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Aerodyne introduces its A2 tandem canopy

Posted Friday, March 5, 2004

By Aerodyne

Aerodyne recently started to ship demo’s of its A2 main tandem canopy. The A2 is an elliptical 9-cell canopy with a surface of 389 square feet. It is a so-called hybrid construction, meaning that the top skin is made out of zero-porosity fabric while the bottom skin is constructed from a 0-3 cfm F-111 type fabric.

Initially Aerodyne baptized this canopy with the name "Gemini", but having been confronted with a claim that this name is already used for a parachute canopy by the Canadian company Canadian Aero Sports we decided to change the name to "A2".

The A2 caters to tandem equipment owners who are looking to replace only the main canopy. With this goal in mind Aerodyne decided to ship each A2 with a set of miniforce™ tandem risers. "By supplying a set of risers with each A2 canopy we are preventing any compatibility problems with the various tandem rigs on the market", explains Edward Anderson, who is Chief of Operations at Aerodyne Research in Florida. "The tandem owner can easily install the A2 into any rig and is not confronted with the issue of steering line lengths or the position of the steering line guide ring on the riser. And of course there is the added benefit of the unique miniforce™ risers. The "elongated" middle ring of this 3-ring release system significantly reduces the pull force required to cut away. Especially in the tandem environment we feel this feature greatly enhances safety."

The airfoil and the conservative planform factor of the A2 guarantee superb handling characteristics minimizing the workload of tandem masters. Not only will they find the toggle pressure, turn response and flare power they have been seeking, but they will be pleasantly surprised by the soft on-heading openings. The turn recovery and ability to slow the canopy in no wind conditions are additional features that will be greatly appreciated by all tandem masters. The A2 is equipped with Spectra suspension lines which make for considerably less bulk and a more compact container on the back. Because of their lower weight the Spectra lines also reduce the risk of line dump and subsequent premature opening of the deployment bag, a significant cause of malfunctions.

We have designed this canopy to maximize safety, but at the same time we made it an economical tool that will maximize the number of jumps per day. To reduce packing time we chose a hybrid construction. To reduce air time we built a wing that will fly slowly in brakes, but gives you a significantly higher rate of descent when flown at full glide.

The A2 comes standard with miniforce™ risers, Spectra 1500 lines, a slider with lightweight stainless steel grommets and #6 stainless steel rapid links.

For more information about Aerodyne and our products please go to www.aerodyne-int.com


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