what was the worst canopy youve ever jumped?

Challenger 300+ sqft 9cell F111 main. 2 total mal from 2 terminal opening. I have not tried anymore.

My worst canopy was the best landing canopy I ever had. It was a Sabre 190 before the line mod came out.
It sent me to the ER twice with back injury from the openings. I had the line mod done but was never comfortable with it.
I didnt enter any rounds here as I pounded into the ground under most of them anyway.

Diamant 160. French CRW canopy, way too big for me so needed way too much lead, opens HARD, flies great actually but flares, well, not Did 3 jumps on it, never want to jump one again!

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Challenger 300+ sqft 9cell F111 main. 2 total mal from 2 terminal opening. I have not tried anymore.

Umm...how do ya have 2 total malfunctions from terminal OPENINGS?



I have 50-60 jumps on a Challenge 300, all opened great, nice accuracy canopy...just don't be off the spot!



Worst canopy I ever jumped, OTHER than my T-Bow...
was what appeared to be a 'home made' USSR copy of a 252 para-foil type canopy.

..I'm betting that somebody's house out in the Ukraine somewhere...is missin' the drapes from the den!

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Umm...how do ya have 2 total malfunctions from terminal OPENINGS?Angelic

First was packed by a 200 jump wonder. It was a streamer in size of the slider on Saturday afternoon.

My reserve got packed and I pack the main under supervison. I got the same shit on Sunday's first load.

I have not seen or jumped that bitch anymore.

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Umm...how do ya have 2 total malfunctions from terminal OPENINGS?[Angelic]

First was packed by a 200 jump wonder. It was a streamer in size of the slider on Saturday afternoon.

My reserve got packed and I pack the main under supervison. I got the same shit on Sunday's first load.

I have not seen or jumped that bitch anymore.

Hummm....then they weren't TOTAL malfunctions then were they?

The DC-5. Handled like a wet sponge, but I was a student so I didn't know any better.

One time I accidentally jumped a PD-230. It malled and I had to chop it. The reserve (not exactly sure what it was, but probably a Tempo of similar size) was hell. It opened fine and landed ok, but it flew like crap. It was almost impossible to get the damn thing to turn. A 180 degree full-toggle turn took about 15 to 20 seconds and lost 400 feet in the process. Boy, was I glad that I initiated the turn at 500 feet...

Other than that, the worst main I ever jumped must have been the Manta. No bashing intended, but it's just too big, too slow and simply doesn't compare to the canopies I've jumped since.

Alphons

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The DC-5. Handled like a wet sponge, but I was a student so I didn't know any better.

LOL!!!

I have an old jumping buddy that has his canary yellow DC-5, all of 6 jumps on it, 'lovingly' stored with his other brand new 20 year old gear...


Told me a while back~

"Great canopy, someday I'll get back in the sport and start jumping it again."

Easy question -- Strong Starlite. A round canopy, looked a bit like a paracommander, but smaller, lighter, and opened like terminal impact on the ground. Put me in the hospital.

X-210. Every landing popped L4 out of place.

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Piglet-23 Sport Round.

Only way we were taught to land it... Toggles all the way up, Feet and Knees together, PLF on impact.

The Piglet makes the bottom of my list also, even compared to a 24' flat circular with 4 line release for steering. My one Piglet jump scarred me for life...

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Hummm....then they weren't TOTAL malfunctions then were they? Angelic

So? I had 2 high speed mal on those and Im not willing to jump those bitches anymore.

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T-10
More backwards PLFs than forwards

If ya runs WITH the wind, it makes for forward PLF's.

My first new canopy. I got an AR-11 120. I had about 150 jumps and almost no ZP canopy time. No one knew how to pack it, so the first couple hundred openings were random at best. I had that canopy for about 500 jumps or so, it never got much better as I learned to pack and fly it. I was very unhappy with the canopy even after I nailed down all the little stuff, it still opened like crap and landed for s#$t.

I bought a Jedei 105 at about 700 jumps and all the sudden I was a great canopy pilot. I could do things that really made everyone turn and pay attention. Because nothing else had change but the canopy, I assume that the trusty AR was the reason for my poor performance.

The canopy finally made itself useful this year. I couldn't get my new FX 89 to open right so I tried a couple different sliders. the slider off the AR did the trick.That slider made my FX open like a dream, awesome.

The AR-11 was not a good canopy for me but it was my first high performance canopy and will thusly always have a place in my heart as a milestone in my skydiving career.

the biggest piece of s%$t I ever jumped is still in my locker at the DZ today. My 1987 Fury, that thing has at least 2000 jumps on it and still has the original line set. Two of the lines are finger trapped together. I have replaced three others. I have broken the brake lines twice on both sides. Have done a dozen base jumps with it and do CReW on a regular basis. No one else on the DZ is allowed to jump it. I love that canopy it rules. I would take it over any of my other canopies on a low ceiling day.

So, my worst canopy is still my favorite of all time.

A ragged out 421 tandem main. Close second was the 500 tandem main. Close third and fourth were the other two 421's.

Unlike some folks, I loved my ragged out Fury even if it did have no flare.

I had 2 jumps on an OLD Jedi (160-170, Can't remember the size...) It was a hoot to jump. Opened Nicely, but It didn't have any flare, bearly turned, and I could look up and see sunshine through it.
I wonder if that Canopy was nice when it was new?

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A ragged out 421 tandem main. Close second was the 500 tandem main. Close third and fourth were the other two 421's.

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I would have to agree with that. I did a couple dozen tandems with an old grey 421 they had at the DZ I worked at. It had a tendency to dive to the left just before landing. It did cause me one knee surgery.
Thanks for reminding me Lisa.

Funky Canopies I have Known:

Delta II - Freaky opening and random turns.

Starlight - Outrageously hard openings until the introduction of the "Spider Slider".

Para-Plane (Baby) - My neck has never been the same after those openings.

ThunderBow - Why did they even put steering lines on it ??

Unit - Opened so slow, I was always asked, Why didn't you cut that thing away ??"

Jumping a Katana now, it's hard to believe those bad old days.

I've owned all of these . . .

Strato Flyer!
Para-Flite marketed this canopy as a better version of the tried and true Strato Star, but it landed so badly they changed its name to "Safety Flyer" and, in 1979, sold it as the very first square reserve. People creaming in on these canopies were often heard yelling, "Flyer for sale!!!"

Glidepath Clipper!
Pull down a front riser and it collapses . . .

Glidepath Nova!
This canopy had serious issues and was grounded in the early 90s, but not before it killed more than a few jumpers. One of these collapsed and paralyzed a former student of mine. Burning your Nova in the fire pit was a popular pastime and somebody should have gone to prison over this canopy . . . http://www.afn.org/skydive/equip/announce/nova-recall.html

NickD
BASE 194

Never jumped one myself but I watched many an uhh, well they called them openings on the Pintail.

I have jumped 21 different canopies types and the worst was a Typhoon 170 followed closey by the Turbo Z.

what was so bad about them in comparison to good ones?