Black - Bad choice for a main color?

[ntrprnr 0]

In a random moment of "hmm, that might be fun," I was thinking about purchasing a new main, all black. Mostly because it would look cool.

But talk to me about black as a choice - bad for absorbing sunlight? Makes the canopy wear faster? Hotter?

What else should I be thinking of?

I do think it'd be a killer color...

_______________
"Why'd you track away at 7,000 feet?"
"Even in freefall, I have commitment issues."

[pilotdave 0]

I dunno if I'd want one, but it does look pretty cool...

http://www.skydivingstills.com/keyword/jim-landing#202504667-A-LB

http://www.skydivingstills.com/keyword/jim-landing#202489908-A-LB

I think my biggest worry would be losing it after a cutaway or being harder to see from above...

Dave

[DougH 270]

Bad for night jumps?

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

[pilotdave 0]

I've never been able to see anything other than blinking lights from other people on night jumps... Don't think the canopy color matters much for that. Besides, light blue is supposed to be the hardest color to see at night, from what I've heard.

Dave

[dragon2 2]

Black doesn't photograph well, if that is important to you. It's easy to loose detail so it doesn't look very nice.

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[likestojump 3]

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In a random moment of "hmm, that might be fun," I was thinking about purchasing a new main, all black. Mostly because it would look cool.

But talk to me about black as a choice - bad for absorbing sunlight? Makes the canopy wear faster? Hotter?

What else should I be thinking of?

I do think it'd be a killer color...

if you move out to the place with a lot of sun (AZ S.Cal ,etc) - you will hate the sizzling, faded canopy. Overall it's also not the greatest for resale value...

[lilchief 1]

I heard that PD once made a black canopy with black stiches, black lines, just ALL black. They quickly discovered that qualitychecking the canopy was a pain in the ass

I've got no answer to your question.

"Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you long to return." - Da Vinci
www.lilchief.no

[everymansaved 0]

A friend of mine has a canopy identical to the one in Dave's picture, and it's not that bad, but it is quite faded for it's age. It looks pretty cool though.

PS: Dave, is that a 150 that guy has, and does he still have it?

God made firefighters so paramedics would have heroes...and someone can put out the trailer fires.

[FrancoR 0]

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What else should I be thinking of?

Black is harder to see over any dark background. People are allready not seeing each other and collide way to often, pick something brighter.

Franco

If it does not cost anything you are the product.

[pilotdave 0]

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PS: Dave, is that a 150 that guy has, and does he still have it?

No, I think it's a 190. He still has it though.

Dave

[DiamondGirl 0]

The advice I got was that it'd be hard to find after a cutaway.

~* Quae Sursum Volo Videre *~

[Grumpy 9]

I've got an all black canopy.
It is hard to see from above. I've seen footage from someone elses camera as they almost collided with me and it just blends in with the ground behind it pretty well.
I don't think it's harder to find after a chop than any other non fluro colour (except for the sunset load chop I had!!)
It's a bit tricky to pack when you get it first. It just seems a bit harder to find your way around it somehow.
It does fade a bit to a brownish grey.
It does look good but my next one won't be all black.

[KNewman 0]

Call it personal taste but I sold my all black Fusion and got a new brightly colored one. I was always thinking to myself, if I had to cut it away, I would never find it. I loved the canopy, just could not get along with the color. My 2 cents....

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

[tdog 0]

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Bad for night jumps?

I would have thought that myself too... But then I watched a bunch of friends jump off a legal BASE jumping bridge at night and discovered black is, actually, easy to see as a "dark void".

A medium gray/silver on the top skin, and a navy blue or blackberry bottom skin, is actually very hard to see. Believe it or not, a completely black canopy is too black to disappear. White is the most visible. Red disappears too.

The Moody Blues song comes to mind:

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Cold-hearted orb that rules the night,
Removes the colors from our sight,
Red is gray and yellow white,
But we decide which is right,
And which is an illusion.

Pinprick holes in a colorless sky,
Let insipid figures of light pass by,
The mighty light of ten thousand suns,
Challenges infinity and is soon gone.

Nighttime, to some a brief interlude,
To others the fear of solitude.
Brave Helios, wake up your steeds,
Bring the warmth the countryside needs.

And a science website comments on the lyrics:

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The person who wrote this either spent too much time staring out the window and daydreaming or was a keen observer of the nature of light and color. Brightness is the only quality in which white, gray and black are different, and the surrounding background is what we use to determine how bright an object appears.

[skyninja 0]

Darker colors hold up better to UV exposure.

Packing shouldn't be a problem unless you're either really new or a retard.

My black canopy is fine in the Arizona sun. Darker colors do get hotter when sitting out, but who leaves their gear in the sun? It does collect dust from dirt landings, but a few grass landings cleans it up nice.

Besides, rainbow canopies make you look gay...

Why don't you just play 'chicken' on the railroad tracks? It would be a cheaper way to toy with death, I'm sure.

CWR #2 - "You SAID collision!"

[BIGUN 1,307]

We had a guy locally that had a black canopy with blue ribs... we called it the stealth canopy. Looked cool.

It was about the time I had a canopy that was flourescent yellow with flourescent orange ribs... in the sunlight, it looked like a fireball. Some folks called it the "Electric Banana."

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[MB38 0]

My canopy is 7 black and 2 grey. What's there to say about it? It has about 350-400 jumps on it and it's still black and grey... even at Perris.

If I was buying new, would I go for a different color? Absolutely. But that's because I'm not a black and grey kind of person.

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

[NWFlyer 2]

Mine's black with red ribs.

Two times I have really not liked having it:

1) After a 15-way "sunset" load that was a little on the late side. That early evening light made it very difficult for me to see others with dark canopies and I was definitely anxious about being seen with my canopy as well.

2) Trying to find it in thick northwest forest after a cutaway. It definitely blends in.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[fugozzie 0]

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PS: Dave, is that a 150 that guy has, and does he still have it?

No, I think it's a 190. He still has it though.

Dave

Yup its a 190! I am a fatass! I like it!

[bch7773 0]

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Bad for night jumps?

I would have thought that myself too... But then I watched a bunch of friends jump off a legal BASE jumping bridge at night and discovered black is, actually, easy to see as a "dark void".

A medium gray/silver on the top skin, and a navy blue or blackberry bottom skin, is actually very hard to see. Believe it or not, a completely black canopy is too black to disappear. White is the most visible. Red disappears too.

in WW2 they discovered that all black planes were too visible at night... a dark gray or dark brown is actually the hardest to see at night.

that being said, I have a dark blue and black canopy and its pretty damned hard to spot at night

MB 3528, RB 1182

[ZigZagMarquis 9]

My favorite colors are "in stock".




I've always tended to want some bright neon-y colors in my canopies though. Seems to make them easier to find after a cut-away. I've helpd search the desert for hours after someone has a cutaway on a single color canopy that they themselves didn't follow down or someone else didn't follow down. Even all red, all blue and all purple canopies seemed to be hard to find on the desert floor if someone didn't land with them.

Years ago we had some former Marines that wanted to go "all tactical" and get all black rigs and all black mains. They were even trying to find someone to make black Spectra (if it even exists) for the lines.

[billvon 2,990]

A few comments on black:

1) In general it's better from a UV damage perspective. Black blocks sunlight, so it will penetrate less deeply into fabric.

2) It's harder to see in many places. It's probably easier to see in Eloy where the ground is light.

3) It will turn brownish very quickly in a place like Eloy.

4) It will be hotter to pack if you pack in the sun.

[drudchen 0]

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1) In general it's better from a UV damage perspective. Black blocks sunlight, so it will penetrate less deeply into fabric.

Can you explain this statement a little?
As far as I understand, the material appears to be black because it absorbs all the light wavelengths in all the visible light spectrum. White fabric reflects the incident light evenly throughout the spectrum. Well, the colour that we see is an indirect indication of what the reflectivity/absorptivity of UV, as UV is not in the visible spectrum, but is close to violet.
So you say if the fabric absorbs all the visible light, it is LESS prone to UV damage?
If anything I'd think it would heat up more as you're flying it under the sun, but you also get nice aircooling effect
edit: I used to fly an all-black Sabre120 for a little while. The canopy was pretty worn out when I got it used, but I can't say if it was due to the fact that it was all black, and probably more so because it was jumped in sandy desert area before i got it.

[pilotdave 0]

Anybody ever replaced a canopy due to UV damage? I assume UV damage weakens the fabric, making it more prone to tearing? Could there possibly be any data, even if anecdotal, on what color fabric gets repaired most often for tears? I mean, is color realistically a concern as far as the lifespan of the canopy goes?

Dave

[Unparagoned 0]

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1) In general it's better from a UV damage perspective. Black blocks sunlight, so it will penetrate less deeply into fabric.

Can you explain this statement a little?
As far as I understand, the material appears to be black because it absorbs all the light wavelengths in all the visible light spectrum. White fabric reflects the incident light evenly throughout the spectrum. Well, the colour that we see is an indirect indication of what the reflectivity/absorptivity of UV, as UV is not in the visible spectrum, but is close to violet.
So you say if the fabric absorbs all the visible light, it is LESS prone to UV damage?
If anything I'd think it would heat up more as you're flying it under the sun, but you also get nice aircooling effect

I was thinking the same thing. Maybe it is because the fabric and colour are separate. So the colour is ontop of the fabric and since it absorbs the UV, less gets through to the actual fabric. Just a wild guess. I would be interested in the real reason as well.