Heard one person complain of cobalt spining up

[freakflyer69 0]

I heard one persons complaint of this that it happened three times to them. is it notorious or just one odd person with problems? I demo'd one and had twists a few times on subterm dumps off the strut where I went out kind of sideways against the relative wind so I blamed it on this.Just wondering is it the same as a stilletto, a little touchy to body position. or are very experienced people having problems? ahh yes I know about flying the opening and body position etc. I am just wondering if this canopy is specifically sensitive cause I really liked the 135 but did not put enough js on it to really know it.

[AggieDave 6]

ANY elliptical canopy will spin up on you, if you don't fly the opening and have good body position when you deploy.

Some are more prone then others, this has to do with the glide angle (trim) and the shape of the leading edge (nose), so some are more prone then others.

My experence with the Colbalt in relation to spinning up, was that it opened so damned fast it didn't have a chance to. As for a Stilleto, I had one opening (out of about 40) that spun up on me, but that was my fault for deploying in a very weird position. With that said, if you're on top of it (flying with your body and with riser inputs) during opening, then it shouldn't be much of a problem (usually).

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

[freakflyer69 0]

I have read your report of the cobalt slamming you a few times now but not really any others. I am wondering if you had packed it weird or got a bunk canopy, wrong slider,or something out of the ordinary.

[skycat 0]

Quote

I heard one persons complaint of this that it happened three times to them. is it notorious or just one odd person with problems? I demo'd one and had twists a few times on subterm dumps off the strut where I went out kind of sideways against the relative wind so I blamed it on this.Just wondering is it the same as a stilletto, a little touchy to body position. or are very experienced people having problems?

The canopy is sensitive to harness imput on opening, is it more so than other ellipticals....well it was definately more so than my crossfire which I had 100 jumps on at the time I jumped a cobalt. I also have a stiletto at a much higher wingloading and it felt about the same on opening to harness imput as the cobalt. This sensitivity to harnes imput is a big reason "beginners" should wait until they have more jumps and experience. I mean look at the girl in the incidents forum who deployed head down.

Fly it like you stole it!

[AggieDave 6]

I can assure you it wasn't packed weird.

According to Dan Preston, the 170s (what I was jumping, albit loaded fairly stoughtly, 1.64:1), had serious opening problems and are being redesigned.

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

[freakflyer69 0]

thats strange how certain canopy sizes of a certain model can be so different than all the rest of the sizes I mean all of the original sabres opened quick but the 150 WOW even my 2000 150 sabre had to be sent back to pd to be slowed down and thats after they knewabout the 150 problem I dont know exactly what they did other than the slider but it worked it may be quick still but at least not painful. any way any others on the cobalt

[rigging65 0]

We've got a couple of guys with them out here that seem to like them. They also seem to have about the same spin-up rate as about any other elliptical out there.

Personally, I'm not in great favor of Atair as a company, although they seem to do a great job dealing one-on-one with single jumpers. They DO NOT seem to be able to deal with their dealers or perspective dealers (at least not in our area).

Remember, when you buy a canopy you're not just buying fabric. You're buying support and you're paying for advertising. This is why I would normally go into a tyrade here about buying directly from the Mfg. and Mfgs. not supporting their dealer network, but I won't do that....here....

Mfgs. make stuff...that's their job and they do it well (most of them). Dealers provide service and work with you to make it better when it's not good...that's their job and they do it well (most of them). Use each as is appropriate to their job description.

"...and once you had tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward.
For there you have been, and there you long to return..."

[freefallin14 0]

180ish jumps on my cobalt 120, spun up about 3 times over that time. 2 times due to bad body position on deployment (got lazy) and the other time... who knows. Each time it spun up I was able to kick out of it, although 1 time it was starting to rotate pretty quick as I got out of the last twist. Overall a good canopy for me. The cobalt imho is no more or less touchy to body position than any other elliptical canopy in its class (stilleto, crossfire1&2, etc)

Bret

[skydivegirl 0]

* 60 jumps on my cobalt 120
* loaded at 1.1 to 1
* line twists 1 time (which was a hard opening)
* otherwise consistently soft, line twist free openings.

Pink Mafia Sis #26

[billdo 0]

200 jumps on my cobalt 120, about 20 deployments with line twists, one cutaway. However, the first twist was the cutaway one, and Dan's recommendations were implemented with success as to how to deal with twists. The most important was to learn to level your links (get those Slinks immediately level with each other) when twists happen. The canopy then quickly planes out and you can get out of the twists.

Why on earth would I live with a 10% line twist problem on a canopy? Well, you just have to fly one.

[craddock 0]

Bill are you still going fetal everytime you pitch?

Sorry. On a more serious note, what was your experience with the Stiletto 120 of Tom's you were jumping.

Josh

That spot isn't bad at all, the winds were strong and that was the issue! It was just on the downwind side.

[voodew1 0]

150 jumps on a Cobalt 120 loaded only at 1.5. The first 50 were not good opennings--then I learned to pack for myself or only use 1 packer. The last 100 jumps have snivelled almost too long. Spun up twice if you let your body go nuetral--no harness imput it planes out and can be untwisted. I personally love this canopy but I can't compare to anything but sabres and safires.

The pimp hand is powdered up ... say something stupid

[billdo 0]

Quote

Bill are you still going fetal everytime you pitch?

Sorry. On a more serious note, what was your experience with the Stiletto 120 of Tom's you were jumping.

Josh

Tom's Stilleto 120 was great, but I think the cobalt has more range. The cobalt especially has end-swoop flare. You can tiptoe EVERY landing. This was hard to get used to after the stil since I was used to dragging toes hard or running it out.

The cobalt has funky openings no doubt, but I think it is definitely equal to any stilleto, with some better points.

Actually, I will admit that the stilleto can likely match the cobalt for performance, but that it takes much more skill. After watching Craig Girard for the past couple months land his stilleto carving the most graceful swoop while almost touching his end-cell to the ground (ALL ON REAR RISERS - NO TOGGLES AT ALL!). 99% of people cannot get this much performance from a Stilleto.