Pilot and safire 2, a Comparison

[nicolesser 0]

I`m thinking in buying a Pilot Canopy.

Somebody has jumped a safire 2 and also a Pilot canopy ?.

How is the performance between both.

thanks folks

Nicolas

Orbital Flyer

[Kramer 0]

I demoed both at Rantoul.

I'm certainly no expert on the flight of canopies, so take the following words as a grain of salt:

Overall, I liked the Pilot better (and am ordering one Monday as a matter of fact). The openings were both acceptable. Very soft, and on heading. As the Aerodyne guy said, speaking on the Pilot, "the opening is like falling into a bed of pillows", I couldn't agree more.

I liked the toggle reaction out of the Pilot quite a bit more. When I was flying the Pilot, I felt as though the canopy was one with my mind, as if it knew everything I wanted it to do. I didn't quite get this sensation from the Safire. I loved the flare of the Pilot. It just felt right. It felt natural and perfect. The Safire I kinda biffed in a bit actually. The flare just felt akward, like the canopy didn't slow down very much (if at all) during the first half of the flare.

Not that I know wtf I'm talking about, but IMO, the Pilot just seemed like a purely perfect canopy to me. Nothing wrong with the Safire (I actually liked it better than the Sabre 2), but the Pilot was the best of the three by far.

The FAKE KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMER!!!!!!!!!

[BlindBrick 0]

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The Safire I kinda biffed in a bit actually. The flare just felt akward, like the canopy didn't slow down very much (if at all) during the first half of the flare.

I fly a Safire 2 and if I had to guess, I'd say you got caught by the fact the Safire's flare power is in the bottom of the range of toggle motion rather than the top. There's nothing wrong with the canopy. If you flare the Safire fully, it has tremendous power.

My first jump on the canopy, I came in and thought I wasn't getting any flare, and just buried the toggles the rest of the way. It was a bit of a suprise to find myself about five feet above the ground when I had been less than a foot above it a second before. That taught me just where the flare gets good on the the canopy, and having learned that, my landngs have been nothing but sweet since then.

-Blind

"If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

[DancingFlame 0]

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I'd say you got caught by the fact the Safire's flare power is in the bottom of the range of toggle motion rather than the top.

That's the trick a lot of people do not understand. Somebody does not take full flare of the Safire and then he says it has weak flare.
But those who got used to it say Safire is better, or, at least, nor worse than Pilot. So do I.

[Tonto 1]

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The flare just felt akward, like the canopy didn't slow down very much (if at all) during the first half of the flare.

You don't know the Safire. Maybe 40% of the flare power is in the last 6 inches of the stroke - right at the bottom.

Pilot is nice - I think the openings are too slow - but I think the Safire is better. Oh. In case you're worrying about objectivity, I own both.

t

It's the year of the Pig.

[nicolesser 0]

Hi Tonto

What`s your opinion about safire 2 and Pilots ?
What you mean when you say safire has more power !
Im very interesting in kowing vtheir differences

thanks

nicolas

Orbital Flyer

[Tonto 1]

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What`s your opinion about safire 2 and Pilots ?

Both excellent intermediate canopies. I think the Pilot's openings are too slow for me. As an AFF I I may be called down to a 2k pull with some students. 1000 ft openings are too slow to accomodate my 1500 ft hard deck for reserve use.

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What you mean when you say safire has more power!

I never said it had more power. I said the power was lower down on the control stroke.

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Im very interesting in kowing vtheir differences

They are aimed at the same segment of the market. Best is to demo both and choose which you prefer. I don't like the pilot's openings, particularly for wingsuits and AFF. Just too slow, and slow deployments on wingsuits have the potential to create variables beyond our control. Demo. Choose. My opinion means nothing at all. Yours is the one that matters.

t

It's the year of the Pig.

[Jiggs 0]

Hey Tonto,

What exactly is your take on the Safire2 for Wingsuit flight, I currently fly my trusty old Sabre 150 and its feeling like a bit of a dog lately (had it for 500 jumps or so). I was thinking of getting a Safire2 129 for a bit more fun under canopy but I have not had the chance to demo around this size (just crossfires). Anyway since I am more into wingsuits than anything else at the moment - how does it handle line twists? How are the openings (other than mellow?)
Whats the riser pressure and recovery arc like? What would the dive be comparable to?
How does it sit in brakes?
Finally how is it in Turbulence and the in the wakes of other canopies?

Cheers mate,

"Don't blame malice for what stupidity can explain."

"In our sleep, pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart and in our despair, against our will comes wisdom" - Aeschylus

[Tonto 1]

Hi There,

I'm not an expert Wingsuit pilot, and have less than 100 wingsuit jumps. I'm using a Safire 119 as my primary canopy for wingsuit and have not used a Safire2 with a wingsuit. I suggest you search the wingsuit forum for your answer, and if it's not forthcoming, post a thread asking the question.

Riser pressure is very subjective. I'm a rock climber, so the thought of "heavy riser pressure" has always been a bit of a joke, but it is heavier than a Stilleto. Recovery arc is always in comparison to something else. Its not as fast as my stilleto, but slower than an FX.

I've never had line twists on a Safire 2 so I have no idea of how it handles them, but if it's anything like the Safire - I would imagine it handles them very well.

Wake turbulence? I tell you what. You fly into someone elses wake and let me know how that goes for you, ok?

t

It's the year of the Pig.