skymonkey

Well, I got my canopy three weeks after ordering it, kudos for the guys working their asses off at precision. It arrived by UPS in a box that apparently had been soaked with some chemical during shipment (UPS's fault for shure). Luckily inside was a bright brand new canopy that had been thuroughly sealed and wrapped in plastic. Yes the canopy had survived unharmed. Oh yeah did I mention the free shirt they sent also!!! I called the guys at precision and they told me that if the plastic bag was intact and not melted then everything would be kosher. Lesson learned, make sure they don't ship yours by UPS, Fed EX is the way to go. On inspection I found out no problems with the workmanship, but they could of paid a bit more attention to detail with the little strings on the stching and tacks and trimmed them away.After all this isn't a $15 dollar T-shirt. Well hooking the canopy up to the risers was no brain surgery. I do recommend having a rigger do it if you have limited exp. They do include instructions for the Slinks. There are 10 lines per riser, was a little tricky, but a line check found no problems. Man these lines are tiny and soft. I mean dental floss. You can't stow them tight enough. After an uneventful exp of hooking the d-bag and pilot chute, it was time for the pack job. Yes, it is soarcoat so it is a bit of a bitch to pack at first but it gets better with jumps. Now for the flight characteristics. My first few jumps with the canopy were a little hard, but after I figured out to make those stows as tight as a frogs ass, the problems went away (remember the tiny lines). Being a previous spectre owner I can say the openings aren't as soft but they are damn close. As with all elipticals you need to watch you body position on opening. It consistently opens with closed end cell which I easily solve with rear riser input, it does have this mesh on the end cells which might be the perpetrator of this phnomenon, but i've already gotten used to it. I found the front riser pressure a little heavier than I wanted to, which is causing me to have to shift my weight in the harness a little more on a fron riser carve. I also found that originally it had a short recovery arc. Enter my toggle settings. Originally I set them on the factory setting(the little paint mark), and after much trial and error i've ended up adjusting the length of my brake lines about 1.25 inches longer. I had noticed when I was performing front riser turns or followiing through on both front risers, that if I pulled down the ammount I needed on the risers, I was also starting to pull on the toggles, which slowed me down and killed my dive. Basically I was losing the dive and speed I was creating. It also solved my recovery arc problem. The carves start out slower than comparable ellipticals, but seem to dive steeper. The flare is powerfull and toggle pressure is just about right at this wingloading. It has a good glide which can be increased with rear risers in case of a long spot. How far you can swoop this canopy is all dependent on you experience, she'll hold her own, but this isn't one that's meant for a swooping contest against those crosssbraced monsters. About those little hot dogs really haven't noticed them and nobody has either, that's that on them. This is definitely not your one jump a month parachute, this is in all aspects a high performance canopy, which you must maintain your skills. All and all I am glad I made the purchase and 50% off at that. It was a steal. This is a good canopy for an intermediate to experienced canopy pilot(200 + jumps) to hone their skills before going cross-braced. I give it a 9 of 10, there's allways room for improvement. About those tiny lines..........