The Pilot canopy and bad/hard openings

[NelKel 0]

Has anyone ever experienced a bad/ hard or unusual opening on Aerodyne Pilot, Thank you

_________________________________________

Someone dies, someone says how stupid, someone says it was avoidable, someone says how to avoid it, someone calls them an idiot, someone proposes rule chan

[tbrown 26]

Nope.

Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

[drdive 0]

Me neither. Soft, slow, snivelly, great for this 53 year old body.

"We saved your gear. Now you can sell it when you get out of the hospital and upsize!!" "K-Dub"

"

[rhanold 0]

none here either

[Peej 0]

Never. I don't own one but i have put a good few jumps on one. I liked it.

Advertisio Rodriguez / Sky

[phoenixlpr 0]

Nope. I had about 160 jumps on mine so far.

I had 2 stable line twist from bad body position.

My WL was/is between 1.2-1.4.

[mfnren 2]

Yah, my first jump on a demo pilot was the worst opening i've ever had,slmmed open,4 line twist and slight diving turn. closest to cutting away as well. I think it might have been really bad packing after that it opened alright.

[jas8472 0]

400 jumps on mine and it's not spanked me yet.

[MB38 0]

A whopping 10 or so jumps on a Pilot for me, every opening's been smooth and on-heading. Not surprising, considering how huge the slider is.

I really don't know what I'm talking about.

[Andy9o8 2]

None. Most consistently good openings of any canopy I've jumped.

[mr2mk1g 10]

None. Most consistently good openings of any canopy I've jumped. (yes I ripped that off, but it's true for me too).

Have you been packing it in an unusual way? Do you roll the nose and stuff it or something?

[darkwing 5]

All is well with my Pilot, but be advised, there is NO CANOPY that is not subject to occasional problem openings. The only real question is how often. The Pilot is well respected in my area for nice openings.

-- Jeff
My Skydiving History

[Beverly 1]

nope

I think true friendship is under-rated

Twitter: @Dreamskygirlsa

[EDYDO 0]

60 jumps on my 168 and not one problem with the openings.

Ed

[popsjumper 2]

My best friend had just under 300 jumps on his and did not have 1 hard opening. He had 1 line twist (packing).

Funny thing, he just bought a smaller Rage and on the 2nd jump had to cut it away because it twisted up and put him on his back....probably packing again - this time on a brand-new canopy.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[John4455 0]

Its the best opening canopy that I have ever jumped, and it doesn't burn up a lot of altitude.

How do ya like it Johnny?

[MikeGerwig 0]

No

[SkymonkeyONE 4]

Quote

Has anyone ever experienced a bad/ hard or unusual opening on Aerodyne Pilot, Thank you

My wife has two of them and has never complained to me about any hard openings.

[tdog 0]

I wish I could say no. 270 jumps and two hard openings.

1st hard opening... 1st jump ever on the canopy, 1st pack job on that canopy (meaning I did it with limited experience, not a pro who is used to brand new fabric). I bet it was my fault 100% in the packing as the fabric was explosive to say the least while trying to get it in the bag. It was a symmetric hard opening... I had black and blue bruises where my harness leg straps were for a month. I had a rigger inspect every part of the rig for damage... Ouch.

2nd hard opening.... Saturday (two days ago). One side of the canopy inflated early for some reason - insta-left-canopy. My left riser went ka-boom. I have pulled muscles all over my left side, and my neck muscles are sore. I was dazed for about 10 seconds after the opening as my head was slamed down to the right.

Perhaps the fact the D-bag came out of the container twice between jumps (for maintenance of the risers) or just random luck on how the fabric met the air... I don't know... But ouch... The riser slap left a crack on my pro-track and helmet... Had a few twists that I flew out of without kicking because my body was still swinging around on its own....

But, other than those openings - the rest have been very trustworthy and nice... Some line twists, but never causing a chop...

[DontPanic 0]

I've had one hard opening on my Pilot, but I pretty much attribute that one to a packing issue.

[IanHarrop 42]

150 jumps on mine... no bad ones yet!

"Where troubles melt like lemon drops, away above the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me" Dorothy

[billvon 2,991]

Approx 800 jumps on a Pilot 140; first 50 or so were mine and the rest were Amy's. No hard openings. A few off-heading.

Approx 100 jumps on a Pilot 117 (me) - no hard openings.

Approx 50 jumps on a Pilot 150; no hard openings. But that's not really valid because it's my wingsuit canopy, and they're all soft. I'll be using this one at World Team this year.

[SeaKev 0]

200 jumps on my 168. 1 spank- my fault.

[Orange1 0]

Most of my jumps have been on pilots. a couple of wierd openings (noticeably asymmetric inflation and dives on opening) caused by packing - but most of them very smooth, can take a while to full deployment. But certainly never a hard opening.

Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

[Loonix 0]

Had 1 jump on a pilot, and it taught me the meaning of "soft opening". I prefer my sabre tho, it reminds me that this is an extreme sport, after all