Hornet ZP fabric

[Nomad 0]

So I'm one of the many getting ready to buy my first canopy! Yay, excitingy woohoo for me.

Now my questions... I've read a lot of good things about the Hornet, seems like it's fun to fly but easy enough to learn properly on, easy to pack, good openings etc.
In the reviews people mentioned the 'different' fabric which results in a lower pack volume and a easy pack job; which sound wonderful to me, but how does this hold up over time? I'm looking at a used canopy with about 250 jumps so still fairly new. But what is anyone experience after a couple hundred more jumps? I will most likely keep it for at least a 100 or so jumps before down sizing. depending on how good of a canopy pilot i become.

Any input is great Don't ya just LOVE newbie posts?

All that is gold does not glitter, Not all who wander are lost.

[Andy_Copland 0]

My hornet was extremely easy to pack, i could caccoon it, have a cup of tea, come back and stick it on the Dbag. Saying that they do have a bit of a reputation as hard opening canopies which i think is totally fair as all the ones i've jumped seem to open pretty "positively"

1338

People aint made of nothin' but water and shit.

Until morale improves, the beatings will continue.

[AllisonH 0]

I've also heard that hornets have a reputation for opening quickly, but I've put a total of ~250 jumps on 2 different ones, and every one of my openings was comfortable, some were even slow. I came up with 2 possible reasons for this - both of the hornets I owned were made during their last year of production and had large sliders, and I was loading them somewhat lightly (a 170 at 0.8:1 and a 150 at 0.9:1). Whatever the cause, they worked very well for me.

[DougH 270]

The later year hornets had bigger sliders installed from the factory to cure the openings. It is also not uncommon to find earlier canopies with home made pocket sliders, etc.

It is completely possible to get an earlier model to have great openings. Mine was whacking the shit out of me until I figured out the way that it packed best. Eventually the method evolved into rolling the four nose cells on either side of the center cell and stuffing them in. I could they fine tune it even more with slider placement.

I have almost 200 jumps on it packed in this manner.

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[KNewman 0]

I had a 190 Hornet that I loved (That is until I got my first Fusion). It had the larger slider and I pushed the nose in when packing. I did about 100 jumps on it before I sold it. It was a great canopy, I learned to pro pack with it and it spoiled me. When I got my new (read slick) Fusion, I had to relearn how to pack (after paying jumper03 a gabillion times to pack the thing) In my opinion, it is a great canopy to learn on, I had a ball flying it, it was very resposive and a blast to fly (beats student canopies any day) I could put it down on target, and I could pack it on my own without adult supervision . I think you will have a great experience with it.

Kevin

Blue Skies and Stand-up Landings!!!!!!

[jheadley 0]

The different fabric is made by Gelvenor Textiles in South Africa. It is much less slippery than normal ZP, more of a waxy feel to it. It is much easier to pack. I think the pack volume is typically larger than regular ZP though. As far as I know, there is no significant difference in lifespan.

[Nomad 0]

Awesome, life span(aka resell value) was kinda what i was wondering about. Everyone seems to love their hornet just wanted to make sure the fabric wasn't gonna punk out on me at 400 or 500 jumps.

All that is gold does not glitter, Not all who wander are lost.

[DougH 270]

You will go through a bunch of linesets before the fabric finally quits. I know of one heatwave made with the same stuff that is well over 1500 jumps.

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[kelpdiver 2]

Quote

The different fabric is made by Gelvenor Textiles in South Africa. It is much less slippery than normal ZP, more of a waxy feel to it. It is much easier to pack. I think the pack volume is typically larger than regular ZP though. As far as I know, there is no significant difference in lifespan.

I had asked around, and the shortest I heard was still in the 4 digits.

I found it was easy to pack, but the one I got had 150 jumps on it, so compared to a new ZP canopy I replaced it with, you'd expect it to be easier anyway.

[peckerhead 0]

The Hornet is a great canopy. They are getting harder to find since they don't make them any more.

What size is it? If you don't buy it I will if it is the right size.

Seriously!

[BMFin 0]

personally I didnt like the hornet at all..

I made about 300 jumps on a 120 and the more jumped it the more I hated it..

Slammer openings and short recovery arc...

I would much rather get a sabre2, Safire2 or a Spectre instead..

It was easy to pack though, becouse of the gelvenor ZP..

[jheadley 0]

I packed a brand new Nitro with Gelvenor fabric and it was easier than my 600 jump Sabre 2. They no longer make that particular fabric though so if you want it you have to buy a used canopy.

[Nomad 0]

Thanks for all the advice so far!

Does anyone know why the material is not made anymore is it packs easier? seems like if it packs easier and still flies well it would still be produced by someone even is the South African company went out of business.

All that is gold does not glitter, Not all who wander are lost.

[jheadley 0]

"The fabric you're referring to is Gelvenor LCN 0286, which was made from a polymer based yarn that is no longer available. The more common "slippery" zp fabric is treated with a silicon process. The advantages of the silicon treatment are that the tear strength is much higher. The disadvantage, other than the difference in packing, is that the silicon process is much more expensive. We just got slammed with about a 15% price increase in cloth price when our only choice for fabric became the silicon zp cloth.
When you ask why "Gelvenor" fabric is no longer available, you're in fact referring to a type of cloth woven by Gelvenor Textiles, but Gelvenor is the textile mill, not a specific type of fabric. My company's canopies will still be made from Gelvenor fabric.


...

This is only RUMOR, so take that for what it's worth. Someone suggested to me that it MIGHT have something to do with emissions or air polution from the manufacturing process, and that to comply with new standards would be cost prohibitive. Again, I DID NOT hear this from Gelvenor, so it may be complete b.s. "

- Beezy Shaw

[Nomad 0]

Ok... thats helps. Thanks for the in depth opinion. Just making sure i know everything there is to know about it.

Now just a test jump to make sure i don't break myself!

All that is gold does not glitter, Not all who wander are lost.

[sky4meplease 0]

Well?

Overkill is under rated.

[Squeak 17]

Quote

Well?

this thread died 4.5 years ago

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[sky4meplease 0]

Well it's time we bring it back to life then.

My wife owns a Hornet and she jumped it in a Dolphin container and liked it ok then we switched it over to a Javelin and it started slamming her on opening. I jumped it thinking she was crazy and it slammed me too.

I tripped onto this thread and think maybe they tend to open fast when loaded on the high side.

The OP closed by saying they were going to go jump it and I wonder how they liked it ( ie. packing, canopy fabric wear, openings ect. )

4.5 years ought to be enough time to form an opinion?

Overkill is under rated.

[likestojump 3]

Quote

Well it's time we bring it back to life then.

My wife owns a Hornet and she jumped it in a Dolphin container and liked it ok then we switched it over to a Javelin and it started slamming her on opening. I jumped it thinking she was crazy and it slammed me too.

I am betting it's not the container at fault, but rather the pilot chute.

[NNault 0]

And if its the heatwave I'm thinking of...more than one water training...lol

Dude..what the hell is on your head?

[phoenixlpr 0]

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And if its the heatwave I'm thinking of...more than one water training...lol

Do you think that would be safer for you to land in the water than on the ground?

[mereanarchy 0]

I realize this thread is really old, but I have my eye on a used hornet. From what I am reading the later year hornets had bigger sliders to help with the quick/hard openings. Does anyone know what those years are? Thanks!

[labrys 0]

Can't answer your question, sorry, but I did want to suggest that you consider a couple of things. If you're asking this question because the answer will influence your decision, you probably shouldn't bother unless you know that the slider is the original.

You can also replace the slider if you want a larger one. Shouldn't be terribly expensive.

And last of all, you should have a rigger inspect the gear before you buy it. Most experienced riggers should be able to tell you if the canopy has a larger than usual slider.

Last, last of all. My first 2 canopies were Hornets. I really really liked them.

Owned by Remi #?

[mereanarchy 0]

I am definitely planning on having my rigger check out the whole system prior to purchase. I thought about the whole switching out of the slider after I posted the question :). It would still be good to know the years it switched, for information more than anything. The answer won't solely influence my decision, rather it is just a piece of the puzzle.
I am currently jumping a Sabre2. The flare is a bit high of where I wish it was. Why did you like the Hornet? I've been hunting for info about them, since they don't seem to come up much in casual canopy conversation

[labrys 0]

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I am currently jumping a Sabre2. The flare is a bit high of where I wish it was. Why did you like the Hornet? I've been hunting for info about them, since they don't seem to come up much in casual canopy conversation

The Hornet and the Sabre 2 are very similar. If your flare is a bit high, assuming that you mean the canopy flares and reaches its stall point when your arms aren't fully extended or very soon after they are, you can have a rigger lengthen your brake lines.

I liked the Hornets because I liked the way they opened and I liked they way they flew. They were my first canopies and they were a hell of a lot more fun than the student Navigators.

They were also easy to pack. The ZP that they used was a slightly different coating. In addition to that, they had color coded tabs at the line attachment points on the canopy that made them really easy to flake.

Owned by Remi #?