Skydive2 1 #1 October 4, 2007 Does anyone have any hands on experience with the new SET 366? How does the toggle pressure and bottom end compare to the Icarus 365? After seeing the old SET 360's in action, I'm very skeptical to buy any thing expect a SET 400 from strong. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andrewwhyte 1 #2 October 4, 2007 I have about two hundred jumps on the 366. The toggle pressure is similar to the 365, perhaps a bit higher. The problem is it really does not want to shut down. If you flare it similar to a 400 for a slide in landing it levels off very nicely but you have a lot of forward speed in a low wind environment. If you flare high, as you can nicely on the Icarus, on this you get that stally-surgey thing at a fairly high speed and neither standing nor sitting are great; if you have ever come out of a hook too high on a Stiletto you will know what I mean. I have found that a two stage flare helps on no wind days; start burning off airspeed at about 30ft and you still have lots of flare left at the bottom. The max recommended weight on the panel is 450lbs and, having exceeded it once or twice, I think they mean it. It still levels off nicely but the airspeed is so high that a mistake will likely result in injury. On balance if I never see another SET 400 that will suit me fine. I am enjoying the 366. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DualHawk 0 #3 October 8, 2007 Hi Lance, The SET-366 was designed with 2 purposes in mind. 1) Address the toggle pressure that a 400sq ft tandem canopy generates, and 2) Keep the soft, reliable openings that the SET 400 are known for. Okay, now that the sales pitch is out of the way...lol, in the SET 366, we were able to lower the toggle pressure and also lower where in the flare stroke the pressure builds up. It builds up lower in the flare than a 400, typically just below the shoulder level. People are stronger pushing down, than pulling up, so we aimed to lower where in the flare the pressure builds up to below the shoulders and I think we did a good job at that. Yes, the recommended limit is 450lbs, but speaking from personal experience, I did a number of test jumps at 499.99lbs...in all kinds of wind conditions, including no wind, high humidity days, and recorded a number of stand up landings at 500lbs in no wind. We chose to limit the weight to 450lbs, as Andrew said, as at 500lbs, there is a good amount of forward speed on the SET 366, and given the various size and shape of heavier passengers which would tend to push you towards the 500lb limit, it just made sense from a conservative approach to limit it at 450lbs. As far as the canopy itself, most of the demos we have sent out haven't come back, as they get bought on the spot, so we are feverishly trying to keep demos in stock, so to me, that says that we're doing something right. Ultimately, tandem skydiving and by default tandem canopies, need to be about safety and reliability first, and then "fun to fly" second. Keeping that in mind, we believe that the SET 366 accomplishes those objectives, and so far most of the people that have demo'd and bought the canopy feel the same way we do. If I can answer any specific questions for you, I'd be happy to. Please feel free to email me at tomnoonan@strongparachutes.com, or call me at 407-859-9317, M-F 9am-5pm EST. Best Regards, Tom Noonan Tandem Director Strong Enterprises Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skydive2 1 #4 April 29, 2008 Anyone else had a chance to demo one? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites