Flight Test: Safire 2
December 2003
There has clearly been a lot of work put into the design of this canopy and it is most definitely one to consider. For the intermediate pilot, the Safire 2 is lovely. It has a long control range which provides a comfortable feel throughout the canopy flight, the ability to manipulate the wing at all stages, plus super high or low speed landings with poise and style. This is a canopy you will want to fly rather than letting it fly you.

Icarus Canopies launched their original Safire canopy in 1998, which they believe to be the first all purpose 9-cell canopy to include a lightly and truly elliptical planform shape.

Icarus followed the changing requirements of the customer base especially noting the increasing enjoyment of canopy flight. Realising that new technologies were making fun and easy long flares accessible to a wide range of people, Icarus Canopies went back to the drawing board and re-engineered a totally new canopy. The Safire 2 came to respond to those in search of a mid range canopy which was both fun and forgiving that would cover the segment left under the Crossfire 2. Joris van Drunen, European Sales Rep for Icarus Canopies said “Planform design changes were introduced which gave the canopy more cell pressure, therefore greater rigidity, and less drag which created more flare power”. In early 2002 they launched the Safire 2.
Who jumps one?

Eric Schimmel Dutch National CF Team Hilfiger

Florian Lacroix Marketing Manager Aerokart

Daniela Scheurer Firebabes Swiss female freefly team

Brits:

Stuart Livett

Liz Warner

Laura McLoughlin

Ian Nicholson

Ben Dawson

Peter Dolbel

Danny Jessop
Opening: eloquent
After a standard pack job and deploying in a symmetrical body position at terminal, you can feel the lines paying out, under an assured tension. This is then followed by a secure and assertive, yet almost delicate snivel before the canopy expands and composes itself in an eloquent manner. This opening sequence instills confidence throughout.

To make the next load, a slightly rushed and most definitely sloppy pack job put me in twists. However, despite the Safire 2 being a truly elliptical canopy it then sat there beautifully while I, almost elegantly, manoeuvred myself around and regained full control of the canopy.

Flight: calm and discreet yet boundless
Flying the canopy provided an air of joy that allowed for the pilot to be in full command of the canopy flight. It was clear from the outset that this was a canopy you would want to fly and not a canopy you’d allow to fly you. The long control range provided a comfortable feel throughout the canopy flight providing the ability to manipulate the wing at all stages.

This predictable characteristic generated a reassuring ambience of both comfort and confidence. The firm but comfortable toggle pressure allowed a calm and discreet, yet boundless canopy flight. Holding both toggles down to full arm extent, it still took a few seconds before there was any indication of a pending stall, highlighting the length of controllability. Rear riser pressure was particularly strong but then most pilots flying this canopy will be unlikely to use this control input very often.

Generating that extra speed, the canopy did not dive uncontrollably and the front riser pressures allowed the pilot to hold the canopy in. Releasing the front risers immediately saw the safety characteristics of the canopy coming into play, directly inducing its recovery without delay.

Landing: gentle
Again the long control range helped with the style and poise of the landing. Even slower speed approaches allowed a graceful landing with increased rigidity and low drag giving an endearing presence when touching down, running out of lift only right at the end. Despite the canopy recovering from a dive quickly, it was still fairly simple to generate that extra speed to really complement this canopy’s landing. High speed approaches really do increase the strength of the flare into something very powerful giving the pilot a strong, forceful, yet simple feel as the canopy glides across the ground.

Suitable for: most
Icarus make the canopy in standard sizes ranging from 99 to 229. However their niche is that they will make them in whatever size you want, to the nearest square foot. So if you want a 112 Safire 2 then they will manufacture one for you.

For the more experienced novice or the intermediate pilot this canopy is lovely. As a first canopy, a larger size will give the grace that the Safire 2 portrays. With more experience a smaller size then allows more freedom in the air providing a greater range of manoeuvrability. For the more placid experienced pilot, again this canopy can hold its own. Yet while the canopy can be held nicely in a dive it also recovers very quickly. To that end, someone who wishes to generate speed in a slightly more radical form is probably not suited to the Safire 2.

There has clearly been a lot of work into the design of this canopy and it is most definitely one to consider. The Safire 2 is suitable for a large proportion of BPA members. This no hassle canopy is “offering the benefits of a 9-cell performance but without getting radical or requiring any special attention”.
Safire2
At A Glance
9-cell, lightly elliptical, zero porosity
Manufacturer: Icarus Canopies
Aspect ratio: 2.56:1
Sizes: 99, 109, 129, 139, 149,
169, 209, 229, custom sizes
 
VERDICT - Stars out of 10
Toggle Pressure **********
Front Risers **********
Glide Angle **********
Forgiving **********
Landings **********
In Turbulence not evaluated
Value **********
Overall **********

SUITABLE FOR
Novices: **********
Intermediates: **********
Experts: **********
Extreme flyers: **********
   
NB: The above is purely opinion and will change dependant on factors such as canopy size, wing loading and conditions. We have assumed wing loading of around 0.8 for novices and 1 for intermediates.

Article by Al Macartney
alastair@macartney.co.uk

Photos: Dean Hoskins and 'Big Al' Allen

See Icarus website for recommended wing loadings and flight characteristics www.icaruscanopies.com

Other flight tests:
Sabre 2
Katana
Pilot