RAVEN1

[selbbub78 0]

Hey guys I'm not very familiar with these canopies. How do they fly? If I get one, is there stuff I should look out for? I'm just wondering.

CReW Skies,

"Women fake orgasms - men fake whole relationships" – Sharon Stone
"The world is my dropzone" (wise crewdog quote)
"The light dims, until full darkness pierces into the world."-KDM

[Hooknswoop 19]

Ravens suck. Get a PD-R. They open,fly and land better.

Derek

[skydiverek 63]

He might have been offered a good deal on Raven as a MAIN.

[Hooknswoop 19]

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He might have been offered a good deal on Raven as a MAIN.

Ah, you are right.

Get a PD or Icarus ZP main. They open, fly and land better.

Derek

[skybytch 273]

Is it a Raven 1 or a Raven I? There is a (slight) difference. What's the d.o.m.?

Either way, it's 181 square feet of seven cell F111. It flies much like any other circa mid-80's through early '90's seven cell F111 canopy. Occasionally Ravens have been known to have built in turns (IIRC, right hand turns, but I could be remembering wrong).

They don't land well at higher wingloadings, and they aren't reinforced like newer reserve designs. At your exit weight on a Raven I you shouldn't have a problem though.

[Hooknswoop 19]

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It flies much like any other circa mid-80's through early '90's seven cell F111 canopy.

Except for PD-R's from the same era.

Funny how Ravens and PD-R's are from the same generation. PD still makes and sells the same PD-R's while PA is on the 3rd version.

Derek

[NickDG 23]

Ravens aren't that bad. Many brands of canopies had\have built in turns. And they don't require a pull test during repacks like some same era PD reserves.

I've never heard of an airworthy one blowing up and many had hundreds and hundreds of jumps put on them as mains.

I, and many others, made many slider removed BASE jumps with them in the early days of BASE and never had any trouble. (Not recommended today as we have fully dedicated BASE canopies.)

Make sure it's airworthy and the wing loading is right, check here www.precision.aero/about-precision.htm for any service bulletins and it'll be fine . . .

NickD
BASE 194

[riggerrob 643]

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It flies much like any other circa mid-80's through early '90's seven cell F111 canopy.

Except for PD-R's from the same era.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I disagree.
Ravens are basically early 1980s (introduced circa 1983) stacking canopies packed into reserve containers. Ravens were designed to compete with Pegasus, X-210R, Cruislite, Fury, etc.
Back then only a young fool - with no respect for his ankles - would dare load a canopy more than .8 pound per square foot. Even the guys at the Precision factory will admit that Ravens fly like &^%$#@! when loaded at 1.4!
Performance Designs reserves are dedicated reserve canopies introduced circa 1990. The main reason people like PD reserves so much is that they were the first reserves designed to be loaded much more than 1 pound per square foot. PD reserves were the first of generation of reserves that can be heavily-loaded and still land well. Similar reserve canopies have subsequently been introduced by: Aerodyne (Smart), Free Flight Enterprises (Amigo), Parachutes de France (Techno), Precision (R-Max), etc.

Ravens were third generation reserves, while PD reserves are more like fifth generation.
Just this past Friday, I watched a guy do an intentional cutaway with a Raven, and he landed fine, near the bowl.

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[tommymc 0]

Riggerrob:

I think that you can add Strong's Stellar reserve to your list of current designs. I recently had a ride on one at about 1.4:1 loading. I set up on final prepared for the worst with feet & knees together. But into a light breeze I got a nice flair and an easy standup. I'll take that reserve anywhere without apprehension.

Tom

[selbbub78 0]

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Is it a Raven 1 or a Raven I? There is a (slight) difference. What's the d.o.m.?

Either way, it's 181 square feet of seven cell F111. It flies much like any other circa mid-80's through early '90's seven cell F111 canopy. Occasionally Ravens have been known to have built in turns (IIRC, right hand turns, but I could be remembering wrong).

They don't land well at higher wingloadings, and they aren't reinforced like newer reserve designs. At your exit weight on a Raven I you shouldn't have a problem though.

Ahhh you're right it's a Raven I, d.o.m. november '95. It hasn't been used much, about 9 pack jobs on it. Thanks for the info, i'm still unsure about it, just looking into it.

CReW SKies,