Para Flite Super Evolution

[peckerhead 0]

I just got a 1991 Para Flite Super Evolution and I am looking for more info on this canopy. It is a 140, z-p fabric on top and f-111 on the bottom and ribs. It is new in the plastic and has never been jumped. Of course this canopy has been out of production for some time.

I was going to hook it up to my container and jump it but it needs a special set of triple risers. Any ideas where to find a set? The rigger at my DZ says they don't make them anymore and would have to be custom made.

If I can find a set I was going to hook it up to an infinity container that currently holds a Triathalon 135 with a collapse-able pilot chute.

I would be loading it at 1:28 According to the manual that is max for this canopy.

Looking for general info on flight characteristics rigging, pros and cons, etc.

Post it here or send me a private message.

Thanks!

[diablopilot 2]

Interesting. Why does it need the triple risers?

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[sdctlc 0]

Hey that was on E-bay!! I think it went cheap if I remember.. The canopy was not that bad and a competitor that did not do so well against the Sabre..

Paraflight is still around but they just do Military stuff I believe. Contact them they might be able to help.. The web site is http://www.paraflite.com/

Good Luck
Scott C.

"He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

[masterrig 1]

As I recall, on the Evolution, the pilotchute bridle was actually a length of line attached to the slider. When the slider came down it drew-in the pilotchute. The first Evolution, 21-cell, the line was drawn through a '0'-grommet in the top and bottom skin. If, a knot were to form in the bridle line, it would hang-up causing a mal-function similar (in appearance) to a Mae West. The center of the canopy would get pulled-down. The Super Evolution corrected the problem, by doing away with the reefing system. Also, suspension lines were attached to each rib, rather than on every other rib. thus, the need for a 3rd. riser. You might check with either Para-Flite or possibly Relative Workshop for risers. probably a 'special' order for that parachute. Hope this helps.

Chuck

[SkymonkeyONE 4]

Lines were attached left to right on Evos too and that's the reason there were three risers. Back in the day they were very HP canopies and competed with the original Blue Track, the PD Excallibur, and the PISA Pintail. There were quite a few Evolutions here at Raeford. We had people with the original, malfunction-prone retractable PC reefing system and the later more "standard" slider. The turns you could generate by grabbing that middle riser were crazy-fast.

I still have pics in my photo albums of both Danny Page and Isreal Harris jumping theirs.

[masterrig 1]

It's been a looong time, since I've seen one (original Evolution). Our DZ owner and a friend of his each demo-ed one at Nationals. The manufacturer was there watching to see their performance. He was rather 'impressed' when they 'stacked' them! They both purchased one and got rid of them after (long story) a fatality resulted due to a malfunction on one. They were a pretty 'hot' parachute, that's for sure. Thanks for refreshing my memory about the lines.

Chuck

[pchapman 279]

I've flown a Super Evolution 140 from time to time in the last few years.

The Super Evolution is indeed an odd canopy. The lines cascade from side to side, attaching to every rib as another poster indicated. There's an A, B, and C set of lines, each going to their own riser. (Actually, the front riser splits about half way up, creating the 'third riser') Although there are no D lines, that still means there are plenty of lines -- when pro-packing it is a messier job sorting the lines down at the canopy. (Since one is dealing with groups of about 10 lines at the canopy on each side, instead of groups of 5 for a normal 9-cell.) It's not the sort of canopy to give to a novice to pack.

The canopy does pack up quite large compared to others of its quoted size -- so be careful of container sizes. (E.g., a later quote from Paragear stated the Super Evolution as being 483 cu. in., while a Sabre 170 is quoted at only 451. Canopy volume numbers aren't of course all that precise.)

Unlike a regular canopy, where pulling the front riser pulls down both the A and B line attachments, on the Super Evolution, only the A lines are pulled down. Yanking down a front riser can easily cause the nose of the canopy to fold under. So don't front riser the canopy at low altitude.

At altitude, yanking down a front riser to collapse the nose on one side can be fun. The fast spiral dive that results can even be prevented by opposite brake is one is quick. Letting go of the riser will allow the nose to return to normal.

Very fast turns can indeed be accomplished by hauling down the B riser (the middle riser), which quickly destroys the lifting capability of that side of the canopy. Pulling both B risers down produces a fast descent with the canopy still mostly inflated. Again, it's something fun to try up high. Some of the weird things to try with a Super Evolution are more like what one can do with a paragliding canopy.

The canopy is fun to fly, but my impression is that it doesn't have as good a flare as a Sabre. Still, no problems with my weight (150 lbs + gear). I'm not sure how they fly side by side.

I bet that the canopy would fly fine with the A and B lines all squeezed on the same set of front risers of a normal 2-riser system. The geometry isn't going to be messed up that much at all, since normally the A and B links are only a few inches apart horizontally, when the canopy is in flight.

Peter Chapman