Rosa 0 #1 July 20, 2002 Hey guys, I haven´t been really active here but every time I have a question I get really good answers. My question is about a new canopy I really want. But I think I might be not experienced enough to have it. I have 5 static line jumps and I am starting AFF and I want to start it with my own (not borrowed). I am 5´6 and weigh around 120. The deal that I am looking at is Stiletto 150. Well thanks for any earlier answers .. blue skies... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rmsmith 1 #2 July 20, 2002 You would be wise to get a seven-cell canopy like a Spectre as your first canopy as they are forgiving of packing irregularities, they typically open on heading without "hunting-for-a-heading", and they're not as easy to stall as the Stiletto. Take your time, be safe, and enjoy while learning! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jimbo 0 #3 July 20, 2002 Bwahahaha! Good one! - Jim"Like" - The modern day comma Good bye, my friends. You are missed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflir29 0 #4 July 20, 2002 Keep renting Student gear until you get an A License. I know it seems expensive but it will allow you to get a little experience before you decide on what size canopy you want and need. A Stilletto is not anything you need right now. It is waaaaaayyyy too high performance. If you buy one....you will be injured or dead very quickly. Not trying be an asshole but thats the facts. Talk to your instructors about your canopy choices. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
f1freak 0 #5 July 20, 2002 hey, It's up to you, but the 150 WILL bite you. It will bite hard. I would really start out using the student gear. i can see not wanting to purchase gear that "big", but you are going to have a lot of things to be thinking about. dont add to that with the 150. (god, i hope it's not a person from the dz or a person you know that's trying to sell this to you)HAVE FUN... ...JUST DONT DIE Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skybytch 259 #6 July 20, 2002 Do AFF with the dropzone's student rigs. They wouldn't let you jump your own rig on student jumps anyway; sport rigs are quite a bit different from student rigs. Besides, you'll probably fall down on at least one or two of your first 20 or so landings; get their gear dirty and scuffed up, not yours. Talk to your instructors about what canopy and size to buy for your first rig. In general, stay away from any canopy described as "fully elliptical", "cross braced", "airlocked" or "round". Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jimbo 0 #7 July 20, 2002 QuoteTalk to your instructors about what canopy and size to buy for your first rig. In general, stay away from any canopy described as "fully elliptical", "cross braced", "airlocked" or "round". The Lotus is airlocked. I've never jumped one, but I suspect that might make a nice canopy for a beginner. Airlocked isn't necessarily a bad word. - Jim"Like" - The modern day comma Good bye, my friends. You are missed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michele 1 #8 July 20, 2002 I was talking to my jm one day during AFF, and he asked me what I thought I was going to get as gear...I told him a Stiletto. I watched him swallow hard, choke a bit, turn really red in the face and then pale rapidly, run a hand through his hair, and murmur "fuck".... Suffice it to say I was teasing him, but I felt badly because I guess he thought I meant it. When I buy, I am getting a Spectre. Stilettos will still be around later when I know what the hell I'm doing. Right now, I need a canopy which will forgive my beginner mistakes. I may get a better deal on another kind of canopy, but that's not the most important part right now, you know? Ciels and Pinks- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rosa 0 #9 July 20, 2002 Thanks you all for the comments .. this is what I really needed to hear ... I think I will wait with this one ... even though I am crazy .. I will leash my crazyness till better times. Nobody at DZ is trying to sell the stiletto to me ... later you all ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
drenaline 0 #10 July 20, 2002 Quotestay away from any canopy described as "fully elliptical", "cross braced", "airlocked" or "round". no round? Oh man! Ok now to get serious, The best advice you can get for a new canopy will be from your instructors cause they now how you fly, how you land/flare and they know what is dangerous for a newbie or just off student status and they know what wingload will be good for you. Here you will find 50-50, one will say go for the elliptic, others will say go for the square and others will say go for the semi elliptic (7 cells). canopies that are usually recommended for newbies are: PD Spectre, PD sabre, PD sabre 2, PA falcon, and some others that can't remember, check the gear reviews and you will get very usefull info (how they open, how they fly, why the owners likes it etc). Good luck on your new canopy. Just in case: its not a flame or anything like that, just the best advice I can give. HISPA 21 www.panamafreefall.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndyMan 7 #11 July 20, 2002 QuoteThe deal that I am looking at is Stiletto 150. Nah, that's way too big. I think an extremely extreme crossbraced canopy, sized around 69 square feet would be much safer. They're easier to land, afterall. Sorry, that was mean. My best advice is just to sit back, and wait. Jump the student gear at your DZ. You're jumping an absolutely HUGE canopy right now... maybe even as big as 280 square feet. You're going to start gradually downsizing to something in a comfortable wingloading. Exactly what size you should end up with depends on how experienced you are when you buy it. The longer you can wait, the happier you'll be with your canopy in the long term. When I had 10 jumps, I was recomended to buy a 250 sqr foot monster. When I had 20 jumps, I was recomended to buy a 210 sqr foot monster. WHen I had about 40 jumps, I bought a 190 sqr foot canopy, that I actually had the skill to load relatively heavilty (1.2) and not kill myself. I kept that canopy for over 250 jumps. If I'd bought the 210, or (god forbid) the 250, I would've been selling it as soon as I could have. I'm not saying that the people that were recomending big canopies were wrong, they were absolutely right. If I had bought a canopy when I had 10 jumps, it should've been a big-assed 250 sqr foot dog... it's just that I'm glad I DIDN'T buy one then, that I had the patience to wait until I could fly a smaller one properly. You're asking about a Stileto 150, and you say you weigh about 120. With gear, you're probably about 140... So you'd loading it about .9. If you wait a while, get more training, learn how to fly HP canopies, you could probably buy one a size smaller and load it at 1.0, or maybe even 1.1 Now a word about stilettos. Obviously, you know they're very high performance canopies, but you're thinking that because you're loading it very lightly, you'd be fine. And philisophically, I agree with you. I think younger jumpers should be trained on HP canopies early in their jumping careers. However, there's a problem with the Stiletto - it simply does not do light wingloading well. At a light wingloading, the Stiletto is VERY succeptable to turbulence. You're going to bounce around a LOT, and you're constantly going to be worrying about it collapsing. It might, in fact, collapse in turbulence... and that would suck. The stiletto is not a good candidate for light wingloadings. My best advice again, is to sit back, jump the student gear at your DZ. Once you're tired of that then I'd start getting demo gear from the manufacturers. You should be able to get demo mains from an assortment of manufacturers, and get someone at the DZ to put the main into a container at the DZ... then you can see what the different canopies are like. _Am__ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rosa 0 #12 July 21, 2002 Thanks ... I have learned a lot from you all ... and damn I love the forum here .....soo much information. . . but of course some postings are better than others .. and others are even full of shit. Anyways .. thanks a lot .. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
