Islandcool 0 #1 June 24, 2004 and I love the friggin thing. Getting a new canopy is a great feeling. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skyyhi 0 #2 June 24, 2004 And here is a picture of said Lotus. Just watch the right handed reach when landing. . .plfing in shorts on those stickers is aweful. . .lol. . .________________________________________ Take risks not to escape life… but to prevent life from escaping. ~ A bumper sticker at the DZ FGF #6 Darcy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Islandcool 0 #3 June 24, 2004 LOL Hey I told you. I was in Mid-Pirouette. No PLF....but I did love to hear you guys were all watching for it. Sorry to disappoint you guys. Man what great friends. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skyyhi 0 #4 June 24, 2004 QuoteNo PLF....but I did love to hear you guys were all watching for it. Sorry to disappoint you guys. Man what great friends. It is almost a ritual to line up along the landing area and watch those with their new canopies landing. . .usually we take bets as to whether they will biff in or not. . .its quite a funny practice. . .some of the best biffs make it into Pats Saturday Night videos. . .________________________________________ Take risks not to escape life… but to prevent life from escaping. ~ A bumper sticker at the DZ FGF #6 Darcy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
masher 1 #5 June 25, 2004 Looks nice. The canopy, not the landing..... I'm think about getting a Lotus for my next canopy, in about a year or so.... Can you elaborate on your feelings for it?-- Arching is overrated - Marlies Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Islandcool 0 #6 June 25, 2004 Well... I'll tell ya. I'll do my best but I can't write as eloquently as Mr. Phreezone or Bill Von on reviews. I don't have a lot of experience under a lot of different canopies. Read some of the threads on the lotus and I would have to agree with the positive characteristics that were brought up. Flat glide, Responsive, great openings and on heading. Great all around. I liked my hornet but I really find this canopy a joy. Feel really comfortable under it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jose 0 #7 June 25, 2004 I have owned 2 differnet Sabre1's, a Safire2, a Sabre2, and now a Lotus2 135. You really cant put the Sabre1 in the same class, so lets forget it when comparing. The others are designed to compete with each other in the semi-elliptical high performance class. Some a little more aggressive on the planform than the others. First off the big difference between the Lotus, from Big Air Sportz, is that it is an airlocked canopy. Some people love it, some hate it. I personally love it and I cant think of owning a non-airlocked canopy ever again. I have heard that if you have many jumps under your belt and you fly an airlock, you tend to not feel comfortable under it. I guess when you get used to one style and trust it, its hard to change. Understood. But the best redeeming quality to the airlock is that in instances of canopy depressurization, ie high crosswind or downburst, the airlock can mean the difference between walking away or being carried away. Some will argue against the airlock till they are blue in the face, so it is alot like the cypress debate. My only statement to this is if you have not jumped one regularly, or owned one, you should really not be talking ill against it. Practically every person I have spoke with that do not agree with airlocked canopies, have NEVER flown one. Enough about that. Now, on to performance. Nice openings. Most on heading, but that is probably me. Likes to be psycho packed, at least my 135 does. Pack it just like you would a Crossfire, or similar where you dont touch the nose, but roll it and bag it to get it in the D-bag. Toggle response is quick and if you load it nicely, around 1.4, you can regularly toss yourself above your canopy for some entertaining flight. I have really pushed the limits of opposite toggle and front riser turns and I have never seen the tendency to spin up on me. I'm not saying that its not possible, but if I were to do this under a Crossfire, I would have line twists up the ass. Speaking of line twists, I have only had on set of twists that only slightly put me on the outside. Almost every time I twist it up, it flies like a good little boy and gives me nothing but time to fix my problem. I wouldn't say that it twists up alot, but I do a fair amount of tube jumps and I usually have some line twist issues when doing them. I am sure its just body position, but at least the canopy behaves. On to landing this thing. Riser pressure is moderate. The Safire has the best riser pressure out of the 3. Very light. But the Safire sucked in the opening department and swooping department. If you load a Lotus enough, the swoops are amazing for a non-elliptical canopy. It has a nice long recovery arc allowing for slow speed building front riser dives. I can safely perform 270 "hooks" and get awesome turf surfs. I parenthasize hooks, because I dont really consider it a hook. It is a controlled carve that really builds up speed and allows you plenty of decision making time to see your approach progression. You can slow up the turn speed with opposite front riser without increasing your riser pressure, or buffeting. Or you can increase it with more riser pressure for a quicker turn. Either way, this baby gives you alot options, and still produces a very respectable swoop. When it comes time to shutting it down at the end your surf, there is more flare than you will ever expect. With the slightest wind, I can usually pop myself up if I'm draggin nutz. It really shuts down nicely, and does it relatively quick as well. If you find yourself in a downwind situation, it performs nicely. Obviously there is not as much flare, but I have done several downwind, crosswind landing on purpose and not, and have always stood them up. I'm not saying that you will stand them up as well, because you have to respect the situation more so than an upwind landing. If you know your landing downwind, this canopy has the ability to let you run it out. So, theres not many cons in my book regarding this canopy, other that the fact that its a bitch to gather up on windy days as the air does not want to leave the cells. Kinda irritating sometimes, but definitly worth it. If I could sum all of this up, I would say that you should get a canopy that you are comfortable with. The way to find this out is to DEMO, DEMO, DEMO, DEMO. Keep demoing until you find one that works for ya. Be safe when jumping new canopies, at your level, don't friggin hookem to find out what they are made of, or you'll find out what your made of. Give Brian a call at Big Air Sportz, and be prepared to chat for a while. He will talk to you more than ANY other canopy rep every will, and this guy is the owner. He is the inventor of the airlock and hold the patent. Sorry so long, but I hope this helps. Later Edit: Ok, I feel like a dumbass after reading Canuck's post. You can fly this canopy straight in under any conditions. I have had to do half-braked turns at the last second and land from half-brakes. Yeah its a harder landing, but it stays inflated at barely zero penetration and it didn't crater me. No PLF needed that time. I should have stated that it is a safe canopy to start with then talked about its high performance characteristics. So please dont go out there and try to swoop it and crater in, or I will have to hear it from Steve. Another edit: Go here to read about it. [url]http://www.bigairsportz.com/lotus.php Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
johnny1488 1 #8 June 25, 2004 Quote. I'm not saying that its not possible, but if I were to do this under a Crossfire, I would have line twists up the ass. I've never had my xfire come even close to putting me into line twists from any sort of input. I almost put myself into twists on my first jump on a lotus. QuoteBut the Safire sucked in the opening department and swooping department. Then I think you were doing something wrong! Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jose 0 #9 June 25, 2004 Well, as your post really had nothing to say other than "your wrong" attitude, I give minimal weight to your claims. I have seen a buddy spin up his Crossfire doing exactly this, so dont tell me its not possible. Good for you that you havent done it, but if your telling me and the rest of the skydiving world that its more of a possiblity with a Crossfire as compared to a Lotus, your really not that informed. As for my Safire, I believe that I had a fucked up lineset, as the demo opened very nicely. But after 50-70 jumps under my new one, and more slammers and line twists that I care to count, I shoved the piece of shit in a bag in the middle of a boogie and jumped another demo safire for the rest of the week. Problem went away. Yeah, it might have been just that canopy, but I will never give my money to a company that hires morons like Simon, that LIE to you every time you call about your canopy after a 15 week wait. You get real sick and tired of hearing,"oh, it will there in less than 2 weeks" Bullshit. When I went to return the bag of shit, all I got was greif from him about it. No questions asked my ass. Brian jumped my canopy twice before sending to me. Name another OWNER that would do that. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
johnny1488 1 #10 June 25, 2004 why dont you tell me how you really feel. As for line twists, I pull my slider down and open the chest strap and have tried my damdest to do it to myself on my 141 loaded at 1.7 and cant. And your claim about the safire should have been preceeded by the fact that you thought it was fucked up. The safire doesnt suck on opening and flare, yours did. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kaerock 1 #11 June 25, 2004 HEY, don't forget the airlocks! can't beat that...you'll have more of an edge in funky air situations...everyone could use an edge in a funky situation. Did you get the Lotus MAX? enjoy the hell outta of it :> -R QuoteWell... I'll tell ya. I'll do my best but I can't write as eloquently as Mr. Phreezone or Bill Von on reviews. I don't have a lot of experience under a lot of different canopies. Read some of the threads on the lotus and I would have to agree with the positive characteristics that were brought up. Flat glide, Responsive, great openings and on heading. Great all around. I liked my hornet but I really find this canopy a joy. Feel really comfortable under it. You be the king and I'll overthrow your government. --KRS-ONE Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jose 0 #12 June 25, 2004 QuoteThe safire doesnt suck on opening and flare, yours did. Do you own, or have currently owned a Lotus2? Do you own, or have currently owned a Safire2? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
johnny1488 1 #13 June 27, 2004 Lotus2, no, I jumped a lotus 190 Safire2 169for about 150 jumps safire 209 for about 300 jumps Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
