Geoff
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Everything posted by Geoff
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I've read the reviews - both the Crossfire and the Cobalt are getting a lot of good publicity, and both seem to be in the same performance class. Anybody have experience of both? Any opinions about the way they open, fly, the build quality, value for money, customer service and back-up? Incidentally, the Atair web site claims the cobalt is the only canopy rated up to 160 mph deployment speed, but the patch on my Safire says 150 knots, which is about 172 mph??? I'd be loading at about 1.4. Thanks Geoff
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OK - It now seems widely accepted that Vectran lines stay in trim better than Spectra, but that Vectran is more susceptible to wear and sudden failure. The problem area seems to be the lower control lines, which get the most wear, and because they're not loaded during deployment, are more likely to fail during the flare or swoop. Crunch. So - I'd be interested in opinions on the following: (1) Do the thicker (1000lb?) vectran lines which Icarus now install as brake lines really improve things? (2) Why not use Spectra just for the lower control line section? This shouldn't affect the trim very much. (not my idea - I read it on rec.skydiving) (3) Is the improvement in trim from Vectran significant, even for very high performance canopies, or are we just becoming victims of the latest fashion? Thanks for any opinions. Geoff
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Thanks for the answers. So I shouldn't be surprised at some buffeting in a freefly suit, because a baggy suit wasn't designed to have the aerodynamics for tracking. OK - so what do experienced freeflyers recommend wearing for group tracking dives? Thanks again for you opinions. Geoff
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My experience of switching from a Spectre to a Safire may be useful to you. At 300 something jumps, I switched from a Spectre 135 loaded at 1.4 to a Safire 129, hence just a tiny increase in wing loading. It seemed a LOT quicker, lost a lot more height, and picked up a lot more speed in turns. It also seemed more difficult to land stand-up at first. I had to be really timid with it for the first 50 jumps or so. I love the Safire now, but I would say that with your jump numbers, the significant increase in canopy performance, and the significant increase in wing loading, it's just too much of a gamble. You'd be significantly increasing your chances of injury or death. Anyway, that's just MHO. I'm sure some would say that my transition was unnecessarily dangerous. It's all personal choice about risk and reward. Stay safe, Geoff
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Thanks Tigra. Just to clarify - the suit is a 'normal' freefly suit with baggy arms and baggy legs - not a winged sitfly suit. Geoff
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Some advice please - I think my tracking is pretty good when I wear an RW suit with booties - I'm slightly de-arched, legs straight, shoulders rolled, pushing down with feet and hands, and I often float higher than other jumpers while tracking. But occasionally I feel unstable when tracking wearing a baggy freefly suit - a buffeting or rocking effect. An ideas what I'm doing wrong? This seems a bit strange as I'm a reasonably experienced jumper (300+ jumps). Has anyone else experienced this? Any help appreciated. Geoff
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Why not to psycho pack? Interestingly, Icarus, who are normally great proponents of the psycho pack, recommend NOT psycho packing the new Crossfire. Why? Icarus say it makes the openings a little too slow and snivelly. As the Spectre is a slow-opening canopy, you may have the same issue. Of course opening speed is a matter of personal preference. I'm sure there are people who psycho pack Crossfires and Spectres and are happy with the results. Personally, I find that psycho-packing tends to give more off-heading and twisty openings when I've tried it on Sabres and Safires. Geoff
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I have heard that after a cutaway, an airlocked canopy can stay inflated and continue to fly, potentially ending up miles away. Does anyone know if there's any truth in this? Geoff