freekflyguy 0 #1 May 31, 2005 Well I finally managed to get a couple of jumps on a Katana 120 loaded at about 2.1. To say I was nervous on the first lift would be an understatement. It was pretty cool to be in my stretch zone again, especially as there were a number of my students on the same lift who I have seen in there stretch zone. Both jumps were H+P from 5k with alti drills to get used to the canopy. I was delighted in the light riser pressure and surprised that although the thing dives like V1 I didnt find it much twitchier than my Stiletto 150. The ground wind was between 10 and 17 knts and I made straight in approaches from around 500 ft. I liked the toggle range and the powerfull flare, which gave me a reasonable surf. I have the rig for the next week or so and plan to make as many jumps as I can, maybe even trying my buddies Velo 111 before he takes them both back to the uk :-(. BuzzIt's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kosanke 0 #2 June 6, 2005 i have a stiletto 150 and out the door at 200lbs. i am waiting for a 135 katana. how does it compare with the stiletto?openings, straight in approach. flare and toggle pressure? in your opinion, is it worth switching. thanks< Tom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sfc 0 #3 June 6, 2005 Quotei have a stiletto 150 and out the door at 200lbs. i am waiting for a 135 katana. how does it compare with the stiletto?openings, straight in approach. flare and toggle pressure? in your opinion, is it worth switching. thanks< Tom I went from a stiletto 135 to a Katana 120. Approx 185lbs out the door. Overall it was worth it. Deeper flare on Katana, easier to land in zero winds. more responsive to riser input, I can go into a steep dive just by leaning in the harness, couldn't do that on the stiletto. Much larger recovery arc in a riser turn, does not plane out completely after turn, so easier to judge the swoop. Continues turning after riser release longer than the stiletto. Openings no worse than stiletto, I have had 1 major line twist on the Katana and it flew OK. More sensitive to me loosening my chest stap. I can scare my audible in a riser turn, never able to do that on the stiletto. Looses altitute like its going out of fashion in a toggle turn, it is very very ground hungry compared to my stiletto, this really suprised me, although on a long spot using rear risers or toggle extended its range considerably. I love flying it. It is a much more HP canopy than the stiletto if that makes sense. I think it requires more skill to control, it is more of a wild aminal than the stiletto Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites freekflyguy 0 #4 June 6, 2005 Tom I was loading the Kat at 260lb out the door give or take a pound or two. I managed to make 7 jumps on it over the week, the first 2 were hop n pops from 5k the rest were all FS jumps pulling at 4k approx. From the first jump I fell in love with this canopy, the openings were sweet even when jumping my FS suit which tends to give me an interesting ride on my Still (due to the lard boy lined booties). Toggle input was sharper than the St 150 but no where near as twitchy as a St 135 that I have jumped previously. Riser pressure was very light and she dove nicely in the turn and lost a lot of height, as much as 600ft for a 180 and around 800 in a 270. I must admit that i was experimenting with different turn rates so dont take these figures as gospel. On all landings bar the last I carried out a straight in approach from full flight and found she gave me a nice surf even into 12 - 17 knts of wind, more than I would get from a 180 on my St 150 in the same conditions. The control range is very long and you get a really good flare all the way through. The last landing I did was on double fronts and found that I could hold them a little longer than i could on the St. Unfortunately poor weather prevented me from completing any more jumps and trying out some high performance landings. The good news is that my mate smudge is back over here next month and he is bringing it back out for me to jump woo hoo. As soon as I manage to sell one of my three kids/kidney's/wife on the street and can afford to I will buy one. That is unless I jump a Velo 120 before hand If you get the chance demo the 120, you may find that more to your liking. I was a little nervous about dropping from a St 150 to a Kat 120 but found it to be much better than I expected, that much so I am now gagging to try a Velo 120/111. As long as you have had quality canopy coaching (I have done both Perris Performance and Wing Tips) and take things very carefully you will enjoy the Katana. BuzzIt's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites kosanke 0 #5 June 7, 2005 Thanks for all the help. I think I'll give a demo a try. dropzone.com is great for getting answers. Tom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Reply to this topic... × Pasted as rich text. Paste as plain text instead Only 75 emoji are allowed. × Your link has been automatically embedded. Display as a link instead × Your previous content has been restored. Clear editor × You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL. Insert image from URL × Desktop Tablet Phone Submit Reply 0
freekflyguy 0 #4 June 6, 2005 Tom I was loading the Kat at 260lb out the door give or take a pound or two. I managed to make 7 jumps on it over the week, the first 2 were hop n pops from 5k the rest were all FS jumps pulling at 4k approx. From the first jump I fell in love with this canopy, the openings were sweet even when jumping my FS suit which tends to give me an interesting ride on my Still (due to the lard boy lined booties). Toggle input was sharper than the St 150 but no where near as twitchy as a St 135 that I have jumped previously. Riser pressure was very light and she dove nicely in the turn and lost a lot of height, as much as 600ft for a 180 and around 800 in a 270. I must admit that i was experimenting with different turn rates so dont take these figures as gospel. On all landings bar the last I carried out a straight in approach from full flight and found she gave me a nice surf even into 12 - 17 knts of wind, more than I would get from a 180 on my St 150 in the same conditions. The control range is very long and you get a really good flare all the way through. The last landing I did was on double fronts and found that I could hold them a little longer than i could on the St. Unfortunately poor weather prevented me from completing any more jumps and trying out some high performance landings. The good news is that my mate smudge is back over here next month and he is bringing it back out for me to jump woo hoo. As soon as I manage to sell one of my three kids/kidney's/wife on the street and can afford to I will buy one. That is unless I jump a Velo 120 before hand If you get the chance demo the 120, you may find that more to your liking. I was a little nervous about dropping from a St 150 to a Kat 120 but found it to be much better than I expected, that much so I am now gagging to try a Velo 120/111. As long as you have had quality canopy coaching (I have done both Perris Performance and Wing Tips) and take things very carefully you will enjoy the Katana. BuzzIt's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kosanke 0 #5 June 7, 2005 Thanks for all the help. I think I'll give a demo a try. dropzone.com is great for getting answers. Tom Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
