1st canopy

[kyle 0]

which would be the better 1st canopy, sabre or crossfire.....who's happiest w/what container.....
i'm thinkin 170 canopy size, and to just jump a 190 and get proficient while it's all bein assembled...... 24jumps goin on 10,000
kyle
thnx all.......

[PhillyKev 0]

I'm looking for my first as well and did a lot of research as well as getting lots of responses here to my post. It seems that the 3 first canopies of coice for the most part are Spectre, Triathlon, and Hornet. You might want to check them out as well. Do a search in this forum for those three words and you'll find several long threads discussing them.
cielos azules y cerveza fría
-Kevin

[schumacher 0]

Do you really want Crossfire as your first canopy?
Damn, as a first canopy it's good only for suicide.
It's better for you to make a choice between Spectre, Hornet, Triatlon or Safire. If you can find a Sabre in good shape for little money - go on. And try to demo all possible choices, when you practice, you will know what you need.
For example, my instructor recommended me to buy Sabre-190... After 10 jumps, he offered me used PD-170. After 50 jumps I try Sabre-150. After all, at 80 jumps I bought Spectre-135 (1.4). After 200 jumps I can tell you, that it right canopy for me.
So, just try to demo all things what you can find. But stay away from Fully elliptical canopies (Crossfire and Stilleto), because you don't need their line-twists and oversteer right now.

[RemiAndKaren 0]

Very reasonable advice Schuey!
Remi

[Krishan 0]

the crossfire would not be a good first canopy. It is very elliptical and high performance. Stay away from it for at least a few hundred jumps.

[skybytch 273]

What's your body weight?
pull and flare,
lisa
----
I don't think much, therefore I might not be

[jaybird 0]

Wow, this could be a really tough one to answer. I started to jump a larger stiletto at about 42 jumps, then went to a 150 sonic, while i was waiting for my 149 crossfire to get here. i now have about 160 jumps, the last 100 or so on my crossfire. i weigh 170, 190 out the door, so i load it at 1.3 or so. now, i dont do low turns, and i am a fairly conservative pilot under 1500 ft. i talked with several people, including s&ta's at the dz before making this canopy decision. here is what they told me.
it is not uncommon to see people today with higher performing canopies at lower jump levels. there are a lot of people that still believe that it utterly crazy to jump one of these until you have about 200-500 jumps, however, that is the same thing they thought when "square" canopies were introduced. they continued to say, if you are going to jump a highly elliptical, high performance canopy at 50 jumps, then fly it like you have 50 jumps, dont fly it like you have 500 jumps.
i really like the performance of my crossfire. (the little that i have used). i guess it all comes down to what are you comfortable, and capable of flying. how are your landings, stand up, on target, how do you fly under different wind conditions, and traffic congestion (other jumpers in the air).
dont know if i actually clarified anything, just my two cents.
jaybird

[cobaltdan 0]

the cobalt is an elliptical canopy however being elliptical does not mean it is unsuitable for begineers.
what determines if a canopy design will be a student canopy or a pocket rocket is determined by a host of design variables. by itself an elliptical planform only means that the wing will be more efficient...period...you can not make any other assumptions without looking at the other design variables of the canopy.
as far as begineers on cobalts : in our opinion the cobalt is a far superior choice to a sabre or safire.
loading should be in the range of 1.2-1.4 #. as it is a much more efficient wing, loading should be slightly heavier than on a sabre. ie. 1# on a sabre = 1.2# on a cobalt for equal foward speed.
we have many instructors flying cobalts and even more newbies. demo request forms can be downloaded from our web site.
sincerely,
dan
atair
www.extremefly.com

[schumacher 0]

Jaybird, sounds like you bought Ferrari to drive 40 m/h max. Crossfire at 1.3 wingloading doesn't fly like "real" Crossfire (starting 1.6 wingloading).
The pilot must fly his canopy, not to be flown. Have you jumped big formations, when you have to steer away from other canopies? Do you have feeling that your canopy much faster than you think?
But, it's your own decision, may be you choose your right canopy, hope, you are happy with it. :)

[jaybird 0]

I do not feel that my canopy is really fast, just faster than most beginer canopies. I fly my canopy like i have 150 skydives, not 2000 like the extreme canopy fliers at my dz. At this point in time i am learning how to maximize this canopy's potential through the advise of more experienced pilots. i am extremely happy with my choice in canopy and size, its not dropping out of the sky like a smaller canopy, and at the same time i still get more performance than a traditional "starter" canopy (ex: triatholon, sabre, etc.) this is a canopy that will last me some time, and teach me the fundamentals to piloting faster, smaller, and higher performing canopies.
i was basically just repling to the fact that so many people think that if you are on a high performance eliptical canopy at a younger jump experience that you are trying to hurt yourself. however, how you fly it makes a big difference.
just my thoughts
jaybird