Rookie Skydiver first rig

[sneide 0]

Hi Guys!
I'm a rookie skydiver about to get the A license and I want to get my first rig, I've jumped mostly Sabre 2, but I want to get a brand new Pilot 188 (I'm 200 lbs) with an OP 210, Container Vector 3 with some options. Is the Canopy suitable for a rookie like me ? I want your opinion guys. Should I wait until I get 50 - 70 jumps ? What would you do ?
On the other hand, I have to make a desition about the AAD, I was wondering to get the "New" M2 and save the rest instead of buying Cypress or Vigil.


Thanks in advance!
Steve.

[NWFlyer 2]

sneide

Hi Guys!
I'm a rookie skydiver about to get the A license and I want to get my first rig, I've jumped mostly Sabre 2, but I want to get a brand new Pilot 188 (I'm 200 lbs) with an OP 210, Container Vector 3 with some options. Is the Canopy suitable for a rookie like me ? I want your opinion guys. Should I wait until I get 50 - 70 jumps ? What would you do ?
On the other hand, I have to make a desition about the AAD, I was wondering to get the "New" M2 and save the rest instead of buying Cypress or Vigil.


Thanks in advance!
Steve.

If you're 200 lbs without gear, you'll be more like 230-235 lbs with gear. That would put you at 1.22-1.25 wingloading on the Pilot 188. That's considered aggressive for a new skydiver. If you look at the recommended downsizing chart that Brian Germain publishes (that is generally accepted as a good guide for wingloading), that kind of a wingloading at your weight isn't recommended till you're closer to 300 jumps.
http://www.bigairsportz.com/pdf/bas-sizingchart.pdf.

If you're interested in the Pilot (which can be a good choice for a new jumper, properly loaded), you may wish to look at a 230 or possibly a 210.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[Joellercoaster 6]

I'm the same weight as the OP, give or take, and my first main was also a Pilot. It's a brilliant first canopy (and second, and now also fifth).

I second NWFlyer's recommendation to go bigger.

--
"I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan

"You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

[Bertt 0]

1. Get at least a 210.
2. Any of those AAD's would be fine. The most important things are to read and understand the AAD owners manual and to maintain altitude awareness so you don't actually have to depend on the thing.

You don't have to outrun the bear.

[sneide 0]

Thank you guys for the feedback. I will get then a ZPX Pilot 210 which pack smaller!!
One question regarding the fabric. Is it harder to pack than a regular ZP canopy ? I had no problem packing the sabre 2, actually I did a few times and I think I understood the concept but I don't want to rent a rig when licensed and get my own custom.

[tristansdad 0]

Nobody here should be telling you what canopy is best for you unless they've seen you in action. The instructors who have been working with you can best answer that question.

There are so many variables involved with purchasing gear that it really cant be answered in this forum. But some real good advice is to find used gear. In case you biff in a ditch full of briars or across a taxi way you wouldnt feel as bad as you would if you had all that shiny new gear. On the other hand if you have money to burn go all out. If you take care of it then you should be able to re-sell it almost for as much as you bought it for.

No matter what you buy, I can not stress enough, SPEAK WITH YOUR RIGGER OR INSTRUCTORS before handing over any cash. Not to long ago I spoke with a guy who had 20 something jumps who bought a Blade 120 from a well known gear dealer. He had no idea what he was getting.

Lastly RSL's and AAD's Get one of each. You'll always hear arguments against them. Kind of like using a seat belt. They tend to save a lot more lives then they take.

[JeffCa 0]

I'm 155 pounds with 145 jumps, and I'm on my first canopy, a Pilot 188 ZPX. I love it, it opens softly and the colour-coded line connections are helpful for packing. But you're going to be screaming, swearing and crying the first 20 times you try to pack it. It's getting better for me lately, after about 40 jumps on it.

"So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

[SivaGanesha 2]

tristansdad

Nobody here should be telling you what canopy is best for you unless they've seen you in action. The instructors who have been working with you can best answer that question.

The problem with this advice is that the OP is about to get his 'A' license and one of the problems with getting an 'A' license is that you sometimes lose access to the instructors who might have been able to answer such a question. This advice is great for a student who is always jumping with instructors--but once you get your 'A' you may no longer be jumping with instructors and there may be no one who is both qualified to answer the OP's question and has seen the OP in action.

At least that is how it seems to me in the USA. An 'A' license seems to mean different things in different countries. Here in the USA, it seems to me that an 'A' license gives you lots of privileges--for example, being able to participate in unlimited group jumps--but at the same time you lose access to the mentors who might be able to give advice as to what you can do safely (as opposed to what is just technically legal). That can be a problem--at least with the way the 'A' license works in the USA. I don't know the procedures in Argentina where the OP is located.

"It's hard to have fun at 4-way unless your whole team gets down to the ground safely to do it again!"--Northern California Skydiving League re USPA Safety Day, March 8, 2014

[dthames 0]

sneide

Thank you guys for the feedback. I will get then a ZPX Pilot 210 which pack smaller!!
One question regarding the fabric. Is it harder to pack than a regular ZP canopy ? I had no problem packing the sabre 2, actually I did a few times and I think I understood the concept but I don't want to rent a rig when licensed and get my own custom.

With 22 jumps I purchased a ZPX Pilot with about 150 jumps on it. It was not hard to pack. I had to learn a few things, but that is the case no matter what you have.

edited to add, with your own rig, you can take it home and practice packing as much as you have time for. That helped me when I was struggling at first.

Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

[bruxelka 0]

What size of the container do you use for your Pilot 188 zpx? I hear that they pack about 15% smaller then standard zp canopies.

[JeffCa 0]

bruxelka

What size of the container do you use for your Pilot 188 zpx? I hear that they pack about 15% smaller then standard zp canopies.

I don't know the size. I got a Shadow Racer 2K3 custom made. I told them the canopy size and they made the container for it, so I didn't have to select anything. It might say somewhere on the rig itself, but I don't have it with me at the moment.

I got dacron lines on mine, so that increase in line size over spectra cancels out some of the decrease in size of the canopy.

"So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

[monkycndo 0]

bruxelka

What size of the container do you use for your Pilot 188 zpx? I hear that they pack about 15% smaller then standard zp canopies.

A ZPX Pilot will pack smaller than a ZP Pilot. But from experience, a Pilot packs larger than other similar sized canopies from other manufacturers. Double check with the container manufacturer canopy/rig sizing.

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