Spectre

[imdskydiver 0]

I would like to get into bird man jumps , I have 2 rigs , 1 - with a cobalt 120 / H-Mod and the other with a Stiletto 120 both at about 1.7 W/L .I have an opportunity to trade the Stiletto for a Spectre 120 , Would this be a suitable canopy for Bird Man jumps or should i go with something bigger,Does anyone have experience with a Spectre loaded at about 1.7

[kevin922 0]

don't have any experience with a spectre loaded at 1.7 but I think the spectre is better than a stilleto for wingsuit... but that's just one opinion. As others have said 1.7 is a little heavy high on the loading.. SM1 would probably be better to ask, he jumps a small canopy... not sure what his loading is

[encinoadam 0]

Don't do it. 1.7 is pretty high even for an experienced birdman. Find something closer to a 1.0. Personally, I wouldn't use anything over 1.2... or anything that has a greater than usual tendency to cause spins, like a Stiletto. I know it is a hassle, but find something bigger.

Adam

[SkymonkeyONE 4]

I used to regularly jump an H-mod Cobalt 75 with my wingsuits, but then went PD and regularly jumped a Velocity 79 with zero problems. Still, the smartest move was to trade my smallest Velocity, a 75, for a Sabre2 97. I am about 175 out the door; you do the math. The bottom line here is that the main criteria for safe wingsuit jumps is straight, predictable openings. A Sabre2 or Spectre and pretty much any wingloading does the job.

Chuck
PD/BirdMan Factory pilot

[SkymonkeyONE 4]

I used to regularly jump an H-mod Cobalt 75 with my wingsuits, but then went PD and regularly jumped a Velocity 79 with zero problems. Still, the smartest move was to trade my smallest Velocity, a 75, for a Sabre2 97. I am about 175 out the door; you do the math. The bottom line here is that the main criteria for safe wingsuit jumps is straight, predictable openings. A Sabre2 or Spectre and pretty much any wingloading does the job.

Chuck
PD/BirdMan Factory pilot

[ManBird 0]

Here's my ultra-simple-but-all-too-true rule for deciding which canopy is appropriate for wingsuit flights:

If you can spiral the canopy with harness input, don't fly it with a wingsuit.

"¯"`-._.-¯) ManBird (¯-._.-´"¯"

Click

[fergs 0]

Hi Duayne,

Can't speak for a 1.7 loaded spectre - I jump 1.3 loaded Spectre for all wingsuit flights. It's very nice - always staged, predictable, on heading openings - perfect for wingsuit jumps. Get a 100" bridle and pack grommet-up.

May or may not be relevant, but I've always psycho packed my Spectre. Incidentally, a group of us have renamed the psycho pack (negative connotations) to the "FLOS" Pack. Stands for Flaming Lazy Old Skydivers - due to the ease in which this type of pack job is!

Whatever canopy you end up with, as ManBird mentioned, any canopy that can be spiralled by harness input is not for wingsuits - at least that's my belief.

Looking forward to hearing of your first wingsuit jumps. You'll love it.

fergbird

[billvon 3,118]

>I have an opportunity to trade the Stiletto for a Spectre 120 , Would
> this be a suitable canopy for Bird Man jumps or should i go with
> something bigger . . .

Something bigger. I have a safire 119 loaded at about 1.7 to 1; when I use it with my classic II openings are a bit hairy, and the safire is a pretty docile canopy as small semi-ellipticals go. I switched to my backup rig with a silhouette 170 at 1.2 to 1 and openings are now a piece of cake. It opens on heading every time, and even when I open with bad body position and end up with line twists it just doesn't care. It just keeps flying along. In addition, the larger canopy gives you more time to mess with sticky zippers, get the booties off etc.

As I get better with the suit I may downsize to a 150 or even a docile 135 (a Pilot or something) but I don't think I'll go down to the 119.