Which canopy do you use for bigways?

[jonstark 8]

I jump a Sabre 135 loaded at 1.2

It opens on heading and quickly. I have no problem taking it well below 2000' for opening. It has a lot of float and offers me a lot of options for landing... no wind, high wind, tight and small landing area, etc. Versatile is the key. Why lose options in a tricky situation when you may need as many as you can get.

You want to be able to pay total attention to the dive at hand and have no concerns about landing out or in an unplanned area.

jon

[happythoughts 0]

I still haven't heard from the OP why the canopy selection is important.

There is a lot of discussion about opening at 2,000.

That mainly applies if you are on the first group to track.
In big-ways, there are many groups.

Example - First wave - 5500 tracks to 2100. 5000 to 2500. 4500 to 2900.

You don't overtrack the group ahead of you.
If you are in group 2, you are opening in the middle
of a 3-dimensional bunch of canopies. People above, below, in front, in back.

Being able to open safely at 2000 is not the only issue.
It is being able to do it at any altitude.

[Merkur 1]

I jump a Paratec RAGE, 107 sqft/WL 1.9 on all of my jumps (solo - 400way).

Why - because I trust it/it opens on heading independant from the packer/I am comfortabe flying it with the risers immediately upon opening.

And I am comfortable landing it also downwind/in
unknown territory after a bad spot (like a rice paddy in Thailand in the middle of nowhere).

Just think of the worst scenario you can imagine - the canopy you want to have in this situation is the right selection (also can apply to non-bigway jumps)

M.

vSCR No.94
Don't dream your life - live your dream!

[Ron 7]

I jump a ST107 with a 1.7WL for everything I do.
I have over 3k jumps on a ST107 and I own 2 of them.

I can understand how some think a slower canopy is a good idea.... But I'd rather you fly the canopy you REALLY KNOW and tune your flying back. If everyone deployed and continued out from the center till they were sure the airspace is clear. If they keep their head on a swivel and not only look around but SEE around them. If people on big canopy's didn't spiral down to try and land first and people on small canopy's don't try to float forever to swoop last.... If people just learned how and had the discipline to build stacks and learn to land in the correct order.... There would be very few problems.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[kallend 1,621]

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I jump a ST107 with a 1.7WL for everything I do.
I have over 3k jumps on a ST107 and I own 2 of them.

I can understand how some think a slower canopy is a good idea.... But I'd rather you fly the canopy you REALLY KNOW and tune your flying back. If everyone deployed and continued out from the center till they were sure the airspace is clear. If they keep their head on a swivel and not only look around but SEE around them. If people on big canopy's didn't spiral down to try and land first and people on small canopy's don't try to float forever to swoop last.... If people just learned how and had the discipline to build stacks and learn to land in the correct order.... There would be very few problems.

Good points, but I thought 8-way was the biggest you do, Ron

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[Ron 7]

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Good points, but I thought 8-way was the biggest you do, Ron

I have a Silver medals from this year in 10 way and 16 way that say different

But yes.... you are MUCH more experienced in big ways and big way protocols than me and I am glad you agree to those points.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[jumpwally 0]

ST = ?

smile, be nice, enjoy life
FB # - 1083

[pchapman 261]

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ST = ?

Just PD's code for the Stiletto, as used on their canopy labels.

[jumpwally 0]

A ha...thanx

smile, be nice, enjoy life
FB # - 1083

[Skydivesg 6]

My son uses an Optimum 143.

Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

[ljwobker 2]

I own and regularly jump a Sabre2 150, a Katana 150, and a Velocity 120. I'm about 240lbs out the door so the respective wingloadings are 1.6/1.6/2.0.

For anything "big" I *only* jump the Sabre2.

The Katana snivels much longer than I'm comfortable with for bigways where opening low may be required. The velo requires far too much attention during the opening phase to be a smart choice. Both also have airspeeds higher than I prefer with lots of traffic. The Katana is also trimmed very steeply and isn't great for getting back from long spots.

I want something that opens quickly, reliably, on-heading, can be steered while it's opening, and isn't too fast while dealing with lots of traffic. The sabre2 is perfect for those criteria.

My view of "safe bigway canopy flying" is to deploy right at my assigned altitude on something that opens quickly but not hard, and then have time and space to find lots of room in the pattern, and either let most of the people get down before me and land in the main area when it's empty, or if that isn't going to happen I have time to find a nice empty spot somewhere and wait for the pick-up trucks to come and get me.

I know several people who have been hurt or killed due to canopy collisions, (on bigways and otherwise) and I have no desire to join them. I also think it's prudent not to mix/multiply risk factors, so if you already have 100+ people in the sky at once, adding small/fast canopies that may not always open on-heading to that does not seem like a good choice to me.

[pinkfairy 0]

Pilot 111 @ 1.3:1

It opens on heading when packed properly, floats, floats floats in half brakes, can turn incredibly flat, and is generally easy to handle in bigway traffic.

Nice canopy that gets me through the wind without being too small or agressive.

Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet.

I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you?

[kallend 1,621]

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I still haven't heard from the OP why the canopy selection is important.

.

I've been on a number of big ways where there was a recommended WL range (typically 1.4 - 1.8) to try to keep the flight speeds reasonably close.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.