Emergency Base Jump

[riggerrob 558]

If you want to be picky, "F-111" fabric cesed production long before ZP fabric was invented.
F-111 was a brand name for low-porosity (0-3 cubic feet per minute) calenderized nylon fabric manufactured by George Harris. Calendarizing involves pressing nylon fabric between hot rollers, so the (originally round) threads become half-roung, closing gaps between threads and making fabric less porous. Unfortunately George died in the early 1980s and F-111 production ceased.
Silicone-coated ZP fabric was not introduced (by Parachutes de France) until late 1988 and did not hit the American market until Performance Designs introduced Zero P3 fabric in 1989.
Most ZP fabrics start with the same threads and weave as F-111, but impregnate the fabric with silicone sealant to hide the holes between threads.

However, the term F-111 became a slang, generic term - like Kleenex - meaning any low porousity nylon canopy fabric.
A sales rep from Gelvenor Textiles (the leading South African manufacturer of parachute fabric) bragged that their 0-3 cfm fabric consistently left the factory at 0.5 cfm. In the short run, that means that new 0-3 cfm fabric inflates and flies like ZP fabric.
Also remember that the better manufacturers coat new 0-3 cfm fabric so much that you cannot distinguish it from ZP fabric until you shake it. When you shake new ZP fabric it makes "crinkly noises" because of all the silicone coating.

[K763 0]

Tom is correct, it was Aerial Egress (Todd and Anne from BR and Gary from Free Flight) that made the H.O.P.E. System. Even though Aerial Egress has taken down the shingle, interested parties can contact us at Apex BASE to discuss getting a H.O.P.E. System.

As eporter mentioned, this system does not guarantee the saving of life; it is only after every other method of escape or rescue has failed that the H.O.P.E. System would be utilized in a final attempt to escape sure death by fire, smoke inhalation, or by just jumping to avoid the above. Even though we are confident that the H.O.P.E. System will function properly if used properly, this does not mean you won't die anyway if the parachute catches fire on the way down, if crazy drafts blow you into a building, if you get snagged on something else, or if you get hit by an emergency vehicle as you get close to the ground.

Seeing the footage of the Twin Towers catastrophe and watching several people leap to their deaths to avoid burning is what spurred the people of Aerial Egress to complete the design of the H.O.P.E. System and get it on the market. It was not an attempt to capitalize on a desperate populace as some seemed to think; it was a humane response to the impact deaths that may have been averted by the use of a simple parachute.

I was personally overwhelmed by the amount of phone calls I received at the BR office on Sept. 12th. Literally dozens of people called wanting to buy our BASE parachutes right off the shelf. I hadn't watched any of the footage at that point since I didn't have TV, but later at a friend's house I did watch. When I saw the man dropping head down with briefcase in hand after leaping out the window, I completely understood why so many people had called wanting a parachute. That man would have been better off having a H.O.P.E. System than his briefcase.

Here's hoping that if eporter does decide to buy an emergency escape parachute he will never have to use it.

Regards,
Karen Thomas
Apex BASE
(formerly Basic Research)