This is not advice, but a posting for historical reasons:

Canopy Specifications - Introduction

From: ftr@sam.neosoft.com (Walt Appel)
Newsgroups: rec.skydiving
Subject: BASE Article #6 - Canopy Specs (1 of 5)
Date: Fri, 07 Jul 1995 05:01:33 GMT

This is the sixth in a series of articles that I am posting about BASE jumping. In this five part article, we will take a close look at 4 ram-air parachutes that I consider to be suitable for BASE jumping.

Feel free to e-mail me, but don't ask me to recommend specific sites. I will not recommend specific sites, nor do I recommend BASE jumping. BASE, even though it has evolved a great deal over the past few years, is still somewhat experimental and I consider it to be an extremely dangerous activity. I am posting these articles because the lessons that have been learned about BASE have cost us dearly. I do not want to see anyone hurt or killed because they were unknowingly re-inventing the sport.

In case, you're wondering about my background in BASE, I have made 55 BASE jumps, mostly freefalls from under 500 ft, from a variety of sites. I make and sell BASE accessories, e.g., pilot chutes, bridles, mesh sliders, etc., and I have been on the Bridge Day staff for the past few years.

Disclaimer: I am not now, nor will I ever be, the final word on BASE jumping. Nobody is the ultimate authority.

BASE is an extremely dangerous activity. In my opinion, the best way to reduce your chances of injury or death is to talk with as many experienced BASE jumpers as you can, learn as much as possible, *think* about it, and jump in a way that makes sense to you. This article is written from one person's point of view (mine) and you'd be nuts to consider it the best or only point of view. There is a lot more to BASE than any series of articles can present. Use the information only as a starting point.

A Look at the Super Raven, the Mojo, the Fox, and the Dragon
In this five part article, we will take a close look at the specifications on Precision Aerodynamics' Super Raven, Consolidated Rigging's Mojo, Basic Research's Fox, and Vertigo's Dragon canopy. The Super Raven is a popular skydiving ram-air reserve parachute. The Mojo, Fox, and Dragon are generating a significant following in the BASE community--they are ram-air parachutes designed specifically for BASE jumping.

Before we get started, there's a few things I'd like to note. First, This article does not contain a direct comparison of these canopies. The purpose of the article is *not* to decide which of these canopies is best for BASE jumping, it is to show you what to look for in a canopy that you intend to use for BASE jumping.

Also, bear in mind that we're looking at canopies with characteristics that make them suitable for slider up or slider down (or removed) jumping at a variety of BASE sites. Don't get the idea that you absolutely need to have one of these canopies or something very similar for Bridge Day. I'll post an article on setting up a skydiving rig for Bridge Day well in advance.

Finally, I'd like to thank the manufacturers of these canopies. They have been generous with their time and expertise and make excellent products that help keep BASE jumpers safe.

Keeping BASE jumpers safe is a pretty tall order. As the disclaimer for these articles says, BASE jumping is still very experimental in nature--it always has been, but it has evolved from being a stunt to being a sport. That evolution can be mostly credited to what we have learned about gear, and that is why this series has focused on gear so far. In skydiving, you don't really don't need to know all that much about your gear, other than how to operate it. In BASE jumping, gear knowledge is crucial to your safety. If you are seriously considering making a BASE jump, get your skydiving canopy out as you are reading through the specifications on these canopies. When you read the descriptions of the bridle attachment and suspension line attachment reinforcement schemes, take a look at the reinforcement on your canopy. The canopies discussed in this article will give you a reference point for comparison. They are all well-built parachutes that, in my opinion, are suitable for BASE jumping.

A canopy's suitability for BASE jumping is based on specific criteria. In BASE Article #4, "Selecting a BASE Canopy", we looked at characteristics of a generic BASE canopy; it was a seven cell with the following features:

# A low aspect ratio,
# Made of non-zero-porosity fabric,
# Dacron or nylon (not Spectra) suspension lines,
# A very strong reinforcement scheme at the bridle attachment point(s) and all suspension line attachment points,
# Very durable construction,
# Surface area that is large enough to give soft landings even in deep-brakes approaches.
BASE Article #4 has detailed explanations, but to summarize, low aspect ratio seven cells made of F-111 ripstop (or equivalent) tend to open on heading, have the capability to do steep approaches into tight landing areas, and have stable (forgiving) flight characteristics. Dacron lines absorb opening shock better than Spectra. Strong reinforcement enables a canopy to withstand the high loading associated with large pilot chutes, slider down (or removed) openings, and mesh slider openings.

Look for the aforementioned characteristics when judging whether a canopy is suitable for BASE jumping. With the basics out of the way, let's move on to the Super Raven canopies--see Part 2.