Which should be my next canopy?

[FastRodriguez 0]

Hello friends :)

I was speaking to my instructors and the inspector guy at the country I live about maybe ordering a new canopy.

I currently jump a pilot 168 (which I love) but Im quite light and my wingload is quite low (+- 1.03)

My instructor said that I can jump a 150 no problem, and maybe a 140. I can land my current canopy down wind and cross wind ( I have tried this in relatively calmed winds, nothing crazy, dont wanna kill myself) I can flat turn and I even did my approach a few times using rears only but always grabbed my toggles before landing and flare normally. Never fully landed on rears.

So my question is, what do you guys think?

Order a 150, jump that for maybe a year or two and then sell it.
Another option is, my instructor told me I can order the 140, borrow a 150 ( wont be a pilot exactly, would be a magelan,from skylark) jump that for two or three months and then when the pilot 140 gets here stick it in and jump that. ( im doing about 20 jumps a month, so Id do about 35-40 on the 150 and then stick to the 140)

I know there are Saber2 and Saphires and stuff which are awesome. And I would consider them if you guys think there are a better fit.
So far I like the pilot for a few reasons. Aerodyne customer service is amazing. I bought my whole kit from them and they took extremely good care of me. Pilot opens incredibly smooth compared to the PD Navigator that I jumped before. I tried a saber 2 and it didnt open as bad as the NAV but It was not a pilot either. I seemed quite similar to fly ( but I only did two jumps and didnt really try to do anything other than come to the airport ( a bit long spot) and land the thing. I did notice I needed to flare less to land.

I am not really interested in swooping or high performance landing.

I want to have fun in the air with my canopy, I want to have a little more wind penetration and a bit more stability if there is a bit of turbulence.

I also love opening high and playing around with my canopy on those sunset loads.

I have listened to my instructor, coach and inspector guy. I just want to see what you guys think.


I currently have 127 jumps.
I weight 70 kilos (154 pounds aprox)
My container is an ICON I5

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for your advice.
Im not looking to become the next post in the incident forums but I really believe I am ready for something a little more fun. Again. My instructor has absolutely no problem allowing me to jump the 150 or the 140 IF I do at least 30 - 40 jumps in a 150 before.

"I don´t stop when I am tired. I stop when I am done"

[JeffCa 0]

Where's the option for a Peregrine?

I'm the same weight as you with the same number of jumps, and I'm on a Pilot 188. It will probably be another one or two hundred jumps or so before I consider the 168. You're rushing too much, in my non-experienced opinion. Just because you CAN fly it, doesn't mean you HAVE TO. I know I could definitely fly the 168 and probably the 150 at my experience level, but why hurry?

"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

[nigel99 325]

Honestly I'm the same weight as you, and downsized to a 150 at about twice your jump numbers and feel it was a bit too soon.

I had almost exactly the same logic as you, and frankly what you gain is simply not worth it. Rather stick to the 168 and put another 100-200 jumps on it.

If you can play with other 170's as much as possible as well, I regret not doing that.

Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

[labrys 0]

Quote

Honestly I'm the same weight as you, and downsized to a 150 at about twice your jump numbers and feel it was a bit too soon.

Same here. I tried the 150 for about 50 jumps and didn't like it a bit. I wasn't sure that I could land it in a tight spot, so I went back to my 170, which I'm still happily jumping 400+ jumps later

Owned by Remi #?

[ridebmxbikes 0]

That's really up to you. You know the dangers are going to increase if you downsize. You like high pulls? You'll have less time in the air. You want to be more stable in turbulence? As you downsize You may fly through some and not feel it compared to a bigger canopy but when you do feel it, it will be more violent. I don't think going to a 150 would be extreme but id stay on the same platform so you are at least use to the characteristics of your canopy.

[ChrisD 0]

I actually not seeing a lot of reasons that or why YOU want to downsize.

"you want to have fun in the air" "I want more penetration,"

WELL why aren't you using your rears for everything?

And when I hear wanting to have fun in the air I think more potential for collisions with others....Not saying that applies to you, just saying not the safest way to speak out loud when jumping with others....First thing I want to do under this circumstance is find out where your going to be and go in the opposite direction...Many DZ's have separate landing areas just because of this type of thinking...

You can always surge just before flaring and scare the shit out of your self by doing things like that??? And if you don't understand what I mean about surging your canopy then you shouldn't be seeking a more "fun" canopy. (The last sentence was sarchasim.) If your asking these types of questions, and yo are than that tells me you shouldn't....

And penetration is nice but you loose the glide ratio to get you back from a long spot. And if penetration is that much of a concern perhaps your jumping in winds that are too strong in the first place. Is hanging on your front risers too much???? Actually I have heard this before that many can't ride the fronts for long cause it is hard to do?? Is this what your speaking about??
You haven't stated that you have been practicing all of the various techniques to keep you canopy overhead either....This will become very important the closer you get to the ground.

And you have forgotten, although I can understand why if you can't demo other canopies, your making a purchase by ignoring the IMO demo process. Demo other rigs will ya, so yo can understand the differences between all of these things....

C


Must stay with things know you now, not do as others, you must,...OBI one.....

And here is another thing your WL cause you mentioned a 140 puts you close to 1.3, I don't see where it says you have 5 years of experience and 700 jumps...Just so you know at 1.3 you don't get a second chance with a lot of manueovers close to the ground.

And god help ya if im hearing you want to downsize now because you plan on getting this experience later....


I guess I just don't want to hear you broke something cause your rushing a bit. If I understand things correctly you passed your AFF last September, and now one year later your chomping at the bit so to speak about wanting something else, You asked and I'm saying you don't have to be in this kind of rush. The rush you get from downsizing dsn't last long as compared to the hidden consequences and dramatic flight characteristic changes that can take place when you least expect it.

You also have indicated you love your 168, it don't get better than that kid

But what do I know, "I only have one tandem jump."