freeflydemon 0 #1 March 4, 2007 A lot of people told me the xaos21 has amazing openings and is not too much radical than the crossfire. Is it a good transition between a crossfire and a JVX, Velo or Xaos27? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skyolker 0 #2 March 5, 2007 Yes. That's what I did, before I got Velo. Xaos 21 is very inderstandable and pretty easy in control. It reminded me my previous canopy Crossfire 2 a lot, but it was faster, recovery arc was deaper and openings were more radical. I wasn't lucky with openings, cause canopy was old and crapy, but my friends, who got Xaoses 21 were pretty happy with openings and fly characteristics. And honestly I got bored pretty soon on this canopy until I got my Velocity. I did about 900 jumps with it and I'm still loving it!But for sure I would call Xaos 21 good "student" crossbrase canopy. I also heard very good words about new Icarus NEOS. Didn't try it yet. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rhys 0 #3 March 5, 2007 How about the origional x brace.... the FX? That is what i chose, i got a crappy rinsed out one for $400 and found it was not too different to the x-fire i was jumpin previously but just a little faster and the openings a little crisper! I now have a JVX and i am glad i had transitioned from an FX. had I went from the x fire to the JVX i would have regreted it! the JVX is VERY fast. on my first landing i swooped about 70 metres on a 90 degree approach and on the fx i was lkucky to get that from a 270. Why is the FX not an option? I didn't vote because i couldn't Blue skies, Rhys"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
selwynj 0 #4 March 5, 2007 Hi Freeflydemon, I started with a Xaos 27. The wingload was just over 2 and I moved from a 9 cell laoded at 1.8. I did +- 50 jumps on this wingload and moved to a smaller wing. The Xaos 27 is a fairly stable opener and in my expierience it can be flown safely with the correct knowledge. A velo in my opinion is not for a beginner. You are already flying a very aggressive wingload on a 9 cell. Please find a canopy pilot that you trust and have a discussion with him. Stay safe.“It takes ten years to get ten years’ experience” Eric "tonto" Stephenson D515 PASA Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NewClearSports 0 #5 March 5, 2007 I went from a Comp Cobalt 95 to a Velo 96 and didn't like the Velo. Riser pressure was too high, it stalled on rears easily and openings were crapy, it also just felt too big. I then got a 88 Xaos-21 and love it! It is the best opening canopy I have ever owned. I even have several wing suit jumps with it loaded at 2.1 (don't recomend this though) I now have an 84 JXV but have no intention of ever selling my Xaos. I know I will never get another canopy with more consistant openings. It might not swoop the furthest, but it is an amazing overall canopy! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diablopilot 2 #6 March 5, 2007 The Xaos 27 is my choice. I started flying the 21 and the 27 when it hit the market was so much more in tune with my 9 cell flying style. It's still the best opening crossbraced canopy on the market.---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pendragon 1 #7 March 5, 2007 Could you elaborate? I would have thought (being a 7-cell planform) that the Xaos 21 would have better openening characteristics... but I haven't flown either.-- BASE #1182 Muff #3573 PFI #52; UK WSI #13 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dharma1976 0 #8 March 5, 2007 QuoteThat is what i chose, i got a crappy rinsed out one for $400 and found it was not too different to the x-fire i was jumpin previously but just a little faster and the openings a little crisper! I totally agree on this tip, but as I took on the FX at almost its max loading (and beyond with my winter weight on) It definately gets honking on a 270... Davehttp://www.skyjunky.com CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diablopilot 2 #9 March 5, 2007 QuoteCould you elaborate? I would have thought (being a 7-cell planform) that the Xaos 21 would have better openening characteristics... but I haven't flown either. I was refering to the Xaos line in general, although I still prefer the openings on my 27cell 98 to anything else I've jumped.---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NewClearSports 0 #10 March 6, 2007 QuoteCould you elaborate? I would have thought (being a 7-cell planform) that the Xaos 21 would have better openening characteristics... but I haven't flown either. I agree with DiabloPilot that both the 21 & 27 Xaos' have been known to have great openings. If you now have a X-fire you are use to great openings then either Xaos is a great choice. What I can tell you about my 21 is that it opens very consistanly and almost always on heading. It usually takes 7-800 ft at terminal or 5-600ft at subterminal. It opens best if you do nothing but relax while it opens. I even have a few times where I had a small PC hesitation that caused the bag to spin, causing line twists at deployment, and usually the line twists will come out during the snivel faze with a very normal opening. Only a couple of times have I had line twists at the fully open stage and even with these I was easily able to kick out, losing minimal altitude. (reasons I felt confortable with wingsuit) I jump camera and its great for that. I also Fly mostly head down and don't always slow down all that much before deployment, and it is amazing for that. I hate canopy trafic and like to be the 1st one down, its also great for that. Dives steep and fast, with very managable riser pressure. The only thing that I have been disapointed with is that a Velo swoops further, this is where a 27 will do you better. The 21 has great speed and lift, but the bottom end isn't great. Once the speed is gone it's performance drops quickly. I usually cut my swoop short a little to have some power left to pop it up at the end and land very softly, without needing to run it out at all. I believe the Velo's and 27s carry there speed further through the swoop. I'm hoping this is where my brand new JVX will help me out in competition. Hope this helps Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cessna54tango 0 #11 March 6, 2007 i went 99 xf2 to 83 cha-hos 27..... beautiful Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blitzkrieg 0 #12 March 6, 2007 i am also in agreement with JP and NCS for similar experiences as stated. 27 cell canopies are the shizzle. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phoenixlpr 0 #13 March 6, 2007 How about the Onyx? 36 cells? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flow 1 #14 March 6, 2007 Why did you leave the VX (and FX) out of the poll? So far I have jumped FX, VX, Xaos-21, Xaos-27 and Velocity out of the x-braced canopies and the VX felt most natural progression after the Crossfire. I was previously jumping the Crossfire 1 though, so the high frontriser pressure on the FX and VX was not so unfamiliar. True, the Xaos-line of canopies do open better than FX or VX but atleast to me it seemed like both VX and FX had more bottomend lift and the behaviour was somehow more controlled. I definitely liked Xaos-27 more than Xaos-21 if I had to chose out of those two but my vote would still go to VX if it would've be an option here. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blitzkrieg 0 #15 March 7, 2007 Quote How about the Onyx? 36 cells? i have no personal experience with the Onyx. it looked like a neat idea, but i've never seen one in "real life". ??? bueller? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkymonkeyONE 4 #16 March 7, 2007 A bit of a tangent here, but Bryan Moffet had a much-thinner-planform "Onyx replacement" at PIA. Maybe he will post and say something about it. I will text him now and tell him to do it. Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RMURRAY 1 #17 March 8, 2007 QuoteQuoteCould you elaborate? I would have thought (being a 7-cell planform) that the Xaos 21 would have better openening characteristics... but I haven't flown either. I was refering to the Xaos line in general, although I still prefer the openings on my 27cell 98 to anything else I've jumped. have you jumped a jvx? rm Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rhys 0 #18 March 8, 2007 Quotehave you jumped a jvx? I've never jumped a Xaos and I've only jumped my JVX a couple of times but it opens sweeet."When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chachi 0 #19 March 8, 2007 i went from a xfire, to a fx very briefly (100 jumps?), to a vx for about 400 and now a jvx. i found the transition between canopies to be effortless in so far as the "feel" with a lot of the charateristics from opening, to riser preassure, to rear risers feel to be quite similiar. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diablopilot 2 #20 March 8, 2007 Yep.---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeflydemon 0 #21 March 9, 2007 I wanted to put the FX and the Neos as options after I did the post...but I couldn't do it Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cobaltdan 0 #22 March 9, 2007 hey chuck, it wasnt an onyx replacement, but rather a new canopy designed specifically for our competing swoopers. the onyx is a brilliant canopy but perhaps misdirected in initial marketing. the onyx is hands down my favorite canopy i have ever jumped or made. it is ideally suited for intermediate to high experience jumpers wanting a high performance but everyday canopy. it is an extremely low distortion, high efficiency wing, which means you can jump a size smaller than you would with other designs. openings are super soft, consistent and ordered. the canopy is fun to fly, has a neutral recovery arc and has tons, and i mean tons of lift/flare. it is a very forgiving high performance swoop canopy, at light loadings it is a great first x-brace and at higher loadings it will thrill all but the most hardened swoop competitior. the only negative feedback we have ever received is that it can not out swoop a velocity....but it wasnt designed to....after having bryan bug me for two years i finally made him a canopy that was....it was unofficially dubbed the VK at pia... ask bryan what he thinks of it.. -dDaniel Preston <><> atairaerodynamics.com (sport) atairaerospace.com (military) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkymonkeyONE 4 #23 March 12, 2007 With zero jumps on the canopy I think even jokingly calling it "VK" was a bit premature. Likewise, I am not sure Muffin has ever jumped a Velo to make the comparison. Still, I am sure it's going to be a superior canopy to the Onyx and it's intended audience just from touching and looking at it at PIA. Also, since Muffin has started text messaging, I am not sure if he knows how to use the "telephone" mode on his device. I have actually already bugged him about the new canopy and have not heard back from him yet. Good seeing you guys at PIA, Dan. Chuck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IMGR2 0 #24 March 12, 2007 I have about 6 jumps on this canopy now and it flies amazing. It is being sent to AZ for some testing this week then next weekend I have plans of doing some swoop training with it at SD Aggieland in preparation for this years CPC. In addition I just put a Skyworks RDS and that thing is the BOMB!!!! I do hope that we start production of this canopy for the hardcore swoopers soon. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
