prost

I have used tube stows for a long time now and I love them. The biggest thing I like about them is that I seem to have less off heading openings. The lines roll out smoothly and the bag jumps around less as the lines are released. I have had some of the non locking stows last for several hundred jumps before breaking but have learned to replace them after about 100 jumps to keep the performance good. As far as the bag lock issue there is a slightly higher chance of a bag lock. My girlfriend had a bag lock with a tube stow that as so tight we had to cut it out on the ground. This is the only one I have ever seen. I believe that they reduce other mals on high performance canopies (like the canopy spinning up) and this makes them worth it despite the slightly higher risk of a bag lock.

I saw that. Looks interesting. Like a tweaked fx. I did hear that they cascaded some of the lines after the practice for blade event in Perris so I was suprised to see that they were still going to sell them non-cascaded. I wonder if this is just an attempt to have something different?

Chuck, Can you tell me in what areas this canopy would excell in over a vx or fx? I am assuming this is its main competition.

I am a camera flyer so i share your concerns about openings. I started jumping a crossfire loaded simularly to what you are considering at obout 400 jumps. I have since put hundreds of jumps on it and jumped a wide variety of wing loadings under the crossfire. Before the crossfire i had a Stilletto loaded at 1.5. A few characteristics of the crossfire: Very flat glide ratio (the only canopy I have ever jumped that is as flat a a stilletto) Better openings that the silletto. Stillettos tend to dive in off heading openins. The crossfire will just fly in that direction. Less twichy than the stilletto. Is not as responsive to harness input Long recovery arch. Builds up more speed with front risers Very good slow speed controls. I can almost bring mine to a complete stop in little wind. Slower rate of turn than the Stilletto at the same wing loading. I am a very aggressive canopy pilot and the crossfire will out swoop the stilletto. I also feel more comfortable with a smaller crossfire than stilletto. I would not however recommend the crossfire 99. If you have good skills I have not doubt that you could land this canopy without event. But after several hundred jumps on my i ran accross a couple of situations were I was very lucky not to get hurt. You might get through these tight situations as well but you might not. It is true that the crossfire will swoop the longest at a wing loading of 1.8 to 2.0. It does not have to be flown at this high of wing loading to get good performance. I have flown tham at 1.5 and enjoyed them a lot. As a side note, the stilletto seams to swoop the longest at wing loadings of 1.7 to 1.9. I would suggest a crossfire 119 or at the smallest a 109. Realize that you are taking a much greater risk. Consider things like are you willing to get hurt and how will it effect your life if you were to break a leg. It might be that you are willing to take these risks, but at least consider it. Even with being very current, I think the 99 is to far a step. It would be 3 sizes down for you. If you decide to do this anyway, at least get a demo 109 for a few weeks and get a little more used to the speed. Another thing you can do is order a custom canopy and jump smaller canopies untill it comes in to help transition. Let me know what you decide. you can email me at [email protected].

Thanks Alan. I thought that was true from my experiences, but I did not have any hard facts to contribute.

I jump only a few miles away from this guy. I have never even heard of him untill now. Very Strange!!!

Ramon if you should want to sell or trade out that fx109 in your closet, i would be happy to help you.

spectre230 brings up a very good point on this. I have seen tension knots that got worse as they went. Why land a bad canopy when you have another good one? The wing loading is not that important. A big canopy that collapses at 100 feet is still going to send you to the hospital or worse.

Rosa as some one else already noted the wing loading numbers (ex. 1.1 to 1) as determined by dividing your weight with full gear on (in pounds) by the square footage of the canopy. All three of the canopies you listed are usually thought of as acceptable for beginners at lower wing loadings. They are not the only ones. your instructors know your flying abilities and can help you determine the best canopy for you.

where do you come up with a seven cell being more stable in turbulence?

I don't think anyone would suggest a crossfire loaded at 1.8 to a jumper with 50 jumps. However if I watched a person with 100 jumps and noticed they had good canopy skills i wouldn't hesitate to suggest they try a elliptical canopy loaded at 1.1-1.3.

I don't think just throwing novice skydivers under a big canopy is the answer. (Here you go, your standard issue plastic bubble to make skydiving completely safe). It doesn't work that way. Why aren't we taking the time to train students properly? Putting them under big low performance canopies is no substitute for proper training. Some novice skydivers should not be under 1.1 to 1.2 wing loaded canopies, I agree. However; to suggest to everyone that they get a raider 220 (just an example) for their first canopy doesn't help the situation. I have see this with good young canopy pilots. What usually happens is after another 100 jumps they go to a stilleto loaded at 1.8 because they feel they have the experience and are behind on their canopy development. This is now when they hurt themselves instead of being bruised at a wing loading of 1.1. If they are getting into high speed approaches they are also just now learning them on this fast canopy since pulling down the risers on their raider 220 was impossible. I know what the response is going to be. The second canopy should have been a 1.1 to 1.3 loaded ZP maybe slightly elliptical. The problem is, it usually doesn't happen this way and probably wouldn't if we would just train novices properly.

Does anyone have experience with the competition cobalts. I am curious to know what their flight characteristics are?

Spectre 230, How do you plan on picking out those few that will get hurt? especially if you do not have first hand knowledge of their abilities.

Foos brings up a good point. It seems that anyone that has been around for a while is paranoid of the word ELLIPTICAL. I have been one of these people. Even though I jump them I never recommended them to new skydivers. This is an attitude that I no longer believe is productive. Elliptical wings are simply a much more efficient design and should not be only associated with high performance canopies. I believe we have even helped cause some injuries by holding novice skydivers back from elliptical canopies. The experiences they gain does not get them ready for more highly loaded elliptical canopies. This being said I would never recommend any canopy to anyone without personally seeing there canopy control skills.

Find someone who is very knowledgeable in high speed approaches and ask them how to get into it safely. (by knowledgeable I mean someone with several thousand high speed approaches). To often it seems people are intimidated to ask those most experienced for advice. I seem to get a lot of questions from local jumpers about front riser turns and I do not feel even close to being qualified to teach on the subject. Jumpers are just more likely to ask someone in the 500-1000 jump range for advice because they fell less intimidated. The biggest piece of advice I can give you is always be ready to take a different approach if your high speed one is not realistic, and force yourself to error on the safe side. If you cannot change approaches at any point in your set up you do not have the skills necessary to perform hook turns.

What about the Xaos canopies?

Does anyone have any info on the new Precision Canopies. I was told they were supposed to be at Quincy this week, but I was not able to go. If anyone has jumped them or knows when demos will be out I would like to here from you.

I am looking for a place where I can get a bulk deal on aps film and vhs tapes. I currently buy a 3-pack of 200 speed fuji film for $7.44 at Wal-mart and a ten pack of tapes for $8.88. Does anyone know where I can get these for less. I buy for the entire dropzone so I don't mind buying 100 tapes or about 50 rolls of film at a time.