Falcon Canopies

[JWVB 0]

New to skydiving and loving it. Looking to buy my own rig and found one with a Falcon 215 main. I've spoken with some people at the DZ and they feel the size is about right for me (I'm 5'-10" 190lbs approx exit weight around 210), but haven't heard or know much about the Falcon Canopy. I'd be curious to know more about the canopy. I'm looking for a canopy I can have fun jumping and grow with as my experience increase. Not one that I'll become bored with easily.

[SkySlut 0]

My first canopy was a Falcon 175, its fine for a starter canopy. Its F111, so you arent going to get the performance out of it, but its great to learn how to pack on. Which is really nice. I think that I ended up putting 70 or so jumps on it before I moved to a ZP canopy. You will find, as you keep jumping more, that you will want to get a smaller better performing canopy. When I started, I just wanted to get to the ground safely and thats it. That thinking went away soon enough. 1200 jumps, 2 1/2 years and 8 canopies later....

[cheneyneel 0]

My suggestion from someone who used to jump a Falcon for my first 30 jumps is to go with a zero-P canopy. I found myself not being able to grow at all with the Falcon and totally restricted the art of flying in traffic because I was pretty much at the mercy of a canopy that didnt respond really at all in any type of weather conditions.
I found that the Zero-p canopies have better foward movement that gives you more control.. But still with the safety needed with be a beginer!!

I was weighing about 220 out of the door on the Falcon 215 and then I went to a 170 Sabre and my skill was then allowed to improve without sacrificing safety.. The key was not sacrificing safety!! and speaking with people on the ground before you jump about traffic.
Traffic alot of the times is what makes a beginning novice do the wrong things.. Be careful my friend and learn now!!

[kevin922 0]

Quote

My suggestion from someone who used to jump a Falcon for my first 30 jumps is to go with a zero-P canopy. I found myself not being able to grow at all with the Falcon and totally restricted the art of flying in traffic because I was pretty much at the mercy of a canopy that didnt respond really at all in any type of weather conditions.
I found that the Zero-p canopies have better foward movement that gives you more control.. But still with the safety needed with be a beginer!!

I was weighing about 220 out of the door on the Falcon 215 and then I went to a 170 Sabre and my skill was then allowed to improve without sacrificing safety.. The key was not sacrificing safety!! and speaking with people on the ground before you jump about traffic.
Traffic alot of the times is what makes a beginning novice do the wrong things.. Be careful my friend and learn now!!

I think it is entirely possible to be "safe" and still jump a f111 canopy. My first canopy (which btw is for sale with the rig) is a cruiselight 220, while I didn't put many jumps on it (mainly because of a backwards landing incident -- i weigh nothing and the canopy was huge).. i havent jumped a falcon (i don't think, maybe my student jumps was on one) but my cruiselight did me just fine if I wasn't jumping in a high wind situation.

Kevin

[wildblue 7]

F111 is nice to start on, easy to pack, etc etc. You will probably get bored with it after 100 jumps or so. If it's a good enough deal though, I'd say go with it. You can always put a different main in the container later on, or sell the whole thing for slightly less than what you paid for it, and all you did was save yourself some money on gear rental. That's basically what I did when I started - bought something that was a really good price, made a bunch of jumps on it, and sold it for what I paid for it

it's like incest - you're substituting convenience for quality

[councilman24 37]

Quote

New to skydiving and loving it. Looking to buy my own rig and found one with a Falcon 215 main. I've spoken with some people at the DZ and they feel the size is about right for me (I'm 5'-10" 190lbs approx exit weight around 210), but haven't heard or know much about the Falcon Canopy. I'd be curious to know more about the canopy. I'm looking for a canopy I can have fun jumping and grow with as my experience increase. Not one that I'll become bored with easily.

I think thats a little small for a F-111 nine cell for a new jumper your size, especially if it has a lot of jumps. Also you will probably get bored with this as you watch other people. Also, F-111 canopies are getting much harder to resell, even to newbies like you. You may very well be stuck with this if you buy it. I don't like it and I agree that F-111 canopies are perfectly fine parachutes. But the reality is its hard to recommend a F-111 canopy as a first rig these days. I'd look for a ZP in the 210 range. More appropriate size/performance and much more resaleable.

Terry

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[steve1 5]

I too think this might be a little small, especially if your Falcon has a lot of jumps on it. I started out with a Falcon 235. I weigh about 175. I down-sized to a Falcon 190. My first jump on it, I hit so hard that I had a hard time getting up. I finally learned to land it, by flaring higher, but it had to be done just right. I don't know how many jumps were on it, (probably a lot). I finally bought a Hornet 170. What a difference! I love zero-P. Nice landings almost every time. I still have the Falcon 235 for demos, but sold the 190........Steve1

[mikeat10500 12]

I too thought you may be a little heavy for that canopy vrs expenience. What have you jumped so far?

-----------------------------------
Mike Wheadon B-3715,HEMP#1
Higher Expectations for Modern Parachutists.

[jerry81 10]

Hi,
I have about 20 jumps on a Falcon 215, although my exit weight is about 30lbs less than yours. I don't know how good are your canopy skills, but there's a chance you'll come to hate this canopy because of it's landings, which can be quite brutal, especially if the Falcon you want to buy has a couple of hundred jumps on it (mine has over 1000, but it's borrowed so I'm not complaining).
If you have the option, it's probably better to get a zp canopy- you'll have more fun flying and landing it, and it won't be that hard to sell when you have 100 jumps and decide to downsize again.

---

[JWVB 0]

I've been jumping a Navigator 240 and a Sabre 230 depending on what's available at the time. The main is fairly new (it has less than 50 jumps on it), though I'm not quite sure how quickly the F-111 material starts to breakdown. I think ideally, I'd like to jump the Falcon until I can save up for a Sabre 2 210. I'm aware there's a lot to learn, but also think a lot of growth and progression occurs in the beginning. I'd just hate to be buying such large canopies if I'd be progressing and downsizing quickly.

[steve1 5]

If it only has 50 jumps it might be just fine. If you don't like it, you can always sell it. Just don't pay too much for it. Ask some people, (you trust) how much it's worth........Steve1

[councilman24 37]

You WON'T like jumping the Falcon if you been jumping Navigators and Sabres. Do not buy the Falcon unless you jump it, and walk away. If you think you need a sabre 210 then you need a 250 something Falcon. You haven't had an opportunity to see many people landing F-111 canopies. It itsn't always pretty. After I had a badly broken leg I was jumping a Manta (288 F-111) for awhile. Then, finally I could take a running step again, so I bought a Sabre 190. When I wanted a soft landing, I jumped the Sabre.

Run, run away. Far and Fast. Let them stick some other newbie with the Falcon.

And if you do buy a F-111 canopy, make it bigger.

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[Bags 0]

I have a Falcon 215 and have jumped it over 500 times. The canopy flares just as nice as a ZP canopy. If anyone out there is saying that F-111 canopies don't flare well, then the thing has probably sat in the sun too long before being packed. I pack mine in about 5-7 minutes from the time I start to closing the rig. The only mal I ever had was due to a broken pilot chute bridal. The Falcon is one of the most versatile canopies on the market. I use this canopy for accuracy (Demo jump rated), I use this canopy for CReW (rock solid stable in formations) and I can full toggle hook turn this thing at 40' off the deck and then surf it out. Try that with a smaller zero-P canopy (I wouldn't unless I wanted to die.) By the way... the Falcon is the bottom canopy in my picture of a naked CReW formation with my buddy mikeat10500.

By the way, as far as I can tell, it is the only main canopy on the market that carries a TSO that allows it to be used as a reserve parachute. Goes to good rock solid design of a canopy.

[Chief 0]

I was about your weight with 22 jumps when I went to a Falcon 215. Personally, I really liked the canopy. It was my first and "mine." However, I did get tired of it rather quickly and down sized to a ZP. There is a learning curve going from F-111 to ZP. Coaches and instructors can be of valuable assistance. If you do jump and pack the F-111, be ready for frustration when first packing a new ZP. Stay Safe.

[hookitt 1]

How many jumps are on that falcon? The next question is, what is the complete rig you found? that is a big factor. The falcon may be fine if the rig is a good one.

The falcon is a nice canopy and can be landed just fine and very consistantly. It's DIFFERENT, than the zp canopies. Different does not equal bad.

Down falls, are the original falcon opened quite briskly but was pretty easy to tame. It's f-111 so it does wear out quicker, although I know of a few in the 1000 plus jump range and one at around 3000. They all land fine. Low resale value.

Bottom line is if you get it cheap and it's not ragged out it's a fine canopy. There are many fun things you can do in the air that are not doable under some other canopies.

Can you post the complete rig set up?


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My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[JWVB 0]

The complete rig is a Javelin J4 Container with a C-18 harness, the Falcon 215 Main, a Raven II reserve, and a cypres. The whole rig has less than 50 jumps on it. The harness may be a bit big, but I spoke with Sun Path and they didn't feel it would be a problem.

[SkySlut 0]

how much and how old is the cypress???

[JWVB 0]

$2,500 includes jump suit, goggles, alti, and helmet. Cypres is 8 years old. No word yet on whether it is current or not.

[nightjumps 1]

That's not a bad deal for your first year in the sport. Sounds like a good opportunity and will give you a year to learn more about other stuff and demo some rigs while you learn more about the industry. You would be pushing the 1:1 requirement for F111 canopies, but if you flare a little high, you should have some good landings. Falcons have been around a long time and at one time was a DZ choice (along with Mantas) for students because of its docile nature. You'll probably lose some value when it comes time to sell, but that would be more about your Cypress than the rest of the rig. We've all made bad gear choices in the beginning and no one is ever really satisfied about 100 jumps after their first gear purchase. Its just part of the learning curve. Jump it a few times before you decide to buy and if you do decide to buy it, do so with the understanding that you may have some difficulty selling it or.... worst case scenario, you can use it as a back up rig.

...Bigun

[SkySlut 0]

I think that is a pretty sweet deal for a first rig. Like I said in my first post, you are probably going to want to get rid of it as you progress, no biggie. Sell the main and get yourself a Sabre or Spectre next. All in all, I think that is a fair price for what they said it was (jumps on rig, etc.). I would just have a rigger take a look at it or someone that you trust that has a good amount of knowledge of gear to give you an honest opinion on it.