Students need a canopy that provides them with immediate feedback on opening (very little snivel), but does not open hard. The Navigators deployment is designed to provide these characteristics with either spring loaded or hand deployed pilot chutes. They also need a canopy that allows them to get away with typical landing errors such as an early flare. With this in mind, Performance Designs have designed the flare characteristics on the Navigator to be very forgiving. The Navigator is available in sizes ranging from 200 sq.ft. to 280 sq.ft. in twenty square foot increments. The Navigator is more responsive to the student's control inputs than older designs at equivalent wing loadings.This allows for better feedback to the student during canopy flight. This improved feedback will allow the student to immediately understand the effects of their control inputs. This greatly accelerates the learning curve without the need to put the student on a smaller canopy. This feature allows learning to take place at appropriate airspeeds for students. Drop zone owners and staff want a rugged canopy with a long life span. The Navigator is constructed with reinforcement similar to that of a tandem canopy. No student canopy is stronger. In addition, Performance Designs have incorporated both a zero porosity top surface and a low porosity bottom surface, similar to their 384 and 425 tandem canopies. This combination allows for ease of packing, while providing excellent landing characteristics that will far outlive any low porosity canopy. They have added a protective patch around the pilot chute attachment point to help prevent damage from those times fabric is inadvertently snagged between the grommet and bridle or link. The Navigator is a state of the art student canopy. It offers an unparalleled combination of performance, forgiveness and durability, while providing the ability to raise the level of student canopy piloting instruction. With it's cutting edge design and construction, Performance Designs are confident that it will outperform any other student canopy and maintain this performance over a much longer life span. The Navigator, along with a progressive student canopy training program, will create safer and more competent pilots. This is something that will benifit us all.