Pilot canopy

[btvr 0]

I'm looking for opinions on Aerodyne's Pilot canopy. I know that everyone has a preference for one manufacturer or another. I would really like to hear from people who have jumped a pilot and a Sabre 2. I currently jump a Triathlon and love it. I'm not trying to compare it to a 9 cell. I'm just thinking about switching to a 9 cell. I don't have a real bias preference toward Aerodyne because I have a Tri, after all my reserve is a PD.

[slotperfect 7]

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Arrive Safely

John

[aneblett 0]

PM MRBRANT...

He used to jump a tri and now jumps a pilot. I am pretty sure he put a few jumps on a sabre2 as well

Adrian

S.E.X. party #2

..It is far worse to live with fear, than to die confronting it.

[FreeFallGal 0]

I've had a Pilot 124 for about 1 year now and I have no complaints. I sustained a back injury last year from a slammer opening on a different canopy, so soft openings are critically important. The Pilot has been very good to me so far. I don't do anything radical on landing, but I get a nice glide out of the Pilot and rarely have to take more than a couple of steps even in no-wind conditions. It is very responsive in flight. I don't pack it myself, so I can't comment on how it packs but I've not heard any complaints from the packing staff (except when it was brand spanking new).

I demoed a Sabre 2 135 before buying the Pilot and put about 20 jumps on it. It's also a very nice canopy. I had off heading openings on every jump though and I felt like I lost altitude faster under the Sabre 2 than the Pilot. The landings are very comparable.

Never jumped a Tri, so I can't offer any comparisons. I would definitely recommend demoing before you buy.

[ChrisL 2]

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I'm looking for opinions on Aerodyne's Pilot canopy. I know that everyone has a preference for one manufacturer or another. I would really like to hear from people who have jumped a pilot and a Sabre 2. I currently jump a Triathlon and love it. I'm not trying to compare it to a 9 cell. I'm just thinking about switching to a 9 cell. I don't have a real bias preference toward Aerodyne because I have a Tri, after all my reserve is a PD.

I jumped (in order) Sabre2 210 (96 jumps), Sabre2 190 (66 jumps) , Pilot 210 (15 jumps) , Pilot 188 (19 jumps)

I'm still with the Pilot 188 and plan to stick with it for many jumps to come.

Gotta say I like the Pilot better.
Sabre2 had a more powerful flare.
Pilot has better openings.
Once I got used to the difference in flare I land the Pilot just as well as I did the Sabre2.
Both my Sabre2's had comfy openings but squirrely and off-heading more often than not.
The Pilot opens consistently soft and on-heading.
Both fly more or less about the same (IMO)

My bottom line, the Pilot is a better canopy for me.

__

My mighty steed

[PrairieDoug 0]

After losing my Sabre 2 following a cutaway, I replaced it with a comparably sized Pilot. I made the switch because my openings with the Sabre 2 were unpredictable, sometimes ending with a hard 180 or even 360 deg turn. It's certainly possible that my issues with Sabre 2 openings were my fault (body position, etc.), but others have reported similar experiences and I'm glad to be under a more forgiving canopy.

Doug

[darkwing 5]

I demoed a Sabre2, and bought a Pilot. Openings were an issue. No regrets.

-- Jeff
My Skydiving History

[Stumpy 284]

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I demoed a Sabre2, and bought a Pilot. Openings were an issue. No regrets.

Ditto.
On my second pilot now.

Never try to eat more than you can lift

[just_sky 0]

Reading all the comments relatiing the Aerodyne's products, I've decided in favour of my first 9 cell canopy recently and have chosen a Pilot 168.
The next part of my rig will be definately Icon!
By the way, does someone can put some lines about the packing? I have heard that the Aerodyne's ZP which is used by the manufacturing of their canopies is different from PD's one for instance... Are there any advantages and disadvantages?

C Ya! :)

[phoenixlpr 0]

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By the way, does someone can put some lines about the packing? I have heard that the Aerodyne's ZP which is used by the manufacturing of their canopies is different from PD's one for instance... Are there any advantages and disadvantages? Smile

I can promise you blood, sweat and tears on packing if you not chosen to buy a used one.

The material almost as slippery as one PD uses.

[Joellercoaster 6]

I concur with pretty much everything ChrisL says about Sabre2 vs Pilot, plus:

Sabre2 seems to dive more in a turn and stay in the dive slightly longer. It also opens a bit harder (but then that's no bad thing; my Pilot tends to snivel quite a bit).

I have about 60 jumps on my Pilot 188 now and it's only just becoming more manageable to pack. This will be true of nearly all brand new canopies though.

--
"I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan

"You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

[phoenixlpr 0]

I've packet Sabre2 with 100 jumps, it felt more slippery than mine around same number of jumps.

[tdog 0]

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The material almost as slippery as one PD uses.

ALMOST??? I think MORE is the word.

When I first got my Pilot - brand new - I opened it up. I looked at it. I loved it, it was my new canopy...

Then I put it back in the cardboard box it came in. It hated going in there like a dog going into a kennel. I kept pushing.

I folded the lids shut on the box. I went to bed. The next morning I found the canopy exploded out of the box and covered my entire coffee table with about 3/4 of the fabric out of the box.

There are two solutions to a brand new pilot.

1) Jump at Eloy - something about the sand. ;-)

2) Don't jump at Eloy, and learn how to pack - and once you have 50 new pilot packjobs under your belt - you become the "goto" guy at the DZ for every person trying to get their new ZP into the bag...

Seriously - l am glad I learned on new pilot because I now can pack anything. Oh, and the fabric after 500 jumps still is going great, but easy to pack - I am happy with the product.

Travis

[phoenixlpr 0]

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ALMOST??? I think MORE is the word.

If you would have packed a Cobalt, you'd see a huge difference.

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2) Don't jump at Eloy, and learn how to pack - and once you have 50 new pilot packjobs under your belt - you become the "goto" guy at the DZ for every person trying to get their new ZP into the bag...

15 was enough for me. It is not a fight if you have control.

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Seriously - l am glad I learned on new pilot because I now can pack anything. Oh, and the fabric after 500 jumps still is going great, but easy to pack - I am happy with the product.

Me too. Mine was a really good teacher.

[ChrisL 2]

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I jumped (in order) Sabre2 210 (96 jumps), Sabre2 190 (66 jumps) , Pilot 210 (15 jumps) , Pilot 188 (19 jumps)

A word about packing these canopies. All 4 were brand new when I got them.
160ish packjobs on brand new sabre2's and more recently 34 packjobs on brand new pilots.

The Pilots have a bigger pack volume and are a bigger pain in the ass to bag because they seem to want to puff back up (reinflate) a lot more than the Sabre2's did.

Packed rig looks more bulgy than it did with the Sabre2's in it.

On the other hand, the color coded line attachments on the Pilot make flaking the canopy a lot easier.
Hopefully it will relax a bit once I have a more substantial number of jumps on it.

__

My mighty steed

[phoenixlpr 0]

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The Pilots have a bigger pack volume and are a bigger pain in the ass to bag because they seem to want to puff back up (reinflate) a lot more than the Sabre2's did.

Define bigger pack volume!

Both wants to reinflate.

[just_sky 0]

Thanks for your encouragenment The third thing is that my Pilot 168 will be a new one The only one solution I see is to buy a bigger container (for instance 160 size).

C Ya! :)

[mjosparky 4]

When you make choices in skydiving equipment you should a least get components that are compatible. Playing mix and match with life safety equipment is not the smartest thing to do. There is a reason manufactures have size limits on containers.

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[just_sky 0]

I completely agree with you! The only thing is that I don't see here any problems and obstacles to use a bit smaller container packing the parachute (for instance, packing the Pilot 168 into the container 150 or 160).
In my opinion, the most significant point to be cosidered is that the container size and harness size should be the same. The friend of mine has done about 200 jumps packing his Cayenne 170 into Jawelin 150th container. The only problem at the very beginning is that it was quite difficult and sometimes inconvenient to get the canopy into it, especially when it was completely new. After about 50 jumps there weren't any problems and now he is about to downsize buying a smaller 9 cell semielleptical canopy.
Anyway, if there are any significant points to be considered, I will bear them in mind.

C Ya! :)

[phoenixlpr 0]

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The third thing is that my Pilot 168 will be a new one Smile

If you have not ordered yet you may find used from Classified.

[just_sky 0]

Thanks for your advice, but the deal is already done, two my canopies, the main and the reserve are in their way from the USA to my homeside.

What do you think about my previous thread above?

C Ya! :)

[phoenixlpr 0]

About what?

[just_sky 0]

About the packing the bigger size canopy into the smaller size container (in my case I'm going to pack the Pilot 168 into the container and harness made for 150th size). One person above said that it isn't tne smartest thing to do and it can cause some malfunctions Frankly, I was surprised because many of my friends did so due to further downsizing plans.

C Ya! :)

[phoenixlpr 0]

I'm not a rigger. Ask a rigger !
Anyway it has to be tried. If you have it can be seen is it a fit or not.

[woodpecker 0]

I jump a pilot 150 and a Icon I4 (max is 150) and I say have fun. Though I'm still considered new at packing its a MOFO getting in the damn bag. I couldnt imagine putting anything bigger in that damn thing.

Good luck and let us know how it works out for you.

SONIC WOODY #146

There is a fine line between cockiness and confidence -- which side of the line are you on?