I agree, it doesn't have the same flare power as a same size Sabre 2, but then again, most canopies don't! That may be one of the only 'limitations' to the Silhouette, is that you're probably not going to want to load them up like you do an all ZP canopy. PD's own recommended wing loading chart is a bit lighter (about a canopy size difference) for the Silhouette vs. Sabre 2.

"If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

[DSE 3]

I was turned on to the Silhouette by MJOSparky three years ago, and have had 210-135 Silhouettes with every size in between. My custom canopy is a Sil 170 used for demos.
Can't say enough about this canopy. For camera work, it's awesome (nice openings). For packing, the hybrid nature is wonderful.
it flies very nicely. The military uses it, but they have their own version.
IMO, for a first, second, or third canopy...you can't go wrong with a Sil. Eventually, you'll probably want the brake lines lengthened, but outside of that, I've not done anything with any of mine.

[Dan1 0]

I bought a Silhouette for my first canopy and I love it. Only have about 30 jumps on it and I bought it brand new. Never once have I gotten frustrated packing it because it's so easy to pack. I don't have much to go on as far as comparing the flare to another canopy...but I have noticed that the flare doesn't last very long, so it took me a couple jumps to get the timing down.

Anyway I'm sure more qualified and experienced people can give you better feedback than me, but just wanted to agree with the other people here that it's a great canopy. Will probably get another one when I downsize later down the road.

[slj678 0]

I flew a Sabre 2 and then a silhouette back to back and can definitely agree that the Sabre 2 had more flaring power, but if I found a good deal on a silhouette I would definitely have no problem picking it up. Seemed like a pretty good canopy

"I didn't know they gave out rings at the holocaust"

[wildfan75 1]

I have about 400 of my jumps have been on Silhouettes (190, 170 and 150). I absolutely loved the Silhouette, but got when I got bought my 150, I started loading it a little too much and wasn't get as much flare that I would like to have in a canopy. I loved the way they packed, I loved the way they opened, I loved the way they flew and with the exepction of the 150, I loved the way they landed. At a 1:1 WL that you posted, you'll get more than enough flare out of it. Once you get to the 1.3-1.5, you'll definitely want to start looking at a full ZP canopy.

IMO, it is truely the most under-credited for PD canopies. I can't believe that its not more popular. I think if they advertised it as "slightly eliptical", it would sell like hot cakes. I think the cool factor of the slighly eliptical Sabre2 has really taken the wind away from the Silouette.

[Douggarr 6]

I just borrowed one, a 170 after jumping student rigs of 230 (long layoff guys, after 25 years, went through recurrency, etc. etc.). Everything I've read in this thread seems to be true. I'm an older jumper (60) but prefer the "positive, fast" type openings compared with the slow-it-down-for-the-old-farts to 5 seconds. I hate watching the end cells inflate while the slider daintily works its way down the suspension lines. Terminal dump was right up and out there. Performance was great, nice turning, very responsive. My flare was off but I think this takes a few jumps to get the correct feel.

SCR-442, SCS-202, CCR-870, SOS-1353

[surfbum5412 0]

My first rig (used) came with a sil 170...I didn't like it. Canopy had about 800 jumps on it, but the openings were brisk and good luck getting back from long spots. It didn't have a lot of forward drive. When I purchased a fully ZP canopy I never looked back.

[ladydyver 0]

we have a rental rig that is a silhouette....it has been nice to fly when I have used it. I have only jumped it a couple of times but have no complaints in regards to packing it or flying it. It was the initial canopy that I jumped when I came back after injury and it treated me well.

DPH # 2
"I am not sure what you are suppose to do with that, but I don't think it is suppose to flop around like that." ~Skootz~
I have a strong regard for the rules.......doc!