guerramb

My high wingloading under a PD "160" is also one of the things that I was concerned with, which is why I mentioned the PIA measurement of the PD 160 reserve. According to the PIA measurement, the PD 160 is 174 square feet when compared with other canopies and this is a much more reasonable wingloading for my experience level. There is no doubt that my 190 lb. exit weight with a 160 reserve, wingloading = 1.19, is too high for my comfort. But with the PIA measurement of 174, my wingloading would be 1.09 which is much more reasonable for my experience. Thanks to all that have replied thus far, and please keep your thoughts coming.

My exit weight is about 190-195 pounds and my dropzone is pretty close to sea level (central Texas). I am not as current as I would like to be right now (5-10 jumps per month since December), but that will quickly change once this semester's finals are over (at least a month before I downsize). Dave, I will definitely be talking to Allen and Jeff about this before I make any decisions, but since I won't be able to get to the DZ before Friday I thought I would get some input from here first.

I have noticed that this seems to be a popular main/reserve configuration but I just want to make sure that it is appropriate for me before I purchase my new rig this summer. Currently, I have about 90 jumps, 60 of which have been on my Sabre2 190. I have landed the Sabre2 in a variety of conditions and have always had a stand up landing. I am now going to start working on Bill von's checklist to make sure that I can safely perform all of the manuevers before I downsize in a couple of months. I am sure that I will be ready to downsize to the Spectre 170 by late May/early June (when my new rig gets here), but my concern is with the PD 160 reserve. I know that the PIA chart says that the PD 160 is 174 square feet when measured by their method, but I want to make sure that I am not making a mistake by getting a 160 reserve. I plan on making a few demo jumps on the 160 before I make my final decision (gotta love the PD demo program) but outside input never hurts. Let me know what you think. Marcos