SkymonkeyONE
-
Content
12,933 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Feedback
0%
Gear Reviews posted by SkymonkeyONE
-
-
The Classic II is still a totally viable suit. It is extremely easy to fly efficiently, is comparatively inexpensive, and more people ought to be buying them.
A fairly well flown Classic is going to fly right past a poorly flown GTI (or larger suit).
Classics are also really easy to do aerobatics in.
Chuck -
Background:
-3800 jumps
-nearly 2000 on canopies under 100 sq ft.
-over 350 wingsuit flights
-about 250 jumps on this Sabre2 97 @1.83
I have owned a lot of parachutes in my day, but this ranks as my favorite "all around" parachute. It is the perfect wingsuit canopy for people wanting more performance than that afforded by seven cell varieties. It opens great, flies great, and lands great. It affords me a lot of piece of mind when I am flying my wingsuit, even loaded at my heavier-than-recommended wingload.
Packing: I pack one of two ways; either a standard PRO pack with no "tricks", or an old-school stack pack. I find that stack packing provides me the best openings for wingsuit flight, but your mileage may vary. I have never had any "spinners" using either method.
Openings: soft, but not "snivelly", predictable and on heading within about 45 degrees everytime.
Performance in flight: very stable in straight flight. Low front riser pressure and a steep dive at my wingload. Good deep brake stability.
Landings: powerful flare with long control range. Rear risers nicely. Nice distance in a properly executed swoop. -
Wings
in Containers
I just recieved the first of my two new Wings EXT containers and I am completely stoked at how it looks and works for me! I jump one of the very-smallest sizes, the W1-2 EXT. The construction of this rig is first rate. The pin protection is fantastic. The fact that all the wingsuit-specific mods are free really makes it a great bargain at any price. The rig fits at least as good as my old Odyssey, looks fantastic, and provides me with very-clean wingsuit deployments. I have the highest praise for this rig.
I had been a fan of the system for a number of years, having used them as student rigs at the last skydiving school I worked at. I had also seen some incredibly good looking tiny ones on the backs of some of my friends. Ultimately, when it came time to look for a new ride, I naturally chose the one that I had been so impressed with lately.
Chuck -
I own two BirdMan suits: a GTi and a SkyFlyer. I made my first jumps on a GTi and didn't have any problem whatsoever learning and honing my skills with it. It's a bit more tiring on the arms than a classic, but overall I don't find it any harder to fly. That being said, I would even recommend it as a first suit for experienced skydivers. Pull sequence needs to be a tad cleaner in a GTi, but "smooth" skydivers will probably want to skip the Classic and move straight to this suit. Do not make the mistake of trying a SkyFlyer before you have experience with either a GTi or a Classic; the SkyFlyer can be quite squirrelly or "loose" when you are pushing it and is harder to tame.
With a GTi, you will have no problems whatsoever flying with people in Classics and even most people in a SkyFlyer. True, the very experienced SkyFlyer pilot will be able to smoke you, but in flocking we all adjust to a happy medium anyway, so it's all good.
Chuck Blue, BM-I -
Me: 3000 jumps, with over 400 jumps on 75 square foot mains in the past year. I Currently own two Cobalts (competition and H-mod) loaded at 2.3
After I got my Alpha 84 a few years ago, I couldn't believe how much I loved it. It was one of the very last custom-color "Alpha's" produced before Atair stopped making the "Impulse" as it was known overseas. Oddly, just as word was spreading about the swooping performance and overall great opening/flying characteristics of the "Alpha", the truth came out about the way they were being marketed in the US by SkyDepot. The fact is that the "Alpha" and "Space" were actually made by Atair in Slovenia and sold in the US with different badges on them. Neither of these canopies (actually the same main!) are made any longer, but the good news is that the replacement, the Atair Cobalt, is a BETTER parachute. This parachute is not available through SkyDepot; only Atair USA and it's dealer net.
The stock Cobalt looks almost identical to the old Alpha (or Impulse), but is sewn differently accross the top skin, thus loading the ribs differently and providing for a stiffer wing. The top skin of a Cobalt is made of 18 seperate pieces of fabric, unlike other mains. This means that you can load the Cobalt heavier than you could the Alpha/Space. I was loading my Alpha 84 at 2.23 and it flew FANTASTIC. Also, the double diamonds that are sewn to the bottom of every Cobalt are parts of the bottom skin, not appliques just sewn on.
There are three distinctly different-flying Cobalts available: "stock", H-mod, and Competition. I am sure that there will eventually be a separate listing for the latter, so I will wait and not write a complete review in this space. Just let me say that a lightly loaded stock cobalt is a very forgiving main that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to an intermediate jumper, while the same canopy at wingloads of around 2.0 and over is a complete rocketship with tons of lift which translates into huge surfs. The H-mod and competition models dive longer and steeper and build more speed on the bottom end, resulting in markedly longer surfs than the stock model when piloted by experienced swoopers.
The Cobalt is made of the non-slippery zero-p fabric produced by Gelvenor Textiles in South Africa, making for some very speedy pack-jobs. Canopies are shipped with microlines on mini-links. Custom colors are available in about FIVE WEEKS, can you believe that?
The opening characteristics are fantastic. They open slow and on-heading every time..period. I have never been smacked by a Cobalt of any type, regardless of how fast I was going at pull time. There are two ribs that are not crossported on the Cobalt; this allows the center cells to inflate and start decelerating you before the end cells come open. It is just NICE.
Flight characteristics are pretty similar to most other performance mains- meaning the control range and the recovery arc are much longer than a Stiletto. Turns are not snappy unless you want them to be, but when nailed hard Cobalt spins around and just dives at the ground and keeps picking up speed. If hooked high enough, the Cobalt will come around the corner with tremendous speed and you will have control high up in the control range. Surfs can be quite a bit longer than the Stiletto; actually almost as far as my old VX! Otherwise, if you hook low, you will have to "dig" out and pay the price with a shorter surf, like the 21 and 27 cell mains. The Cobalt is interesting in that it will continue to provide lift and glide at a much slower airspeed than most performance canopies. It takes a while to get over the temptation to put your feet down at the speed you would under say a Stiletto or a Velocity. Keep your feet up and you just keep swooping along, without the fear of "bow-tieing" your main and eating it. This is a result of the center of gravity being placed back toward the middle of the canopy.
Do not be mislead; the Cobalt is distributed exclusively by Atair USA in New York (Dan Preston). The website is www.xtremefly.com; check them out. His dealer network is expanding quite rapidly and now more and more Cobalts are showing up. If you were an Alpha afficionado, then you will really love the new Cobalt. I know I do. I really liked my VX, but I LOVE Cobalts and old Alphas.
Chuck
PS: I have been an Atair factory pilot for the past several years and have had the opportunity to jump all the company's offerings. I compete under a Competition Cobalt and H-mod 75. None of us are paid; we jump the Cobalt by choice and make a very respectable showing in competition under this "standard" canopy. Feel free to PM me at any time with specific Atair canopy questions. -
I was kind of wanting a new open-faced helmet for swooping competitions and working with students, so I had a friend hook me up with Bonehead. I made a coast-to-coast phone call and got Jeanie on the phone in the middle of the night. Intrigued, she said to come by when I got to Perris. I took a tour of the factory and was duly impressed. I scored myself a new metalic blue Mindwarp (pimped out, of course) and we baked it on the spot! After reading some of the complaints about people having their audibles get ripped off their helmet or having them fly out of the pocket, I was impressed to find that the new design is MUCH more secure.
This helmet fits like a glove; not too tight though. It has provided me great service and I am very happy that I chose it. For those of you that do not like the exterior audible, the HOT ticket is the waterski version. It is setup so that you have more room for your ears. It also has a goggle-keeper on the back for those people that jump them (I jump in sunglasses).
I give this company my highest rating.
Chuck Blue
D-12501 -
I just got my new Javelin and thought I would write and tell you what I thought about the "Odyssey" mods on it. First of all, mine is an RS (formerly called XRS), which is the smallest one they offer. I have a Tempo 120 and a Cobalt 85 loaded into it and it looks FANTASTIC!
The biggest difference in this rig, as compared to the last generation, is the cut-in backpad/harness mod. What this does is "glue" your container into the small of your back. The rig simply does not wash around at all on your back. I had every intention of getting another Vector before I tried on a friend's Odyssey prototype last winter. The fit of this rig changed my mind. I had not owned a Javelin for over ten years prior to this one because mine, and many other friends', had problems with the riser covers coming open in freefall and beating your ears to death. I am happy to report that the riser covers on this newest Jav are twice as secure and I have not had any instance of problem with them.
One thing that is weird to get used to is flattening the risers into the troughs. With the new plastic tubes that run up into them (for the cutaway cable), they are VERY stiff. It takes a bit to get them laid down flat, but not so long as to bug me too much.
I have always been a big fan of third (toggle)risers, so I ordered a set of 16" velcro-less ones with this rig. My only bitch with them is that the dive loops are SMALL, two-finger loops that are a bit harder to get to than I am used to.
I did NOT get any of the screwy "alternative" fabric options on my rig. The only one I like AT ALL is the houndstooth pattern, but there was not really a mix that fit my preferred color pattern. That fake leather crap and the plastic is for the birds. You "older" skydivers out there might recall that you used to be able to get junk like this on Mirages, Vectors, and Racers over 10 years ago; yuck! I will say, though, that I saw some TSE Teardrop rigs this past summer which were made of the "Alien Skin" fabric and I liked them.
In all, I am VERY pleased with my Javelin RS "Odyssey".
Chuck Blue
D-12501 -
After a fairly long wait my new VX-74 arrived about three weeks ago. The delay was as a result of the laser cutter being down in New Zealand. The canopy arrived to me without side labels affixed for some reason, but who cares.
At any rate, I am the proud owner of a VX-74. I load it at 2.4 with lead on. I have just under 2,600 jumps.
Openings are "interesting". Not too fast, and on heading every time, but there is a pretty big surge upon full inflation that sometimes makes for slack lines. After that initial surge it settles nicely. Getting back from a poor spot is not a problem at all as long as you keep your brakes stowed. I find that method less strenuous than unstowing and flying in deep brakes, though the VX does fly really nicely at slow speeds.
Once you unstow the brakes and start really flying the VX you had better have your sights set 1000 feet below you. My main is VERY ground-hungry and comes out of the sky like a bomb in full flight and in turns. The brakes are set deep and not much happens in the upper end of the control range. The VX has a very long recovery arc. If you are a swoop purist, you will want to set up your final hook/carve much higher than any other main you have ever jumped. As reported in the other reviews in this section, hooking low and having to "dig" out will only make for a shorter swoop. While having brakes deeper in the control range, the flare is EXTREMELY powerful. If you are too low and need to dig, it feels like you are doing a bar-dip to get "around the corner." It doesn't seem to matter how high I hook this thing, it always requires some input to stop the dive enough to get you on plane. I don't mind that at all, and am just now getting the technique dialed.
The noise this thing creates as it flies through the air is enough to alert the entire DZ as to your eminent arrival. I get lot's of "HOLY SHIT's". All in all, it is a very fun canopy and I think it was worth the wait. The VX is not for everyone, though. It is a real handfull and could easilly get an inexperienced canopy pilot hurt or worse. One should make damn sure that he or she has SEVERAL hundred jumps on on other HP elipticals before strapping a VX on.
Oh, packing. The VX packs big as hell. My 74 packs bigger than my Stiletto 97 did. Plus, I was spoiled by the non-slip zero-p on my Alpha and had a fit wrestling the VX into the bag the first few times. Not much of a problem, just a hassle.
Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected] for more info.
Chuck Blue
D-12501 -
I currently own a bunch of very fast parachutes, including a fantastic custom-color Alpha 84. Jumping 10 pounds of weight for 4-way, I wingload the 84 at 2.16 (or 2.04 without weights.)
Bottomline up front: This parachute is GREAT for what I use them for- SWOOPING. I have owned my Alpha for about a month now and have put 57 jumps on it so far, so I feel I can give an accurate review of it. I will start at the top; openings.
My parachute opens just like a Stiletto; smoothly and generally on-heading. I had been told by some nay-sayers in Pahokee, FL that Alphas open hard. I am SO glad that I didn't listen. One other person, in Atlanta, said that his opened too SLOWLY. As an ex-video guy, I don't thing anything is too slow as long as it eventually opens! At any rate, mine opens GREAT. Just like any other tiny eliptical, you REALLY need to stay straight in the harness on opening. The owners manual even has that in bold print. I find that this, more than anything else, will ensure a straight opening.
As for packing, I use a standard PRO-pack with no crazy nose-stuffing or anything. I generally leave the nose straight, or with one little roll, and just wrap my tail. Wintec parachutes are made of the "Nylasilk" zero-p fabric, like a Triathalon, so it does not ooze around while you are trying to put it in the bag.
General flight characteristics: As you might imagine, a parachute this small (84 square feet) is going to come out of the sky like a bomb. This is the case AFTER you unstow brakes. If you got hosed with a long spot, keeping brakes stowed will GREATLY increase your chances of getting back. I was amazed how flat it glided on one dive. After you are over the DZ, then the fun really begins. The control range on Alphas is very long as compared to a Stiletto; I find it about the same as a Velocity. I have third (toggle) risers installed on all my rigs. This really allows the tail to flatten out. Turns are brisk and steep, with lot's of altitude loss. A person 300 feet below you will be right in your way in one turn; believe me.
Landing turns should be initiated at about the same altitude as a Velocity or FX/VX, which is to say quite a bit higher than a Stiletto. That is assuming you want a "clean" swoop, without having to dig it out of the hole with all your might. A properly initiated hook or riser dive will result in a considerably longer swoop than a Stiletto. The brakes are much deeper in the control range than a Stiletto, so it catches some demo jumpers off guard. Velocity or FX/VX jumpers will find the brakes "just right".
Finally, the cost: I got my custom-color Alpha for a full $450 less than I paid for my VX-74. Granted I got great deals on both, but those are the differences in cash paid. This was my third new main this year (Vengeance, VX, Alpha). I find it FAR superior to the Vengeance (which I sold right away) for about $200 less money. I like it better than the Stilettos which used to be my staple. Besides, PD wouldn't make me one smaller than a 97. I like it better than a Velocity, though it flies very similar. The difference is in price and ease of packing.
Any other questions, Email me.
Chuck Blue
D-12501 -
My experience: 2,425 jumps; skydiving 19 years; SL and Tandem I; 4-way guy; 5'7", 155lbs (plus 12 for four-way); haven't jumped a main larger than a 110 in over five years.
After jumping a Stiletto 97 until it was well overdue for a replacement, I decided to try something else. I contemplated long and hard on a VX or a Velocity in the 70-something range, but Raeford is BUSY with non-experienced canopy pilots, and as an instructor I didn't want to be part of the problem. So, after reading all the propaganda about the Vengeance and having talked to several of the test jumpers, I decided to go ahead and order a 97. I did so without having demo'd one at all, in any size (probably dumb). My first inkling that I had made a poor size choice came when we got the first Vengeance demo canopy at Raeford; it was a 135. Everyone I know who REALLY works their Stiletto 135 that tried the Vengeance said that it flew great, but they would rather jump one one size smaller. This was one month into my order. I had specifically asked my friends at PD what the evaluators said about stepping down. They told me that most of the test jumpers said they were happiest with the same size Vengeance as the Stiletto they liked. This having been said, I went against my first thought (of getting the 89) and bought the 97. I tried to change my order one month into it, but was told the main was already cut. After an 11 week wait, my main arrived yesterday. I made two jumps on it today and here are my observations:
-The canopy opens great, even after the horrible time I had getting that brand new bastard into the bag. You all know what I mean! It was on-heading both times and was as soft as my Stiletto.
-The canopy has a great forward glide; quite a bit more than my Stiletto. It is slightly more "ground hungry", but not excessively so, like a Velocity.
-The brakes are very "mushy" as compared to a Stiletto. The control range is down around your waist, and nothing happens till you get the toggles down that far. Granted, I like my brakes plenty loose so as to not get in the way when I do my one-riser hook turn or correct my path with both front risers, but this is different. I dumped at 6,000 on the first jump and just practiced hard turns and practice hooks. I ended up doing a fantastic surf on both jumps, without getting "too deep" in the corner before I found the proper flare point. This is one rock-solid parachute. It does not get squirrely one bit in turbulence so far as I have seen. I have been told my several people that the brakes on FXs and VXs are likewise "deep". I don't mind it, it is just different.
-Front risers turns/hooks require about the same input as my Stiletto; brakes require more input.
-Landings are outstanding. I get a longer swoop with this main than my same-sized Stiletto.
Bottom Line: I am happy with my new Vengeance, but I REALLY should have bought one a size smaller, like I originally intended. Not that a 97 isn't a small canopy, but I am positive I would have liked the 89 better.
Chuck Blue
D-12501 -
Jumper: Chuck Blue, D-12501
Experience: 2,350 jumps, 19 years in the sport.
SL and Tandem "I"
I put over 400 jumps on a Monarch 135 before I got smart enough to pawn it off on someone without a clue as to what this thing can do to your neck.
First, I must say that I was one hard-headed lad in the days I was jumping a monarch. I actually owned TWO Monarch 135's, plus a Saber 135 at the same time. At the time, I was a very active 4-way jumper and I supported much of my skydiving habit by jumping video for other teams and tandems. I had two matching mains; one a Saber, the other a Monarch. The Monarch was the one I normally jumped because it had a better "bottom end." I am now and have always been a turf-surfer. My Saber was a nice main, but the Monarch just flat out-surfed it.....period. BUT, and this is a big but, that damn parachute opened so hard (at least 70% of the time) that I was frequently incapacitated after several jumps. I sold the Saber after a while to my cousin because I just didn't jump it anymore. All that did was make EVERY jump a crap shoot on whether or not I would get spanked by the Monarch. Finally, I just couldn't take it anymore and sold it. Luckilly I found a used Stiletto and have since had nothing but a great time.
It must be noted that there were two very different varieties of Monarch's produced. The first ones were the like the two that I owned. The nose was not flipped over the leading edge of the cells. These were the ones that opened so horribly hard. The second edition had an overhanging nose and open better. BUT, the trade-off is in flight performance. The earlier Monarch's landed MUCH better (read: longer surf) than the later ones. Later Monarchs have no better flight characteristics than a Saber. I jumped both the old and the new, so I know what I am talking about. "Sometimes the price we pay for happiness is too high in the end." My orthopedic surgeon couldn't believe I still wanted to jump after all the crap that main put me through.
Thanks for your time.
Chuck -
With 19 years in the sport and over 2,400 jumps I feel I can give you a very good idea what this parachute is all about. I currently own a Stiletto 97. I weigh in at about 158 and generally wear 10 pounds of weight when I spin 4-way, so you figure the wing-load. I have put about 150 jumps on this main. I put more than 500 jumps on a Stiletto 107 before trading to a 97. I love Stilettos....period. Before going eliptical, I owned two Saber 135's and two Monarch 135's which almost put me in the ortho ward for their horrible openings. Before that I jumped an Excallibur. Listen; if you are someone who LOVES to go fast and turf surf, but has been beaten to death by tons of horrible Saber openings, then you owe it to yourself to jump a Stiletto.
As a result of being a video guy for several years while at the same time jumping a Monarch that came off my back and opened like a bomb, I thought I was going to have to give up the little mains and find something more docile. Man, was I wrong! My Stilettos have been a lifesaver for my neck, PLUS I swoop twice as far! These things open SWEET! True, you may experience the occasional "Stiletto spin-up", but I have never had to chop my main. The worse I ever had was two line twists, and it kicked out fine. Concerning landing technique: I had a finicky 107 that didn't dive right in the front riser mode, so I toggle-hooked it on every jump. Dangerous, yes, but I had the experience not to frap myself into the ground. Oddly, my 97 dives great on one front riser, so I am even happier with it.
I land my Stiletto upwind, downwind, crosswind, and circle-surf; it just doesn't matter which way I am going. The Stiletto's natural recovery arc is much tighter than that of the Velocity (and FX and VX) and as such, is much more suitable to busier DZ's. I instruct at a very busy student-heavy DZ and it is just the smartest "hot" main to jump in those kinds of conditions. I just last weekend ordered a new main. I had test jumped Velocities and almost bought one, but hated the ground hungriness that was evident in every mode of flight. I was all set to buy myself a new Stiletto 97 because I am truly happy with it, but then ended up succombing to the unknown and bought a new Vengeance 97. Still, I will not be selling my Stiletto. It will just be relegated to duty in my alternate rig.
Firebolt
-
-
-
-
-
in Main Canopies
Me likey.
Chuck