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NWFlyer

Canopy Manufacturers' Role in Rapid Downsizing

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DcloudZ

I'm not saying they forced him to fly the Neos. I'm saying why would they want to sponsor some guy who can fly a XF2 at a relatively low wingloading - too many people can do that for it to be prestigious.. No value to sponsoring him if that was the case.



Well, then they should have sponsored him responsibly (on the sapphire) or not at all, maybe? You don't have to fly a toys-r-us sized canopy to be a cool sponsored athlete......... or do you now? Maybe that is something wrong with the culture in that respect!
Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)

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LyraM45

***I'm not saying they forced him to fly the Neos. I'm saying why would they want to sponsor some guy who can fly a XF2 at a relatively low wingloading - too many people can do that for it to be prestigious.. No value to sponsoring him if that was the case.



Well, then they should have sponsored him responsibly (on the sapphire) or not at all, maybe? You don't have to fly a toys-r-us sized canopy to be a cool sponsored athlete......... or do you now? Maybe that is something wrong with the culture in that respect!

My personal opinion is that you do, not sure whether it's a cultural issue or purely business (value of sponsorship)...
"Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way." -Alan Watts

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DcloudZ

******I'm not saying they forced him to fly the Neos. I'm saying why would they want to sponsor some guy who can fly a XF2 at a relatively low wingloading - too many people can do that for it to be prestigious.. No value to sponsoring him if that was the case.



Well, then they should have sponsored him responsibly (on the sapphire) or not at all, maybe? You don't have to fly a toys-r-us sized canopy to be a cool sponsored athlete......... or do you now? Maybe that is something wrong with the culture in that respect!

My personal opinion is that you do, not sure whether it's a cultural issue or purely business (value of sponsorship)...

You don't. I've known sponsored athletes (partially or fully) who I think are really cool, who've jumped moderate-to-sporty canopies loaded appropriately (or even conservatively) for their experience level, and which are appropriate choices for their chosen discipline.
"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

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>My personal opinion is that you do . . . .

Several sponsored camera flyers and organizers I know jump larger canopies. There's a market for very soft opening canopies, and if a big name camera flyer tells everyone that he has a Pilot 132 that opens super soft, that's a pretty good selling point.

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billvon

>My personal opinion is that you do . . . .

Several sponsored camera flyers and organizers I know jump larger canopies. There's a market for very soft opening canopies, and if a big name camera flyer tells everyone that he has a Pilot 132 that opens super soft, that's a pretty good selling point.



Wow, when a 132 is seen as a 'larger' canopy...
Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

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>Wow, when a 132 is seen as a 'larger' canopy...

Sadly, nowadays that is seen as a conservative canopy for moderately experienced skydivers. Just look at all the people with 300 jumps who think nothing of using a PD-126R for a reserve.

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billvon

>Wow, when a 132 is seen as a 'larger' canopy...

Sadly, nowadays that is seen as a conservative canopy for moderately experienced skydivers. Just look at all the people with 300 jumps who think nothing of using a PD-126R for a reserve.



Some words from one of the European top canopy pilots when I attended his course a few years ago (at the time his last 5000 jumps were all hop and pops and he seemed to know what he is talking about)..

Every modern sub-200 square feet canopy is the equivalent of a Formula 1 racing car. The trouble is 99.9% of pilots drive it like they are driving to the local shop. The vast majority of people who complain that their parachute does not give them the performance they want need to learn how to fly it, not to downsize

The longer I am in this sport and the more I see and hear of inexperienced people killing themselves or busting themselves under canopies they cannot fly properly, the more i think he is correct.

***********************************************
I'm NOT totally useless... I can be used as a bad example

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