Pilot

Brilliant on heading openings, great intermediate level canopy. Transitioned to a pilot rental after aff and loved it. Then had a Safire 2 in my first rig and I didn't liked the openings. So for my next downsize from 0.99WL to 1.16 I have chosen a pilot 150 zp. Best decision for me, as the openings are always on heading and fairly progressive. 150-200 meters of altitude loss until the slider is over your head. I don't even need to watch the canopy opening. I can just hang and immediately watch for traffic while it is inflating. Medium trim gives you a touch of sportiness without stressing you to much if you have to go slow, and long spots are no big deal even in a headwind situation. 

Soft, consistent on heading openings. Responsive toggles and moderately responsive to harness turns. Excellent canopy to learn on. Only complaint i have is the canopy recovers too quickly from a front riser dive even when loaded at 1.6 as mine is.

Underloaded at .09
I’d been seeking my first canopy.
I’d flown - Sabre 2 / Sabre 1 / Skylark Magellan.
Till I realised for me the most important aspect was the openings which at one piont I came close to a knockout on a Magellan.
I loved the Sabre 1 front riser response and ease, hated weak flare and impact on opening - muscle pain the next days wasn’t doing me any good. Even with the bigger slider.
Wasn’t so impressed with Sabre 2 Mmm. Is that it?

The Pilot didn’t think it would excite me, but I was very surprised indeed. It felt clean not so rough on the edges, the most consistent softest openings I’d had. A huge difference to anything I’d flown.
Toggle response so light and doing a sharp pull I was facing the ground, without feeling the pressure of g’s BONUS BONUS!
Landing Flare was powerful - 2 stage flare excellent being able to glide her out longer than Sabre WHAT!?!?!

PILOT I LOVE it...

As an older jumper, I was looking for a conservative, soft opening canopy with a flat glide to maximize landing options at our home dz surrounded by woods and housing developments. Demoed a Pilot 210 at 1.1:1 WL for 15 jumps with temps in the low 90's, mostly no wind.

The Pilot flew exactly as advertised: significantly lighter on the controls (30-40%) and more responsive to control inputs, flatter glide and more powerful flare than my Sabre 1 210 with dual steering lines. Flying in deep brakes on the edge of a stall for a minute or so on several jumps, the canopy remained docile until I forced the stall break. Recovery was quick and easily controllable. Landing approach speeds seemed higher, possibly due to higher than normal density altitude for our location. The landing flare sweet spot is definitely lower in the stroke than my Sabre 1, as described by other reviewers. Flowering the slider, then exposing the slider nose an extra 1-2", yielded soft but positive openings.

After additional input from several Pilot owners with 3,000 to 12,500 jumps (the latter owns two Pilots), I ordered a new 210 from Aerodyne in standard ZeroP with 725 Spectra lines. It arrived two weeks earlier than promised. Quality control was excellent. Dyes are extremely bright, and should enhance in-air visibility and collision avoidance. Despite being brand new, the canopy folded into my Javelin D-bag first try. To date, Aerodyne's ZeroP fabric has definitely allowed controllable new canopy pack jobs.

My new Pilot flies and lands sweet. Thank you for an excellent parachute, Aerodyne. (And, thanks to all who posted here and in the forums.)

Very safe, forgiving, and reliable canopy. Not for high performance flying of course. Anyone looking at getting into skydiving should look at this for their first canopy.

They say you never get a second chance to make a first impression.
Well, that holds true for canopies too. As a veteran of seven cells and rental Navigators this canopy had some surprises. Responsiveness--loaded at about 1.2--makes a Navigator feel like a truck. I watched it open--and while I didn't watch my alitmeter I think it took about 4 seconds from throwing the PC to full canopy. No end cell issues, no spank, no off heading issues...just a beautiful canopy overhead.

Pull a toggle and watch it turn--instantly. Go to half brakes and feel it slow down and almost "float" along. Pull the toggles to arm's length and it stops--right now. Keep the toggles buried and it will stall.....but it thinks about it for a little while.

I overshot the peas big time in light and variable winds, had the toggles buried and it simply would not stop flying. Fortunately there was a nice little green spot in front of a fence......

So--am I happy with the Pilot? Yes....will it take some time to get to know it? Of course. I think we will be friends for a long time.

I have performed a couple of hundred jumps on my 188 . I am inspired to write his on the back of a ride on a Sabre 2 170 ride .
The Pilot has a nice glide , can be great fun and be tamed into a fun canopy . Good for wind and no wind situations , deep spot safe rides home . A great canopy if you are not a jumpaholic but still wanna bit of a performing canopy in the air.The landings are fine but it aint no swoop machine.

I tried different canopies after earning my A. I really enjoyed the Pulse, Sabre 2 and Pilot. I went with a Pilot 210 in ZPX. First off it is a blast. I was debating to go with the 188 but feel that the 210 still zips and gives the user lots of control while at the same time can be very forgiving. At first the ZPX was pretty hard to pack because of being slippery and because I am not the best packer. I have found that it fits into a smaller container than a 210 normally would.

This canopy is a lot of fun to fly and has a really good flare. I have not had any off heading openings or back breakers. It is very consistent and I would recommend to anyone as a great novice to advanced canopy. If you put it through its paces it is right there to respond and give you a great ride.

I custom ordered mine with custom colors and the Aerodyme team did an excellent job sending me color patch before I completed the order when I had questions. They also did a great job getting it to me before I had expected to receive it! I will buy another one when it is time to downsize.

Edited: I know own the 188 and love it even more. There is a reason they call it the Pilot it flies like a dream and is delightful when it opens. As far as harness turns and riser input well it makes me smile all day long and can also be a blast when dialing in aggressive landings.

Jumped my Pilot 210 at the desert boogie in Namibia.

What an awesome canopy. We had a few bad spots where we need to travel long distances. Two times I didn't make it back, but the distance I managed to cover was remarkable. I load the wing 1.8. So I'm impressed.

The wing also reacts exceptionally well. turns are fast and crisp with easy flaring out. I have been able to do lower turns safely with plenty of reserve to flare and land like a baby being put into a cot.

I have to admit that this is the most fun canopy I have ever jumped.

Have put about 20 jumps on a Pilot 210. The openings are smooth and on heading, good positive control on the toggles and rears. The flare is easy to time and plenty powerful. Even had a couple line twisted up deployments on a wingsuit but the Pilot flew along as though nothing was wrong as I spun out of them. It tends to pack a size larger than other canopies of the same square footage. If not for that then I'd have given it a 5 star rating.

Tried out one this weekend and like the canopy. it opened on heading every jump nice a soft. Turns where quick and crisp with very little input and the flare was good. The glide on it was flat and it didnt want to land, had a hard time getting to my spot. Had to use alot of front risers to get it to come down. over all a nice canopy, great for novice.

My first canopy off student gear and it opens soft, flys stable and flares amazing. i put a 1.2 WL on it so it turns quick! recommended for anyone

Onto my 9th canopy since student status and I think I've found my home. 1250 jumps flying a pilot 140 at 1.8WL. Fast and fun yet safe. Great landings, even a nice turf surf can be achieved (not competing in canopy piloting world championships any time soon). Great on demo jumps, decent on long spots and practically packs itself, even brand new ZP is easy peasy. Will be hard pressed to switch to another canopy.

Hi have put about 6 jumps on my brand new ZPX Pilot.

I am very impressed with this canopy and for a 168' it is more than I expected and am happy that I didnt downsize to 150' !!
I have a about 1.1 loading.
Even on my first canopy (150') this 168' easily out-performs it in turn responsiveness and in the landing.
it seems to have decent forward speed and was jumping in 18kt winds.

for a new canopy, it is reasonably easy to pack (still slippery) but from memory even ZP used canopies were only slightly easier.

I can see myself definately sticking with Pilot for a long time!

Do yourself a favour and test jump one or just buy it!

The ZPX seems to pack a little smaller, but I would have thought 17% would be hugely noticable, but I am sure that this will improve after breaking in a little (ie.50-100 jumps).....and also when my packing technique improves also ;-)

I can see why all the reviews are mostly positive for this canopy!

Blue Skies!

Love it but no one wants to pack it. Can it be flat packed?

Have been jumping my Pilot 168 zpx since my jump n. 50 (now I have 111) so I guess now I can write about it. Before the Pilot I jumped Silhouettes 190 and 170.


Order and delivery time

Very nice to order thru my dealer here in Brazil, delivery time (by them) was 10-12 weeks, but it took around 18-20 weeks... not a big problem for me, though.


Colors

Nice colors selection, mine came exactly as I wanted (a black, red and yellow 168 zpx)


Packing

Thought by other reviews that it would be easier to pack the Pilot ZPX, but I'm having a hard time doing... specially because it's mounted on a Micron V310, which is tight for my 168 sqft Pilot. The color tabs are great and made it easier for a novice packer, as myself, to start.


Openings

Great openings! Consistent 200-300 ft soft openings. It's amazing that it opens losing little altitude (at least for me) and still soft. had around 5 90 degree offheading openings and two hard ones... but I guess it was most probably a packing issue than canopy's fault. most of the openings are soft onhead.


Responsiveness

Great, simply great... my canopy is part of my body... it goes exactly where I want and has the aggressiveness I want.. it responds to input as expected. I was used to a Silhouette 170, so I felt the Pilot 168 was a lot faster and sensible. I feel the front raisers are very heavy, but my WL is around 1,05 so I couldn't expect them to be very light anyway.



Gliding

Can just say I came back from 3 miles with mild wind against... and with just a little front raiser input to land perfectly


Flares and Landing

Nice, constant, continous... very intuitive. Came hot some times in no wind days and yet I was able to control the canopy with the correct flare input. Landed near the target and on my feet every single time.

Now I'm starting (slowly) to do 90 degree turns on final approach and the canopy has behaved pretty nicely with a short recovery arch, and gaining enough speed to do up to 30 feet swoops... guess I have a lot to learn and get from this canopy yet, at this WL I'm using it (1.05).


Overall

Great all around intermediate canopy

Have around 20 jumps put on my new Pilot 140 which I am loading at around 1.35. The Pilot is my first brand new canopy and my second after 100 + jumps on a Sabre 1 150. After owning a Sabre, the great openings on a Pilot took a while to get used to especially on hop and pops, but it's great now knowing that my neck is not going to creek on every second jump. The Pilot is responsive but with great recovery even after last minute turns. The flare is great. The only slightly negative experience I had was after ordering a stock canopy, it turned out that after I enquired close to the delivery date to make sure all was on target, that Aerodyne had "a problem with red" and that my canopy would not be ready on time. In fairness to Aerodyne they offered me the only other 140 they had in stock in Aerodyne colours which was meant to be used for demos and through in a spare line set as compensation. The alternative canopy came with HMA lines, which means I probably won't need to change the lines for a long time. All in all I think the Pilot is a brilliant canopy.

Got my new ZPX Pilot (a 188) about a month ago. This is my third Pilot. I should mention that this time around I demo'd a Safire 2 and a Pulse as well before making my choice and decided to stick with the Pilot.

This is a lighter canopy, I can feel the difference holding it when I pack. But contrary to the advertising, the thing is a real bitch to get in the bag, but no worse than any other brand new ZP, so I know that situation is already improving with time & a little patience. Also because it's brand new it traps a lot of air and so far is not packing smaller, but friends who have a couple hundred jumps on their ZPX's assure me it will start to pack dramatically smaller.

I'm happy about the openings, which I think are a little bit quicker, but every bit as soft as the regular ZP version. It's fun to fly and has a great flare with lots of lift. I think once it gets broken in a little bit things are going to be just fine.

I started jumping back in the late 90's and I was talked into buying the popular canopy which was a PD Sabre2. I sold this after 1 season. I am a very neat packer and never take any shortcuts but I would still (more times than not) get off head openings even when I had an experienced packer or the owner pack for me. On a number of occasions I got "popped" with a snap opening.

I went with a Pilot by my 2nd season and now here in 2011 I still jump the Pilot. I have tried several canopies and the Pilot blows them all away!! 99.9% of the time it is on head opening that are nice and soft due to me putting the nose up and in when packing. Steers great, perfect flare! When it is time for a new canopy I will be getting another Pilot for sure!!

Blue Skies!!

I bought both the ZP & ZPX versions of this canopy and have had off heading openings and end cell closures on every opening. Every single time. I tried a PD Pulse 170 in the same container and had perfect openings. I tried a PD Storm 170 in the same container and, again, had perfect, on heading openings with no end cell closure.
I wrote to Aerodyne about the problem and their engineer is looking at the video I supplied of the opendings. Until they fix this, I can not recommend the canopy.

I bought my first used rig a few weeks ago, at the time I had about 40 jumps. While a student I was jumping whatever was available (anywhere from a navigator 200, a sabre 210, sabre 190). I now own the Pilot 150, and I LOVE MY NEW CANOPY! The flare is very forgiving, I've been able to stand up almost every landing regardless of wind condition. It's fun to fly, and nice to pack with the color-tabs. I've had such wonderful openings too! It doesn't snivel for ever like the other canopies I had jumped. My wing loading is still pretty conservative, but it's fun :)

The Pilot is advertised by Aerodyne as a type of do-it-all canopy, and although many skydivers have become weary over unsubstantiated claims such as these this canopy comes very close to being that all purpose canopy everyone would like to find. If you evaluate what your needs are and determine that quality openings, predictability, and exeptional performance within its class are what your looking for, then this would be an excellent canopy to consider.

I got a good deal on a Pilot 111 recently and managed to use it for a weekend so far. I load the canopy at about 1.5, and I managed to put about 15 jumps on it from friday through sunday.

I did a few fun jumps with it, and then used it mostly while I was doing work filming tandem students. The openings were very good with a variety of pack ranging from your traditional pro pack, to psycho packs, and my own personal blend of pro packing and psycho packing where I begin the pack like a psycho pack and put the canopy in the bag like a traditional pro pack. Either way it seems that as long as you flake it somewhat, dress the nose according to your personal preference, and do a good job quartering the slider the Pilot will do a good job opening for you without some of those spankers that many of us have unfortunately experienced. My back and neck were very thankful for not having to suffer some of the spicier openings my Sabre2 120 gave me.

I'm loading mine a little higher, so the canopy felt a lot more rigid and responsive than I would imagine one that was more lightly loaded would. Even though it flies with a much higher performance with an increased wing load the Pilot still maintains its predictability, which leads me to believe that it is perfect when loaded as a transition canopy to some of the more high performance ellipticals. Overall the controls, both toggles and risers, felt like they required a firmer input. That being said the input required was firm but very little if that makes sense. When I used my front risers it was a firm feeling to pull down my riser but when I pulled it down about an inch and a half the canopy was in a full spiraling dive. With smooth, small, firm inputs you get large predictable outputs.

Using a little rear riser I was able to get back from some really long spots. One spot, unfortunately, was way to long and I had to land off (my fault for not looking before leaping). Thankfully the Pilot had a predictable control range and I was easily able to land it in some lady's front yard without getting into trees or power-lines.

The flare is powerful and predictable, making this canopy relatively stress free at landing time.

The Pilot does have a shorter recovery arc, which may be off putting to some who want a swooping canopy. But, those who are ready to swoop already know that swooping is about being able to fly any canopy to its maximum performance envelope. And as a result of that the Pilot can get respectable swoops in the right hands. If your looking for something that flies like a velocity though, then you should probably buy a velocity.

Overall, good canopy, does what it's supposed to do. It's stress free, good value, ZPX is cool. The colored packing tabs make life easy. Go get one, you won't be disappointed.

My first canopy was a Sabre2 190, I put a 100 jumps on this and about 20 on a Sabre2 170 before borrowing a mate's Pilot 168. I put about 50 jumps on this and another 5 or so on a Sabre1 150 before getting my own Pilot 150 ZPX after around 200 jumps. I've since done another 400 jumps on this canopy, mostly wingsuit jumps - Since buying my 150 I've jumped a friend's Sabre2 150 a dozen or so times and a Stiletto a handful of times.

I've just downsized my Pilot again to a 132 zpx loaded at 1.6 - I've put about 20 jumps on it, it deploys, flies, and lands the same just quicker and more responsive (as to be expected).

Deployment is where the Pilot really shines - quick, but very smooth in each stage of the deployment - consistently soft and on heading - compared with Sabre2 openings, the Pilot is much more reliable, the deployment sequence feels more evenly 'spaced out' between each stage from snatch to full inflation. It doesn't snivel for ages and then snap open like a Safire2, and in ~500 jumps on Pilots I havent had one spanker opening like I have had on the Sabre2. I've had a few really hard openings on Sabre2 canopies, including one where the opening broke a steering line and gave me broken ribs and me my first chop. Even trash packing has given me reliable openings. With the Pilot I always dump in full flight from a track or in my wingsuit and while it opens firmer from a full track, it hasn't bitten me yet. It can be off heading occasionally, but I'm pretty sure that is because of my bad body position - not like some other canopies that have a habit of being uppredictable even with good body position.

The consistent forgiving openings have made me a bit lazy on deployment - and I have been sucked into deploying lower and lower - this lead to my only chop on this canopy, a spinup on my Venom because I started unzipping a wing while it was still deploying - that coupled with the low height meant I had no choice but to chop.

When flying, the Sabre2 and Pilot have a similar range - I regularly do some sports CRW with mates that fly Sabre2s and they fly well together when loaded the same. Riser pressure and toggle response are the same, and getting back from a long spot is very similar for each canopy.

The landings are fun and reliable on the Pilot - holding it in double fronts can pick up a nice bit of speed - its not a high performance canopy, but it can still give fun landings after a double front or 90 approach - I find the Pilot a little more forgiving of user error than the Sabre2 when flown like this and I've found it a lot easier to dig out of trouble than the Sabre2. There is also still a nice strong flare from half brakes - which is nice to have if a late flat turn is required. The flare point on a Sabre2 is very different from the Pilot and it takes a couple of jumps to get them to fly the same, but once they are dialled in - they seem to have a very simliar performance.

If you're looking at this canopy, you're probably trying to decide between this one and the Sabre2 - for my money the Pilot has been money well spent - I haven't regretted flying Pilots once since getting it - it is a nice feeling to know that every time you throw that pilot chute out that you're going to get a nice opening, a fun canopy flight, and a good landing. I don't miss the spice of the openings of the Sabre2 - I'd rather get my buzz from other things in jumping than to worry about whether this deployment will be the one that breaks me.

My beginning canopies were sabre 2's, the constant weird openings due to either pilot error or inexperience helped me decide to look for another canopy to fly.
Due to lack of money at the time I bought a used Icon setup for a steal and my decision was made. I put 60 jumps on that 168, used it in Luigi Canni's canopy course and learned to use it to its full potential. Still not able to pack it due to the ZP being very slippery, also the smart reserve flys great, i chopped on the second day of his course...
Now a 150 pilot ZPX is in my new mirage, over 100 jumps, and i could not be any happier. The ZPX packs like a broke in canopy and is still very responsive. Front riser pressure needs to be bled out at 3/4 brakes for about 4 seconds to reach optimal usage.

Great flare, long landings with double fronts, single toes drags and short double toe drags. I really recommend this canopy to anyone looking for a safe canopy with the mind set using a canopy for its full potential.

Now i am looking at trying the 124 or 132 pilot.

Over the years I have had canopies from several manufacturers. I have never enjoyed a new canopy like I do the Pilot. I am a geezer with a titanium hip, so controlled slow landings are my mantra. The first time I flared the Pilot it was a no wind day. The flare was perfect and the response so intuitive that I felt the force flow between us. Yoda saw it.

If you are demo'ing a Spectre, Sabre 2, or any other semi-elliptical, I recommend putting this on the short list. FYI, it is a Pilot 168 and I weigh 182.