what was the worst canopy youve ever jumped?

[phoenixlpr 0]

????

I hope at least you would know what are you talking about.

[377 20]

A C9 TU7 surplus canopy that was given to me FREE with only one jump on it. The prior owner was in the military. He had a horrible ball of garbage streamer on the first jump and cut away. The base rigger was a friend and repaired it. The canopy still spooked the owner so he gave it away with full disclosure. I took the canopy to Perry Stevens, a master rigger for a complete inspection. He admired the quality of the repairs, pronounced it airworthy and off I went to jump in a novice accuracy contest that weekend. You guessed it, ball of flapping spinning garbage and I had to cut away and go to my $25 Navy conical reserve. The main chute had actually melted in portions from fabric friction. Do you think a chute can be cursed? It was truly the canopy from hell.

2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

[bozo 0]

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. Do you think a chute can be cursed? It was truly the canopy from hell.

I had a Navy surplus PD260 once...you know the ones you see for sale with the lines cut. I sent it to PD for a new line set as the canopy was virtually new.
Over a period of a year I cut it away at Lodi..Elsinore and Vegas. It truly was cursed. It now covers my jeep in the garage.
It sure was a good deal though when I bought it

bozo
Pain is fleeting. Glory lasts forever. Chicks dig scars.

[deadbug 0]

Dragonfly 225 It was old and ragged out and I was young and stupid. It was in a racer SST with a 26ft lopo reserve. It was all I could afford at the time and I sure was proud to have my own gear.

[iambeav2 0]

Skymaster 290...just boring. Always opened, moderately ok snivel...double wrapped toggles for a decent flare!!

...it's not the fact that you don't appreciate what you have until it's gone...it's the fact that you don't appreciate what you have until someone appreciates it for you!

[3331 107]

Para Mount 5 Cell. I jumped it from mid 1980 to August 1981. Landed real hard, wouldn't flare or slow down, got renamed Para Thud.

I wasn't the only one that was disappointed in the hype compared to real performance

I Jumped with the guys who invented Skydiving.

[riggerrob 558]

Being bored under canopy is far better than being bored in a hospital bed.

[za_skydiver 0]

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Skymaster 290...just boring. Always opened, moderately ok snivel...double wrapped toggles for a decent flare!!

Know a guy that broke his back that way. Ok he took about 3 or 4 wraps (i think), stalled the canopy about 3 feet above the ground, and fell on his a**.

Some dream of flying, i live the dream...

[hexadecimal 0]

Sabre 150

[BellyFlailer 0]

Turbo Z 165 = really hard opening = pain

http://www.SkydiveVids.com

[Faicon9493 114]

Intersting! I once owned a Falcon 215 and loved it.

[riggerrob 558]

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Intersting! I once owned a Falcon 215 and loved it.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Agreed!
I only have a handful of jumps on Falcon 195 and 215 canopies, but they were all pleasant.

[riggerrob 558]

Strong 520 Mighty Mack Master tandem mains. If they survived opening shock they had the best flare of any F-111 tandem main .... provided you had arms like Samson!
The problem was that I tore up more 520s than I care to remember!

I got so complacent that bottom skins torn from nose to tail no longer fazed me. It did not get worried until I saw tears in the top skin.

Reminds me of the time a photographer teased me about not bothering to do a controllability check on a 520 ... My response included mumbles about two holes, either one of them big enough to drive a bus through!

[skydance1954 0]

I'd have to go with the C-9. Safe. Dependable. But, MAN, even when I was 140lbs those things would pound you in. And of course, turning it simply changed your view.

You got good at accuracy in those days because you had to. The peas were about the most comfortable place to land. Anywhere else would hurt, and a standup was worthy of bragging rights.

Mike Ashley
D-18460
Canadian A-666

[av8rdav 2]

I don't remember the name but it was a so-called "21 cell". It was actually a 7 cell with 3 chambers in each cell. Was quite a piece of you know what.

Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
-Benjamin Franklin-

[mikempb 0]

Even though I liked the way it landed... A Vengence.. I only put 20 jumps on it or so but I felt like every opening was going to be a cutaway

[bloody_trauma 2]

mine would have to be the umbrella i used to use when jumping off my roof

Fly it like you stole it

[kd5xb 1]

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I bought a (very used) Viking Superlite 7 cell - did a total of 10 jumps on it, featuring ONE stand-up landing, one spiralling malfunction resulting in a cutaway, and a torn centre cell on my last jump with it.

They had a run of the Viking Superlite early on that had some problems and a bunch of them blew up, including mine!
But the worst canopy I ever used was a 24' flat that knocked me out on opening and then beat me up some more on landing.

Earl

I'm a jumper. Even though I don't always have money for jumps, and may not ever own a rig again, I'll always be a jumper.

[huckfinn 0]

sabre 150

[Pulse 0]

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I don't remember the name but it was a so-called "21 cell". It was actually a 7 cell with 3 chambers in each cell. Was quite a piece of you know what.

I'm assuming your talking about the Excalibur? The F-111 cross-braced canopy from years ago?

Can't say I've jumped anything I'd consider horrible. Probably the most disappointing canopy I jumped was the AR11-120. Though it was fast, it didn't turn for crap. Even though it was eleven cells, it was square. I was already jumping ellipticals and it was probably more my frame of reference than the canopy.

"Any language where the unassuming word fly signifies an annoying insect, a means of travel, and a critical part of a gentleman's apparel is clearly asking to be mangled."

[wmw999 2,116]

My viking superlite was OK for me; the toggle pressure was impressive, but at 120 lbs I landed like a feather, of course .

The Starlite was great, too .

But I sure didn't like my Safire 1 149 much . It was way smarter than I was. Never did figure out the flare for low-wind landings.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[JumperWillis 0]

T-10

[caspar 0]

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T-10

but why was it the worst? i guess it was a round canopy?

"When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading."

[wmw999 2,116]

The T-10 is not only round (which is NOT the definition of worst canopy), it was big, and bulky, and the slowest of the modified rounds. A friend who jumped on once called the toggles view changers. Note: this was someone who was used to 28' canopies, so we're not talking about square or high-performance round snobbery

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[fastphil 0]

Go figure, couple of these on the "worst" list were my favorites. The Starlite; I had several hundred jumps with, even did CRW with this canopy.

And the StratoFlyer was my favorite, with many hundreds of jumps, lotta demo jumps and even BASE jumps. Although they were so unpopular people would give them away, I wore out two of them...