A question for the more experienced jumpers

[ripper0289 0]

OK, here's the situation. I'm a fairly new skydiver, I'm working my AFF jumps and have six jumps so far. The gear I've been using for my training is a Manta 230, I don't know if it's ZP or F111, I have fairly good canopy control for the number of jumps I have made and my question is this:
For a student/novice level jumper like myself, is there a canopy that flares better than others? I'm not looking to buy a canopy yet, I realize that I don't have either the knowledge or the experience to make an informed decision, I'm just looking for some input. I just got my copy of the latest paragear catalog and was looking through it.
The only thing I have made a decision on is a monkey fist handle for the pilot chute.
Thanks, everyone Oh, Almost forgot, I weigh 180 pounds, not including gear.

[Jimbo 0]

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The only thing I have made a decision on is a monkey fist handle for the pilot chute.

Why?

Lots of canopies probably flare better than the Manta. Once you're off AFF you'll have the opportunity to demo quite a few of them. Make your canopy decision after, and only after, you've demoed everything you can.

-
Jim

"Like" - The modern day comma
Good bye, my friends. You are missed.

[ripper0289 0]

I had a few friends in the Navy who made Monkey fists for people to use as keychains or necklaces, since I already have an EAB dust cover (Submarine thing) I want a monkey fist for sentimental reasons, not to mention they look cool.

[AndyMan 7]

Right now the gear that you should be looking at are things like altimeters, goggles, helmets, and maybe even a jumpsuit. I wouldn't worry about canopies or containers until you start to approach your 'a' license.

To answer your question, pretty much every modern canopy will flare better then the manta, especially if its f-111.

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[ripper0289 0]

The next thing I get will probably be an altimeter. I bought a Z1 and love it.
I'm definitely gonna wait until I get my A license before I start looking to buy a canopy, I was just looking for some input from everyone.

[Jib 0]

Also, anything newer (fewer jumps) will probably flare better than a student Manta.

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the depth of his depravity sickens me.
-- Jerry Falwell, People v. Larry Flynt

[skybytch 273]

The best advice I can give you is demo, demo, demo. Once you're off student status, try out as many different canopies as you can. Any one of us can tell you that canopy X is the best one out there, but only by jumping it will you know if it's the best canopy for you.

Pretty much every "sport" canopy on the market will have a better flare than what you're jumping now.

[Bodyflight.Net 0]

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my question is this:
For a student/novice level jumper like myself, is there a canopy that flares better than others?

The short answer is YES.
Once you get to the right 1:1 wing load you will notice an improvement on the ease of flaring. You are flying something that is probably pretty old now, kinda like not having power steering in your car. A newer, smaller, Z-PO canopy (as opposed to permeable F111) will respond better and will be easier to flare... like having power steering!

Well, that's what I found anyway in my experience.

[pilotdave 0]

Like bytch said, demo some canopies. My first canopy was a PD150, which is a very simple 9 cell f111 canopy. It flies great and isn't hard to land, but it doesn't have a very powerful flare. I was actually completely shocked when i tried out a Sabre2 150. The flare was like nothing I ever experienced before. I then demoed a spectre 135 and then a sabre2 135 (both loaded just over 1:1) and found the spectre was much trickier to flare properly. It was a lot more like my PD150 in the way it landed, just a WHOLE LOT faster. The sabre2 came in even faster than the spectre, but I could just fly it right to the ground, flaring only as much as it needed to bring it to a stop. Thats what made me decide to buy one. So yes, to answer your question, some canopies definitely have better flares than others. I think a spectre can be landed very softly every time too, but it takes a little more timing...in my opinion. I put 17 jumps on the spectre and only maybe 6 on the sabre2, and i could still consistently land the sabre2 better.

Dave

[Spatula 0]

Here's my question with regards to demoing as mentioned above.....(this may be stupid but bare with me)...how do you demo a canopy without a rig of your own? Will DZ's let you borrow rigs for a while?


John

[sundevil777 102]

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Will DZ's let you borrow rigs for a while?

Of course they will, they let all students do it for a price. It is called rental. It is not much trouble at all to swap out a canopy that comes with risers.

They may still charge you the same even though you're not using their main.

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

[jlyons 0]

I have a little less than a hundred jumps so I am still a rookie, but let me tell you that when you are nearing your A license you will want a canopy and a rig quickly afterwards. I don't know what your financial situation is but I decided to order a new container and put the rest together used. Yes, all canopies act differently and of course the older ones are not going to be as efficient as new ones, but none of them are going to straight out suck. Just stick with a square ZP canopy for your first. I bought a twelve year old Sabre 170 with over 1200 jumps on it. The flare was weak, but hell, I didn't REALLY know that until I just bought my Hornet 170 which only has 200 jumps. Now I understand how easy flaring can be, but hey, I picked up that Sabre for $100, you can't beat that, and I also kept it as an alternate chute to jump. As long as you don't over wing load you should have descent landings, even with an old canopy with weak flare. Blue skies.

[Spatula 0]

Thanks for the info. I did not know that changing out the main was so simple, excuse my ignorance (still a rookie). My plan is to do just as ripper, buy my conatiner new, and maybe a new reserve, but the main will be used. Thanks for the great info!

Blue skies!

[jlyons 0]

*** Excuse my ignorance (still a rookie).

Don't ever think that you can't ask questions in this sport. This sport relies on the passing on of information about fine detail. There are no dumb questions, the only dumb thing is when someone hurts themselves because they don't ask. No matter how many jumps I have I will always ask questions and I learn from people who have less jumps than myself.

[ripper0289 0]

The only "definite" plan I have is for my container, I really want a Mirage G4. I'm gonna hafta save quite a few pennies for that, so hopefully I can find a decent used main, I'm thinking somewhere around 190 sq.ft. And with this damnable winter, it looks like I won't be able to spend a whole bunch of money on the rest of my AFF for a while (then again, there's always road trips )

[pilotdave 0]

Demoing a canopy without having your own container will probably be tough. You might be able to use a student container, but if the demo canopy is much smaller, it probably won't fit in the container. That's one reason to buy a container before a main.

The demo canopy (at least from PD) is set up on risers. You'll need a container, pilot chute, and deployment bag of your own. (All of which come with a container). Once you have those, hooking up the canopy is fairly easy (for me, VERY easy for people that have done it a bunch of times).

Dave

[ripper0289 0]

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Excuse my ignorance (still a rookie).

Don't ever think that you can't ask questions in this sport. This sport relies on the passing on of information about fine detail. There are no dumb questions, the only dumb thing is when someone hurts themselves because they don't ask. No matter how many jumps I have I will always ask questions and I learn from people who have less jumps than myself. ***

One thing I've found out about skydivers is that they're kinda like amatuer astronomers, the good ones really like answering questions and being able to share their experiences. Now that winter's here and I probably won't see my DZ for a while (cough, ROAD TRIP cough), I've been asking my questions here. I certainly appreciate everyones input.

[jjrainyday 0]

It sounds like there's a lot of good advice here...

I want to say one thing in defense of the Spectre: they're not that hard to land. I made about 200 jumps on an f11 canopy, and PLFed 99% of my landings. Then I bought a used Spectre, and was standing up after about 10 jumps-- I think it took that long only because I had to break the PLF habit.

[pilotdave 0]

Yeah, I didn't mean to say that the Spectre is hard to land. I think I stood up all but 2 of my 17 landings with it, and even took it for a night jump. Landed right in the peas on my last jump with it. One of the landings I couldn't stand up was a downwinder... never came in so freaking fast in my life.
The spectre wasn't HARD to land, I just found that the flare required more timing to get right. With more practice I think the spectre would be no problem to land. But the Sabre2 was totally different. I just flare half way a little before my feet hit the ground, then just finish with as much flare as it needs to bring it to a near stop... or at least a slow jog on a no wind day). Just fly it right to the ground.

Dave

[chuckbrown 0]

What no jumping in the winter? I'm in PA and I do CRW in the winter! Seriously though, demo, demo, demo. Try a Triathlon, they're excellent all around canopies for beginners and experienced jumpers alike, although now you can't get me away from my Lightning:)