Heatwave Info

[cloud9 0]

Ok folks I just bought a heatwave and need a little information from some of you that have jumped one. I did read the reviews but I have a few questions that were not addressed.
How do they open?
How do you pack? Do you roll the nose, tail push the nose back into the pack? Do they have any oversteer? Any other info would be appreciated.
I know I should have jumped one before I bought it, but the deal was just to good to pass up, and the reviews did have some good things to say. So here I am going to jump it next saturday and I'm not even sure how I'm going to pack it yet!

[SkymonkeyONE 4]

Call Joe Bennett at Skydive Monroe and ask him what he has to say. He put a LOT of jumps on one. Here is the number to the dropzone: (770)-207-9164. the website is www.skydivemonroe.com
Chuck

[cloud9 0]

Thanks Chuck I'll give him a call. I'll have to do it when I'm off they don't let us have long distance at work. I guess they're afraid we'll make long distance personal calls about parachutes go figure!
I decided to take your advise and go ahead and jump it. I worked last weekend so I'll have to wait until next saturday. I think I'll really like it. But I would like to know what to expect.

[SkymonkeyONE 4]

Good luck and have fun

[velocity 0]

Hi cloud9,
You made a very good deal! The Heatwave is a great canopy that offers a good flight performance. It is more or less alike to the PD Stiletto - perhaps it is a bit more forgiving, less snappy.
I currently jump a Velocity 111 and before that I put around 500 jumps on a Heatwave 135. Don´t worry about making a mistake while packing it. Just put it in the bag the same way like you packed your previous canopy. The South African ZP fabric is very easy to pack and it will open greatly. I always used a standard pro pack, I didn´t push the nose inside and just let it hang. I always got very good (though pretty fast)openings that were on heading. If you want you can play around a bit with the slider position-I personally found it helpful to quarter the slider and pull it out in front of the center cell exactly the same way as it is recommended on PD Sabres. Again, I am sure you will enjoy your new canopy.
Have fun!
Blue ones
Velocity

[cloud9 0]

Thanks velocity, packing was a major concern I didn't want any of those sabre like slams.

[Kirils 1]

Hey, you got a great canopy there. I have been psycho packing mine for apx. 100 jumps now. Great openings as long as I am square in the harness. Tucking in the stabilizers help guarantee an on-heading opening. Good Luck & Safe Skies.
Skydiving is not a static excercise with discrete predictability...

[Kris 0]

Quote

Tucking in the stabilizers help guarantee an on-heading opening.

Kirils,
Since my first jump on my new Heatwave was anything but "on-heading"On mine, I take the two large pieces of the stabilizer on each side and fold them to the front of the slider (towards mah' belly). If you've got a better way, please share as I'll take all the advice I can get after having had to chop it on the first jump.
Thanks!
Kris

[Kirils 1]

Kris,
With the Heatwave it is very important you are square in the harness on opening. You can actually stear the canopy with
your hips! That is first and formost for an on heading opening.
The second biggest cause of off heading openings occurs when the stabilizers catch wind before a solid center inflation.
Tip: pull out the stabilizers and roll them back 180 into the pack toward the nose. Pulling out the center cell may also help. (I needed to do that on my older HW). Let know what happens. Hey ...it is a cool chute once it's open EH? (grin)
K
Skydiving is not a static excercise with discrete predictability...