Help choosing new canopy?

[Grisu 0]

Hey guys,

I'm recently looking for a new canopy. Currently I jump a Nitro 98, I gave it a try after my Nitro 108. I'm slowly making my progress towards faster landings, did a lot of practice on 90° and 270° turns and they work quite good for me, feeling comfortable with that.
The thing that bothers me with my Nitro is the short recovery arc. The canopy tends to plane out really fast or even starts to climb again a little bit if there is a bit of head wind, once I slowly let go of the frontrisers after turning. I tried a lot of things to deal with this: made slower turns (more like a carve), made more rapid turns, etc. But unfortunately nothing really worked.
The thing here is that I have to do my turns closer to the ground to get a reasonable plane and swoop, which doesn't feel too good for me.

I have talked to some other guys back in Germany, and some recommended me e.g. the Katana or Crossfire. My question is: are there more options for me? I read about the opinions on the Katana and Crossfire in some threads here. The Katana seems to be a little too much from which I've read and the opinions on the Crossfire are various.

Are there any other suggestions for the next step for me?

Thanks, Jan

[billvon 2,400]

This may sound bizarre, but try the Safire. Cheaper, more forgiving, and a longer arc than either my Nitro 108 or my Crossfire 109. (Compared to a demo Safire2 109 I use on occasion from Square 1.)

[hparrish 0]

I think your'e one of those people trying to start a controversial thread, and are trying to get a rise out of people.

Thats what I think.

[Grisu 0]

Hey Harry, fine that you think that, seems that this is becoming quite a habit in these forums...

Just trying to get more opinions on this, thats all. No trolling, not trying to upset people, just asking for opinions on canopies. But thanks anyway...

[Waldschrat 0]

No that's wrong, i know grisu personally, before he went to virginia, we both did jump at the same DZ in germany.

[Sergey-san 0]

ha-ha Nitro... probably the funniest canopy out there... with those line-over keepers on the top skin;))))

So if you're familiar with that line-up, why don't you try out a Blade? I thought, they positioned it as their ultra hight-performance flagship:) On their website the recommended wingloadings are up to 2.2! Sounds pretty high-performance to me:)

http://www.hiperusa.com/

As for other canopies in the same class with Katana and Crossfire-2, you can throw in Aerodyne Mamba, Atair's Cobalt Competition (mostly on second-hand market) and Radical.
Also Ukrainian manufacturer Skylark makes a nice elliptical high-performance canopy called Odyssey:

http://www.skylark.com.ua/ru/odyssey/

And probably this thing too:

http://www.flyfirebird.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/90_21/products_id/61

If you're in the market of air-locks, then probably this

http://www.bigairsportz.com/samurai.php

and maybe RAGE from Paratec:

http://www.paratec.de/index_start.html

sounds like plenty to choose from, ha?

[ianmdrennan 2]

I'd like to remind posters to keep this constructive.

To the OP, while your current choices may be overly aggressive, I would recommend demo'ing everything you can get your hands on (that's within your skill range).

Everyone had different tastes, and preferences. Ultimately only YOU know what characteristics you do and don't like.

Be careful, there's no rush.

Blues,
Ian

Performance Designs Factory Team

[Grisu 0]

Thanks for your replies guys! I know that my current canopy may sound a lot for my current jump numbers. But as Ian said, I demoed the Nitro before I bought it and I felt comfortable under it. As for my background: I may only have a few years on my skydiving history, but I started with gilders 11 years ago (age 14) and also got my PPL a few years later. Want I want to say here is, that I just feal very comfortable in the air and that I spend a lot of time with the theoretical backgrounds.... which later let me to studying Aerospace Engineering... what a surprise

Anyway, I'm not in a rush at all with this. Also, I'm not talking about downsizing. In fact, I was planning to step up one size, e.g. maybe a Crossfire 109 or something in that area.

So, I'm really thankful for opinions and advices!
Cheers, Jan

[ozzy13 0]

Quote

Hey guys,

I'm recently looking for a new canopy. Currently I jump a Nitro 98, I gave it a try after my Nitro 108. I'm slowly making my progress towards faster landings,


I dont know what slowly means to you!!! ur profile says you have 350 jumps!!! It also took you three years to do so. That not real current.



did a lot of practice on 90° and 270° turns and they work quite good for me, feeling comfortable with that.

Again you have 350 jumps how much practice can you have!!!

The thing that bothers me with my Nitro is the short recovery arc. The canopy tends to plane out really fast or even starts to climb again a little bit if there is a bit of head wind, once I slowly let go of the frontrisers after turning. I tried a lot of things to deal with this:

Dont go to the Safire then . It does the same thing!!!

Maybe try a crossfire.


made slower turns (more like a carve), made more rapid turns, etc. But unfortunately nothing really worked.
The thing here is that I have to do my turns closer to the ground to get a reasonable plane and swoop, which doesn't feel too good for me.

Again the Safire is the same way!

I have talked to some other guys back in Germany, and some recommended me e.g. the Katana or Crossfire. My question is: are there more options for me? I read about the opinions on the Katana and Crossfire in some threads here. The Katana seems to be a little too much from which I've read and the opinions on the Crossfire are various.

Are there any other suggestions for the next step for me?

Thanks, Jan

The suggestions you have receive are the ones that Im looking at. The crossfire likes to be loaded at 1.7 or higher. I have not jumped the katana yet but that's my next step

I don't know ya so all I can say is be careful you jump numbers are low for your wing loading. Just my opinion Good luck

Never give the gates up and always trust your rears!

[dharma1976 0]

my first crossfire was loaded at 1.5 and it was a great canopy man... it was a 129 and I did dig it, I do almost miss the ease of use from my crossfire days...

http://www.skyjunky.com

CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.

[hparrish 0]

I can appreciate that your previous experience in related sports can aid in your canopy progression.

But I'd caution you that skydiving canopies are much different than what you have experience with.

Don't rely so heavily on your previous sports as experience for skydiving and piloting high performance parachutes.

Wing Loading to jump numbers is still very important at your experience level. Don't be too proud to seek out coaching from a reputable canopy pilot and be opened minded about what they have to say. I don't think these forumns are the place to validate your somewhat related experience. I think some one on one coaching would be the best to tell you where you are at and what canopies you should be considering.

[Pulse 0]

Two points to always keep in mind:

1. How people 'feel' in the air doesn't really keep them safe.

2. Even aerospace engineers can go in.

EVERYONE...let's be careful out there!

"Any language where the unassuming word fly signifies an annoying insect, a means of travel, and a critical part of a gentleman's apparel is clearly asking to be mangled."

[Grisu 0]

Thanks for you replies! I appreciate your thoughts! Anyway, I started this thread because I wanted to get opinions on different canopies on the lower end of the high performance area (by the way: doesn't the term "high performance" somehow change with progress in canopy design?)

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Don't rely so heavily on your previous sports as experience for skydiving and piloting high performance parachutes.

I don't do this, I just use the experience that I have. No doubt that there is a huge difference between parachutes and airplanes But afterall, both are using an airfoil to generate lift. They may behave different due to a different design, but using experience about their behavior (e.g. during a turn and how it affects drag, lift, etc.) should do no harm.

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Don't be too proud to seek out coaching from a reputable canopy pilot and be opened minded about what they have to say.

I consider this as a prerequisite to learning. Thats why I mentioned that people who know me and saw me jump recommended canopies such as the Crossfire. I am using advice and coaching beside these forums. I just wanted to get some more opinions which later could be discussed with friends/coaches back in Germany.

I understand that these forums are not very suitable for getting advice in this stuff. But not everybody who wants to make progress in something is blind for the dangerous parts which come along with progress. And I think this is not related to jump numbers, but to the attitude that someone has towards something.

Quote

1. How people 'feel' in the air doesn't really keep them safe.

2. Even aerospace engineers can go in.

EVERYONE...let's be careful out there!

Sure thing, nothing to disagree here. Again, I don't intend to "go in", therefore I use my brain and all that I have to prevent this. This includes that I am not rushing into anything nor rely on the magical powers that Aerospace Engineers sure might have.

Ok, thats it for now. Thanks for the replies. Any other opinions on canopies?

Cheers, Jan