Who else is getting slammed by hornets?

[Emmie 0]

Ok, so I loved my new canopy for the first 20 jumps, but now all of a sudden I keep getting slammed, and when I say slammed I mean that the next day I feel like I've been run over by a bus. Is this a common problem with Hornets, or am I doing something wrong? The manufacturer's instructions say don't roll the nose, but I'm rolling the shit out of it now, and getting spanked, so won't not rolling the nose put me into a body cast? Just wondering, is there any way to slow down those openings?

[Kirils 1]

Try psycho-packing.. if there is still a problem get hold of the company. PISA is good about addressing problems about their canopys. You shouldn't have to resort to exotic packing measures to get a decent opening on a Hornet. Hornets normally are a great canopy with smooth consistant openings!
Skydiving is not a static excercise with discrete predictability...

[sslock 0]

So your first 20 jumps had soft openings? Did you do anything different when you packed it?
I've been getting slammed by mine, too. I keep trying to tweak my packing, with little success. I've been pulling the slider out in front of the nose quite a bit. After I stuff the nose, I make sure to pull the slider back out in front. I roll the tail a ton and double stow the bands. Every so often I'll get a snivel on opening which is a nice break from the hard openings.

[Jimbo 0]

Let someone else (A professional packer or maybe a rigger) pack it a few times and see if you're still getting slammed. There's a good chance you've developed a few bad habits that are causing this. Of course it's also possible that something really is wrong.
However, here's some things to check:
* Slider all the way up against the bumpers? It should be. You can get slammed if it's not.
* Are you really rolling the tail? A lot?
* Line stows. Are they tight? They should be.
Good luck.
-
Jim

[Craig 0]

First off I don't know alot about Hornets since I don't own one but....
On my Tri the instructions say not to roll the nose, if I do I found that the end of my openings were more brisk (like snivelsnivel pop) than if I follow the instructions and just fold the three outer cells in. Are you getting careless with the slider placement? Line stows? I have been slammed twice in about 200 jumps on my canopy, both resulting in cussing and wishing I was on the ground pronto with a sore neck and back to follow. First time I am not really sure what I did wrong, and second time I learned flaking between the C and D lines is a good idea and not worth the time saved by not. It does suck though on sever jumps thereafter when it is time to throw out and you are just waiting for another slammer. Personally I would go back and make sure I was following the manufacturers instructions and if in doubt have a rigger check the canopy for trim problems or damage which may be causing the hard openings.

[freeflir29 0]

I jump a Stilletto so this may not have a damned thing to do with a hornet but......When I first started packing it I was trying TOO hard to get the nose WAY in the pack job. What ended up happening was that I was pushing it in so far that I was pushing the tail apart. What happened? The tail would inflate really fast and make for a hard opening. Then....the nose wasn't inflated yet so the canopy would dive while it was trying to inflate. Most of the time off to one side. Kinda rude openings. Make sure that you are placing the nose in the pack job. Not shoving it way up and shaking a bunch.......
"Here I come to save the BOOBIES!"

[nicknitro71 0]

I'm blown away! I weight 158 and I don't have a lot of jumps on my Hornet 150 but it is the softest canopy I have ever jumped, ever. I always psycho packed mine and the first time I jumped I thought I had a full malfunction due to the soft opening! First how much is the wing loaded? Second, do you stuff the nose in or leave it out? Try to psycho pack it with the nose stuffed inside the center. Third how big is your pilot chute?
Cool

[steve1 5]

Emmie,
I've had some hard openings on mine, but I think I'm doing something wrong in packing. I think this is a really good canopy, but I think Hornets may be hard opening if there are any errors in packing. Lately I have been rolling the tail more tightly and keeping it that way when I stuff it in the bag. Also make sure your slider doesn't move in the packing process. The last few openings have been soft. I also roll the nose a lot. I think I may get a larger bag also (like Sky Monkey One recommends). My other bag is too much work to get it all crammed in there. On one of my jumps I had a very experienced jumper put a rubber band around some of my B lines and then stuff my slider part way up into this. He says he does this all the time on tandem rigs to soften the opening. And it did open soft, but I think I'll discontinue this because it might cause problems, and I don't really know how safe this is. This same guy said that he has even packed some hard opening Hornets, so be careful how you pack. I really don't have enough jumps on my Hornet to make any conclusions. Steve1

[cloud9 0]

It seems for whatever reason there are a few hard opening Hornets out there. I never had any hard openings on mine ( a 150 loaded at about 1.4) I either psycho packed or pro-packed. I never rolled the nose just folded the 3 end cells in towards the center on each side. I even tried not doing anything at all to the nose and it still opened soft and on heading. I do however allways roll the tail tight to control the pack job putting it in the bag.

[Deuce 1]

Emmie, my number one skydiving partner jumps a Hornet. He's a rigger and a very good packer. He describes his openings as being like a box of chocolates (Forest Gump voice on:) "you never know what you're going to get". He's giving up on his.