Should I demo a Cobalt?

[Krishan 0]

I'm contemplating demo'ing a Cobalt, but I'm a little reluctant. I have 169 jumps, mostly on a Sabre-170. Looking to downsize to a 150 and looking for a new canopy at the same time. I am a pilot so I understand flying. I believe I am a smart canopy pilot.
What do any of you who jump cobalts think? Are these very hight performance canopies? Or not quite so?
Oh and SkyMonkey, nice pic in the new parachutist.

[Aviatrr 0]

Definitely check one out.. What could it hurt? Get in line for the 150 though.. DZBone has it now, and they'll be sending it to me in a couple weeks as soon as he returns it.. Call 'em and ask when it's available.. I'll let ya know what I think after I jump it.. I'll be loading the demo at 1.4..
Mike

[grasshopper 0]

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What could it hurt?

lets see...tib/fib, femur, back...
but seriously, a cobalt is a high performance elliptical canopy. try one in the same size you have been flying (170ish) to get an accurate impression of the canopy. a 150 would probably feel fast and twichty at first, but so would a 150 sabre. downsizing alone will give you those impressions without even changing types of canopy.
blue skies

[ramon 0]

My experience is that in general aircraft pilots are better canopy pilots than non pilots at the same experience level.
You'll be fine.
Plan your approach, downwind, crosswind, turn on to final a little sooner than normal because you will be descending a little faster than normal.
Practice flat turning up high.
Don't try anything radical down low, If you do you are asking for flight performance you are not accustomed to and in this videogame the pain is real ha ha..
Piece of cake, have fun
ramon

[cobaltdan 0]

definately demo one.
i would suggest the 150 not the 170.
the cobalt is a much more efficient wing, it loads heavier than a sabre for an apples to apples comparison.
the 150 will not be faster than your 170 in foward speed, it will have a ton more lift, flatter glide and flare.
have fun :}
sincerely,
dan
atair

[cobaltdan 0]

btw, the last thing anyone would call a cobalt is twitchy...
even at phyco loadings up to 3# / sq ' they are not twitchy...
blue one's
dan
atair

[FallinWoman 1]

I don't know much...I'm still a low-timer, but Cobalts are all the rage at my DZ. I think four or five experienced jumpers have recently purchased them. Two of those are going from Stillettos to Cobalts, one from a Diablo, one from a Sabre, and I am not sure about the other one (if she even is going with the Cobalt.
Bottom line:
Demo it...people seem to be impressed with it enough to buy it!!! Have fun and be safe!
Anne

[edid 0]

I am also a pilot (athough I haven't flown for a while I also feel having a pilots license helps heaps in Canopy flying). I also have low jump numbers (225) and just transitioned from a Sabre 170 loaded 1.1 to a Cobalt 135 loaded 1.4
I don't have any other high performance elliptical to compare it to but I couldn't be happier with my Cobalt. It opens beautifully, flys nice and stable, it's not twitchy but it's still extremely responsive meaning you can drive it hard and fast when you want to, and, like everyone says, it has tons of lift. It was a very natural and intuitive transition from my Sabre to the Coablt. I am loving every second of it. However, it is still an eliptical and you should be well read and well rehearsed. I'll echo the sentiments of the canopy experts at my dropzone. "You really want to learn as much as you can on the canopy you're familiar and comfortable with first". (I got my Cobalt when I only had 150 jumps but I sure am glad I waited and did a few more jumps on my 170 which gained me some invaluable knowledge)
Anyway, below is the program I put myself through to gain the necessary canopy awareness and prepare for my first eliptical.
Canopy awareness (solo first then CReW with expert):
-flying with brakes stowed.
-stalling/collapsing and recovering the canopy to find absolute stall point.
-rear riser sashays.
-slow and deep brakes flying.
-flat turns and 'sinking it in practise'.
-flying the end of a streamer towed by another canopy.
-front riser practise
-CReW drills including unders and overs for front and rear riser work.
Landing/Surfing preparation: (all of of which practised a few times at height first)
-straight in dual front riser approaches.
-single front riser 90's both ways.
-single front riser 180's both ways.
-single front riser 270's both ways.
-single front riser 270's but aborting them and turning them into 90's (for those times you screw up and you're too low to make the 270.
-all of the above using front riser carves and hooks.
-single front riser 360's (exercised with great caution and only in optimal conditions).
-toggle hooks (not recommended and again, exercised with great caution and only in optimal conditions).
By the end I could get a 25 yard carving surf out of my 170 on windless days; which I never thought possible.
When I finally got on to my Cobalt, I went back to the top of the list and have been enjoying working through it all again.
On a personal experience note: Even a Sabre (loaded above 1), when flown hard, can come in fast enough to get you into trouble, so take care. The nice thing I feel about my Cobalt is that it has so much more flare power to get you out of trouble if you have to dig out of a corner.
Anyway, that's my 2c. Apologies if I have stated the unnecessary or obvious to you but a lot of the above was passed on to me which I was gald for. So anyway, have fun, stay safe and as a last word: Get a Cobalt, you'll love it.
Ed.
Edited by edid on 7/29/01 05:11 AM.

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

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Looking to downsize to a 150 and looking for a new canopy at the same time

Demo the 150. As Dan has already stated, the Cobalt has MUCH more lift than a same-sized Sabre (or Stiletto for that matter). Cobalts are definitely NOT what I would call twitchy. Actually, the only really twitchy mains I ever owned were my two Stilettos (107 and 97). A lightly loaded Cobalt is a VERY easy parachute to learn and fly and not "dangerous" at all. It's once you start loading them near and above 2.0:1 and then they really shine for us swoopers. They still handle magnificantly, but the added lift translates into sick, very-long surfs. That is why I deal with Dan and Atair.
Chuck

[weid14 0]

I was in the same shoes as you last year (more jumps, however). I was flying a Sabre 170 (I'm about 225 out the door). I demo'd the 150 that Dan had at the DZ. Flew much better and openings were way better than the Sabre. First couple of jumps were straight in approaches and the thing landed really nice, even got a couple of good carving landings on it.

[judedre 0]

i was gonna buy the cobalt but when investigated was told that it has very low resale value, thats all i know i opted for a diablo instead put 5 jumps on it so far and quite happy with it crisp and responsive opens smooth and on heading... dre

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

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but when investigated was told that it has very low resale value...

You have to be shitting me. Ladies and gentlemen, this is not real estate or petroleum futures. You buy a parachute and jump it until you kill it. They do not appreciate in value or stay the same. You put jumps on them and they immediately go down in value. If you pay $1400 for a new parachute and put 500 jumps on it, then you will be very lucky to get 800 for it when you decide to sell it. I don't care it you did it in one month or five years or what kind of main it is. I have bought and sold A LOT of parachutes in the past several years and have not had a problem selling any of them, regardless of make or model. Anyway, if you were concerned about resale value you should have stayed away from that Diablo. While they are nice parachutes, they are not what most people would call "mainstream", thus are quite difficult to unload. Still, if you are happy with it, then you shouldn't be worried about some false monetary "value". FYI: the PISA heatwave is almost identical to that Diablo and I can get them brand-new in custom colors for around $950.
Chuck

[maretus 0]

"the PISA heatwave is almost identical to that Diablo and I can get them brand-new in custom colors for around $950. "
Little off the topic, but am I completely wrong because I've always thought that Diablo is 7-Cell elliptical and Heatwave is 9-Cell elliptical and therefor NOT almost identical ?

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

Still off topic, but: Oddly, IMO the heatwave and diablo fly about the same, thus the "almost identical" reference.
Chuck

[cobaltdan 0]

wow, i'm shocked of all the canopies to pass over a cobalt for: a diablo !!!
they are in such different leagues i don't even know what to say...
dan
atair