Aerodyne vs Icarus

[RoyWharton 1]

I am trying to decide on an Aerodyne or an Icarus canopy for my tandem operation. Any comments about these 2 canopies from TMs greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Roy

[TaylorC 0]

I have never jumped the aerodyne tandem canopy but the NZ aerosports tandem main is super nice. The 330 is great from them. Open nice, easy to pack, fly smooth and handle nicely from both new and experienced tandem instructors.

[stayhigh 2]

If you can afford Sigmas go for Sigmas. 1000 dollar extra is way cheaper than going thru the law suit.

If your dz will allow hook turns on the tandems than go for Icarus 330's.

Say no to Precision 330. Precision 330 and Icarus 330 looks remarkably similar yet they fly so different.

If I have to come in on a straight in approach with heavy passenger, no doubt I'll be choosing Sigma 340's over Icarus 330, and Icarus 365 over 330 if I had to come in straight in.

Also say no to Sig 370's. They are too much fabric for no reason. Sig 340 flairs well enough even with heavy passengers with no wind.

In my bullshit opinion.

Bernie Sanders for President 2016

[jtiflyer 0]

I have a few jumps on Aerodyne 350 and a lot on Icarus 330. The Icarus is better IMO hands down. Opens great, lots of glide, light toggle pressure. It flares like an Icarus also meaning you need to get the brakes pretty deep in order to get the most out of the flare. The Aerodyne flew ok, just seemed sluggish to me. Heavy on toggles without a lot of response.

I would rather fly a ragged out Icarus over an Aerodyne. However I would take a sigmaII 340 over all others

[Dokeman 0]

the problem with the icarus is they use different material than PD. which basically turns to f111 after 1000 jumps. We just switched out our old icarus's (which we got new) for sigma 340's. Also, if you get turbulence and/or high winds, the icarus will scare the shit out of you when the end cells start folding under. My advice is spend the extra money and get the better canopy. The sigma 340.

[DougH 270]

I like the A2 350, but I leave it for other people if I can when it is turbulent.

Never had a chance to jump an Icarus.

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[stayhigh 2]

It is almost like comparing

Aerodyne Pilot vs Icarus Safire vs PD Stiletto isn't?

Fully elliptical Stiletto will win out the other competition every time.

Where is Icarus's tandem main that is elliptical like their Crossfire?

Or better yet, can you imagine Sigma 340 that has steep trim like Katana?

Bernie Sanders for President 2016

[StealthyB 0]

It depends on the style of tandem instructor you are? If you like sporty or if you are looking for reliable good old standard style canopy flying. The Icarus is my favourite Tandem Canopy by far, but I am presently at a DZ where I am flying Aerodyne and while I didn't like the earlier A2's, I have really grown fond of them, at least the 350. You can have your Sigmas, the 340 is OK but take the bigger ones and throw them in the bonfire, I have thousands of jumps on Sigmas and I will jump Aerodyne anyday over them. I jumped at a DZ that had half Sigma 340's and half Icarus 330's, mega tandem factory and instructors all had thousands and thousands of jumps,...nobody wanted to jump the Sigmas. That's a lot of personal preference, so just my opinion.
Regards, B.

[parachutist 1]

Dokeman

the problem with the icarus is they use different material than PD. which basically turns to f111 after 1000 jumps. We just switched out our old icarus's (which we got new) for sigma 340's. Also, if you get turbulence and/or high winds, the icarus will scare the shit out of you when the end cells start folding under. My advice is spend the extra money and get the better canopy. The sigma 340.

That's weird. The fabric on our NZ icarus 330's stays in good shape throughout its life. And they handle well in the turbulence we get on the CA coast here.

Downsides to Sigma mains:
- crossports rip and need to be repaired (icarus prevents this by lining the edges of x-ports with tape)
- drogue attachment points rip and need to be rebuilt
- Vectran lines cut through the slider grommets and then lines get shredded
- complicated brake stowing system adds more possible failure points and take longer to pack
- high toggle pressure

Downsides to NZ Icarus tandem mains:
- end ribs develop tears near the trailing edge after about 1200 jumps. It's not difficult to fix, but it takes a while, and a little reinforcement at these areas during manufacture would eliminate it completely
- after 800 jumps all data on the data tag is unreadable. It's pretty annoying and should be an easy fix for NZ, but they still haven't dealt with it.

Downsides to A2 mains:
- in my very limited experience the canopy ripped a big L rip during one of the openings.

Chris

[Islander-O 0]

I have to agree that Precision looks as Icarus is it is not the same. Eventually, I have learned it by own expense. :(
So, if your DZ is not elevated very high above MSL and the wearther does not featured high winds and turbulence, you can go for what is more affordable, easy to ship etc. If your DZ requires some skills to handle ragged weather, Icarus would be the canopy of the choice. I know it from my own experience Icarus-360/330/300 at very restricted DZ with high winds and turbulence.
Blue Sky

[riggerrob 558]

Both Abbotsford and Pitt Meadows standardized on Icarus mains. They use a mixture of Icarus 330 and 360 canopies packed into Sigma containers.