AMIGO 152 RESERVE

[Sandro29 0]

Hello All,
I was wondering if anyone has any commentary on the Amigo reserves. I have never heard of them until recently and the few threads I've read about it, are all good.

I don't know anyone personnaly, who has one or who has jumped one.

Any info would be appreciated.

Big Blue ones

[mjosparky 4]

I have never jumped or packed one. But here is the web site of the people that make them.
Sparky
http://www.freeflightent.com/index.htm

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[skybytch 273]

I've never jumped an Amigo, but I did pack a few back in the early to mid '90's.

It's a bit different than most reserves in that it does not have stabilizers. The manufacturer's recommended packing method was a bit different than the stack pack I usually used. I'd recommend contacting Free Flight regarding how they recommend it be packed.

I wouldn't recommend loading an Amigo over about 1.0:1 (exit weight) as AFAIK it is an older, non-reinforced design.

[masterrig 1]

I've packed a few Amigo reserves and know of one person I packed for, who had a to use it. She said the opening was not bad and set her down nicely. As Skybytch stated, they have no stabalizers and are a little 'different' to pack. Nothing 'scarry' about packing them, just have to watch your business... like any other reserve.

Chuck

[Sandro29 0]

I weigh 165 without gear....so I guess having the 152 wouldn't be souch a good idea.

Thanks for your input.

If at first you don't succeed....then Skydiving is not for you!

[riggerrob 643]

I have owned an Amigo 172 reserve for the last decade. I have jumped it once and Josh jumped it once.
I weight 190 pounds naked and Josh is a bit lighter. Josh's biggest complaint was that the Amigo was not as zippy as his Stiletto. Hah! Hah!
I, on the other hand purchased my Amigo 172 after trying an Amigo 206 demo canopy. Since the Amigo 206 handled a lot like a Sabre Mark 1 - and I was planning to purchase a Sabre Mark 1, 170 - the choice was a no-brainer.
The one time I deployed my Amigo 172, it was after cutting away from a violently spinning Diablo 135. My Amigo deployed quickly, without line twists. I had time to do a practice flare - far longer toggle travel that the Diablo. I did a full flare and landed softly on a farm road, beside my freebag. I walked over to my cutaway main before the Cessna landed.
I will disagree with Skybytch about not loading an Amigo more than 1.1 pounds per square foot. When I purchased my Amigo, Garry Douris (owner of Free Flight Enterprises) advised me that it was okay to exceed placarded limits because I had more than a thousand jumps. The canopy is plenty strong enough with 1,000 pound Spectra suspension lines and span-wise reinforcing tapes across the bottom.
Since then, Gary ahs changed his tune. Because of the higher airspeeds now popular with head-downers, Gary no longer recommends exceeding placarded weight limits on Amigos (i.e. 168 pounds on Amigo 152).
In conclusion, I really like the way my Amigo 172 deploys and lands. My only critique is the pack volume (slightly larger than a PD reserve) but then it has stronger lines than a PD. You get what you pay for.
I would cheerfully buy another Amigo reserve.