The Velocity is no doubt the best canopy I’ve ever flown. It’s like a birthday present every time I fly! But before I review the actual canopy I want to explain to you my progression…
Canopy Progression
I have followed what most people call the normal progression to a high performance canopy. I started out with a Pilot as a student canopy and kept it throughout my introduction to different freefall disciplines. Then followed a long period on a Sabre2, which I downsized to 120 square feet. Once there downsizing was not an option anymore because of the maximum wing loading.
I took my first canopy course at 1500 jumps and not much later switched to the Katana. About 500 jumps later I got to try out a Velocity 103 demo canopy and fell in love with it the first jump. The third jump I had to cut it away because of a brake fire. But that didn’t stop me from getting one myself! I am a freefly videographer and an amateur swooper with 2,350 jumps.
High Performance
Now we have arrived at the actual review of the canopy. It definitely is a high performance canopy that nobody should be allowed to jump without having talked at least to your dropzone leader and a few experienced swoopers. Advice is key when switching canopies.
Altitude Loss
It has got soft snivelling openings which mean you lose a lot of altitude on opening. So it’s actually not really fitting for big-ways where sometimes you have to go lower than you expected. As mentioned above it’s a high performance canopy that will live up to its name when malfunctioning.
If you have decided not to cut it away you’re probably flying a good canopy
Quick Cutaway Decision
This means you will once again lose a lot of altitude in a short time. When you jump a canopy like this you need to be prepared to make your decision to cut away sooner than other canopies. If you want to avoid cutaways at any cost this is not a canopy for you. But I find the advantages of this canopy far outweigh more than the occasional cutaway.
First jump of the World Championships, 2012, in Dubai I was turning points like my VFS team! 🙂
Range
If you have decided not to cut it away you’re probably flying a good canopy. That’s where the fun starts. Have you been dropped too far out? No problem, the Velocity has a great range where you can swoop down in no time on harness only or flatten it out on the rears to cover a lot of distance.
Jumping a high performance canopy doesn’t give you any right to priority in traffic
Slow Flight Mode
I find the toggles to be one of the least used components when you don’t have to wait for traffic below. If you do have to wait for other canopies the Velocity does a pretty good job of slowing down your vertical speed when flying full brakes. But it will never reach the same descent rate as other canopies that require a less high wingloading to fly optimally. So be prepared to fly this thing in full brakes until you have to land it, in a way much like tandem canopy does.
Speed, Control, Fun
When traffic is not a factor you will be able to enjoy what this canopy was made for: speed, control, and a whole lot of fun. So when you want to make sure to experience this in your jump you should do a lower exit jump. Jumping a high performance canopy doesn’t give you any right to priority in traffic.
Landing
This canopy lets you build up a huge amount of speed that if done correctly can give you a great rush on landing. But if done incorrectly can cause serious injury or in many cases even death. That’s why you should invest a big deal of time in getting to know the canopy before starting to practice high speed landings.
Like Sex
It’s much like sex and relationships. The sex can be awesome with a stranger. But without getting to know each other, or when swapping partners too often, accidents are bound to happen. So on this note, I advise everybody to go find a life partner and have lots of sex.
Or just try a Velocity 😉
