Advice for first time Stilletto owner

[airdrew20012001 0]

I just got a Stilletto 135 from Square 1 (they checked me out). Any words of wisdom for me? I want to learn to use it to its fullest (I weigh 175-180 out the door). Have jumped a friends stilletto 135 about 10 times.

[Sebazz1 2]

Hey I got a Stiletto 135 also. I don't know why but I swear I will never jump anything else. I 've tried lot's of other canopies but I just love my Stiletto too much. The only advice I got is when the openings start getting funky it's time for a reline and dump stable............Enjoy, be safe, practice up high before you do it too low........
Why did you land downwind? The winds were blowing the wrong way........
Seb

[FreeflyGoat 0]

My opinionated advice: Learn to fly the f*ck outa that canopy before downsizing. So many people learn to land and swoop a little then think they have mastered the canopy. Learn to land that thing on a dime in a narrow hallway before going smaller or cross-braced.

[Kirils 1]

Remember the nickname "spinetto" was given for a reason.
Practice your swoop turns high, find the performance limits at a safe altitude. Always make sure you stable and square in the harness at pull time. Being sloppy on opening can lead to line twists that require a chop. It's a great canopy, but it requires someone who thinks to fly it.
Skydiving is not a static excercise with discrete predictability...

[skybytch 259]

Geez, you got that from those Canopy Nazis??? What were they thinking???
There's some good advice in the posts above mine.... the only thing I might add is find someone who is an excellent canopy pilot and pick their brain - have them watch your landings and give you tips on improving them.
pull and flare,
lisa
--
What would Scooby Doo?

[Kris 0]

OKay, I go completely against the Canopy Nazi grain here since I picked up my Stiletto 190 after 115 jumps, all but 15 on a Sabre 210.
I load mine at about 1.35-1.4 and have put about 50 jumps on it since then and some jumps on a few other ellipticals. The important things I have noticed about the Stiletto are these:
1. Make sure your pack job is symmetrical! Repeat that over and over while you practice deploying as flat and stable as possible. Even with those, the canopy can snivel and dance for a while. It only takes a little bit of harness shift to keep it under control but until you get comfortable with it, it will take some getting used to. Just don't forget to be aware of your surroundings (altitude, people, etc...) while this is going on.
2. The flare? Sweet and with almost no end if used efficiently. On a straight-in no-winder on a hot day it is rare for me to have to skid out a stop more than a couple of feet and sometimes I'll just save a little flare and pop it up to a gentle-stand-up. The control range is nowhere near as deep as a Sabre (compared to the few that I have jumped) and it doesn't take much to get it to respond. If I find myself going off to one side during a surf I can easily correct it with a little harness-lean.
3. Un-twist thy brake lines and do it regularly. On my Stiletto I can notice a handling difference with as little as 5-10 twists in the lines.
4. Enjoy the turns up high. The first time I was able to see the ground over the top of my canopy while in a spin left a smile on my face for a couple of days. There is a bit of over-steer that you will have to get used to with the Stiletto but you will learn to automatically counter it after a few jumps without even thinking about it. Watch the turns down low. The amount of altitude the Stiletto will eat up in a turn is amazing. I have actually given myself ground-rush while holding 360's going through 1200 feet.
I didn't think that I would stay at a 190 canopy for very long after I got my Stiletto but the more I fly her the more respect she demands. I plan to have a lot of fun over the next few hundred jumps before I get rid of her for a leaner model and only after I am comfortable with her cross-wind, down-wind and in tight landing areas. The more I jump her the more I find out that I need to learn but that is half the fun. I don't think I could have picked a better canopy and I did demo other ellipticals before getting my Stiletto.
Jus' my $0.02
Kris