psw097

$700 or $800 I think, I paid $500 for mine w/2 jumps on it - one of the last from Skydepot and ugly as crap colors. For $500 I'd buy another new, butt ugly Viper tomorrow, a 95 this time.

I have a Viper 105. It has been an excellent canopy, especially at the very low price you could get one for. It's like a Stiletto but more like a Cobalt, exactly, IMO. I've jumped Cobalts the same size, also larger and smaller, and the Viper flies/lands the same. I think the Viper opens better (slower), but I pack my own. A Cobalt is just a lot more expensive. Paul Webster

I'll pack it for you next weekend. I'll guarentee a fast opening or your 5 dollars back.

I have about 300 jumps on a Viper 105. It is not prone to line twist but, I have chopped it once - not it's fault, I had a brake line un-stowed and it spun all the way up. It'll dive hard if it is twisted and the risers are not straight. Throw stable, fly it through the opening, pack consistently and you will not have to worry about it. Overall the Viper is a well mannered canopy.

I use a Kenko KUW-042M and SGW-05 and have also used the KCW-042 which I think was replaced by the SGW-043. The KCW-042 is extremely wide with a lot of fish-eye effect and I had some vignetting using my PC-100. The Kenko .42 does not vignette and the curvature of field is less but you pay for it with size. The KUW-42M and HI are big lenses, mine hangs out significantly past the front/side of my D-Box and I can feel the weight difference. I ended up making a fiberglass shield for the front of my D-Box to enclose the lens. Paul Webster

Thnaks, but I was thinking more flush mounted with the Cam-Eye and cables internal and only the button sticking out.

Has anyone flush mounted a Cam-Eye II in an NvertigoX? If so, where did you mount it and how did it go? There is not much padding in the helmet, I am guessing the switch would have to be torn down and epoxied in place. Blue Skies, Webster

The Viper's been replaced by the Cobalt. I jump a Viper 105, built in '97, I think. Openings are fine as long as you don't mind way off heading, flies great, surfs as well or better than most. There is frequently some posted for sale. I've jumped a couple Cobalts and personally I'll stick with the Viper. Performance per dollar it cannot be beat.

You broke your neck? Eh, gad and we were just doing 4-way 2 days ago. Does this mean I can freefly the next couple weeks instead of practice?

~850 jumps, 200 lbs. out the door - wingloading between .7 and 2.1 (30) Manta 288 (80)Sharpchuter 245 (1) Fury 220 (1) Tri 190 (1) Pro-Series 190 (1) Tri 175 (1) Sabre 170 (90) Pro-series 170 (120) Sabre 150 (3) Spectre 150 (1) Tri 135 (1) Dash-M 135 (280) Safire 129 (1) Diablo 120 (2) Samurai 120 (3) Crossfire 119 (1) Crossfire 109 (1) Nitron 108 (4) Stilletto 107 (195) Viper 105 (4) Samuria 105 (3) Cobalt 105 (5) Cobalt 95

I'll be there Thursday before noon. I plan on staying until the Casa's stop flying on Sunday. I'm sleeping in a tent with the assistance of large quantities of alcohol.

Try this link: http://www.afn.org/skydive/sta/highperf.pdf It is a bit long for a quick read but very well written. Some of the diagrams quickly explain AOA, reletive wind, etc. I did not have time to extract the diagrams only. Plus, I think the whole thing is worth the read. Paul Webster

"2- stay away from turbulance" This one is great. Knowing where turbulence hides is as important as knowing how to fly in it. Stay away from buildings, treelines, hot tarmac, cool water, dropoffs, rises.....Thermals and/or obstructions are what cause the turbulence in the first place. Paul Webster

"The angle of incidence is created by the hands-off line trim of the parachute in it's normal static state." I agree, but that brings up a whole new concept of riggers angle of incidence or trim angle vs. true angle of incidence or pitch. It starts getting confusing, I'll stick with your definition. The basic lift formula would be a great predictor of performance. You just never see Cl data out of the manufactures so the only thing you can quantify is velocity. Plus, its difficult to change AOA for more than a few seconds, the Cl value stays rather constant. Makes it more fun that way I guess.

There still seams to be some confusion about angle of attack vs. angle of incidence. Angle of attack is the angle at which the canopy strikes the perceived wind. Angle of incidence is the angle of the canopy to the horizon. Until a canopy reaches the critical angle of attack it produces more lift, determined by the coefficient of lift (Cl). After that point it will stall. At the same time it produces more drag and slows down. Lift looks something like this: Lift = 1/2pV(sq) * Gl * A If the angle of attack is too high there will not be enough pressurization to maintain cell shape. The canopy will react poorly in turbulence and may deflate. If the angle of attack become too low or worse negative the stagnation point may/will migrate to the top skin of the canopy. This will cause a venturi effect and suck the air from the cell and again cause the nose to roll under. Under a canopy the only way to significantly change your angle of attack is with your brake lines. Your risers will change the angle of attack some, but mostly they change the angle of incidence. Turbulence can cause a partial, or full, canopy collapse because of an AOA change. It really has nothing to do with AOI. This is a quick and dirty explanation and may not be 100% accurate since I did no research before throwing it together. Paul Webster D-24223