Anyone loading up an Aerodyne Pilot?

[ManBird 0]

Just wondering if anyone out there has a Pilot loaded at 1.6:1 or higher and what your thoughts are. I currently jump a Sabre 2 107 near its recommend max WL and I'm looking at a Pilot 104 for my main in a second rig. It sounds like it has a similar performance range to the Sabre 2... very forgiving at any WL, but a swoop monster near the recommended max.

"¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯"

Click

[aubsmell 0]

I know I'm the sales guy for Aerodyne, but I am 215 out the door and jump the Pilot 104, it doesn't naturally dive like a banshi (it's not designed too) but the front riser pressure is so light you can drive it to the ground at high wing loadings. I'm very happy with the swoop, with a little tail wind I can run the lenght of the pond in Zhills.... and it is trimed very flat so at those high wing loadings (over 2) it is very sensitive to harness input, so it is easy to carve, even without much tail distortion due to either toggle or riser input.

All this and it is a damn fine canopy to fly with my wing suit. Very predictable openings.

I will say I do miss my crossbraced canopy, but the Pilot is a fun substitute for now.

the picture is in the hills last weekend...

"Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it"

[sdctlc 0]

Quote

I know I'm the sales guy for Aerodyne, but I am 215 out the door and jump the Pilot 104

You have noted in your profile the A-max 104 as your main. Are you jumping the Pilot or the A-max??

Also I jsut went to the Aerodyne site and the A-max is not listed any more. It had me wondering since it is still in the gear section of this site?? What is the current canopy libne up from Aerodyne??

Pilot
Vision
Solo
A2
Smart
Tri


Thanks,
Scott C.

"He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

[aubsmell 0]

The line up is, in order of highest performance on down,

Amax =for high performance pilots who don't want the bulk/cost/negatives popularly associated of a cross braced (not selling at the moment, until we complete the design in all sizes){competitive products, Katana, Crossfire, Demon}

Vision = 9 cell Advanced canopy pilots, high plan form factor (read about the plan form in the sport section of our website) Very snivilly soft opening canopy 600ft plus, good for camera men/women who are advanced pilots but need to depend on a soft opening. (competitive products, Stilleto, Sabre2, Crossfire)

Pilot = 9 cell Intermediate canopy, pilots who want consistant openings, a conservative taper, quick toggle response without much over turn, positive recovery from front riser turns, basically the a good choice for 8 out of 10 skydivers. Solid, good gliding, easy landing. Also great for wingsuits and is still when flown by an agressive pilot, a lot of fun to fly (competitive products, Sabre 2, Sapphire2)

Triathlon = 7 cell square, this is a canopy that is your general all purpose canopy, it is a square, opens great turns quick without loosing a lot of altitude. It doesn't seem to malfunction much, and when it does usually the malfunctions aren't that radical. A lot of Dropzones use the bigger ones as student canopys and the smaller ones in rental rigs. It is for people who just want again a predictable canopy that opens nice, flys nice, lands nice and is dependable. (competitors Spectre, Omni)

Tri hybrid = same deal only with some modifications for dule use for crew.

Tri compitition crew = A canopy built for crew, all the options those guys like, current world champion canopy for rotation. It always seems to do very well, and lands better than most crew canopys. (competition Lightning)

Solo = 9 cell hybrid student canopy. you can read the marketing stuff on our site, designed to pack easy and take a beating. Very conservative, and clean flying. (competition set 400, ez 384, Sigma, Precision, Icarus, Hop)

A2 = 389 square foot tandem main. tapered trailing edge, hybrid construction, spectra lines. Delivered on risers, works with all systems.

Smart Reserve = 7 cell reserve Cordwise constructed, spanwise reinforcement, the only reserve canopy with Radial reinforcement in the tail. (Competition none a reserve in a class of it's own)

Quote

You have noted in your profile the A-max 104 as your main. Are you jumping the Pilot or the A-max??

yea, you can only list one, I work for a canopy company, I have one of each (fringe benefit), lately I've been jumping the Pilot a lot, I've kind of gotten to the point where I've had a cross braced for 800 jumps, and airlocked for 400 jumps and a little of this and that here and there, and have just as of late been a little more conservative. Plus I've been flying my wing suit a lot. Now you can jump whatever you want to with a wing suit, (i have 80 wing suit jumps with a velocity without any problems) however again why risk it.

I recently followed a cut away down (against my better judgment) and landed in a horse pin a mile away from the dz, I was jumping a 117 Pilot and am glad I had a conservative wing that I could sink in and not hurt anything more than my pride.

Just because a canopy is designed for a conservative market, doesn't mean you have to fly conservativly. And vise versa.

Peace out yo.

"Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it"

[relyon 0]

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Tri compitition crew = A canopy built for crew, all the options those guys like, current world champion canopy for rotation. It always seems to do very well, and lands better than most crew canopys. (competition Lightning)

I wouldn't say this info is wrong, but keep in mind a few things:

First, it's far more the jumper and far less the canopy, that wins CF competitions. The Russians are machines (they consistently match their WR in competition) and the Tri is a good rotation canopy. I think it's doubtful you'll see a Triathlon used to win at sequential or speed because it's not as good for those events.

Secondly, the canopies Aerodyne builds and what are jumped in CF competition are two different beasts. Competition CF canopies are almost always short-lined ('7-8'), heavily loaded (1.8-2.0), and may be trimmed differently. The flight characteristics are radically different. A loaded Tri in particular has really poor handling close to the stall point and an almost violent stall, IMO.

Finally, don't even think of talking about landing characterics of competition CF canopies in terms of their RW cousins. When a low aspect 7-cell is shortlined and loaded it flares very differently. They have a ridiculously short recovery arc (that makes a Stilleto look long by comparison) and all land like crap.

Don't get me wrong, I think the the Tri is a good canopy. I put about 250 jumps on one of the first ones (DOM late '95) back when I did freefall and I've demoed the 120 and 99 CF versions. I know a number of competitors that have used them with success.

Bob

[Canuck 0]

The Plaid Jackets (no longer competing, but long standing Canadian champs and World medalists on multiple occassions) spent their last few years jumping Triathalon 135s for sequential and swore by them. They had jumped Lightening 126s before that when they were primarily a rotation team. They will also say that the Tris land way better than the Lightening, but in fairness, they are loading them a little less. I believe they have also commented that the Triathalon is an easier canopy to use for their wild parabatic shows, which if you haven't seen, you haven't seen truly amazing CRW!

Canuck

[aubsmell 0]

Hey Bob,

I was just trying to give a short flowery presentation of the canopy line up. and my understanding of crew is very limited. Thanks for the quick education.

The one thing i'll say is that crew guys seem very passionate about their canopies and some of the most passionate I've seen have been guys with their compition Tri's. and let me back peddle a little bit, I honestly don't know how it lands as it is the one canopy we make that I've never jumped, that is just a consistant compliment I keep hearing from the guys who jump them. But it is still an opinion, and it is not in any way objective.

Oh, and I just read over our line up above and realize I listed the competitive canopies to our student mains as other compaines tandems, sorry my mistake, the Solo's competitors are the Navigator, Manta....ect.

Aubrey

"Those who say it cannot be done, should not interrupt those who are doing it"