first rig wing loading

[fasterisbest 0]

Hello,

I am hoping someone can give me an opinion on a first main.

I am just coming off student status at 20 jumps. I am 165-170 lbs out the door. I am rather agressive and a quick learner, but, I am safe. I want something that will challange me. I will probably be doing a lot of jumping a sea level. I will also be jumping very often. I would say like 25+ times a month.

My question.

In any circumstance would a Nitron 150, 9 cell elliiptical be way to big of a downgrade for me?

thanks for your help

[Kimblair13 0]

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In any circumstance would a Nitron 150, 9 cell elliiptical be way to big of a downgrade for me?

Yes

[Superman32 0]

An elliptical
Listen to what your instructors say and people with a lot more jumps than me.

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I am rather agressive and a quick learner

Please, don't become the sure thing at Bounce Bingo

Inveniam Viam aut Faciam
I'm back biatches!

[skybytch 273]

There's a list of mains that are considered suitable for a first rig here.

Talk with your instructors about canopy type and wingloading; they've seen you land. A 150 sq ft canopy of any type would be considered a bit aggressive for your experience level but it's not out of the question. Depends on a number of factors - what you've been jumping, how well you've been landing it, how well your head is screwed on, if you can afford to get hurt (ie can you do your job from a wheelchair)...

The problem with the canopy you mentioned is not the size, it's the shaping. Elliptical canopies are very responsive to input (toggle, riser and harness); if you aren't an exceptional newbie (a judgement that can't be made by you) that responsiveness could be a bad thing when you get into a situation that you haven't seen before.

An option to consider would be to borrow a 170 something for 50-100 jumps or so, then purchase a 150 and learn to fly the shit out of it on your next couple hundred jumps. Once you've done that it may be time to start considering an elliptical.

[avgjoe 0]

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if you aren't an exceptional newbie

We are all exceptional we have the magic that makes the averages only apply to the other person. Not to me.

Avgjoe
Hook it for safety

[peregrinerose 0]

I'm a 100 jump wonder and even I know that's a bad idea. I hope this is a troll post!

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[tcnelson 1]

you can fly yourself out of your shoes with a moderately loaded (1.0-1.2) modern zp canopy such as a safire or sabre or pilot. the nice things about the bigger, more docile planform canopies is the fact that they have the awesome potential to get you out of trouble once you've put yourself there. believe me, you will get yourself into trouble while you learn. it's the nature of the beast, especially if you plan to be "agressive".

i haven't reached the max potential of my sabre2 loaded at 1.2 and it is plenty fun to fly and learn with. i consider myself agressive as a canopy pilot and i'm always amazed at what my canopy has the potential to do if i don't pay complete attention to it.

good luck.

"Don't talk to me like that assface...I don't work for you yet." - Fletch
NBFT, Deseoso Rodriguez RB#1329

[GravityGirl 0]

Try a Pilot or Sabre2 170. You can take it easy at first then make them get up and go when you are ready.

I have a few customers that are more aggressive than the average bear, and can fly the shit out of those canopies. Then when you wring it out, you can try a downsize.

The trick is to become a good pilot, THEN get the smaller stuff.

If you try to get the parachute to do the flying instead of you learning, you'll just be a shitty pilot with a fast parachute. That just makes you look bad, get injured and piss off your piers.

I try to teach pilots how to fly with the proper tools for the best learning curve.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peace and Blue Skies!
Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

[mdrejhon 8]

I'm a newbie and I've been slightly more aggressive than I expected to be (wingload 1.1) when I bought my Sabre 170 at jump 60. A rig unexpectedly became available for a test jump and I bit the bait after all the instructors and DZO approved it if I felt I was ready. The only problem was zero winders which I tended to want to slide in - but I nailed zero-wind standup landings under this canopy after another 10 jumps or so. Now to keep refining my technique...

Yet it is forgiving enough for me to make minor mistakes and easily fix them before I hurt myself (reliable pillow-soft standup landings after minor early flares, minor flare turns). Not going to downsize for a long time, I'll probably still be jumping this canopy at my 300th and have learned at least basic front riser landing approaches around then (aka swooping, something I want to do eventually with canopy coaching).

A Nitron is too scary to think about. I probably would hurt myself under one of those at this stage. I have seen scary landing approaches, and people getting hurt (minor injuries so far) who have thousands of jumps.

[gemini 0]

What size student canopy have you been jumping?

Also be aware of the new SIM data that will be coming out (from a Safety & Training thread):

SIM

Section 5-3 will include the following wing-loading recommendations as a maximum:
A license—1.0 psf maximum
B license—1.0 psf maximum
C license—1.2 psf maximum
D license—1.4 psf maximum

Blue skies,

Jim

[EvilLurker 2]

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A Nitron is too scary to think about. I probably would hurt myself under one of those at this stage.

I've got a lot more jumps than you, and I'd probably get hurt under a Nitron, too. I'm almost positive someone with his number of jumps would get injured to some degree real fast, and probably seriously.