BIG DISCLAIMER: I am a newbie to skydiving. Most other skydivers have more experience and knowledge than I do; therefore what you are about to read may be inaccurate, incomplete, totally off-base, or just plain wrong. I currently have 79 jumps under my belt and of those, 65+ have been under either a Safire 189 or 169 (wingloadings respectively 1.1 and 1.24). I rescently bought my first rig and it is equiped with a Safire 169. So from the get go, it should be understood that not only is my experience limited, it's also biased . The Safire is a 9-cell slightly eliptical ZP canopy. As such, it tends to come in flater than a similar sized and proportioned (aspect ratio)7-cell. This is neither good or bad...just different if you've only flown 7 cells. I love the way the canopy flies, especially at the higher wing loading. It responds immediately to toggle input and straightens out promptly when you release tension. In other words, it doesn't continue to turn when you let up on the toggle. When I first started flying the Safire ( about jump # 9)I thought the canopy was abit twitchy to inputs, but I quickly adjusted to it and after about 4 or 5 more jumps the twitchiness was no longer a factor. If you like to go horizontal durings spirals you'll like this canopy. My 169 slings me from out under the canopy very easily under hard toggle turns and remains rock solid. I've done 6 or 7 sequential 360 degree spiral turns and then flipped it in the opposite direction to complete several more spiral turns and the whole time felt under complete control. During the transition from opposite directions the canopy exhibited no tendency to induce line twists. The control range is on the longish side. To stall the canopy requires a deep pull of the toggles. Perhaps because of this, you may have heard that you have to land Safires differently. I don't know how to interprete "different" but I will say that when flaring the canopy on landing you want to progressively apply input to the toogles throughout the entire range. You do not want to just yank down on the toggles in one quick motion. If you do this and are high when you flare, you will plane out and drop straight down when the canopy stalls (ouch). It may even gain a little altitude at the end of the plane-out phase and drop you from a little higher up (double ouch!) Should you just yank on the toggles on the lowish side for flare time, if you're lucky, you'll have to run off the landing speed, and I do mean run. If you're a little less than lucky than you will get to do a really good PLF. I'm not trying to intimidate you or make it sound that this canopy is hard to land. The secret here is smooth progressive control inputs, and feeling for feedback from the canopy. This is how I land it...your mileage may vary....On final approach I have the toggles all the way up or only slightly pulled down (literally only a few inches.) When reaching flare altitude (when feet are about six feet off the ground.)pull down on the toggles smoothly but at a moderate rate. As soon as the canopy begins to plane-out is where the real work begins. The idea is to continue to pull down on the toggles but vary your pace depending on the the conditions. Some people call this a two-stage flare but I don't like the term because it implies that you hold or stop the flare for some distinct time period. I think of it as "milking the flare". If I find myself a little high during the plan-out phase I slow down the rate I pull down on the toggles. Conversely, If a little low, you'll need to pick up the pace. If done correctly ( at least in my mind.), as you reach the end of the plane-out phase and you're skimming above the ground about a foot (it's imporatant to be very close to the ground if you do this.)pull quickly done on the last bit of control range that you have left, and the canopy will lift you up just a bit as it stalls and losses all or most of it's forward speed. At this point it will drop you to the ground quite nicely and all you'll need is a step or two for the last bit of momentum you might have. Nice landing! This method has worked consistantly for me. I've stood up every landing except two, once I dialed it in. So that would make about 65 jumps total. Front riser control takes a little bit of muscle but not bad for diving turns. Pulling down on both risers requires some real heft. It's essentially like doing a pull-up. I'm not an expert in front riser maneuvers so'll I'll just leave it at this. This canopy is a blast to fly. It may take a little more attention at first, but the investment is well worth it.
Safire
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in Main Canopies
I currently have 79 jumps under my belt and of those, 65+ have been under either a Safire 189 or 169 (wingloadings respectively 1.1 and 1.24). I rescently bought my first rig and it is equiped with a Safire 169. So from the get go, it should be understood that not only is my experience limited, it's also biased
The Safire is a 9-cell slightly eliptical ZP canopy. As such, it tends to come in flater than a similar sized and proportioned (aspect ratio)7-cell. This is neither good or bad...just different if you've only flown 7 cells.
I love the way the canopy flies, especially at the higher wing loading. It responds immediately to toggle input and straightens out promptly when you release tension. In other words, it doesn't continue to turn when you let up on the toggle. When I first started flying the Safire ( about jump # 9)I thought the canopy was abit twitchy to inputs, but I quickly adjusted to it and after about 4 or 5 more jumps the twitchiness was no longer a factor. If you like to go horizontal durings spirals you'll like this canopy. My 169 slings me from out under the canopy very easily under hard toggle turns and remains rock solid. I've done 6 or 7 sequential 360 degree spiral turns and then flipped it in the opposite direction to complete several more spiral turns and the whole time felt under complete control. During the transition from opposite directions the canopy exhibited no tendency to induce line twists.
The control range is on the longish side. To stall the canopy requires a deep pull of the toggles. Perhaps because of this, you may have heard that you have to land Safires differently. I don't know how to interprete "different" but I will say that when flaring the canopy on landing you want to progressively apply input to the toogles throughout the entire range. You do not want to just yank down on the toggles in one quick motion. If you do this and are high when you flare, you will plane out and drop straight down when the canopy stalls (ouch). It may even gain a little altitude at the end of the plane-out phase and drop you from a little higher up (double ouch!) Should you just yank on the toggles on the lowish side for flare time, if you're lucky, you'll have to run off the landing speed, and I do mean run. If you're a little less than lucky than you will get to do a really good PLF. I'm not trying to intimidate you or make it sound that this canopy is hard to land. The secret here is smooth progressive control inputs, and feeling for feedback from the canopy.
This is how I land it...your mileage may vary....On final approach I have the toggles all the way up or only slightly pulled down (literally only a few inches.) When reaching flare altitude (when feet are about six feet off the ground.)pull down on the toggles smoothly but at a moderate rate. As soon as the canopy begins to plane-out is where the real work begins. The idea is to continue to pull down on the toggles but vary your pace depending on the the conditions. Some people call this a two-stage flare but I don't like the term because it implies that you hold or stop the flare for some distinct time period. I think of it as "milking the flare". If I find myself a little high during the plan-out phase I slow down the rate I pull down on the toggles. Conversely, If a little low, you'll need to pick up the pace. If done correctly ( at least in my mind.), as you reach the end of the plane-out phase and you're skimming above the ground about a foot (it's imporatant to be very close to the ground if you do this.)pull quickly done on the last bit of control range that you have left, and the canopy will lift you up just a bit as it stalls and losses all or most of it's forward speed. At this point it will drop you to the ground quite nicely and all you'll need is a step or two for the last bit of momentum you might have. Nice landing!
This method has worked consistantly for me. I've stood up every landing except two, once I dialed it in. So that would make about 65 jumps total.
Front riser control takes a little bit of muscle but not bad for diving turns. Pulling down on both risers requires some real heft. It's essentially like doing a pull-up. I'm not an expert in front riser maneuvers so'll I'll just leave it at this.
This canopy is a blast to fly. It may take a little more attention at first, but the investment is well worth it.