0

Gear

    Bonehead Composite Gear Update

    We're happy to announce that we've updated the Bonehead Composite gear page with plenty of new items. We've been somewhat out of date regarding some of the new helmets put out by Bonehead Composite, so there is lots to check out- some of which you may already be aware of or own. Though this gives you the chance to head over to some of the new items and rate them, should you already have experience with them.
    Here's some of the new items we have added:













    The ZEUS Helmet
    "Take a walk on the wildside... Zeus is a new way to look at video helmets. The ZEUS from BoneHead Composites Is designed to be a versatile camera helmet with its flat side and a space provided for a Cam EYE II. One of the first things you'll notice about the ZEUS is the Retro-Roman styling. ZEUS provides more frontal facial coverage and a brim to keep the sun out of your eyes without being aerodynamically obtrusive. The ZEUS comes standard with BH's ingenious Thermal-Fit liner, our new buckle chin-strap closure and the great finish quality that you have come to expect from BoneHead. This helmet does not require a chin-cup and there is not a cutaway system currently available"
















    The FLAT-TOP NARROW Camera Helmet
    "The other choice of professional camera fliers from around the world… The FLAT-TOP NARROW from Bonehead composites is the trimmed version of our almost famous FLAT-TOP PRO. The FLAT-TOP NARROW is a great all-around camera helmet for any discipline in skydiving. RW, freefly, tandem video or competition freestyle can be captured with your FLAT-TOP NARROW. This camera helmet is a rear-entry system to give the user better camera stability without sacrificing comfort. This NARROW version of the FLAT-TOP PRO has been made to allow the camera flyer less surface mounting availability and air drag but keeps the stability of the rear-entry configuration. The FLAT-TOP NARROW has plenty of space inside to run wiring, camera buttons, etc. to keep as much of the snagable surfaces to a minimum. You have the choice of where you would like a ring sight post placed. The FLAT-TOP NARROW comes standard with BH's ingenious Thermal-Fit liner, still camera adjustable platform, NEW cutaway system, and "Riser Slap" release button protector."
















    Hells Halo Camera Helmet
    "Hell's Halo is Boneheads latest and greatest camera helmet. There are 3 mounting surfaces for all your camera mounting needs. What makes this helmet stand out is an internal "halo" band that is adjustable using the ratchet clip on the back for last minute size adjustment. The helmet comes in two shell sizes along with our thermo-fit foam and an adjustable chin strap. If you still feel you need a chin cup, that accessory is also available. You can choose from our regular chin cup or our new concealed chin cup which hides the ladder straps!"




















    The MAMBA Helmet
    "Welcome to BoneHead's latest addition to Full-Face Flip-Up Helmets. The MAMBA from Bonehead Composites is a great choice for RW jumpers with its full face security and the ability to flip open the lens quickly and easily without sacrificing keeping closed in freefall. The new lens closing mechanism requires the jumper to squeeze the lens together to allow the closing pin to be released from it's locking position at the forehead area in order not to make a push-in button on the chin susceptible to knock and unwanted lens openings during the most intense skydives. The MAMBA features dual internal audible pockets on the inside of the helmet, great peripheral vision, a heavy neoprene neck liner to help with fogging lenses and noise, a FASTEX chin strap closure with padded strap, front Chin-Dam wind deflector to keep unwanted wind flow out of the inside of the helmet and a shape that allows full head movement and the ability to see and locate emergency handles. The MAMBA comes standard with BH's ingenious Thermal-Fit liner, chin-strap closure and also comes with the lens coated with anti-fog direct from the factory."
















    The ALL-SPORT Helmet
    "Refined Sleek Shape For All Types of Skydiving. The ALL-SPORT helmet from Bonehead Composites is now available from your favorite retailer! Customers all over the world wanted a helmet that was simple, sleek and of course had the quality and design that has made BoneHead Composites famous in the skydiving world.. and we delivered! The ALL-SPORT features a very simple shell design that is flatter on the left and the right so that camera mounts can be added easier. We took all the best attributes of the Guner and Mindwarp and combined them to make the ALL-SPORT. Internal audible pockets have been integrated into the helmet so that there is no need to build out the sides of the shell to accommodate audibles and still keep the interior comfortable. The ALL-SPORT comes standard with BH's ingenious Thermal-Fit liner, neoprene padded leather FASTEX chin-strap closure. "







    These are just 5 of the new 10 helmet and helmet items added today. Head over to the Bonehead Composite gear page to see the rest.

    By admin, in Gear,

    New ownership for Aerodyne Research

    As reported earlier our former owners eliminated the parachute business from their holdings. The factory in Durban, South Africa, was sold to the Zodiac group together with the military product catalogue.
    Aerodyne is happy to announce that we have organized new owners for Aerodyne Research and the line of Aerodyne sports products. We are pleased to welcome Vidar Antonsen and Ole Petter Hjelle (Ole Petter is the team captain of the Norwegian national FS4 team Arcteryx) as members of the Aerodyne team. Both are from Norway and active skydivers themselves. Although, they will not be involved with the daily management, we view this as a positive development for the company to have their support and assist Aerodyne Research to become an even stronger player in the parachute industry.
    President Edward "Bushman" Anderson reports: "Right now we are setting up a new manufacturing facility in the Durban area, in South Africa. The facility will be located in a brand new air-conditioned building and we are installing state of the art machinery. We are also very fortunate to be able to retain many key staff members. Our current Technical Director Dominic Hayhurst will be the Managing Director of Aerodyne Research Manufacturing.
    At the same time we have teamed up with Aero Tech in Florida for the production of the Icon harness-container system. Aero Tech is a very professional operation headed by Terry Pike who has more than 30 years experience in the industry. Thiago Muradas, who is a co-designer of the Icon and has been involved with production and R&D; from the start, will supervise training and production."
    Aerodyne expects that the changes in production can be implemented smoothly and swiftly but has taken measures to ensure steady supply to its distribution partners. Arnold Collenteur, director of European sales, explains: ". In addition to main canopies and Smart reserves, we now stock Icon container systems. These Icons come with a harness finished to the custom measurements provided with the order. This way our distributors are able sell complete systems to our customers this summer, and deliver in a matter of weeks. Aerodyne is one of the few sport parachute manufacturers that can supply complete systems to our customer's specific needs."

    By admin, in Gear,

    Jedi Wear Skydiving Suits Review

    Full disclaimer right at the start: I have been asked by Nick, the owner of Jedi Air wear to write a review for his products. I have not been paid to do so though I do measure for Jedi Airwear and have received suits in payment for that. I also consider Nick a friend. That said, for those that don’t know me, I’m rather blunt and to the point and tell things as I see them. I am taking the time to write this review because of the commitment to improving their products year after year and customer service I have received from Jedi Airwear. I hope this review helps people evaluating different brands of suits and offers insights into how Jedi Airwear treats customers and product development.  So keep that in mind when reading the following. 
    What does a jumpsuit need to do? Well that depends on what you’re doing as a skydiver. As a full time instructor I have a couple of suits; my go-to red and black Instructor suit, camera wings and swoop shorts, and a freefly/tunnel suit. 

    My Instructor suit is my day-to-day suit. It needs to be able to take a beating while doing tandems, offer lots of range for AFF and have a pocket for my phone, a pocket for bungees and, most importantly, it needs to be comfortable as some days I’ll end up wearing it for 14 hours at a time. My current instructor suit is one of the original Jedi Airwear Instructor suits and does all these things well. Double lined Taslan with Cardura knees and butt and a YKK zipper mean I am not worried about the knees when I am packing or the butt when I have a heavy tandem on a no wind day in the middle of summer when the ground is hard and rough. Three years and 1500 jumps on my current instructor suit form Jedi Airwear and it’s still going strong and only now starting to show signs of wear. It’s tough, it’s affordable and it does the job well. As a bonus I have seen the latest iteration of the Instructor suit which have been tweaked slightly with updated pocket closures and single layer options. 
    My camera wings are used for filming both tandems and formations. Four years ago when I first started wearing Jedi Airwear products I wanted a different wing shape and mounting point than was offered at the time. Jedi Airwear worked with me to change the shape and bring the mounting point forward which resulted in a bad@ss camera jacket that matched how I wanted to fly. Filming in sit with tandems or formations from underneath with loads of range and an easy transition or staying above and in control while filming belly formations from 4-14 way this jacket has never let me down and has helped make my camera jumps easy.  I have seen Jedi Airwear do various different designs to match customer requirements frequently over the last four years.

    The freefly suit, well actually both of them as I am lucky enough to have a short sleeve and normal version, fit well and feature the same Taslan, Cordura and YKK as the instructor suits with a nice fitted design and spandex in the right places to keep movement unrestricted. Used for tandems a bit during the summer as well the suit has held up well. The company is now working with Steve Howes on tighter, more advanced, tunnel specific suits. The one thing I would change is the Velcro closure over the zip, but as that’s my biggest gripe with the suit I am pretty happy. 
    As for the swoop shorts? They do what’s expected; they take a beating and they keep my legs cool on the hot days.  They have an inbuilt belt with large fastex clip and zipper which both work well and the design suits my legs well with good coverage over the knee with cordura when seated, standing or kneeling and they don’t bunch up around the crotch when my rig is on. They have original pocket design, which was placed similar to jean pockets, which was a bit inconvenient but after learning from this design the new swoop shorts have a pocket placed on the thigh with a horizontal zipper.

    Bottom line there are many great suit providers out there offering various features at various price-points however I feel Jedi Airwear represents good value for money with a suit that matches my flying ability and needs. The quick turnaround time, usually 3 weeks or so, is a nice bonus too. 
    About the author: I have been a full time instructor since 2012 and have earned various AFF, tandem and coach ratings in Australia, Canada, the USA and the UK with a little over 5000 jumps and 30 hours of tunnel time (I like to pretend I can freefly). I own Overdose Industries Ltd and am also a rep for Squirrel wingsuits. 
       -- 
      David Keevers   Director   Overdose Industries LTD   Company Number: 10574178
      T: 0747 6824 317   www.overdoseindustries.com  

    By licker, in Gear,

    Cookie Releases G4 Helmet

    After years of research and design, the Cookie G4 helmet is now available for sale. The full-face helmet is certified to Skydiving and Wind Tunnel Helmet Standard XP S 72-600. To achieve this standard, helmets must pass impact and snag resistance testing.
    New features
    - Ventilation control: The user can now adjust airflow into the helmet using the chin bar actuator (two switches inside the helmet).
    - Additional head coverage: The G4 offers more coverage at the back of the head compared to the G3. This is especially appealing to dynamic tunnel flyers.
    - Quiet: The new design seals the visor to the helmet for a much quieter flying experience.
    - Easy maintenance: The closing mechanism is similar in operation to the G3 but designed to offer little or no maintenance for the life of the helmet.
    - Cool: Two rear ventilation ports allow hot air to leave the helmet and the liner is a breathable material, providing a cooler experience.

    Color and customization options
    The G4 is available for sale in the following matte colors: black, white, dark blue, red, charcoal, tactical green, royal blue, lime green, electric blue, orange, purple, yellow and pink.
    Several side plate color and engraving options are available. The G4 side plate has a slightly larger footprint, ideal for custom engraving. G4 visors are tested and certified for optical qualities. They have an anti-fog inside and anti-scratch outside and are available in clear, tinted, and blue-mirrored colors.
    Sizing
    The G4 is available in sizes x-small through xx-large. Sizing varies slightly from G3,so users should review the sizing chart or try one on before purchase. The G4 retails at $439 USD and is available for purchase at www.flycookie.com or from your favorite Cookie dealer.

    By Administrator, in Gear,

    NeoXs - The new audible altimeter by Parasport

    Introduced last February at the 2007 PIA Symposium in Reno, the NeoXs Audible Altimeter is finally available!
    The new Parasport audible has been designed to be inserted directly in the inner pouch of a helmet
    without requiring any option. The small size and the reduced thickness of the aluminium case of this instrument allows a perfect fit in almost every helmet, full face or open face.
    The wide size LCD is protected by a polycarbonate screen thick enough to avoid damages to the display. The NeoXs offers up to 7 distinct alarms with different powerful audible signals:
    3 alarms for freefall warning altitudes
    3 alarms for canopy warning altitudes
    1 countdown timer The freefall warnings are set with 100 feet (25 meters) increments. The canopy warnings are set with 10 feet (5 meters) increments.
    The loud alarms can be adjusted to be clear in any condition. Freefall alarms and canopy alarms have different volume settings too.
    The NeoXs is easily programmable on the ground or while climbing to altitude. Even easier to switch among the 4 customizable preset user profiles, storing warning altitudes for different uses (formation skydiving, freefly, tandem, AFF, and so on).
    By using its intuitive user interface and the ergonomic Navigation Switch you can easily control all the functions of the NeoXs.
    The NeoXs is currently available in 3 different colors: Lava Red, Aluminium Grey, and Night Black.
    For any further information or documentation do not hesitate to contact us.
    Features

    Microprocessor based audible altimeter
    Wide size LCD
    Intuitive user interface
    Ergonomic Navigation Switch
    Aluminium case
    Real time altitude indicator
    Up to three separate freefall altitude warnings
    Freefall warning altitude set with 100 feet (25 meters) increments
    Freefall altitude warnings go off only at freefall speed
    Up to three separate low speed altitude warnings
    Low speed altitude warning set with 10 feet (5 meters) increments
    Powerful audible signals, distinct and easily recognizable
    Countdown timer
    Up to 4 customizable user profiles
    Self-calibration (manual reset allowed) self-test, no power-on, ultra-low consumption
    Easily programmable on the ground or while climbing to altitude
    Batteries: 1 x CR2450
    Size 39 x 55 x 12 mm
    Available in Lava Red, Aluminium Grey, Night Black

    By admin, in Gear,

    Atair's EXO-Wing, the World's Smallest Human-Piloted Jet

    Atair Aerospace (Atair) was chosen by the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art to display two of its real-world innovations alongside high-profile superhero collections from Hollywood and the fashion industry. The Met exhibit includes Atair's EXO-WingTM, the world's smallest human-piloted jet airplane.
    Brooklyn, N.Y. May 14, 2008 -- Atair Aerospace (Atair) was chosen by the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art to display two of its real-world innovations alongside high-profile superhero collections from Hollywood and the fashion industry. The Met exhibit includes Atair's EXO-Wing™, the world's smallest human-piloted jet airplane. Exoskeletons for increasing human capabilities were once the subject of fictional comic book writers; now it has become real technology to enable human flight. This futuristic aircraft is constructed from advanced aerospace composite materials. The twin micro-turbine-powered EXO-WingTM is so small and lightweight that a human wears it like a backpack.
    The Met is also displaying Atair's AeroSuitTM, an engineered bat-like flexible wing suit constructed with advanced composite textiles. This high-technology garment allows a skydiver to glide to a target miles away from the drop point. The arms and legs of this garment include inflating webbed panels that form the elements of a wing which dramatically improves the aerodynamics of a skydiver, providing a safe and extraordinary flight experience. Both innovations are made from a new generation of composite textiles pioneered by Atair which are engineered to perform under extreme conditions.
    "I am a born and bred New Yorker and the Metropolitan Museum is one of the city's greatest assets," said Dan Preston, the CTO and Founder of Atair. "I am honored to be included in this exhibition and I am fascinated at seeing a parallel between fictional superheroes and the real technology we are developing." Although Atair has developed similar advanced products for its military clients, it declined to comment when asked for further details on its government projects.
    The exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art features approximately 70 ensembles including movie costumes, avant-garde haute couture, and high performance sportswear to reveal how the superhero serves as the ultimate metaphor for the ability to transform the human body. The exhibition will run from May 7 through September 1, 2008.
    Headquartered in Brooklyn, N.Y., Atair Aerospace (Atair) is a high-technology prime defense contractor dedicated to modernizing military and government logistics by creatively solving complex aerospace and engineering problems that integrate the state-of-the-art in parachute designs, and guidance, navigation and control (GN&C;) systems. Atair's inventive products include the Onyx™ precision-guided parachute system, the Long Endurance Autonomous Powered ParagliderTM (LEAPPTM) UAV, the CircinusTM GPS-Integrated Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), the Heli-ChuteTM, and 3DZTM Composite Parachute Technology. Atair's pioneering spirit and creative approach to research and development has resulted in contracts with the U.S. Army, DARPA, NASA, NRL, NSW, the Government of Israel, and many large defense contractors.
    For more information, contact Rick Zaccari at or visit the Atair Aerospace website at www.atairaerospace.com.
    Note: Atair's claim to having the "World's Smallest Human-Piloted Jet" may be questioned by the people at Birdman. Check out our article about the "First jet powered Birdman flight" ~ Ed

    By admin, in Gear,

    Action Products: Skydiving Toys

    My name is Nick Miller, and I'm 11 years old. I am on special assignment for Dropzone.com, reviewing a new line of skydiving toys by Action Products. The toys are for ages 5 and up and consist of four different three inch plastic skydiver figurines. Each one includes a detachable parachute and a target.


    Special Correspondent:
    Nick Miller




    They have cool names like Free Fallin' Fiona (my mom was really happy they included a girl), Hot Seat Harry, Sky Eye Skylar and Tailspin Tyler. Each one of them also has an extra detachable toy included. According to the packaging, Fiona and Harry are on the "high flying rescue team" and Fiona has a grappling hook with rope, and Harry has a shovel because he's a smokejumper. Skylar and Tyler are on the "extreme sports team" and Skylar has a camera and Tyler has a board.
    I played with the toys with two of my friends and my older sister. We played with the skydivers two different ways. First, my sister and I stood on the second floor inside our house and we tried to drop them onto the targets on the first floor. It didn't work very well! The parachutes did inflate a little, but we missed the target every time. I don't think we had enough room indoors to play with them properly.
    Next, my friends and I took them outside. It worked much better this way. First, we laid the plastic targets on the ground. The targets have a bulls eye on them and areas with different point values, so you can add up your scores against your friend's. Then, we folded up the parachute, wrapped the thick line around it, made sure it was attached well to the skydiver and threw it up as far as we could. If there was wind, the parachute did a good job inflating and it soared through the sky pretty well. When there wasn't wind, the parachute was a little bunched up and the skydiver had to do a PLF.
    Once we figured out how to make adjustments for the wind, we were able to hit the targets about half the time, just like in real skydiving!
    Some good things about these toys are the fact that the parachutes detach from the skydivers with just one click, so you can play with them in other ways besides just throwing them up in the air. The extra toys that come with them are cool too, and I even took the board with me to the pool to play with it there. Also, the head, arms and waist are movable on each skydiver, making them a little more fun to play with.
    I think it would be neat if they talked, but my mom said that being skydivers they would probably say too many bad words. The only bad thing about one of the toys was that the line became unattached from the parachute on one of the guys, but it is something that my mom can sew up if I ask nicely. In conclusion, I think they are fun toys to buy a kid who is under the age of 14.~ Nick
    About Action Products
    Since 1977, Action Products International, Inc. has been servicing museum and educational specialty retailers. This company is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the edutainment megatrend. Action has formed strategic relationships with many of the leading industry buyers, strengthened our lines of supply all over the world, and developed a range of products in the important educational themes which are of interest to this marketplace.
    The company is focusing on brand development, e-commerce strategies, and merchandising, including retail packaging and point-of-purchase display systems, designed to provide the retailers with the tools they need to present our product lines to the consumer in a consistent and effective way.
    Action Products is a member of the Toy Industry Association (TIA), American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA), Museum Store Associsation (MSA), and the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA).
    Action Products International, Inc.
    390 North Orange Avenue Suite 2185
    Orlando, FL 32801 344 Cypress Road
    Ocala, FL 34472
    Call Toll Free 1.800.772.2846
    Fax Toll Free 1.888.232.9228
    Action Products Web Site
    Buy from Square1

    By admin, in Gear,

    MarS A.S Product Service Bulletin

    A product service bulletin has been released for the MarS A.S m2 AAD. This after several reports of the device displaying the errors "Error No. 0" and "Error No. 1". These errors were not eliminated by turning the device off and then on again. The error has been traced to an issue with the device sensor.
    There is a mandatory compliance request for owners with affected devices to send said devices in for an inspection and subsequent replacement or repair. Costs involved in the procedure will be covered by the manufacturer.
    More information on this service bulletin and the affected serial numbers can be found at MarS A.S M2 AAD Service Bulletin pdf.

    By admin, in Gear,

    Strong Saves Small Irish Dropzone

    Imagine as a Dropzone Operator waking up at 7:30am on a sunny summer morning to discover that the dropzone has been broken into by thieves in the middle of the night and that all your student equipment is gone!
    On the morning of June 1st, 2007 Skydive Ireland received a serious blow when all of our student equipment was stolen in the middle of the night by thieves leaving us grounded and unable to take our customers skydiving. All of our Solo Student rigs and all of our Tandem equipment was gone just like that without trace leaving us completely disabled with very little options. I mean let's face it, in our industry the option of taking a trip to the local adventure store to replace your stolen parachute equipment just simply does not exist. Irish winters are really long and here we are having just arrived at the peak season of summer with the sun shining and an empty gear room with no manufacturers nearby and no friendly dropzone to offer assistance in our time of need, it is well and truly at that point you say to yourself…. We're F**ked!
    This is the type of scenario you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy and this disaster threatened the DZ's very existence since we were a new DZ and only a few months old at the time. We tried to remain composed and think of a clear plan of action to recover from this situation with our first instinct to go on the search for our brand new equipment that was lifted in the wee twilight hours of a summer's morning. The police were dispatched but the real truth of the matter was that the equipment was gone and our worst fear was that this was a specifically targeted job since no other valuable equipment was stolen. Whoever did it knew what they were coming for. There were mixed feeling as we found it difficult to believe another Skydiver could possibly be behind this hit. We figured if it was regular thieves that they would have found more value in expensive wide screen televisions and other similar types of equipment that would sell very easily on the street. With only two skydiving centers in Ireland who were these people planning on selling stolen student parachute equipment to?
    Having come to terms with the mornings events and dealing with the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach I knew that we had to figure a solution fast and turned to the Skydiving Industry for support. What I suppose was the standard thing to do I did and that was to call the manufactures of the brand new equipment and surely they would be willing to use their resources to rescue us. The Tandem rigs we had were Paratec Next Tandem since we are based in Europe I figured it best to deal more locally for my Tandem gear. So calls were made to Paratec and the situation explained and the consequences of what would happen to us were easily understood. In naive hope I never thought that there would be an issue of support but I was greatly disappointed beyond words to be told by Paratec that there is no equipment they could dispatch to us to assist their customer and fellow skydivers recover this emergency and that they cannot part with their one and only Tandem Demo rig. I wasn't impressed.
    A cold chill rand down my back with the shocking realization that we were now isolated from other Tandem Equipment Manufacturers who were now all based several thousand miles away and now in the month of June the parachute manufacturing industry was in peak demand with typical 12-14 week delivery schedules. I hurried to dropzone.com in desperate search of some used Tandem Equipment in the classifieds but there was nothing there that was suitable or easily accessible. The other dilemma of course was that all of my Tandem Instructors were rated under the Vector Tandem program so we didn't exactly have the option of just going with any Tandem rig that was available. I'm sure you can start to appreciate the nightmare situation we were now facing and running out of options.
    It was time to revert back to the manufacturers and try to plead for their understanding to help them understand how serious this situation had escalated. I mean seriously, does it get much worse than this?
    I made the best move as a dropzone owner that I have done to date. I picked up the phone and called Strong Enterprises based in Orlando Florida. I was greeted by a very friendly Sales Manager named John Makoski who immediately begin to work a plan to dispatch replacement equipment without delay to get us back in the air. I mean this guy dropped everything he was doing and put Skydive Ireland on his highest priority and he just couldn't believe that something like this happened to us. It was due to his concerned response to our situation and seeing lighting speed response to getting this situation under control that I was finally able to regroup and feel the weight of a thousand elephants lift right off my shoulders. Here was a manufacturer who I had never bought a single piece of equipment from or never benefitted their business in any way begin to treat my small company like I was their biggest client.
    Within a few hours John had gotten approval from Mr. Ted Strong who everybody knows is the owner of Strong Enterprises and was authorized to immediately dispatch 6 Dual Hawk Tandem Systems from their large inventory of stock and make the arrangements to get them to Ireland without delay. I couldn't believe it! This was incredible and I just couldn't express how grateful I was to be picked up in the hand of this Parachute Manufacturing Giant and begin to feel that everything was going to be alright.
    Then suddenly I had an anti climax when I realized that none of my Tandem Instructors were certified to use the Dual Hawk Tandem. With this piercing feeling in my brain another whole began to bore deep when I thought to myself that perhaps this company might take advantage of me and demand a higher than normal sale price since I didn't have any other choice and finally I began to wonder how am I going to afford 6 new Tandem Systems in light of our break in and something I haven't mentioned yet was that our stolen equipment was not even insured. This is not good.
    So now I am wondering how this is going to pan out and that I still have to get 6 Tandem Rigs each weighing about 65 lbs to Ireland as fast as possible and at a price I could afford and then find someone who could just fire up a Dual Hawk Instructors Course to get us rated to use the equipment. This is when Mr. Tom Noonan, Strong's Tandem Course Director was introduced to me and in a friendly and supportive voice over the phone said that he had taken the initiative and booked flights direct to Ireland and will personally deliver the equipment and spend the time here to qualify all of my Instructors on the Dual Hawk Tandem and that they will provide the new equipment to me at a hugely discounted price and that they will allow a few months for me to be able to pay for the vast majority of it all!
    If any of you reading this has ever experienced an immense rush of extreme and unquantifiable feeling of gratitude, relief followed by a dash of excitement and an overflow of amazement at this level of concern and support it was actually quite hard to digest and realize that these guys were willing to do all of this for me. What an incredible level of customer focused service. This is mind blowing stuff and every Dropzone Operator should be seriously paying attention to this. I can honestly say that this is something I have never heard of another manufacturer do in this type of situation in my 13 years of Skydiving. Lets be honest and say that this was a huge risk for Strong in that what if I went bust because of this situation and was not in a position to repay them for their equipment and I had it in Ireland. But they weren't one bit concerned about this and only cared about getting my little DZ back up and running and the deal Tom made with me was that I would have to buy him a few pints of the black stuff in an authentic Irish pub. That was an easy deal to agree I can tell ya!
    It wasn't long before I was at Shannon Airport shaking hands with the man who flew through the night across the broad Atlantic loaded with Parachute Equipment for delivery and to provide immediate expert training and certification on the Dual Hawks to get us back in the action. This was now all starting to feel very surreal. With his surname being Noonan and being from Boston it was evident Tom was from Irish descent and had always looked forward to visiting his ancestors home. As we sat in a typical Irish Country style pub with symbols of the old Irish culture and harder times of the past it was about 7:30am it was time to start cashing in on our deal. So I ordered a few pints of the black stuff and Tom, Darren and myself toasted to a new chapter and to recovering Skydive Ireland and feasted on a full Irish Breakfast till we were as fat as cows.
    Now beginning to show signs of a long night spent travelling and with a fully loaded belly and a nice few pints of Guinness we headed back to my house so Tom could refresh and get some sleep. Darren and I unloaded the car and all our new gear was in black gear bags and it felt really good holding Dual Hawk Tandem Parachute Systems in my arms and feeling like everything is getting back on track. I don't think I will ever be able to explain the feeling accurately enough so I won't even try or I'll end up just babbling. So with Tom now out for the count I was anxious to try on our brand new Dual Hawks so we pulled out two of them and immediately begin to start dissecting the rig to discover it's features and to see how it feels. As a certified parachute rigger for more the n10 years I immediately begin to admire the workmanship of this parachute system and to examine its components which at first glance had me realize this was not just another Tandem System. With features such as the dual loop main canopy closure to prevent a nasty horse-shoe and the anti-line dump line stows. Even the fine detail of the position of the RSL to deal with a possible riser breakage to avoid a premature reserve deployment. I really liked the feature of the Master 400 sqft Reserve canopy which is comforting to know this canopy is thoroughly designed to meet the most demanding Tandem nightmare. One of the really exciting things about it was that they were all equipped with the brand new development from Strong which is the superb all ZP material SET 366 Main Tandem Canopy configured with Single Brake setup. I was not getting really buzzed about flying this new toy.
    It was obvious that this rig was built for Tandem Skydiving from the ground up and was rugged to last the test if time. We now had a serious set of kit that made our stolen Tandem Systems look like plain old modified sports rigs. I couldn't get over the size of the Drogue and what I immediately liked was the simplicity of the main and reserve deployment sequences. On our other Tandem Systems there seemed to be a confusing amount of handles which offered a great risk of causing the Instructor confusion in a high stress situation. I had always thought the more handles the better because of more options but then thought that simple is better given the statistics that ALL Tandem Fatalities were due to Instructor error. I was now keen to complete the Strong Tandem Instructor Candidate Course which for us would be the cross over from another Tandem Rating so it meant less jumps to become certified on the Dual Hawk then if we were starting out as new Instructors.
    Later that day when Tom arose from the dead we made a plan to get going the next day with the Course Material and waste no time in getting it completed. Throughout the course I found Tom Noonan to be an excellent Examiner to work with and what was most apparent was that not a single ounce of ego was present in his natural ability to make a person feel comfortable and help us understand the functions of the Dual Hawk and was patient with all of our questions and comparisons and scenarios with the what we had been used to jumping and now getting excited about jumping the Dual Hawk. I was anxious to feel what freefall will be like with the position of the Drogue attachment at the base of the Reserve Tray unlike the Vector 2 style system which gives a really nice position in freefall and makes for an excellent Student freefall position for the Video and Photos. I can honestly say from going as passenger that the Student Harness is the most comfortable out of all the harnesses which makes for some very happy customers. Tom did an excellent job at completing the course qualifying myself and my Instructors. He worked very hard and was very committed to his very high standard of safety and awareness and we all learned a lot of valuable skills and information from him. He is a true professional and loves what he does and I was glad that with his proud Irish heritage he was able to visit Ireland and Skydive at my DZ with beautiful views of lakes and mountains Tom became attached to the place and has since returned again to Ireland to spend time with us doing further training to qualify a Strong Tandem Examiner to make us more self sufficient.
    Tom has become a great friend and I will always be grateful for what Strong Enterprises did for my dropzone. Without them we were well and truly hammered. I could spend a few paragraphs telling you what I thought about the other manufacturers lack of support in our time of need but it would just simple take aware from the value of this story but what I will advise from our experience is that when choosing your equipment especially when you're living depends on it is imperative you choose a manufacturer who can back you up when the shit hits the fan. I have only good things to say about the Dual Hawk and with almost a year of full time jumping the Dual Hawk and sweet soft opening of the new SET 366 and zero cutaways I can only say you will look long and hard for a Tandem System of this caliber. Once you see past the fluff of the other Tandem systems with other manufacturers competing to be the most inventive it stands to this day that the Dual Hawk is the most proven Tandem system in the world and was designed by a great man who was the true pioneer of Tandem Skydiving, Mr. Ted Strong.
    Thank you all the Team at Strong Enterprises in Orlando Florida. You saved our bacon and have been a huge source of support and inspiration to my dropzone and you are to be applauded for your concern and the dropzone rescue operation you handles so professionally and I hope one day I can repay you.
    I am glad to report that some of our stolen parachute equipment surfaced in Eastern Europe in the country of Lituania which we were able to retrieve. The gear had been in use at a Skydiving Center and when I discovered this I made contact with the Dropzone to inform them they were using stolen Parachute Equipment. Investigations are pending to source that carried out this terrible crime and to ensure they do not do it to another dropzone again.
    Blue Skies,

    David Byrnes

    DZO - Skydive Ireland

    www.skydiveireland.ie

    By admin, in Gear,

    The Vampire V-1 by Phoenix-Fly

    The result of 6 continuous years of research and development, Phoenix-Fly proudly introduces the Vampire V-1 wingsuit.
    The PF Vampire V-1 wingsuit features:
    A revolutionary CAD-designed 3D arm wing
    Semi-rigid plastic ribs inside the arm and leg wings
    Newly designed leg wing leading edge
    Advanced leg wing design with increased surface area
    Increased back deflector size
    Integrated arm wing sleeve design
    Redesigned wingtip grips
    Adjustable arm tension swoop cords
    New low-drag materials
    New wing release handles The Vampire V-1 was designed with both skydivers and BASE jumpers in mind. All V-1 features are highly beneficial for both disciplines.
    For skydivers, the V-1 will enable you to fly further, faster, hang out in the clouds longer, with more controllable flocking dives flown in tighter formations.
    For wingsuit BASE jumpers, the V-1 is the ultimate choice, offering the best performance available and permitting longer flights, both in distance and delay.
    The V-1 is not an “off the shelf” product, but rather a tailor-made suit designed to fit exact flyer measurements. Each suit is unique and customized to fit your body, which maximizes comfort and performance.
    Price: 990 Euro or 1,250 USD
    With new revolutionary design, low-drag materials, custom-tailoring and higher performance, many people might wonder how the Vampire V-1 can be priced comparably to other wingsuits. Is this too good to be true? Absolutely not! Because of streamlined option offerings and scaled-down color selection, manufacturing complexity is greatly reduced. In addition, Phoenix-Fly’s overhead and operating costs have been simplified – a savings that is passed directly to our customers.

    The V-1 will be available beginning December 1, 2004 and order forms will be available on www.phoenix-fly.com from November 30.
    Note on lead times: During the initial launch phase of the V-1, Phoenix-Fly will be faced with the challenge of trying to keep up with demand. As observed with the initial launch of the PF Pants and Jackets, lead times may be up to 8-10 weeks, during which we will endeavour to keep you updated on status. Once order volume has stabilized, we’re aiming for a 6-8 week lead time. We ask for your patience during this time and promise that you will be rewarded with an exceptional state-of-the-art wingsuit that far surpasses anything that you’ve ever flown.

    By unclecharlie109, in Gear,

0