how speedwings sizes are measured.

[jf951 1]

hey guys, so i know this isnt the "speedwing forum" so try to bare with me but, could someone offer up a general explanation of how speedwing sizing works and what their *roughly* equivalent sizes and flight characteristics would be for a skydiving canopy?

for pure example, take the Ozone fazer II, its a leading edge elliptical wing, would that have similar flight characteristics to a high performance fully elliptical non X braced canopy? maybe similar to a katana or Xfire2?
the most common sizes i've seen are 10, 12, and 14m, is that roughly translatable to 99, 119, and 135sqft?

thanks guys, just starting to dabble in the market for one of these guys and trying to set my bearings

Jump more, Bitch less.

[skez 0]

Think 14m speedwing is about 150ft..just use google it will calculate it...and speedwings are alot different to skydiving canopies probably why alot of skydivers get them then die

FTMC

[piisfish 140]

more or less
sq m x10+10% = sq ft

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[tomireland 0]

Speedwings are awesome!

The characteristics vary as with any type of wing, but then with most wings you can change the trim, changing the AoA. Rear trims can help you soar like a paraglider and either no or front trims can keep you close to the ground. Doing changes the recovery arcs as well, check some vids of the Swing Mirrage and you can see that they can be swooped similar to HP skydiving canopies using 270 or 450's. I would not say that they are like any student or beginner canopies. More towards to sabre2-katana type responsiveness but as ever, depends what the pilot does with it.

[uberchris 0]

my 11.5 square meter mirage is approximately 120 square feet. smallest canopy ive ever flown.

just do a google search for conversion.

keep in mind that speedwings, even when compared to a skydiving canopy the same size, are different. a speedwing is a high performance wing that doesnt have to be toned down because of high speed deployments like a sky canopy does. they are solid, but can be prone to collapses in a half second. definitely a different beast but a beautiful one at that.

gravity brings me down.........

[jakee 1,489]

Quote

for pure example, take the Ozone fazer II, its a leading edge elliptical wing, would that have similar flight characteristics to a high performance fully elliptical non X braced canopy?

The speedwings from PG companies will have very different flight characteristics to any kind of skydiving canopy.

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[AdD 1]

Quote

thanks guys, just starting to dabble in the market for one of these guys and trying to set my bearings

You can demo them at Superfly in Utah or Speedfly Soboba. Lessons early on are recommended. I am getting antsy for some flying on my Bobcat 16.5!

Fazer is a great wing but definitely get the biggest one you can find for your first wing. 99% chance you will crash it in some way at some point in learning process, probably launching. Paragliding pilots already know a lot of essential lifesaving skills in speedfly that we as skydivers do not know.

Life is ez
On the dz
Every jumper's dream
3 rigs and an airstream

[stayhigh 2]

pretty much same thing,
you pull right toggle goes to the right and left to the left and pull both to stop.
biggest difference is recovery arc,
with speedwing, I can hook 180 as low as 200 ft ish, with mirage 11.5. If I did that with my katana I would smash the ground before it even starts to recover.
and with fazer I can hook it even lower.

if you wanna hook speedwing you have to be low and kinda in the corner or otherwise you risk popping back up.

Bernie Sanders for President 2016

[theplummeter 15]

jf951

hey guys, so i know this isnt the "speedwing forum" so try to bare with me but, could someone offer up a general explanation of how speedwing sizing works and what their *roughly* equivalent sizes and flight characteristics would be for a skydiving canopy?

for pure example, take the Ozone fazer II, its a leading edge elliptical wing, would that have similar flight characteristics to a high performance fully elliptical non X braced canopy? maybe similar to a katana or Xfire2?
the most common sizes i've seen are 10, 12, and 14m, is that roughly translatable to 99, 119, and 135sqft?

thanks guys, just starting to dabble in the market for one of these guys and trying to set my bearings

The Katana and Crossfire both dive considerably more than any speedwing will. Most speedwings have a very flat trim and little reinforcement other than in the nose to save weight. Most also have multiple cells, and tiny lines with or without sheathing.

I inherited a Gin Bobcat 16.5 last year and am still getting used to it, but I think it's one of the easiest speedwings to learn on. The design and riser system share common points with mini paragliding wings and speedwings, so it functions in a number of different scenarios. In higher winds it's easy to ridge soar when the big paragliders can't, and in lower winds it's great for proximity flying on shallow runs while retaining better glide than smaller more aggressive designs so I can chase my friends on smaller wings from slightly above and watch the mayhem.

Skydiving canopies are great, and I'm trying to learn all I can jumping but speedflying is a whole new set of possibilities with some amazing equipment that really puts into perspective how much we sacrifice in performance for openings.

[uberchris 0]

theplummeter

***hey guys, so i know this isnt the "speedwing forum" so try to bare with me but, could someone offer up a general explanation of how speedwing sizing works and what their *roughly* equivalent sizes and flight characteristics would be for a skydiving canopy?

for pure example, take the Ozone fazer II, its a leading edge elliptical wing, would that have similar flight characteristics to a high performance fully elliptical non X braced canopy? maybe similar to a katana or Xfire2?
the most common sizes i've seen are 10, 12, and 14m, is that roughly translatable to 99, 119, and 135sqft?

thanks guys, just starting to dabble in the market for one of these guys and trying to set my bearings

The Katana and Crossfire both dive considerably more than any speedwing will. Most speedwings have a very flat trim and little reinforcement other than in the nose to save weight. Most also have multiple cells, and tiny lines with or without sheathing.

I inherited a Gin Bobcat 16.5 last year and am still getting used to it, but I think it's one of the easiest speedwings to learn on. The design and riser system share common points with mini paragliding wings and speedwings, so it functions in a number of different scenarios. In higher winds it's easy to ridge soar when the big paragliders can't, and in lower winds it's great for proximity flying on shallow runs while retaining better glide than smaller more aggressive designs so I can chase my friends on smaller wings from slightly above and watch the mayhem.

Skydiving canopies are great, and I'm trying to learn all I can jumping but speedflying is a whole new set of possibilities with some amazing equipment that really puts into perspective how much we sacrifice in performance for openings.

agreed, but you would be AMAZED at the glide range of the mirage. with trimmers on its nice and flat and even loading mine the way i do, i get pretty sickening glide ratio. take the trimmers off, and its a ground hungry beast that flies fuckin FAST.
i dont really have a base for comparison because all i have flown have been swing spitfires and mirages, but the range on the mirage again is unbeatable........
to the OP, like stated above, soboba has lots of wings for demo, get the best feel and go from there. have fun, be safe, and DONT hold your toggles down for an extended period of time or ever touch your risers. harness input is all you need for slow or sharp turns, toggles should be saved for gaining lift if ever needed. fly safe!

gravity brings me down.........

[theplummeter 15]

I got the Bobcat from a friend who gave it to me when he got his Swing Mirage 13m. The Mirage is a truly amazing wing, and it's almost scary how close the glide is to my Bobcat with the trimmers all in, especially with the size difference. I have a ton to learn on this wing but I would like to get on something like the Mirage eventually. I am also glad that I got to start on a bigger Bobcat, it's been very forgiving when I have made bad choices.

uberchris

******hey guys, so i know this isnt the "speedwing forum" so try to bare with me but, could someone offer up a general explanation of how speedwing sizing works and what their *roughly* equivalent sizes and flight characteristics would be for a skydiving canopy?

for pure example, take the Ozone fazer II, its a leading edge elliptical wing, would that have similar flight characteristics to a high performance fully elliptical non X braced canopy? maybe similar to a katana or Xfire2?
the most common sizes i've seen are 10, 12, and 14m, is that roughly translatable to 99, 119, and 135sqft?

thanks guys, just starting to dabble in the market for one of these guys and trying to set my bearings

The Katana and Crossfire both dive considerably more than any speedwing will. Most speedwings have a very flat trim and little reinforcement other than in the nose to save weight. Most also have multiple cells, and tiny lines with or without sheathing.

I inherited a Gin Bobcat 16.5 last year and am still getting used to it, but I think it's one of the easiest speedwings to learn on. The design and riser system share common points with mini paragliding wings and speedwings, so it functions in a number of different scenarios. In higher winds it's easy to ridge soar when the big paragliders can't, and in lower winds it's great for proximity flying on shallow runs while retaining better glide than smaller more aggressive designs so I can chase my friends on smaller wings from slightly above and watch the mayhem.

Skydiving canopies are great, and I'm trying to learn all I can jumping but speedflying is a whole new set of possibilities with some amazing equipment that really puts into perspective how much we sacrifice in performance for openings.

agreed, but you would be AMAZED at the glide range of the mirage. with trimmers on its nice and flat and even loading mine the way i do, i get pretty sickening glide ratio. take the trimmers off, and its a ground hungry beast that flies fuckin FAST.
i dont really have a base for comparison because all i have flown have been swing spitfires and mirages, but the range on the mirage again is unbeatable........
to the OP, like stated above, soboba has lots of wings for demo, get the best feel and go from there. have fun, be safe, and DONT hold your toggles down for an extended period of time or ever touch your risers. harness input is all you need for slow or sharp turns, toggles should be saved for gaining lift if ever needed. fly safe!

[AdD 1]

Got out last weekend with the Bobcat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDd78wCvozI

Not sure I agree it is easy to learn on, the wing tends to surge forward, more modern designs do not so much, makes light wind foot launch a bit challenging.

Life is ez
On the dz
Every jumper's dream
3 rigs and an airstream

[nutellaontoast 0]

skez

Think 14m speedwing is about 150ft..just use google it will calculate it...and speedwings are alot different to skydiving canopies probably why alot of skydivers get them then die

A lot of them? I haven't been keeping super close track of it, but I've only heard of a couple of incidents and the only ones I know the details of were the result of flying in poor conditions and nothing to do with wing characteristics.

I hate to start this argument again, but I've seen this claim before and have yet to be pointed to a single incident in which gear had much to do with anything.

Don't let the fact that I sound like I think that I know what I'm talking about fool you. I know that I don't know what I'm talking about

[skez 0]

nutellaontoast

***Think 14m speedwing is about 150ft..just use google it will calculate it...and speedwings are alot different to skydiving canopies probably why alot of skydivers get them then die

A lot of them? I haven't been keeping super close track of it, but I've only heard of a couple of incidents and the only ones I know the details of were the result of flying in poor conditions and nothing to do with wing characteristics.

I hate to start this argument again, but I've seen this claim before and have yet to be pointed to a single incident in which gear had much to do with anything.

Ill correct my statement if you fly speedwings....coming from any background your going to break some shit eventually lol i thought it was just part of the fun plus bitches love scars...and yeh ive broke alot of shit but I blame the weather...not my stupidity for flying in bad conditions...anyway wat I was initially saying was inexperienced ppl get them and hope for the best..conditions weather etc is all part of it

FTMC

[stayhigh 2]

Some will argue that it is more dangerous than base jumping.

Bernie Sanders for President 2016

[theplummeter 15]

jf951

hey guys, so i know this isnt the "speedwing forum" so try to bare with me but, could someone offer up a general explanation of how speedwing sizing works and what their *roughly* equivalent sizes and flight characteristics would be for a skydiving canopy?

for pure example, take the Ozone fazer II, its a leading edge elliptical wing, would that have similar flight characteristics to a high performance fully elliptical non X braced canopy? maybe similar to a katana or Xfire2?
the most common sizes i've seen are 10, 12, and 14m, is that roughly translatable to 99, 119, and 135sqft?

thanks guys, just starting to dabble in the market for one of these guys and trying to set my bearings

If you're still looking I have an excellent condition setup for sale in the classifieds.