freeflydrew

cough cough cough... bump

135 at 1.4 120 at 1.6 (rounded up) 107 at 1.8 (rounded up) -drew

I Think so! Blu, you the man! Eloy for Thanksgiving or Christmas? -drew

soak it in a sink full of water with one little capful of woolite... rinse it real good with a hose and let it dry for a couple of day... you should notice a great improvement.

I didn't really start to love the stiletto until I had flown the 120 a bunch and downsized to the 107... That's when the openings became totally consistant, and everything else fell into place. I found the 135 Stiletto a little less consistant on openings with my weight under it, and I felt like the arc was much too small. I have heard wonderful things about the CF openings not specific to any one size, and the same for it's landings... Although the Stiletto and the crossfire are similiar, they are two different wings that have two different sets of characteristics which you'll see best through demo. Having said that... you'll probably be able to bust out some sweet landings, and have really nice, consistant openings with the sabre2... No need to think about another canopy quite yet, ya know? -drew

probably easier due to the wingloading

Thom those pics are great! I remember that cross country load like it was yesterday! I always wondered how those pics came out... very cool! I'm constantly surprised to see different friends popping up on the ole dropzone.com forums! Awesome! -drew

Just to clarify one minor detail in this discussion, and that is "that starting high isn't necessarily safer"... I don't want that to sound like I think that starting low is necessarily safer(of course not)... What I am thinking and not typing, is that what makes a swoop safe isn't the height of it's start, rather the person/pilot who is executing it. I also agree that it's easier to judge altitude for the 270 than the 180, but I personally think that has come from experience, and not because we've added an additional 90 degrees to the dive... I do however struggle to find the right altitude for a 90, now that I've grown totally used to landing with the 270. Good discussion! -drew

There's so many different ways to do a 270, but the way that you describe is exactly the way that I like to do it... Of course, different situations call for different techniques. Sometimes it starts with a harness turn, sometimes is starts with a slow riser turn, sometimes it's a quick snap... it all depends on where you are, both horizontally and vertically.

It's not exactly clear what part of Tree's response it is that your disagreeing with here... it seems to me that you're reinforcing exactly what Tree was talking about... You say that you've spent 1500 jumps practicing 90 and 180, and now you're flying the 270 and find it easy to judge your altitude and fix it if necessary, and Tree said practice the 90s and 180s and you will in turn be safer and more heads up... (not exact quotes obviously) He also said that the more degrees you turn, the easier it is to become disoriented... You don't think so? I don't think that starting higher necessarily makes the swoop safer...I disagree that it's easier to judge altitude because you're doing a 270, and, I think it's only slower because of the way that you're controlling the swoop. You can turn a 90 wicked slow and totally be on top of your altitude just as safe as a 270... can't you? I think that all of these are the result of experience and not the number of degrees you choose to turn the canopy in a dive. I do agree that you have a lot more outs from the 270 than you do from the 180... but you have more from the 360,and even more from the 540, and even more from the 720 So does that mean that the 720 is the safest because you start higher, you can turn it slower, and you have a lot more outs if you are too high or too low?

what an awful story! It's so ironic that a manufacturer tell you to test jump a canopy smaller than the one that your currently flying, rather than the same size or even a size larger... especially when it's a totally different canopy than what you're currently flying! Very strange way of handling demos... but hey, what do I know, right?

Was "crossbraced" a typo here, instead of crossfire2?

wow! Fish, car, turning... huh? What ever happened to just flying it straight in? Anyhoo, I know what you mean about setting up the 180 when it's a little windy... You just really have to stay on top of where you are setting up, while maintaining that safe swoop altitude and anticipating the push from the wind. Know when to say when, and when not to say when... -drew

I wasn't going to post, but my hottie girlfriend put me up to it One from the dropzone and two from Donna and Sonic's wedding... enjoy!

Everyone, Thank You So Much for the messages, the updates, the pics... everything! And congratulations to Heath, JC, and Ian for taking the top 3 spots. -drew

I agree, agree, and agree! Have fun with the new canopy!

Well, I haven't flown the cf2, but had never really looked at it like a step up from the stilleto... more along the same lines, or at least the same category. After the little conversation I've had with a couple of peeps from PD, it doesn't look like the katana is being recommended as a first time elliptical canopy because it is between a stiletto or a velocity. I'l bet that this comparision is going to be discussed for a long time! later broh' -drew

I *think* that the Katana is a step up from the Stiletto, inbetween the stiletto and the velocity, and probably wouldn't be the optimal canopy for this situation... I have no idea how pd and icarus size their canopies.

this particular technique is called "the tricky clicky"!

Oh how funny! I guess we can expect to see it there for the next 3 years... I think he swindled some cheap advertising here! (joking)

Everytime I load the dropzone.com hoempage, Dave Brown in Canada is always at the top of the list of Events... It happened like 2 months ago!!! Weird...

A couple of years back a guy had to cut away his main, and I guess he landed his reserve downwind, and the chest mounted altimeter went into his sternum (

Thanks for the updates everyone!! Keep'em coming

The initial question was how best to setup for a 270 swoop... Swooping on its own carries all sorts of traffic issues...I'm guessing/assuming that homeboy on the velocity 96 who started the thread is heads up enough to know not to dive the canopy with other canopies close to him... And the last option, which you didn't quote was Bailing the swoop and landing straight in... Plain and Simple- If you don't have open air to swoop, don't do it! But if you are going to do it, try to set up with a nice, predictable pattern (see previous post). I still love you Petetheladd see you at the ranch after it stops raining and the clouds clear... -drew

Very Long Post! Ok... I've been putting a lot of thought into the best / safest way to set up for the left hand 270 (assuming your DZ is flying a left hand pattern). This is what I've come up with... **I fly a stiletto 107 loaded around 1.8 and usually begin the 270 somewhere around 600 feet? So any specific altitudes I mention are not specific, simply descriptive... ok?*** Before I started swooping I was taught to begin my landing pattern around 1000 feet by flying the downwind leg of the setup... Somewhere around 600 or 500 feet I was taught to initiate a left hand 90 degree turn for the base leg of the pattern... Then around 300 feet initiate another left hand turn into the final approach. It seems to me that this is what the majority of non-swoopers doing in their landing patterns, so this is the pattern that you'll need to negotiate with when you set up for the 270 swoop. If the DZ flies a left hand pattern, then I think that the safest and most predictable direction to swoop (for the non-swoopers) is left handed... It's also good for the low jump number students who are taught to fly a left hand pattern, so after they watch you, they don't think that they should suddenly start flying any pattern that they like, right? Ok, on to the 270 pattern... The actual swoop / dive part is the very last stage of the process, so let's pretty much forget about it for now... Back to the pattern... Just because we swoop, doesn't mean that we shouldn't fly a predictable and safe pattern. The only difference is that instead of ending the pattern by touching down on the ground, we are going to end the pattern by initiating our swoop... So at around 2000 or 2500 feet (rather than 1000 feet) begin the downwind part of the landing pattern... Around 2000-1500 feet make the left turn for the base leg... Around 1500-1000 feet turn into the wind for what would be the final... So far nothing is different about the pattern except that you've started it much higher... You should be coming right up to the spot where you want to be to: -Initiate the 360 dive OR -Turn 90 left to set up for the left hand 270 dive OR -Turn 180 left to set up for the left hand 180 dive OR -Turn 270 left for the 90 left hand dive OR -Bail on the Swoop and fly it straight in. I've tried many different patterns and techniques and this is the one that I think is the safest and most predictable... And it leaves you with "outs" all the way around! I tend to fly it with moderate brakes, and I feel like I'm able to make a visual check of all the other canopies around me. -drew Edited because I can can can