compare F111 to ZP

[davjohns 1]

I've been jumping rental gear. Finally ordering my own stuff. I've been jumping a 220 Raider. Easy to stand up. I'm 200lbs.

I'm told the performance difference between ZP and F111 is dramatic. But nobody has offered what that really means.

I'm thinking I'll start with similar wing loading to what I am doing now and see if I want to work my way down a bit. Just as food for thought, has anyone attempted to place a percentage on the comparability? For instance; if you were jumping at 1:1 on F111, would you expect similar performance at 1.1:1 under a ZP?

Just curious what opinions might be had.

I know it just wouldnt be right to kill all the stupid people that we meet..

But do you think it would be appropriate to just remove all of the warning labels and let nature take its course.

[davelepka 4]

Quote

I'm told the performance difference between ZP and F111 is dramatic

It is. Sort of. Brand new F-111 is similar in performance to ZP, and that's why F-111 reserves can be loaded up (some of them) without killing the jumpers on landing. Reserves rarely have more than a couple jumps, so their performance is like new.

The problem with F-111 is that with jumps, the performance degrades. Through 500-ish jumps, it's not that bad, up to 700-ish it gets pretty sad, and much past that it's gettting to be time to retire the canopy. There are other factors, of course, like the age and conditions it was jumped, but these are rough estimates.

Likewise, the WL becomes more of a factor. At WL of 1 to 1 or less, F-111 isn't that bad, but as you bo much above 1 to 1, performance starts to fall off. The more jumps there are on the canopy, the more performance you lose with the increased WL as well.

ZP, on the other hand, retains it's performance virtually unchanged during it's entire life, which will vary depending on the conditions it's jumped in, but can range from 1500 to 2500 jumps (maybe more).

ZP has it's own problem, however, and that is the line set. Because of it's performance, most people will load Zp higher than F-111, and in that case, the line trim becomes more crucial to maintaining performance. For years most ZP canopies were lined with Spectra line, which offers no shock absorbtion on opening and has a tendency to shrink over a number of jumps. The upside is that it's a thin line, which offers low pack volume and low aerodynamic drag.

So an out-of-trim lineset can lead to funky or hard openings, and with Spectra line that means your body takes the shock. It can also lead to diminished flare performance, which is also not that great. The upside is that a reline will return a ZP canopy to like new perforrmance, and usually runs $200/$250.

Newer canopies are lined with HMA or Vectran lines which are like Spectra in that they are low-bulk, and have no shock absorbtion, but unlike Spectra they are dimensionally stable, and hold their trim for the life of the line set. Most canopies that were built with Spectra can be relined with HMA or Vectran.

In terms of WL, you're on the upper edge for F-111, so if you're going to switch to ZP, you shouldn't be looking at much of a change. With a 200lb body weight, that puts your exit weight in the 225lb range, so maybe a ZP 210 would be a good choice.

My advice would be to ask around the DZ if anyone has a 210 you can jump, and see what you think. Talk with an instructor beforehand about what to expect from the downsize and the shift over to ZP.

If you can't find one to borrow, most of the canopy manufacturers have a demo program where you can get a canopy for two weekends for about $50. See if the DZ will let you put the demo in the student rig for a few jumps (a rigger or packer will actually put it in the rig for you, but you get the idea). You can also use that idea if you find a 210 to borrow in a harness that doesn't fit, see if you can put it in a student rig.

[riggerrob 643]

If you can get down to some of the bigger Florida DZs (DeLand, Sebastian, Z-Hills, etc.), you may be able to demo three of four main canopies in the same weekend. Big dealers" like Sunshine Factory in Z-Hills often have rental rigs that will allow you to test-drive a variety of canopies.

I would also encourage you to do two or three jumps on each canopy before moving on.
Ask the pilot if you can exit on your own pass - at 4,000 or 5,000 feet. That will allow you to concentrate on canopy flying with minimal risk of collisions.
Still keep your eyes on a swivel while under cnaopy.
Definitely get all of you landings videoed and pay a canopy coach to review your landings ... offering tips on how to improve your landing technique.