SHARKY

Thanks for the info. What sort of percentage competitors are using RDS on the circuit. Is there any sort of feeling out there as to the level of improvement that this adds to the performance. I guess you're right though, I don't think I want to hear how many chops you have seen. I am being swayed away from getting this at the moment although I suppose its easy enough to go back to the traditional set up if I dont like the feel of it or the messing about to get it off. My life is in Xaos!!!

I have asked my rigger to fit a removable deployment system to my Xaos 27 (Extended bridle attatched to my slider) and although she is willing to fit it she has some concerns about the possibility of an entaglement with the HMA (only because they tangle so easily when loose)lines as the slider comes down. My thinking is that before the lines can deploy the excess bridle will be at full stretch above the canopy otherwise the lines will not deploy anyway and that as the slider starts to come down the lines I will have developed some forward movement so that the bag and PC will have started to fly more behind me. There is a slight boubt in my head now but I dont think there should be a problem with entaglement. If any body like Chris from Precision or any other jumpers with knowledge of this would like to add their 2cents I would be happy to hear it. My life is in Xaos!!!

I have had a 21-83' and now jump a 27-77' and both of them are absolutley superb canopies. The openings are predictable and soft and the landings are just wicked on the rear risers on my 27. Just a word of warning though on the amount of silicone applied to the 27's. A friend of mine has a 27-83 and for a number of reasons re-pack etc he had the main packed in the bag for a number of weeks. Because of the repack he decided to re-pack the main before he jumped it. "Good Call" as i doubt very much that it would have opened. When taken out of the bag the material was a solid mass and the two of us had to physically pull each part of the canopy apart including getting into the cells to peel them open, believe me they weren't just slightly stuck together they were solid. The canopy has been fine again since but it is worth checking beforehand if you find yourself in the same position. My life is in Xaos!!!

I think Chris can afford to let you try them both out and make your own descision because he knows which you'll choose. I have had a Xaos 21 and am now on a 27(77sqft) and i haven't had a bad opening yet. The 27 seems to open slightly faster than the 21 but nerarly always bang on heading. I find the front riser pressure very easy to cope with and alter part way through the swoop and although i have only done about 15 landings on rears up to now i find the rear riser pressure is also very manageable. The swoops are great and the flare power at the end just goes on forever. Just one last thing that might sway your choice. Chris was not only good enough to take my 21 in part exchange but had two spanking new 27's to us in the UK in less than 4 weeks. I have been reading some not so positive threads on Icarus but the customer service from Precision has been absolutely brilliant and although I can only speak from my own experiences both times I have dealt with the company they have bent over backwards to help which is nice in our minority sport.

I have been jumping a 83 Xaos for the last 18 months and after some early deployment problems the openings were sweet and i loved the the canopy, but now i am jumping a 77 Xaos27 (2.2 wing loading)and its awesome. The openings are slightly faster than the 21 but have been consistently on heading up to now. I would say the riser pressure is similar on both but the 27 does not seem to dive quite as much in the turn. I decided fairly soon after getting my 21 that i wish i had got a a size smaller and now i am glad i did. There is a noticable difference in full flight speed and i am doing a lot of altitude hop and pops just for the fun of being a pilot. The 27 definately packs up a lot bigger than the 21, but then again there are six more cells. The pick up at the end of the flair is superb and just when you think you have run out of lift there's a little more left in the tank. The biggest difference for me though is that i have just been on a canopy course run by Chris Lynch in the UK and it was superb. Chris really puts all his points across clearly and the following day i landed my first rear riser landings (I was like a first jump student jumping around in the landing area) if any Brits are thinking of going on Chis's wing tips tour then do it, you wont regret it. I think the bottom line is that both the Xaos canopies have great performance but the 27 is a different beast altogether.

I have been watching as many videos as I can get hold of to try and pick up tips for improving my swoops. I have noticed that different jumpers use their brakes in different directions to brake.Some are pulling straight downward whereas some are pulled outward horizontally to the body either sideways or backward. I noticed that on the latter two techniques the rear risers are deformed and I wondered weather this has the same or partially the same effect as using your rear risers for surfing. Does it improve the distance or is it purely down to the jumpers preference as to technique. I am slowly trying to build up to using my rear risers and I wondered if any method of flaring is a good place to start. My life is in Xaos!!!

Its not so much that you could not fly the stilleto but if you are loading it at all heavilly then you will need to perform high speed landings to get the required lift. If you try to learn by flying your approach slowly you are going to either put yourself off the canopy tinking it will not give you the landings you expected or worse still get beat up by having heavy landings with no lift. Its your call in the end but do listen to more experienced pilots because we have all got it wrong at one time or another on more docile canopies whilst learning. At the moment you are trying to pass your driving test in a ferarri. Stay Safe

Thanks for the well explained info Tim. You say you run courses at Hinton, are these on a regular basis? I was trying to get to the one that Chris Lynch is running at Headcorn but that bitch called work has prevented me from getting there. If you have any planned could you let me know the dates (my e-mail is [email protected]), i could fancy a weekend at Hinton. I think with all the coaching roadshows the BPA are running and with more jumpers in the UK now getting higher performance canopies there should be more info and coaching available. Until then i guess its a case of taking it gradually and practicing up high. One other point, is it because of the additional speed created with a riser turn that the canopy is easier to stall on RR, my point being that if you are coming back from a long spot you can hang off the RR without any danger of stalling the canopy.

I've just being watching Swoop, awesome video! Awsome landings (well most anyway) I was trying to see if the top guys were using rear risers for coming out of the dive and you can clearly see that some of them are. I am seriously considering giving this a go on my Xaos 83(at altitude first) but am not sure at which point to start the flare and where to transition to toggles. On the video some seem to go on toggles whilst still in the dive where as one swooper seems half way accross the lake before he releases the risers. This must make a difference to performance or you guys would not be doing it. May your swoops be long!

Is there any preference between tube stows and mini rubber bands, I must admit I have a mixture, I have tube stows on the bag lock and RB's for the stows although I have not being doubling up on either. I was also a little concerned about how much loose line to leave stowed in the tray because as you know this stuff knots up real easily. I used to leave plenty with my previous canopy but i am worried about creating pressure knots on this.On the plus side i have put 5 jumps on it today [which isn't bad for England] without any problems. Are there any recomendations about putting any rolls in the tail or pushing the nose back.I am currently not putting any in as i want the nose to catch the air quickly.

I have been searching this site to see if anyone else is having rough openings on the xaos 21and if not if there are any packing hints anyone can give. I have only done 15 jumps on my new canopy and love it when it is open but I have had three spinning openings up to now and had to get off jump 13 on it.I had a cmera on one of the bad openings and in slow motion you can see the right hand side of the canopy is totally collapsed during the opening sequence. I previously put nearly 700 jumps on a stilleto 107 without any deployment problems. As I say I love this baby once it is flying but could do without the scary openings, any advice?