Has anybody jumped a Pilot with Dacron lines?

[The111 1]

I'm wearing a lot of weight on my head these days and was considering Dacron lines for my Pilot. Aerodyne warned me that this would "greatly reduce the opening speed of my canopy," and for that reason they don't do this normally but would do it for me specially as long as I am aware of what I'm getting into. Now granted the Pilot is already a slow opening canopy, but so is the Spectre... and many well-known photographers using Dacron lines with their Spectres... so I thought, "why not my Pilot?" I'm not sure if there's any reason I know why the "slow-down effect" would be more pronounced on a Pilot than a Spectre, when switching to Dacron lines.

So I guess I wanted to hear first hand from anybody who has jumped this combo.

www.WingsuitPhotos.com

[peek 21]

It sounds like they are afraid of scaring someone with a slow opening, and not knowing your experience, this makes them uncomfortable.

I had PD put Dacron on my Stiletto and the openings are simply phenomenal.

I could not tell a bit of difference in flight characteristics.

[rushmc 23]

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I'm wearing a lot of weight on my head these days and was considering Dacron lines for my Pilot. Aerodyne warned me that this would "greatly reduce the opening speed of my canopy," and for that reason they don't do this normally but would do it for me specially as long as I am aware of what I'm getting into. Now granted the Pilot is already a slow opening canopy, but so is the Spectre... and many well-known photographers using Dacron lines with their Spectres... so I thought, "why not my Pilot?" I'm not sure if there's any reason I know why the "slow-down effect" would be more pronounced on a Pilot than a Spectre, when switching to Dacron lines.

So I guess I wanted to hear first hand from anybody who has jumped this combo.

I had Dacron line put on my Sabre2. (acutally, I cut the spectral lines off and put the Dacron on myself after 100 jumps) I know you are talking a Pilot but, I experienced absolutly no difference in opening time but, I really felt the difference. I will never jump anything but Dacron again

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[BMFin 0]

Cannot say much about dacron lines to pilot, but the first thing that comes to my mind is:

Isnt pilot pretty much a copy of the old hornet ? (short recovery arc and fast openings) I must admit that I dont know this by a fact at all, so please correct me if im mistaken..

Also it sounds wierd that you would want to PIMP your Pilot in way that it would serve you better as a camera wing..

Easier soluiton might be just to buy a spectre. Dont you think ?

[darkwing 5]

I've got about 600 Spectre jumps, and about 200 Pilot jumps. My Pilots open nicer (softer, smoother and more predictable) than my spectre. Give the dacron a try and tell us what happens. I'd actually consider dacron for my Pilot when it is due for a reline. I like the notion of some extra slammer insurance.

-- Jeff
My Skydiving History

[skybytch 273]

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so please correct me if im mistaken..

You're mistaken. The Pilot is not a copy of the Hornet. Yes it has a short recovery arc (as does the Sabre2) but no it doesn't have fast openings.

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Also it sounds wierd that you would want to PIMP your Pilot in way that it would serve you better as a camera wing..

I know several camera fliers who love their Pilots. Partly for the slow openings and partly because they think it's a fun canopy to fly.

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Easier soluiton might be just to buy a spectre. Dont you think ?

Not if the person doesn't like the way 7 cells fly and land.

[The111 1]

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I've got about 600 Spectre jumps, and about 200 Pilot jumps. My Pilots open nicer (softer, smoother and more predictable) than my spectre.

Same here, 500 on my old Spectre and 200 on my new Pilot.

The Spectre opened: snivel, snivel, pop!
The Pilot opens: snivel, snivel, "hey where did that fully open canopy come from?"

www.WingsuitPhotos.com

[bwilling 0]

I remembered this thread where Bushman recommended Dacron lines on a Pilot at higher exit weights. PD makes the same recommendation on the Spectre I'm currently jumping. He makes no mention of slower openings though, just the increased pack volume from the bulkier lines.

I'm a Dacron convert, and have had them on both my Silhouette and Spectre. I have a demo Pilot in my rig right now, and it's microlined, but if I like it enough to buy one, I'd get Dacron on it. Please let us know what you think if you switch!

"If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

[The111 1]

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I remembered this thread where Bushman recommended Dacron lines on a Pilot at higher exit weights.

1) Exit weight at 220, means you should probably have dacron line.

Hmm, that's odd, I don't personally consider 220 to be that high of an exit weight. I'm a skinny guy (160lbs) but after rig, clothes, shoes, wingsuit, and a 10 lb helmet my exit weight is 200.

www.WingsuitPhotos.com

[packing_jarrett 0]

what kind of dacron did you have in mind? The huge 900lb dacron or the thinner stuff (I think 750)

Na' Cho' Cheese

[uberchris 0]

im gonna revive this old thread.......

being that im loading my pilot 132 at a decent wingloading, i was looking into getting rid of the spectre line so that things dont get out of trim and weird, and replace with either HMA or vectran

has anyone ever had any experience relining a pilot with either vectran or HMA? im particulary interested in HMA cause its smaller and stronger. i dont know if HMA would have a super big impact on opening, since the pilot is already docile and slow........
will it affect flight characteristics drastically?
any thoughts, ideas, forseen problems, etc?
thanks

gravity brings me down.........

[dirtbox 0]

relined my pilot 117 with HMA for this season - had about 700 jumps on the spectre line set and was way out of trim, 250 jumps on the HMA so far and it is going great with no problems. Hope that helps

[sctdan 0]

I ordered a Pilot 168 with HMA earlier this year; it came in March with Dacron lines. Aerodyne sent the HMA lines to me, so when I wanted to, I could replace them. Well after a couple months of using the Dacron; I will never use anything else. I have not noticed any delay in opening, but have noticed that every opening is more soft than I have ever had before.

[faulk04 0]

I have HMA on both of my pilot 150s and have not noticed any difference. (Had spectra on my 168). Load them around 1.4

[skydiverek 63]

That is because both don't stretch :-). Dacron does.

[The111 1]

skydiverek

That is because both don't stretch :-). Dacron does.

Yeah, I'm a bit puzzled at how a thread about Dacron turned into a thread about HMA.

Update from the OP, years later. Still using Dacron lines on my Pilot, still jumping with loads of crap on top of my head, still loving the soft openings.

www.WingsuitPhotos.com

[uberchris 0]

i dont know, i revived it and changed the direction of the conversation because i didnt want to start a new thread. thanks for the heads up everyone, im gonna invest in an HMA lineset in the near future.............

gravity brings me down.........