Student gear vs. the real thing

[JohnnyMarko 1]

egg-zactly

[wolfriverjoe 1,340]

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...I don't know exactly what is entailed in a "tune", but I'm told that student canopies are "tuned" to make them less aggressive and that the NAV canopies are docile to start...

Student canopies are often set up with the steering lines a bit on the long side.
That makes the inputs less effective, and (more importantly) makes them too long to reach the stall point unless the student has ape arms or takes a wrap of the steering lines around their hand. (DON"T do that). That way, if the student flares way too high, they don't stall, they just sink down to the ground.

Properly set steering lines will give you a bit more response than a student set up.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[Programmer 0]

Used gear with steering lines that have shrunk or that have been adjusted for another jumper can sometimes give you way more response than you were looking for. It's a good idea with a new-to-you canopy to have the steering lines measured with the help of a rigger or have a really good canopy pilot jump it to check things out.
And guys, don't get hung up on this 9-cell vs. 7-cell thing. The greater difference is in characteristics of individual types of canopies (sabre vs. sabre2, triathlon vs. pilot, etc.)

[SivaGanesha 2]

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Finish your license.

I believe Shah has a license even though he hasn't updated his profile.

"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

[format 0]

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Why would you think a Navigator, made specifically to be docile, would be anything like the sport canopies out there.

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The Navigator is specifically designed to address the student's need to learn canopy piloting skills. It is the first canopy to bridge the gap. With its agile, crisp handling at student wing loadings and corresponding lower (student) airspeeds it gives the student what they need. This combination, along with the length of the Navigator's control range and its reluctance to stall, allows for the maximum amount of learning to take place with added safety.

I really can't say what would I think of sport canopies without the truth written above

edit: Not that I haven't seen seriously broken people under the same parachute

What goes around, comes later.

[shah269 0]

Yes I have my A i'm just waiting for the papers and what not.
Thank you guys so much. I honestly never thought about the lines being shorter and thus less imputs producing more outputs! Thank you! That will be a big help when I jump this in the early spring of next year.

Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay.

The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

[theonlyski 3]

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Yes I have my A i'm just waiting for the papers and what not.
Thank you guys so much. I honestly never thought about the lines being shorter and thus less imputs producing more outputs! Thank you! That will be a big help when I jump this in the early spring of next year.

Just make sure you're current enough to downsize before you get the hair up your ass to jump it.

IIRC, many landing injuries are due to jumpers knocking the dust off come spring (mostly in the northern states) and not being current enough to jump the rig they were used to several months ago. Throwing a downsize in the mix is a bad idea.

"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

[pilot-one 0]

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Loosening the chest strap can still be useful even if the slider stays at the top of the links.

As the canopy swings back during the flare, a loose chest strap allows the jumper to move their body more upright for touchdown. There's less of a "about to fall over backwards" angled-back body position on landing.

Some people don't care for the looser feeling, some really like it, even under a slow canopy.

Agreed....and in fact on a larger canopy pulling the slider down really has a negligible effect albeit noticeable. The biggest benefit is one's ability to get forward in the harness as you've mentioned.
If nothing else it puts your body in a position that's much more able to handle the landing whatever that situation may require.

[riggerrob 558]

"... on a larger canopy pulling the slider down ... has a negligible effect. ...

[valcore 0]

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::sigh::

Why would you buy a canopy you've never flown before?

While i agree that this is great advice i don't think there is anything wrong with buying a USED canopy (from someone you trust) as your first one, even if you haven't jumped it yet.

I purchased a Used Saber 190 as my first Main and slowly worked my way to it. I was actually very happy with the main but even if i hadn't been it gave me a chance to decide if i wanted to stay in the sport long term and if i wanted to downsize more.

I would most definitely agree with the previous post that in the future when replacing your current Main you should jump it to make sure you like it as you will have more of an understanding as to how a canopy should fly and what you dislike and like about your current one.

The most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I'm from the government and I'm here to help’. ~Ronald Reagan

30,000,000 legal firearm owners killed no one yesterday.