Development & Performance

Since 2002, over 100,000 jumps on HOP 330 canopies have been completed at drop zones around the world (USA, Australia, New Zealand, England & Europe). Trialled in a harsh beach environment with a daily exposure to sand and salt, the canopies have shown little or no decrease in performance even after 3000 jumps. Used in inland, grassy drop zones the life of the canopy and lines is substantially prolonged. As with all high-performance canopies, it is important to keep the wing in trim. We recommend a re-line after 600 jumps to guarantee maximum performance.

Australia's Sunshine Coast Skydivers is a coastal DZ where "wind conditions vary from strong sea breezes through to nil wind landings and turbulent offshore conditions. Each tandem master has their own landing style and the canopies perform equally well on a straight-in, deep brakes, accuracy approach as they do with a carving turn. The extremely high glide ratio of this canopy has proven very useful in the bad spot situations, cutting our off-drop zone landing rate by as much as 40%."

Thanks to its elliptical design that includes an aerodynamically superior foil-shape, this canopy has a greater glide ratio than any other canopy currently on the market. The HOPs are being used in Strong tandem rigs at this DZ, however they have also been used in various other systems with no complications at all.