bellyboy

I flew the Nitro 135 this weekend. As a reference my main until now has been a Stiletto 135.

Packing: Easy enough, fabric is relatively controllable and the pack volume is fractionally higher than a Stiletto of the same size. The HMA lineset has a tendency to knot up a bit and you have to walk up it slowly to avoid heat build up between them and your hands.

Deployment: Crisp opening, nice with very little hunting (I packed with the nose just hanging and the slider quartered and level with the nose). No sudden thump or nasty tendencies at all - this bit is good. Collapsing the slider is a pain in the rear however, requiring at least twice as long as PD's system even after several practices. It's secure, but overkill and seems chunky.

Flight: Rear riser input after deployment with brakes set results in nice controllable turns with no problems I could find. Release of the brakes gives an indication of what to expect from here on in - little surge to full flight. Toggle turns are OK, not particularly fast to initiate but build up turn speed to a very good rate, recovery is relatively quick with slight oversteer. Front riser pressure is on the low side of normal, not as low a my ST135 was but it's easy enough to perform a 360 without ripping your arm off.

Landings: Easy. The flare is predictable and forgiving loaded at 1.6:1. I landed straight-in and crosswind just fine. The approach is steeper than a Stiletto and the initial flare results in a less rapid transition to level flight, which I imagine would be nice for some folks.

Overall impressions: S'alright... It's not a fast canopy at this loading and I think it flies a bit bigger than it's posted size would suggest. If I were Hi-Per I'd ditch the non-cascaded lineset. I'd also prefer a more conventional slider collapsing arrangement but you might like it, who knows? This would be a nice canopy if your requirements met the characteristic advantages - no chance of accidentally inducing line-twists during radical flight, easy landings, crisp openings. It might not be for you if you like sportscar turn initiation. It's horses for courses here and I can't find anything 'wrong' with this canopy at all.

I've had my Tri 190 for about 2 months and 25 jumps now , it's my first canopy post-AFF graduation (I rented student gear previously) . I may not have experience , lots of jumps or multiple years of USPA membership but I can tell this is a damnned good canopy:-

1: I've had no hard openings (That's right , none) despite it being the canopy I learned to pack with. In fact the only iffy openings have been line twists due to my own stupidity and they are so easy to kick out of on this canopy it's unreal.

2: I've not found it hard to transition to at all , even though I'm 200lbs and a total rookie and the smallest thing I'd jumped before was about a 230sq/ft PD (I think)

3: It's EASY to land , fly it like a plane - taper off the glide angle as you come in and then just put your feet down when you run out of glide. Even with no wind it's just a case of a brisk trot to lose your forward speed or get your feet down early and slide if it's a flat/smoothish DZ . Obviously it's a bit more sensitive to relative toggle position at flare time than an old F-111 so keep it symmetrical and all's well.

4: It's simple to pack. Even I can do it.

5: Turn recovery is mega fast , a bit of opposite toggle and you're right back under it.

6: As someone else mentioned , you can sink in under brakes REALLY easily and take lots off your approach without sacrificing flare to any appreciable level.

7: Aerodyne research are incredibly helpful and great to deal with.

In short - I can't find anything wrong with the thing. Perhaps one day I'll want more speed , but when that happens I'll probably just buy the next size down.