Blahr 0 #1 July 31, 2003 Anyone remember the sq. Ft. on an F-111 7 cell XL Cloud? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
markbaur 0 #2 July 31, 2003 QuoteAnyone remember the sq. Ft. on an F-111 7 cell XL Cloud? I owned one. 260 square feet. Mark Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 643 #3 July 31, 2003 Xl Clouds had about 265 square feet of F-111 Fabric. XL Cloud Deltas were slightly larger at 270 square feet. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bwilling 0 #4 July 31, 2003 me too! And Mark's correct, it was 260sf. Man, I loved that canopy! "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tonto 1 #5 July 31, 2003 Really? I thought it was 240. The Cruiselite was 220, right? WTF happened to Paraflight? tIt's the year of the Pig. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kevin922 0 #6 July 31, 2003 yes I had a cruiselight it was 220 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkydiverRick 0 #7 July 31, 2003 QuoteReally? I thought it was 240. The Cruiselite was 220, right? WTF happened to Paraflight? tI think that there was two sizes. The larger one (260sq/ft) was the XL. I probably should know this since my first canopy was an XL, but it's been a long time. never pull low......unless you are Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sundevil777 102 #8 July 31, 2003 QuoteWTF happened to Paraflight? They now only make stuff for the military and such. You can still find their website.People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slotperfect 7 #9 July 31, 2003 Cruiselite = 220 sq ft Strato Cloud Delta = 240 sq ft Cruiselite XL = 245 sq ft XL Cloud = 260 sq ft Para Flite got out of the sport market years ago. They continued to build the Swift Plus reserve for a while, but are now completely military oriented in their manufacture. I had a lot of jumps on the Cruiselite XL, Delta Cloud, and XL Cloud back in the day. You still see some for sale now and again.Arrive Safely John Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkydiverRick 0 #10 July 31, 2003 QuoteCruiselite = 220 sq ft Strato Cloud Delta = 240 sq ft Cruiselite XL = 245 sq ft XL Cloud = 260 sq ft Para Flite got out of the sport market years ago. They continued to build the Swift Plus reserve for a while, but are now completely military oriented in their manufacture. I had a lot of jumps on the Cruiselite XL, Delta Cloud, and XL Cloud back in the day. You still see some for sale now and again. Didn't Cruiselite also have a smaller canopy? The Cruiselite Beta or something like that? never pull low......unless you are Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slotperfect 7 #11 July 31, 2003 There was a canopy called a "Cruisair" but I don't know what the sq ft was. The "Beta" was a Nimbus Beta, Which was about 200 sq ft (don't quote me). The Nimbus was 220 sq ft (9-cell).Arrive Safely John Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
markbaur 0 #12 July 31, 2003 QuoteThere was a canopy called a "Cruisair" but I don't know what the sq ft was. The first canopy I owned! The Cruisair was made of 1.25 oz fabric, a departure from the Strato-Cloud/Strato-Star 1.55 oz fabric. Para-Flite had not yet started making canopies from F-111. It came without crossports, and it tended to open with end cell closure. I had about 100 jumps when I cut the crossports and did the stabilizer mod myself, removing the stabilizer fabric between the A and B lines. The Cruisair was advertised as 200 square feet, but IIRC the Pegasus was an almost exact copy (but made from F-111 and with improved line trim) and was advertised as 220 square feet. There was no standard measuring protocol at that time. The Cruislite was the F-111 version of the Cruisair. I think they were the same size, with Para-Flite choosing to use their competition's measurement method for the Cruislite, hence the 220 square foot size. Mark Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 643 #13 August 1, 2003 If you want t get picky, the 200 square foot, 7-cell Cruiseair came first - in the late 1970s. Then Django built a similar canopy - circa 1980 - with lighter weight (F-111) fabric and lighter construction methods (I-Beam rib seams). The simplified construction methods allowed the canopy to spread more so Django's Pegasus ended up with about 220 square feet. In 1981 Para-Flite introduced the 220 square foot Cruiselite, which was a direct competitor for Django's Pegasus. Para-Flite eventually sued Django into bankruptsy over patent infringement. Django re-opened as Glide Path, which eventually morphed into Glide Path International. What do you mean about there being no standardized canopy measurement method in the early 1980s? PIA tried to introduce a standardized measuring method, but few manufacturers use it, so in the long run customers are still forced to wade through a bewildering array of numbers written by marketing managers. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tbrown 26 #14 August 1, 2003 QuoteQuoteWTF happened to Paraflight? They now only make stuff for the military and such. You can still find their website. It's kinda sad, time was when Para Flite was the uncontested numero uno canopy maker, they "squared away sport parachuting" (from an old Strato Star ad). Their Safety Flyer was the first square reserve on the market, in '78. Their quality control wasn't always the greates, some of their canopies would start tearing out at the ribs. And then people complained about canopies not flaring well. They tried a triple riser 9 cell design for the nineties, the "Evolution", but the Sabre crushed it. How the mighty can rise and fall... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity ! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkydiverRick 0 #15 August 2, 2003 It's kinda sad, time was when Para Flite was the uncontested numero uno canopy maker, reply] They still make a lot of canopies for the military. They probably don't have to worry about getting sued either. never pull low......unless you are Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mjosparky 4 #16 August 2, 2003 QuoteReally? I thought it was 240. The Cruiselite was 220, right? WTF happened to Paraflight? tThey are now owned by Airborne Systems, along with Irvin and just recently won the ATAPS contract to replace the US military static line system. http://www.paraflite.com/ SparkyMy idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
