Lessons Learned

[3mpire 0]

I thought I would post a write up for the benefit of any students or newly licensed jumpers who are looking to get their own gear.

i got my license last fall and spent the early part of the winter looking for my own rig. in late jan/early feb I ended up getting a rig through my local rigger. it is a 2000 mirage g3 with a smart reserve and a competition cobalt 170 main.

Today i ordered a new sabre 2 170 main.

those of you who have been around the block probably know where this is going, but if you don't learn from me:

I bought a 2007 competition cobalt 170 that had zero jumps. in the approx 20 jumps I put on it, i had a lot of hard openings. not just brisk, but enough to do damage to the rig. first damage was from a hard opening that tore the right toggle through keeper on the right riser. not out, as in a toggle fire, but as in the keeper was torn off the riser. on the other side, the material stitched to the left riser that contains the hard housing for the cut away cable was torn 1/2 off. i got new risers and reviewed my packing technique and continued jumping the rig.

last weekend at a boogie (my first) i had a hard opening on my second jump that broke the right brake line at the cascade. being at a new DZ having my first real malfunction on a canopy which I had never landed on rears, I decided to chop. Landed and all my gear (including the broken line with toggle) were all found.

I jumped rental gear while the line was replaced and the reserve repacked. it was a sabre 2 170 and all my openings (on my own pack job) were great.

the rigger only had enough line to replace the broken line, so he told me i should be fine for the weekend but as soon as i got back to my home DZ i should have the other one replaced.

second jump on my rig after the work was done, the left brake line broke. having had just over 24 hours to think about it, i decided i was not going to chop. instead i chose to land on rear risers, which was a little intense but i wasn't hurt.

the entire boogie i got to hear from my fellow jumpers how cobalts have a reputation for hard openings, how someone at my jump numbers shouldn't be on a fully elliptical canopy, etc.

i listened to what they told me, and today I ordered a new sabre 2 170, and the cobalt is going back.

What did I learn???

Ask questions! Not just a lot of questions, but ask a lot of questions from a lot of people. Don't rely on just a single source when trying to figure out if a canopy is right for you. Even if they're an FAA rigger, your instructor, and a senior jumper. They are only one opinion and one resource and that is not enough to make your decision.

PRACTICE your EPs! It just so happened that my first chop was a week or so after safety day, where I got to practice my EPs in the harness. This was very helpful. If you've never been in a harness and your DZ has one, ASK TO USE IT.

PRACTICE flying your canopy without using your toggles. The thing I learned is that my gloves, which have leather palms, make it hard to get a good squeeze on the riser during a flare. I ended up starting to turn very near the ground because one riser was sliding through my grip as I pulled down to flare. I should have wrapped my hands around the riser to use my wrist as leverage as opposed to just squeezing. Since I hadn't really thought about this, I was figuring it out on approach. Bad idea.

do your homework. look for red flags when buying a used canopy. how many of them are there in general circulation? if you've never heard of it or you don't see others flying it, that might be a clue. Ask the person you're buying it from to see the owner's manual. As far as I can tell, the comp cobalt doesn't have one. Red flag. Ask to see the line trim charts. It seems to me that for the comp cobalt there are more than one of them floating around.

I'm sure I'll get some flak for posting this, but I'm hoping that others will read this and won't make the same mistakes I did.

In my case I was very lucky. I didn't get injured, and all it cost me was money and some stress. some people don't get to learn their lessons that easily, and for that i'm lucky. despite all that I had a great time at my first boogie and I learned a lot, and made a lot of friends in the process.

If you're like me and this story sounds familiar, don't just try to work your way through it. don't think you can pack your way out of it. Get rid of a canopy if it has malfunctions or if you realize you shouldn't be flying it.

I should have known better about what it means to have a fully elliptical canopy before I agreed to buy it. I had heard that cobalts can have hard openings before I agreed to buy it.

That's on me, and you can't use "but they told me it would be fine" as an excuse. Once I figured out what I was actually doing, I took action to make a change. If this describes you, I really recommend you do the same.

for the TL;DR crowd: don't be "cobalt guy" at your first boogie

That's all I got. I'm grounded for a week until the new main comes, and I'm happy to wait. Be safe and have a great season everyone.

[piisfish 135]

congrats on all your gear purchases despite having heard they can have hard openings, you still bought it ?
what is your opening technique ? I heard (WARNING, the following may be very wrong and painful/dangerous, someone please correct me if I am wrong) that these canopies should be opened in a full track, not "flat and stable"
also do you now think that, provided your profie is updated, getting a fully elliptical canopy, "comp" version, is adapted to a low time jumper ?
guess you learnt a lot, got more experience with the cutaway and the rear riser landing,
enjoy your new canopy, have fun and stay safe

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[JerseyShawn 0]

Did you ask your instructors or rigger what would be a good first canopy before you bought the Cobalt?

The answers I got were: Saber, Pilot, and Fusion. Hopefully at the upcoming boogie I can try the Saber or Fusion if the companies come and compare them to the Pilot before I buy.

Thanks for posting your experience!

[3mpire 0]

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despite having heard they can have hard openings, you still bought it ? Shocked
what is your opening technique ? I heard (WARNING, the following may be very wrong and painful/dangerous, someone please correct me if I am wrong) that these canopies should be opened in a full track, not "flat and stable"
also do you now think that, provided your profie is updated, getting a fully elliptical canopy, "comp" version, is adapted to a low time jumper ?

I heard that they *can* have hard openings, and that most are ok but some are "demons" that just don't cooperate. I didn't take it to mean that every one is like that, so in a way I figured I was rolling the dice.

As far as opening in a track, i hurt just thinking about it. i've never heard that, and there is no way I would try. I'd track away from the group and slow waaaaaaaaaaaay down before I pitched, and i'd still get rocked. if I tried it in a track it would probably break my neck.

i did a lot on packing. i'd make sure the slider was against the stoppers, i'd roll the nose, i'd make sure my line stows were neat and even.

as for an elliptical canopy for a sub 100 jumper, no way.

[missbrz 0]

sorry to hear about the hard openings I've got a Sabre 1 150 (because I'm poor) so I know how you feel but at least you learned your lesson. Too few people don't. Good luck with your new canopy!

[PhreeZone 15]

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I heard that they *can* have hard openings, and that most are ok but some are "demons" that just don't cooperate. I didn't take it to mean that every one is like that, so in a way I figured I was rolling the dice.

I also have to question what made you think that a "Competition" based canopy was one that was appropriate for a first canopy?

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[3mpire 0]

I really just went with my rigger's word and not really fully understanding what "competition" meant. when you're off student status you tend to just think that an instructor's word goes, so if they are saying "well it's more advanced than what you've been jumping" versus "there is no way in hell you should be jumping it", then it doesn't sound like such a bad idea.

that is the lesson I learned--don't take just one person's word for it. I should have asked for more input instead of just going with it.

[kuai43 7]

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During the first period of a man's life the greatest danger is not to take the risk - Soren Kierkegaard

Guess your sig line says it succinctly.

Every fight is a food fight if you're a cannibal

Goodness is something to be chosen. When a man cannot choose, he ceases to be a man. - Anthony Burgess

[piisfish 135]

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[As far as opening in a track, i hurt just thinking about it. i've never heard that, and there is no way I would try. I'd track away from the group and slow waaaaaaaaaaaay down before I pitched, and i'd still get rocked. if I tried it in a track it would probably break my neck..

care to read THIS THREAD and do also a search for "cobalt openings"

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[Ron 7]

Thanks for posting....

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that is the lesson I learned--don't take just one person's word for it. I should have asked for more input instead of just going with it.

Get a group of people that you trust and know you.

My favorite was I was sitting with a bunch of folks and a bunch of them were talking about the great deal one of the guys just got on a new main. 150 ZP 500 bucks.

I asked the name and they guy could not recall, but said he had not heard about it before.

I asked, "Nova"? And he said yes.

I told him to not jump that canopy. Some research will show that it was a canopy with a bad reputation for just folding up in turbulence.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[Klassen 0]

Thanks. The riser slipping and wrapping around them to get a good stable grip upon landing made me think.

cheers