Info on BT-50

[lilchief 1]

Searched the gear section, but no match found. So to the old guy's: How could you describe a 150 sq/ft BT-50 to some of the modern canopies?

There's a guy that tries to sell a Vector 2 from 1992 with a BT-50 as main. If he dosen't sell it during this seasong, I'll get it for free

"Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you long to return." - Da Vinci
www.lilchief.no

[piisfish 140]

so you'll have it for free.. Waw an old BT.. Shoot I wouldn't want to fly with the old PdF fabric.... Make sure you have enough snow when you do your ski-surf stuff...

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[niu 0]

Never jumped a BT-50,just a -40 for some 500 jumps.
It either opened hard with the small slider or regularly off heading/in a turn with the large one,which was a pity since it was a real blast to zoom around with.
Compared to it a Sabre 135 was a Ferguson tractor,reliable and easy to use but not very entertaining or responsive.
Cannot compare it to modern canopies,since I havent made a jump since 1998.

[JohnGraham 0]

One guy at my center jumps a BT50! I don't know much about it's performance, but I think it's "lightly tapered" and the four outermost cells have three chambers (not cross-braced, I'm pretty sure) instead of two - don't suppose anyone knows what the thinking behind that is, per chance?

[skyblu3 0]

It was the first elliotical canopy to hit the market in the 90's. Shortly after PD released their version called the Stiletto (ever heard of it). :-)

My friend jumps a BT-40. It tends to open hard but once you get used to packing it you can sort that problem out. It flies nice, fast, sharp turns and good for swooping. The performance is very much like a Stiletto but the Sitiletto opens much softer.

[gjhdiver 0]

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Searched the gear section, but no match found. So to the old guy's: How could you describe a 150 sq/ft BT-50 to some of the modern canopies?

There's a guy that tries to sell a Vector 2 from 1992 with a BT-50 as main. If he dosen't sell it during this seasong, I'll get it for free

I have about 700-800 jumps on a BT-50. It was the first widely commercially available zero perosity canopy, and the first semi elliptical. It predates the Stiletto my many years, and was principally in competition in Europe with PD's Sabre. It was never sold directly in the US because of liablity concerns.

It's a tapered 9 cell, with the outer cells on each end divided into three chambers. The rest are divided into two. There are no cross ports in the canopy. The idea was to increase rigidity, but the downside was uneven handling in turbulence. It flies very much like you would expect an elliptical to fly, but had much longer lines than the Stiletto, meaning that recovery arcs from toggle turns tokk longer than normal compared to other canopies of it's day. It gained such a reputation for hooking people in when it first came out that it was nicknamed the "Blue Smack", which was a take on it's market name, the Blue Track. This wasn't a feature of the canopy, but rather of the jumpers who didn't take the time to learn the flight characteristics of an elliptical.

As for the lines, check what sort it has. If they are the original kevlar lines, have them replaced with the optima line set instead, or you'll just wind up cutting it away when they break, which they will. As it has no cross ports, line loss is more serious on the BT-150. The optima line set comes with a larger slider too, as the early BT's opened really hard.

I still have mine in a box in the spare bedroom if anyone wants it

[niu 0]

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It gained such a reputation for hooking people in when it first came out that it was nicknamed the "Blue Smack"

Heard that one a lot in Z-hills in 1991.Maybe most people did not like canopies that did exactly what one told them to do?
If one tells a BT to land before oneself,it executes the command with no hesitation whatsoever.

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