skydivah1

I can certainly relate to that. I totally favor RH turns. LH feels awkward and slightly unnatural. Nice 450's btw. Very patient turns. I'm just now starting to explore them myself. It's a whole different animal for sure. My internal buzzer starts going off to rollout and I still have another 180 degrees to go and the speed is significantly more. Trying to build a new sight picture for it. Finishing strictly with the harness is also something I'm getting used to but that turn forces you to utilize full harness input to finish the turn because the fronts pressure becomes too much. With a 270, I had enough dig on the fronts that harness input was only used in combination. Super scary but super fun!

I'm not in the competition scene so I'm just curious why you train left for comps? Are you required to fly a left hand pattern in a competition setting?

I appreciate the input. I made it to one of CK's comps last year but unfortunately it got weathered out. Brad was gracious enough to refund my reg fee. If the stars line up again, I'll be sure to register for one this year.

If by spoiled you mean a 12-14 hr drive one way, plus travel expenses, working out time off and praying that the weather cooperates then sure. Look, I agree that it is a monumental task to undertake which is why I know with my schedule and location that there's no way I could spearhead it. However, maybe there is somebody out there that does have the time to put into it and is willing to tackle it. If so, put it out there and I'm sure a lot of us would pitch in whether it's scouting locations, making phone calls, getting the necessary equipment, finding financial donors, training judges etc. The thread's only be up for 24 hours and already our Canadian brothers are showing interest. We can't let them down now! Let's go!

For years there have been leagues popping up around the country giving pilots a platform to learn, grow and compete but nothing has ever been established for CPs in New England. The closest league is the NECPL in NJ. Simply put, it's too far away for most of us to commit to the time, distance and financial aspects of getting to all the meets. Skydive New England has the only swoop pond in the area but it doesn't meet the requirements needed for a safe competition. Somebody must know of a perfect place to hold a competition - whether it's a farm pond, river, beach or sewer treatment plant . I just want to bring the discussion to the table in hopes that it will at least get people thinking and maybe get the ball rolling. Unfortunately for me, my schedule is extremely inflexible with a lot on my plate already and my location isn't ideal otherwise I would pursue it. I'll even give you a few name ideas for the league: CaPONE (Canopy Pilots of New England) NECaP (New England Canopy Pilots) Let's go!

Here's a vid from this past weekend. RH 270 on a Valkyrie 103. Slightly high on the roll out but that's my tendency these days. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGaWG_6Oms4

Looks like the slider gets hung up quite often. Might want to try pulling down on the fronts instead of the rears. It was a suggestion Greg Windmiller made in a video recently and it works pretty well. Nice looking velo btw.

The last I knew, Frank from Lookma isn't selling in-air components to the U.S. because it's too much of a liability in a sue-happy country. I've been eyeballing fluid wings RDS slider which matches the dimensions of the VK/VE factory sliders. Anybody have an experience with these? http://www.fluidwings.com/#!Removable-Sliders/cifd/5665d8e60cf2a72d69b6e935

Could you define what that means? Most stiletto owners make use of the elliptical wing and enjoy the snappy turns with the toggles. Usually done up high and not as a speed inducing turn for swooping.

I was suggesting that PD needs to address the gap in their own line up of canopies. Some skydivers won't jump anything but a PD product because of PD's thorough R&D, quality of product, customer service, accessibility and so on.

Judging from the shape of the wing and how PD has confirmed that it was inspired by the peregrine and valkyrie projects, it's more than likely a step up from the Katana. I do agree with an earlier post, that making the jump from a sabre 2 to a katana presents a steep learning curve for the pilot. It seems that these companies are hyper-focusing on the outer edge of the high performance category in part due to competition but I'm hoping that a line between the sabre 2 and katana is available soon. On a side note, I think it would also be beneficial for PD to look into a better performing wing on the stiletto side of the branch for those jumpers who don't care about swooping but like a flat gliding, toggle whipping, strong flaring canopy. Maybe a stiletto 2?? Jumpers who have tapped out their stilettos basically have to downsize to a smaller one or find a completely different wing altogether that may not suit their style of flying.

That's a ridiculous statement and you know it. That's like saying that the only people who like nascar racing are other nascar drivers. I can't count how many times friends and family of a first time tandem jumper waiting in the spectator have stopped me on my way to the packing area and commented on a swoop landing in sheer amazement. The same has happened to my swooping friends. Somebody who witnesses a well executed swoop for the first time can fully appreciate the technicality, skill and danger of it all without being a skydiver themselves especially when they're comparing it to student and tandem landings coming in on the same load.

You mentioned that you're using the same setup altitude for both wings - just curious what that is? Did you have to bump it up from the Comp?

Find the spot in the dive where LIGHT pressure on the rears trims the canopy out to send you into your swoop just above the ground (aka powerband). Too much digging and you lose precious power in the corner and excessive digging could actually collapse your canopy. Bad news. It's all visual and comes with time. Just do it in baby steps. If you plane out a little high, let the canopy dive a little more on the next jump before applying the rears. If you try to do too much all at once, it's bouncy bounce time.

I'm sure the Excalibur patents have long since expired. An early and unrefined version of the crossbraced idea was design patented by Bill Coe and sold under the brand name Excalibur by Performance Designs, but the early F-111 crossbraced Excalibur never exhibited the opening and flying characteristics that were acceptable to skydivers. With Jyro's refinement to the idea designed as the Icarus Extreme, and Precision's manufacturing capability and distribution channels in the USA and around the world, an agreement was solidified by Precision Aerodynamics, Inc. to manufacture Jyro's Icarus Extreme design under a patent royalty agreement with Bill Coe of Performance Designs. During late 1998 and early 1999, Precision Aerodynamics, Inc. released the first 27-cell crossbraced design marketed as the Icarus Extreme VX. Source: http://www.precision.aero/about-precision.htm Can you reapply for your original patent? Seems a shame to invent something only to completely lose rights to it years down the road due to a technicality

If Bill Coe/PD owns the patent to cross brace technology, then does NZ Aerosports have to pay PD a royalty fee everytime they sell a cross braced canopy? And if the closed nose was developed and patented by Jyro to tame the openings, does PD pay royalties to Icarus on that refinement?

It's too bad you didn't get a chance to really ring it out but at least you got to jump it! Do you feel the 96 was a good fit or will you be purchasing a 103?

Glad you got a chance to jump it. How does it dive in comparison to traditional x-brace canopies ie: velo/comp velo? how's the front riser pressure? Does it have a longer recovery arc? Did you raise your setup altitude? Does it have a tendency to overturn? Give us the low down!!

Any guesses on a name? Since they placed a V in the middle of the canopy, my guess is they're going with Velocity2 - just like they did with the sabre2 even though it was a completely different wing than the original. We shall see...

I wouldn't do it. I left my job with benefits and became a full time tandem instructor for a few years and it sucked the joy out of skydiving in a hurry. I had to to be at the dz on days that I just didn't want to be there. I was making jack and broke all the time. I barely got to jump my own rig and when I did it was usually at the end of the day; most of the fun jumpers had already left for the day. Now that I'm employed off the dz, my passion for skydiving has been reignited. Yes, there are a lot of days that I can't be at the dz. Yes, my schedule bumps me off demo jumps. Yes, I'm constantly juggling work and family just to get an afternoon of jumping in but it's just that more sweet when I finally do get to jump. The grass always looks greener on the other side. Do I wish I could jump more? Yep. But when I was able to jump all the time I was wishing for more cash in my pocket, a 401k and health insurance. I like where I'm at.

I'm getting tired of hearing this report. DZOs are looking at this all wrong in my opinion. If any discipline will take our sport into gaining outside major sponsorship, it will be swooping. No non-skydiver will pack up the family to head to the nearest dz to watch rw, or vrw...because they can't. Everything happens a couple miles up. But swooping is impressive right at ground level and it's bringing the crowds in when well-organized events take place. Are they huge crowds? Not right now. But as the technology increases, who knows what kind of capabilities we'll have to razzle and dazzle our fellow earth-walkers. How about being able to execute a full 360 flat turn mid-swoop? Freestyle specific canopies perhaps? As swooping gains more public attention, sponsors will notice and want to pump marketing dollars into it. That's good for skydiving in general. If the comp takes place at your dz, that's dollars in your pocket as DZO. On the other side of the coin I understand why a DZO might be tired of scraping a swooper off the tarmac. But overall we as skydivers should never forget who we are. We are progressive trail blazers and always will be. To try to legislate safety to the point it suffocates progression is far more dangerous in my opinion.

OP here. I ended up buying one. I've put roughly 50 jumps on it. (standard velocity with removable slider only) Here's my take on it: It's constructed very well and is quick when re-attaching back on rings. Sub terminal is super soft. At first I was consistently getting snappy full-terminal openings. I kept tweaking the packing process and here's what I've learned: Once attached back on rings, make sure the cable stops are butted all the way up against the material. In other words, make sure the cable can't be fed any further through the webbing. Doing this at all four corners will ensure that the slider is presenting all of its material during the opening sequence. Additionally, I've begun rolling the the 3 outside nose cells on each side of the middle cell towards the middle cell. Just a quarter roll. This may make some guys twinge on a x-braced canopy. I'm only loaded at 2.0 so in relative terms it's not a super aggressive wing loading in x-braced land. Take it with a grain of salt. And as always, make sure the slider is quartered with an equal portion of it pulled through and resting on top of the nose of the middle cell before laying it down on the floor. The full-terminal openings have improved dramatically after taking these steps and are quite comfortable. Snatch force is still slightly more aggressive than a stock slider but nothing to be worried about. Last weekend, I finally hooked it up for full rds. I must have been sloppy with the swivel because it put a few holes in the top skin right at the tail on opening. Not very happy about that. Now I have to ship my velo back to pd to get a patch. Perhaps somebody has some tips or tricks on where to place the swivel so it doesn't shred your canopy on opening?? Anyway, the opening itself was just fine (full terminal) but it was only one jump. One last tip that I learned the hard way when jumping RDS in general (I'm the only one jumping rds at my dz so it's a trial and error type deal): After opening, pull the slider down over the toggles and dive loops first, THEN remove it. This will allow the rings to fall to the base of the risers on their own. At first I was removing it at the top of the risers and then dicking around with each ring trying to get them to drop down. The other way is much quicker (and safer) IMHO. Overall, I'm happy with TST Industries' RDS. My only complaint is that you can't get this system to match your factory slider size. If you could, then you wouldn't have to dedicate the extra time in the packing process. The only company that I could find that would match the factory slider size was Lookma from Germany and, currently, they're not selling to the States due to the liabilities associated with it. I hope this helps.

Alright, I've gotta get this off my chest: LEIA??? You're naming a supposedly bad-ass canopy after a princess?? Did the marketing department take the day off that day? Seriously, why don't you just call it the prancing butterfly. We'll all wear pink tu tu's when swooping it in. Will you have to cut it away once a month when she's on the rag? Is it too much for a swooper to see Satan's Breath on the bottom skin when he looks up?? For crying out loud... Rant off...

Thanks! Mike, I did quite a few jumps out of your rocketship at Rantoul back in 02,03 and I remember some of your kids. One of them was tearing it up on a velocity. His age I shall keep on the down low I also remember the backflip challenge in zero-g. He was successful.

Nope