copatible canopies for wingsuit jumps

[skydiverus 0]

This weekend I had a spining malfunction with my Stiletto 135 while flying my S3. I had many jumps with the GTI and never had any problems. I blame the mal on Myself for I didn't have very good body position on deployment. (it was my third jump on the S3). I know I need to work on maintaining good body position at deployment but Stilettos have a history of spinning (so I hear). Just wondering if I should continue to use this canopy for Birdman jumps or should I find one that is a little more forgiving. By the way, I weigh 185 lbs. and have been jumping the stiletto for the last 300 jumps.

[TALONSKY 0]

I think the main charateristic for an ideal main canopy when wingsuit flying would be to fly straight with line twists. That being said, Sabre 2's seem quite popular with the wingsuit flyers. I personally fly Crossfire 2 130 loaded 1:85 to 1 and love it.
Kirk
PS: I find that on my Skyflier 3 an aggressive throw of the pilot chute helps against line twist. Anyway for me it does. The only line twist I have had on my S3 all had a weak throw of the pilot chute.

[J-Rock 0]

Well you can probably stick with the canopy you have if you get a pilot chute with a longer bridle, ive heard that has helped alot of people. But you generally want to stay away from the elipticals, go for a Spectre, Sabre2, Triathalon, somthing like that, I had a spinning mal on a lightly loaded eliptical about 1.1 and had a very stable pull too. My general view after my mal was that the equipment these days is awsome, though i dont think it was designed with us birdy men in mind, especially with the faster suits out there recently

Im gonna need a bigger hammer....

[LouDiamond 1]

Quote

Just wondering if I should continue to use this canopy for Birdman jumps or should I find one that is a little more forgiving.

Stilletos are known for their diving and spinning openings even on normal skydives. Ideal canopy selection is a canopy that will open and fly stable, ie: not dive or spin, even with line twists. There are people who jump high performance and heavily loaded canopies with their suits with no major issues. The caveat to that is when something does go wrong it goes wrong big time. I would recommend you look at a different canopy for your birdman flights especially while you get accustomed to the S3. Otherwise you may be investing in a lot of repacks in the near future.


edit to add: if you're looking for a canopy that is good for Birdman flights and fun to fly once open look at a mid weighted wing loaded Firebolt as it will have flight characteristics similar to a Stilleto without the diving or spinning tendancies .

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[notsane 0]

FYI .. the Aerodyne Pilot is a very nice canopy for BirdMan jumps.

[crawford 0]

I agree with all of these guys here, however, I too fly the Stiletto. I use the 97 loaded at 2:1 and have not had any problems since I have done the Container mod and longer P/C. I totally agree with Lou when he says to use something that does not spin even with line twist. As much as I love my stiletto, when it goes bad, it is REALLY bad! Do you have the mods on your container?

"Sure, those Golf Carts may look all warm and fuzzy, but they WILL take a chunk out of your ass!"

[Supergeil 0]

I got a Sabre2 loaded 1.65
Had a jump this weekend with several twists but it did still fly nice.
Btw. The LQRS did help me a lot on that one

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

This is covered over and over again in this forum. Yes, you can get away with jumping any canopy for a certain amount of time, but eventually, if you are jumping a spin-prone canopy, then it's going to take you for a ride in your suit. I have jumped canopies as small as 65 square feet in my wingsuit, but have been taken for two rides and now won't jump anything in a suit that isn't right for the job. Why risk it? Just so you can get a better swoop? Or is it possibly that you only own one rig? If that's (money) is the case, then I can tell you that old used Sabres are a dime a dozen, can be had for +/- $300, and do not spin.

My choice for all my wingsuit jumps: the Sabre2 97

Other really nice choices that I have jumped and would recommend (new):
Aerodyne Pilot
Jumpshack Firebolt (incredibly soft and straight openings)
HiPer Nitro (and even the Blade). both have fantastic openings
Icarus Safire

Still, I believe the problem that Skydiverus is having is a result of having to reach around so much wing. Without seeing a single video, I can bet that he is bending around to the right to get his hackey and is throwing asymetrically as a result of it. S3's require perfect symetry and violence of action in the throw. Sometimes going back to basics cures your problems. I had a period of time where I was sure my pilot chute was wearing out or something. Nope, I was just doing a weak throw. Violence of action is key.

Keys to a good (skydiving) S3 wingsuit deployment:

-Kick off three times and on the third time collapse everything while arching heavilly
-while arching and looking up, reach around your wings with your hands and touch your fingers together at your butt.
-cupping both hands (with your fingers touching), slide your hands up to the center of your container.
-slide both hands outwards until your right hand is on your BOC and your left is on the left corner of your container.
-take a breath (it's not a race on a skydive) and then when you are damn sure your BOC is in your hand (and you don't have any wing in there), THROW outward with both hands EQUALLY with violence of action. EQUALLY WITH BOTH HANDS.
-when your main starts to sit you up, bring both arms/hands in simultaneously to the area near your mudflaps and bring your hands together so that when the canopy DOES open, your eyes are already looking at your arm zippers.

Chuck

[NMD 0]

Is it better to jump a larger canopy when wing suiting or worse?

[granpasc 0]

Quote

I think the main charateristic for an ideal main canopy when wingsuit flying would be to fly straight with line twists..

+1
that's all folks!

[NMD 0]

the reason I ask is because I have just bought a brand new rig with a 188 pilot (also my first rig), and I am wondering if a larger canopy would be ideal when I am ready for wing suiting.

Sarcastic puns not wanted...just want a serious answer

[dragon2 0]

Quote

the reason I ask is because I have just bought a brand new rig with a 188 pilot (also my first rig), and I am wondering if a larger canopy would be ideal when I am ready for wing suiting.

Sarcastic puns not wanted...just want a serious answer

You don't list your wingloading, and what you're used to jumping, and how many jumps you have. All of which make answering your question a lot harder.

So, stab in the dark: if that pilot puts you at a 1.0-1.2 wingloading, by the time you're ready you should be fine on that canopy.

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[NMD 0]

I probably didn't make my self clear

I have forked out a lot of money for a brand new rig and now I am not sure it was a good idea, the reason behind my post is that when I have 200 jumps it will be a good idea to keep my rig for the interest in wing-suiting.

my loading on a 188 is 1.1

[NMD 0]

I have 25 jumps

[monkycndo 0]

A Pilot at that WL will make a fine WS canopy.

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