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.)
Pilot
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in Main Canopies
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.)