Downsizing question

[davelepka 4]

***concentrating more on accuracy then swooping since i want to eventually switch over to base. I'm a VERY poor college boy, so basically once i get a canopy, thats it,
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Don't buy a Spectre 170 then. That wingloading is a little high for a first canopy anyway, and it's waaaaay too high for BASE.

If you are poor, and want to BASE, look for a used F-111 7 cell. It will be close to what you will use for BASE, and should be extra cheap.

[FrogNog 1]

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So i dont want to get like a 190 or something and then get tired of it and bored and be stuck.

I understand the absolute most boringest canopy in the world is every one that can't be flown while being grounded by an injury.

I have 50 jumps and I'm at 1.12:1 on a couple of borrowed 190s right now and I'm a weenie so it will be a looong time before I'm "tired" of them in the air (a Triathlon and Hornet). But even if I were approaching that limit, I'd still be concerned about my landings. I land well on these canopies at this wingloading but I'm not yet 100% sure I can land them in bad conditions. Until I have no fear of a downwind landing with some unexpected gusts while I'm over the rottweiler farm between the power station and the prison, I'm not going to chop another 20 square feet off anything I intend to land.

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Pull.

[billvon 2,998]

>i'm actually looking at getting my own rig, i've been standing up
> every landing and actually pretty accurately, as well.

That's good news - it means you're starting to learn how to fly the canopy. At this point you understand about 10% of how the canopy flies and how to use it to keep yourself alive. This is a good time to start really learning to fly it, preferably from canopy coach or the like.

> I've been thinking about getting a Spectre 170, i weigh about 190-
>200 out the door. I would be using a very conservative wing loading . .

That's not conservative at your stage. There is no such thing as any absolute "conservative" wing loading. I'm using a conservative wing loading of 1.5 to 1 on the 372 way; it's only conservative for me because I've become proficient on a 1.8 to 1 canopy. The exact same loading would be deadly for someone right off student status.

Once you can fly the heck out of the 200 (or a 190) then going to the smaller canopy will be a conservative decision.

>and really concentrating more on accuracy then swooping since i want
>to eventually switch over to base.

BASE requires very different equipment. Lately the trend is to go larger; someone like yourself will likely end up with a MOJO 280 or thereabouts. A Spectre 170 is very unsuitable for BASE, and much of what you learn won't transfer directly.

>I'm a VERY poor college boy, so basically once i get a canopy, thats
> it, its gonna have to last me for a few years.

If you are serious about BASE, you might want to consider a much larger canopy for your skydiving rig:

1. If you're poor, you won't be able to jump much, and thus will often be uncurrent. A larger canopy will be more forgiving of uncurrent jumpers.

2. Learning to accurately land a larger canopy isn't quite the same as learning to land a smaller canopy. If BASE will really be your thing, it would behoove you to learn more classic accuracy tricks, like deep-brakes approaches.

3. Larger modern canopies (especially in the 190 range) are very easy to resell, since there's a big market for the fresh-off-student-status types.

[twnsnd 1]

If you're getting bored with your canopy flight. Just skip that part.

-We are the Swoophaters. We have travelled back in time to hate on your swoops.-

[DrewEckhardt 0]

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I would be using a very conservative wing loading, and really concentrating more on accuracy then swooping since i want to eventually switch over to base.

I used to weigh 200 pounds out the door and jump a Stiletto 120 (1.67 pounds/square foot). I found that my Fox 245 (.8 pounds/square foot) was somewhat small for the more interesting BASE landing areas.

Now I'm 30 pounds lighter and think my Dagger 244/Fox 245 (.67) are just right.

If you're serious about getting into BASE early (I would have hurt myself if I started before I had 500 jumps), you really want to be familiar with big, slow F111 seven cells.

You also don't want to switch. Skydiving will help develop and maintain an instinctive set of skills (awareness of wind, flying approaches, being relaxed and level at deployment time) that will improve your odds while BASE jumping.