Demo´ing - what should I fly?

[vibeke 0]

Hi,

Hoping for a bit of advice here!
I have 340ish jumps. I currently fly a Safire109 loaded at 1,4 (135 lbs) I would have bought a Sabre2 120 if I had the money.

In May I will be at DeLand on a training camp (tunnel mostly) but we will do 60 jumps and on my two days off, I plan to get some canopy-piloting coaching! Only coaching I have had previously was a three day seminar with Brian Germain.

I am wondering if I should demo another canopy while Im there! The question is what to demo? I plan to upsize to a 120, when I go elliptical due to my lack of experience.

I dislike the commonly loved Stiletto. The reason is I like practicing soft carving 90-180o turns, and usually end up too high on final approach. The Safire (dull and slow-responding as it may be) will still allow me to finish my turn by harness and will still give me an acceptable landing. Whereas the Stiletto will instantly pull out of the dive, the speed will bleed off and the landing surely stink. - Leading people to making their turns closer the the ground - lower than I like to!

I would like a responsive yet not too aggressive canopy, with a negative recovery arc. Not too hard on the frontrisers. Must be capable of good landings on straight-in approaches as well. On heading openings and stable in turbulence would also give nice points in my book.

So what options do I have? Im thinking beyond the Sabre2.
I have thought about the Vengence and the Samurai, but airlocks sounds like a hassle with the winds we often have in Denmark!

Please give me your advice, and bear in mind that Im not too experienced and will only have 400 jumps when I pick up the demo. And please dont lecture on safety either. Im not hopeless and I know my limits. In advance thank you!

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[AggieDave 6]

Firstly, if you're going to get canopy coaching, stick with what you're flying, otherwise the canopy coaching will be damned near pointless.

Secondly, demo demo demo when you get back from your canopy coaching (if you still feel like you need to change canopies after you go through hands on coaching with someone like Scott Miller).

As for what canopy choices? I would highly suggest getting coaching then talking to your canopy coach about what he/she thinks might be a good solution for you. Then you can demo canopies from different manufactures of similar qualities.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[vibeke 0]

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Firstly, if you're going to get canopy coaching, stick with what you're flying, otherwise the canopy coaching will be damned near pointless.

I hear ya, but the thing is I have been told I should get rid of the Safire and get a Katana (I tend to think this is a bit too aggressive for me just yet) or Samurai, by canopy coaches...

So I figured I could identify what to fly by demoing and get coaching on the canopy I liked the best, and then buy it?

HMmmm..

[johnny1488 1]

If your "coaches" are telling you at 325 jumps to ditch a safire and get a Katana or Samurai, what you really need is some new coaches.

Those canopies are not for you, period. I am a huge supporter of Icarus Canopies and love the Crossfire2. That canopy is not for you and I would not think of suggesting it to someone with your jumps numbers.

A high performance canopy is there to let you fly the way you want when you have the skill to use it. When you want to build skill (and the foundation for it) a HP canopy may not be the best choice. A lot (and I mean A LOT) can be learned on a mid range canopy. It also provides a "limited" amount of forgiveness.

At your jump numbers, if you want to go to A HP canopy, I think your head is ahead of your ass (or your skills, however you want to put it ). Stick with what you have, or if you want to upsize, perhaps you should go to a bigger safire if you think a canopy just being elliptical would scare you.

Sorry if I am a lottle harsh, but I would rather get newer jumpers interested in swooping in the right direction than stroke their egos.

Johnny
--"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!"
Mike Rome

[CanuckInUSA 0]

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I like practicing soft carving 90-180o turns, and usually end up too high on final approach.

Canopy coaching can be used to help you resolve this issue of yours (which happens to a lot of people so you're not alone). I see no harm in demoing canopies, but it's better to receive coaching on a canopy that you are familiar with.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[ianmdrennan 2]

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If your "coaches" are telling you at 325 jumps to ditch a safire and get a Katana or Samurai, what you really need is some new coaches.

Those canopies are not for you, period. I am a huge supporter of Icarus Canopies and love the Crossfire2. That canopy is not for you and I would not think of suggesting it to someone with your jumps numbers.

Agreed.

Performance Designs Factory Team

[namdrib 0]

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I hear ya, but the thing is I have been told I should get rid of the Safire and get a Katana


HMmmm..

HUH??? Stick to what you have. Get some coaching on that first. And whoever told you that, watch out when he says "Hey, why don't you try this?"

Unknowing attempting to take out all 4 wheeled vehicles remotely close to the landing area!

[Adi 0]

Put a couple of 100 jumps on a sab2. When you learn how to fly it youll be able to do whatever degree of front riser or harness turn you like. I dont think that on a katana you will be at a w/l to apriciate its capabilities. fly the sab2 at 75%+ before getting more aggresive.

[vibeke 0]

Thank you all for your responses. But easy now everybody. Im not going to fly a Katana, Velocity or anything else in that category!! I know Im not skilled enough for that, and Im in absolutely no hurry. I get advice from others as well, who tell me to learn things the right way and not "push it"!

But I am asking for suggestions on canopys OTHER than the Safire I fly (a bit to sluggish in responses), the Sabre2 (I know this could be a good choice, so its obviously already being taken into consideration) and the Stiletto (I want a canopy with negative recovery arc).

Any suggestions for canopys I should demo?!

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[cbain 0]

You could demo a Firebolt from Jumpshack. They're in Deland. But I also agree that you should stick with the canopy you're familiar with for any canopy coaching.

Christina

[ianmdrennan 2]

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But I am asking for suggestions on canopys OTHER than the Safire I fly (a bit to sluggish in responses), the Sabre2 (I know this could be a good choice, so its obviously already being taken into consideration) and the Stiletto (I want a canopy with negative recovery arc).

Try the Pilot from Aerodyne, it wasn't quite to my personal taste, but I know a lot of people who've been very happy with them.

I think if I were in your shoes the Sabre2 or the Pilot would be the canopies I'd be looking at more seriously.

Blues,
Ian

Performance Designs Factory Team

[Peej 0]

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But I am asking for suggestions on canopys OTHER than the Safire I fly (a bit to sluggish in responses), the Sabre2 (I know this could be a good choice, so its obviously already being taken into consideration) and the Stiletto (I want a canopy with negative recovery arc).

Try the Pilot from Aerodyne, it wasn't quite to my personal taste, but I know a lot of people who've been very happy with them.

I think if I were in your shoes the Sabre2 or the Pilot would be the canopies I'd be looking at more seriously.

Blues,
Ian

You might also want to try the Fusion from Precision, it's in the same range as the Sab2 and the Safire, i really enjoyed flying it, although i was only loading it at 1.2 when i demo'd it.

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[frenchyflyer 0]

I would also suggest the Sabre2 or the Pilot, you can really learn a lot of stuff with these canopies.
They also tend to recover on their own if you initiate your turn too high, but if you have the skills you can learn how to prevent that from happening.

These will be a much smarter choice than something like the Katana which would actually hinder your progression...

[PhreeZone 14]

Check out the Lotus. Airlocks are not an issue in winds once you learn in them. I've got 400+ Airlock jumps now and even in the Midwest here (15-20mph winds are typical) its not an issue for me. It was for the first 15 jumps but then its just like any other canopy.

If I was going for less proformance then my Sam, I'd go for a Lotus. Its extremely similar to a Sabre2 in flight.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[ScottMcC 0]

My experience with the Safire (I had a 132 loaded at 1.25 for several hundred jumps) was different from yours--I didn't find it to be sluggish at all.

Actually, I think it is a relatively high performance canopy and I know for a fact that it is an elliptical canopy.

So you might want to think a little more about flying the canopy you have than trying to find something else. But a Sabre2 is a good canopy too, from what I hear (never jumped one myself).

[DancingFlame 0]

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My experience with the Safire (I had a 132 loaded at 1.25 for several hundred jumps) was different from yours--I didn't find it to be sluggish at all.

So did I.

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Actually, I think it is a relatively high performance canopy and I know for a fact that it is an elliptical canopy.

Second that.

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So you might want to think a little more about flying the canopy you have than trying to find something else. But a Sabre2 is a good canopy too, from what I hear (never jumped one myself).

I've jumped Sabre2 a little. But still I insist Safire flies as good as Sabre2 if not better.

It's all about the pilot.

[Danger 0]

Ditto. It is semi elliptical and when flown to it's limit is a good swooping canopy.

It's all about how you fly the canopy.