Aerodyne Solo used as a student workhorse?

[DougH 270]

I was wondering if any instructors or DZO's had any experince with Aerodynes student line of canopies, the solo.

The mantas my club is using for student mains are nearing the end of their lives, and we need to replace them in the near future.

If you are using solos please share how they have held up and if you are happy with them.

I am sold on their experinced jumper gear, but I wanted to do as much research as possible.

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

[everymansaved 0]

I know of three DZ's in Canada that use them. Pacific Skydivers, Alberta Skydivers and Niagara Skydivers have used them for two seasons now I believe. As far as I know they're happy with them, and the DZ in Alberta puts an outrageous number of IAD students under them. I'm sure riggerrob will post to this before too long, he works at the Pitt DZ, he might have something to add. You can go to their website as well: www.pacificskydivers.com.

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

[Andrewwhyte 1]

As the Solo is a relatively new canopy it will be hard to find DZs with Solos with a lot of jumps on them. Alberta Skydivers puts about 100-150 jumps/year on theirs but they are only two years old. My experience with them is that although they open and land very well, they are much too aggressive in a turn for a student canopy. The recovery arc is very short but the rate of descent during a full glide turn is, in my opinion, unacceptable.
We had a brand new Solo demo for a while this year and eventually decided that, on balance, we liked the seven year old Navigator better. That is a canopy that has demonstrated a great combination of flight characteristics and durability.

[DougH 270]

Thank you both for the info!

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

[faulknerwn 38]

That's been our main student canopy for 4 years or so now. We have a couple 230's and a couple of 270's. I've been very impressed with them - they fly _very_ flat - so on no-wind days you gotta get used to having a long final. They are responsive, but they don't do anything really radical (and we've had some students try!). Even a full toggle turn isn't that radical. I've jumped them for demo's and stuff and have really liked their slow flight characteristics. Its nice not having to worry about accidently stalling them in deep brakes.

They've held up very well. Our 230's have a ton of jumps on them and are still going strong.

[proswooper 2]

I have a bunch of jumps on a solo and have put about twenty to thirty students up on one during aff. it is basically a big pilot with a f111 skin to make packing easy. our aff students would argue over the rig with the solo in it because it opened so nicely compared to the other older student canopies. another really cool thing for students is the color coded line attachment points which made learning to pack simpler. the other canopies in the program include PD 9 cell, and navigators.

[riggerrob 643]

Yeah!
Whatever the other guys said.

Seriously, Solo 290 canopies have a ridiculously short recovery arch, so only the worst idiots will hurt themselves with botched approaches.
Secondly, they seem to have a large window for flaring. If you flare a Solo 290 too early, they just mush softly onto the planet.
OTOH if you time your flare perfectly, they "hover" for a two or three seconds.
The F-111 bottom skin and colour-coded line attachments make them easier to pack.
Solos seem to be pretty durable.

The only problem we have had is stitching fraying between the bridle attachment and the center tail. It only happens on the top, center seam. We theorize that the damage is being done by the bridle, but do not have a conclusive answer.

[birdynamnam 28]

what about the slider. The Solo has a collaps system on the slider. Ya'all is this a problem to handle for students? Left uncollapsed the slider vibrates and flaps a'lot imo.

[popsjumper 2]

Quote

what about the slider. The Solo has a collaps system on the slider. Ya'all is this a problem to handle for students?

Only if you tell them to collapse it.

Quote

Left uncollapsed the slider vibrates and flaps a'lot imo.

Cool "motorboat" sound. Everybody knows when I'm coming in.

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

[birdynamnam 28]

some instructors at my club want's to sew some stitches on the sliderstops/slider, so that students can't use them.

I think that we should just not mention them to the students as you suggest. More experienced students will eventually ask "what are they for" and they could collapse the slider then.

What remains is then only that tear and wear on lines will increase as the slider is left uncollapsed in most of the jumps.

[Rigger53 0]

Are you sure they do a Solo 290. Their website only goes up to Solo 270 and thats one of the reasons my DZ didn't go for them for students, ie the recommended maximum weight wasn't high enough for our full range of student weights.

[kaerodyne 0]

Quote

Are you sure they do a Solo 290. Their website only goes up to Solo 270 and thats one of the reasons my DZ didn't go for them for students, ie the recommended maximum weight wasn't high enough for our full range of student weights.

Here is some basic info on the Solo Canopy.

The Solo is produced in three sizes, 230, 250 & 270

Planform factor: 6.6
Aspect Ratio: 2.51
Number of cells: 9
Fabric: Hybrid
Suspension lines: 525 lbs. DACRON

As with any student gear the DZO and S&TA will make the choice that they feel is right for their program and needs, many choose to go with a name or brand they trust.

I'd say get a demo, have the staff and Instructors jump it and work on a feed back session within your DZ, that way when the choice is made on what direction and canopy the DZ buys, you have the entire staff supportive of it

[Rigger53 0]

I understand what you say but our problem is that the organisation that rules us (BPA), states that students can only use a wing loading of 0.80 on their first jump, and 0.85 on subsequent jumps unless the manufacturer states a higher wing loading limit. The limit on the 270 doesn't give us enough range so we went for the PISA Skymaster 290. I also know that wing loading is not the only criteria but thats what we are ruled by.

[riggerrob 643]

Funny, I had the same debate with Bushman (head of Aerodyne) about three years ago.

Bushman replied that Skymaster 290 and Solo 270 are the same size.
The confusion is caused by two different measuring methods. PISA used the old Para-Flite/PIA method (with span across the top skin) to measure the Skymaster, while the new Aerodyne measures Solos with Performance Designs' method (span measured across the bottom skin).
To further confuse you, Icarus changed from the old (PIA) method to the new (PD) method in 2001!

In conclusion, Skymaster 290s used to land out students great - until they wore out - and Solo 270s land our students great now. The differences are minor.