skymaster

[mrmanta 0]

is anyone familiar with a skymaster. do they flare better than a p.d. since the topskin is z.p.?

[SkydiveMonkey 0]

I've flown a skymaster a few times, and they're just about the same as normal student kit. ie. big and slow. They're quite a good canopy - they seem more stable and smoother than a lot of canopies in that class.
It's bounce that hurts, so grab the grass !!

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[PhreeZone 20]

Do they flare better the what PD product? A 7 or 9 cell F111? Yes. A sabre or one of PD's half and halfs? Nope. The flare on any PD product is extremely powerful and is only passed by a few products (Crossbraced canopys, Cobalts and thier predocessors, and other Elliptical canopys).
In my experience the Skymasters need to go to full flare to get a good flare while the PD half and half products only need to go to the mid flare point in order to get great landings.
Unless you are having problems packing or are'nt ready to get the bump in proformance, I'd look at just getting a large Sabre , Pro Series or even a Safire as an alternitive to the Skymaster.
I'm not sure what to put here right now.....

[Watcher 0]

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Pro Series or even a Safire as an alternitive

I throw my support to that statement. For those that arent familiar a Pro is a Flight Concepts canopy, very very similar to the Pro but with super soft openings and a better flare (cannot be stabbed though, needs a nice progressive flare).
I did AFF on a Safire and thought them amazing, i would probably have ordered on if i had not found the Nitron.
Jonathan

[PhreeZone 20]

I think you ment the Pro is similar to a Sabre
I'm not sure what to put here right now.....

[Watcher 0]

Yeah i did mean that, Pro is very very similar to the Sabre (and alot cheaper to get a new one as evidenced on SkyKat) and i would edit it, but everytime i try to edit a post i get an error. I guess thats what i get for typeing while watching TV and eating Pizza.
Jonathan.

[riggerrob 643]

Watcher,
Please share your pizza.

[riggerrob 643]

We have been using Skymaster 290s and 230s in our student program for several years at Pitt Meadows. We have had consistent openings and they land great as long as students remember to flare.
We also have couple of rental Hornet 190s, so by the time they graduate, most junior jumpers are more of a mind to buy Hornets.
As with any PISA product, expect great materials, workmanship and openings.

[flyinryan 0]

Our DZ also has a skymaster in its student program. It is used as a trasition canopy. I used it and really liked it. It opened super soft. Strangely it always opens with the two end cells closed. I don't konw if this is a design thing or what but it made the openings soft!!! One student cut away from it though because they paniced when the end cells didn't open and didn't think to pump the risers. Because of the ZP top skin you can get a little surf out of it which is just cool.

[mountainman 0]

i've flown a skymaster 230 about 4 or 5 times and I think that it is an OK canopy for being F111 and huge. It flares better (IMHO) than a 220 Raider. I dont know why, but it was softer.
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http://www.JumpinDuo.com
"oh no. Not another one"-Alienangel

[riggerrob 643]

flyinryan,
The closed end cells were probably caused by the slow opening. There is just not enough air rushing into the canopy to completely inflate it on the first try. This is a common nuisance on lightly loaded canopies.

[JumpinJohn 0]

I've been flying skymasters since the beginning of my student progression, very forgiving canopy but slow as hell...

[flyinryan 0]

I actually didn't mind. It was symetrical so it didn't start to turn or anything. It just opened reall slowly, kinda nice I thought. Was there any danger inherent in that type of opening that I don't know about? The end cells would always pop open with just simple break pumping.

[JumpinJohn 0]

i've never seen a skymaster do that

[Kris 0]

At my DZ, we just purchased a dozen or so new Skymasters a few months ago. They are 200's, 230's, 260's & 290's.
Since that time I have noticed that our students are getting much better at canopy control and because of the way they fly (more like a true ZP since they are a hybrid canopy), students seem to have a much easier time transitioning to an all ZP canopy such as a Sabre.
As far as the openings go, all of ours have been sweet & consistent with closed end-cells only happening VERY rarely.
Kris

[Merrick 0]

Yeah Kris, I think I was one of the original test monkeys for those skymasters when Mike had gotten just a few demos. After looking back at my log-book, that's what I predominately flew on my student progression, I would pout or whine when I'd have to use a Manta or that damn Falcon. LOL The skymasters flew great (both the 260 & the 230 I flew).... they had much crisper turns, and a LOT stronger flare than the mantas I'd been introduced to earlier. Didn't even realize they had collapsible sliders until this summer sometime (Dammit), not that it would have made a huge difference. LOL
I transferred to my own Canopy (a Sabre 190) at jump # 16, I graduated on #14 (IAD progression), and the last student canopy I flew was the 260 skymaster... I had absolutely no problems downsizing straight to the Sabre.... Consequently, Pam used predominately Mantas on her student progression & she is just recently starting to REALLY figure the landings on her Sabre out. "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"