RichyR

I'm sure you'll get very good at tunnel flying. The issue you'll have is integration into the air - particularly if you're not jumping lots in between e.g. Exits are really important and take 100s of jumps to perfect. I think it'd be much more benefit spreading it out over 6 months or a year. You'll find that FF is MUCH more tiring in the tunnel. An hour in one day will be very tiring. You may also want to hold off a bit to see which discipline you want to follow. No point in wasting the time doing loads of FF if you decide to become a hardcore 4-way competitor, and vice versa.

You could easily just slide it in on your ass every time. I know a few guys with no legs that do this. I also know someone with 1000+ jumps who competes in a top AAA national team who does it in nil winds. Of course learning to flare is the other way!

I'm trying to demo one this weekend. Will update.

As these are available now, has anyone had a chance to jump one? How does it compare to the Safire 2?

Thanks I'd be loading a 150 at around 1.45WL. Isn't the Safire very similar to the Pilot though? The Crossfire looks interesting, but a big step up. The guy I did my canopy courses with is an Icarus dealer, so I'll ask him what he thinks about the Safire 3 vs Crossfire. I've also come across the Nitron, which looks a possibility. I suppose best option is to initially try and demo is same size I'm on at the moment.

So. I'm looking for my next canopy. I've got 300 jumps and will have around 400 in the next 3-4 months,when the new canopy arrives. Last 150 jumps have been on a Pilot 168 loaded at 1.3. I'm looking for something a bit more aggressive than the Pilot, as I want to begin looking at HP landings and the recovery arc on the Pilot is a bit short. Also not entirely convinced by the Pilot's flare. Obvious choice is the Sabre 2, but don't want to go this route as one of my top priorities is on-heading and soft openings. What are the Sabre 2 alternatives? Would a more aggressive canopy like the Katana or Zulu be suitable for my experience - even perhaps staying at 170 rather than downsizing to a 150?

Have you tried asking UPT?

Algarve's great. 2x Dorniers to 14k in 10mins. Fly out over the beach/sea. Great beach/town at Alvor 5min drive away They have 3x 3week boogies a year which are an even better time to visit.

I regularly jump at 15k, but that's standard at some of the DZ's I go to. I think after you've done a few jumps, you'll realise that standard freefall altitudes are enjoyable enough for regular jumping. You're still jumping out of a plane, and the ground looks small. The only plus of 18k is an extra 20s or so free-fall time. On the downside, there's a lot more prep time, briefing, oxygen supply, risk, $$$. I think you could probably make 3 or 4 regular jumps in the time it'd take to brief and do one 18k jump.

Yeah, the rigger thought part of it may be the different PC. Old one was much bigger - Chernis 32" F111, new one is UPT Vector 27" F111.

Thanks. I had a rigger check the line trims, and it was spot on. He said one brake was quite twisted - I noticed this before and asked a packer about it, and she said it was fine. Openings are now much better. A few 90deg off heading, but much much gentler.

Just found them on their website. Will take some decrypting though.

That's interesting. How long ago was that? I'll give Aerodyne a call and get the spec measurements to check.

I've just got a new rig. A Vector with Pilot 168 ZPX, and every one of the 15 jumps I've made so far have had really off heading openings 180+, and thrown me around a lot - my back's getting sore! It's been packed by two different packers and me all with the same result. I've been jumping a non ZPX Pilot 168 in a Jav for the last 40 jumps immediately before, and almost all openings were great. The new container d-bags smaller than the old rig, but the ZPX fits fine. The new rig has the UPT semi stow less bag, the Jav had a no-sto bag. Could it be a canopy defect? It steers and flares fine?

Thanks. Yes. I've heard the Sabre 2 170 also fits, but also that the Pilot packs larger than other similar size canopies.

Has anyone tried fitting a non-ZPX Pilot 168 in a V348? According to UPT's canopy compatibility chart it will fit, but then they called me up and said it wouldn't. When I mentioned their chart, they said that late model Pilots should fit, but they couldn't guarantee it. Apparently later model Pilot's use a thinner material than earlier ones. Mine's a 2014. Thanks.

I bought one nearly new last year, Got bits of thread coming undone here and there after 150 jumps. I've spoken to loads of others with them. General consensus is they're ok, but built to a price, and come unravelled sooner or later. If you do a decent amount of jumps you'll probably have to every every year or two. There's a reason the top suits are double the price.

I had an alarming issue with my Altitrack the other day. It went to zero following deployment, then started reading minus as I descended under canopy. It then slowly increased back to zero over 10mins after I was on the ground. No issues with climb to alti, and battery full. Following jump was fine. How could the opening have tricked it into zeroing instantly? Any one else had anything similar happen. Another issue - a few months ago the finger elastic broke in freefall, which rendered it unreadable unless held in place with the opposite hand. I'm now using a packing band, which seems much better. I've emailed L&B, but don't expect to hear back soon, as the last problem I had took them 3 weeks to reply.

£7k sounds a bit on an exaggeration, unless the £/$ rate was much worse when he bought it. I reckon that rig would cost around £6k new in the UK today. If you collected the rig from the USA , or got someone to bring it back (avoiding import duties) it'd be around £4.5k brand new. You will lose on this over a few years, as it's high spec and relatively new. If you don't want to lose anything, get a 10yr+ beat-up rig. I'd also be very careful about it not fitting. By the time you've insured and posted it back to have it altered (Going back to UPT the manufacturer is the only sane option), it's probably going to cost £300+, which you obviously won't see a penny back on when selling on. You also won't have the rig for the best part of a month.

Following on from my earlier thread, I've now booked to spend a week jumping Elsinore/Perris and possibly a few days over to Arizona. Can anyone recommend where to stay within 20-30mins of the DZ? Looking for a town with a few restaurants, bars etc? Thanks

That'd be done with a burst mode (multiple exposures), and then complied in PS or other software.

Thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately I've just found out about the Florida state tax that I'll have to pay on all my new gear if I collect there. Looks like SoCal

Can anyone recommend a great Rigger in SoCal? I'm traveling out from the UK next Feb to collect a new rig, and I'm going to need everything assembling quickly with my existing reserve, and canopy so I can jump! Cheers

Thanks for the link. THere's a better pic there. I haven't managed to see any fabric swatches, and am skeptical about the accuracy of the online colour program.

Yep I know. It's Desert Digi I'm looking at.