j3zz 0 #1 September 30, 2004 I am an impatient sort of person when it comes to buying things so with my heart set on a 170 I had just retrained after a 4 year lay-off which I ended jumping a ZP170 I promptly bought a spectre 150 at +/- 1.2 it was the first system I felt I could just about get away with. Ok I had a few sketchy landings to start have done around 100 jumps on it with no injury, I had gear fear a few times in the beginning thought about upsizing but the ££ stopped me. Anyone else have storied like this that maybe did not end so well. I am now very happy with my canopy and by british standard am pretty current for a sport jumper, 120 jumps since march. Well I am bored at work so lets have some feedback Jezz "Now I know why the birds fly" Hinton Skydivers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tonto 1 #2 September 30, 2004 It's not over till it's over. You seem to think that "You've got away with it." Maybe you have. Time will tell. tIt's the year of the Pig. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gemini 0 #3 September 30, 2004 The worst reason in my opinion is peer pressure. This is often disguised. You hear comments such as: 1. He jumps a xx sq ft canopy and I am a better canopy pilot than him. 2. I learn faster than most jumpers. 3. I am a better jumper than my jump numbers indicate. 4. I've done xx jumps on this canopy so need to downsize to an x. What you rarely hear is "I've gotten everything out of this canopy that it can do after xxx jumps, I think I will downsize." Blue skies, Jim Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
j3zz 0 #4 September 30, 2004 Agreed you can get hurt at any point, however if I was to get hurt now it would be more likely bad judgement rather than jumping a canopy I cannot handle. Don't get me wrong I am not where near to getting everything out of the canopy I have rather I feel I am inside a window where I can handle it safely when using good judgment, before I felt I was a bit unsafe even with my best judgment. That is to say if offered a free canopy today I would go with a 150 Spectre, where as 6 months ago an offer of a free canopy would have me getting a 170 something. Jezz "Now I know why the birds fly" Hinton Skydivers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 20 #5 September 30, 2004 All most 400 jumps on the same size and platform of a canopy has taught me one thing... I have barely scratched the surface of what the canopy can do and that its still at the limits of my current skills. If I had a free canopy offer today I'd probally upsize. Doing only ~100 jumps this year has me feeling uncurrent as hell and even at 1.4 I'm feeling behind the curve of where I need to be.Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnMitchell 16 #6 September 30, 2004 Well, you're loading the canopy at 1.2, which is "okay" for over 200 jumps, going by the guidelines promoted by Brian Germaine. Get some instruction in canopy flying. Learn to fly in brakes and do flat turns, both extremely important survival skills. Can you land where you want, on target? Accuracy skills are important for that day when you are faced with an off DZ or obstacle landing. Be prepared for the unexpected, because you'll run into it someday. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
j3zz 0 #7 September 30, 2004 Thanks for the Advice I know how to flat turn and can more or less hit a target. And talking of unexpected, one time when I was landing off years ago after some bad wind flying tactics I setup for what I thought looked like a nice open field, at about 150ft I realised it was a vineyard with those nice pointy sticks all over the place fortunately there was an out which I safely landed in, its sometimes difficult to pick that sort of thing out when you are above it. So expect the unexpected and don't over react when low. I am working on canopy skills but there is only limited training in the UK, but I have learnt a lot of useful skills from various posts on dz.com Jezz "Now I know why the birds fly" Hinton Skydivers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
f1shlips 2 #8 September 30, 2004 Smaller canopies are easier to pack.-- drop zone (drop'zone) n. An incestuous sesspool of broken people. -- Attributed to a whuffo girlfriend. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr2mk1g 10 #9 September 30, 2004 Cos your balls drag on the floor when you swoop - the shorter line set on a smaller canopy's not going to change that. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 20 #10 September 30, 2004 Worst excuse - The Packers charge an extra dollar for canopies 170 or larger and I don't feel like paying that dollar anymore. Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
unfeomateo 1 #11 September 30, 2004 Is it ok for someone who weighs 105 to jump a 150 at about 50 jumps. If all the other jumps were stand up. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,070 #12 September 30, 2004 There are a few other bad reasons, all of which I have heard: -Your landings are not very good and you have heard that smaller canopies have a better flare. -Joe Cool, swooper extraordinaire, said you'd be fine with it. -Your container won't fit a bigger canopy. -You have a small reserve and don't want an incompatible main. -X is an idiot, X has an even smaller canopy, and X didn't die. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,106 #13 September 30, 2004 The worst reason is a burning desire to say "Hey, watch THIS".... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dreamsville 0 #14 September 30, 2004 It almost makes me superstitious to say "Hey watch this!". Such as the one skydive of the day with outside video which doesn't go nearly as well as the perfect skydive an hour ago where no one flew a camera. I suppose it's possible to think too much about doing something just because someone is watching. |I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
popsjumper 2 #15 September 30, 2004 QuoteThe worst reason is a burning desire to say "Hey, watch THIS". Yup...you read about those guys in the incident reports every month....My reality and yours are quite different. I think we're all Bozos on this bus. Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
UKKid35 1 #16 October 1, 2004 I feel like this thread was started for me! I bought mine because it was part of a rig that I believe was a very good deal, I didn't research it beforehand, but I knew I'd be able to swap it for something less extreme (but probably the same size) if neccessay. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
winsor 236 #17 October 1, 2004 QuoteThe worst reason is a burning desire to say "Hey, watch THIS". I had the perfect opportunity to do so and blew it - under a 7-TU (round). I was landing right next to Mullins' tent, and saw Anne at manifest. I considered yelling "hey, y'all, watch this!" so she'd expect to see someone swooping something loaded 3.5:1 or whatever, but thought the better of it. I then got creative with my landing, burying the toggles instead of pulling down or risers. This, of course, put me into a sink instead of a flare. I don't regret the broken foot. I do regret that I didn't say "watch this!" before I broke it. Maybe next time. Blue skies, Winsor Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dropzonefool 0 #18 October 1, 2004 NO. if your on a ZP. Most manufactures consider that to be high performance canopy for experts only. I added 25 lbs to 105 for gear and the wing load is .9/1 This wing load is not harsh for a person with 50 jump all standup. But consider what may happen when landing off field and encountering an unforseen obstical after your low, and on final. Aggressive input on a 150 could really hurt you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,106 #19 October 1, 2004 QuoteNO. if your on a ZP. Most manufactures consider that to be high performance canopy for experts only. VEHEMENTLY DISAGREE.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkydiveNFlorida 0 #20 October 1, 2004 QuoteIs it ok for someone who weighs 105 to jump a 150 at about 50 jumps. If all the other jumps were stand up. Depends on the person, but in general, I think you're going to get a yes on that. Talk to people at your dz and make your decision based on what they say. They have seen you fly and know better than anyone on here does. I had no problem flying a 150 at your number of jumps, but everyone is different. I don't think 'any zp is a hp canopy' is widely accepted. I hightly doubt Sebastian would've put me out on a high performance canopy on my 1st jump (started on a Sabre 190). -A Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,534 #21 October 1, 2004 There's a whole lot more to landing that standing up. That said, it would depend on the canopy; 105 even geared up will load a 150 at less than 1:1, but the shorter lines on the smaller canopy will have it acting more aggressive than a similarly-loaded larger canopy. Here's an article about wingloading from the PD website that talks about this issue among others. It's really helpful to read. Wendy W.There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
