ccarty85 0 #1 May 2, 2011 Hi guys, I am totally new to all this and I was hoping that you guys might be able to help identify this parachute and harness that I´ve got. It belonged to my dad who brought it second hand and used it once behind a boat a couple of years ago. Since then, it has been sat in my garage collecting spiders. Ok, so here`s the question, does anyone here know what it may be? Any information would be grately appreciated. All I know is that the span of the chute is approx 6.5m (20ft) and the toe rope is 40m in length. I am looking to sell it to help fund this new hobby....please help!! thanks for your time guys and I look forward to hearing from you! Chris I hope these pics work!! [IMG]http://i992.photobucket.com/albums/af48/ccarty85/parachute/DSCN0161.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i992.photobucket.com/albums/af48/ccarty85/parachute/DSCN0157.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i992.photobucket.com/albums/af48/ccarty85/parachute/DSCN0173.jpg[/IMG] Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scrumpot 1 #2 May 2, 2011 CLICKIES: Pic 1 Pic 2 Pic 3coitus non circum - Moab Stone Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scrumpot 1 #3 May 2, 2011 Death on a stick! ...Or I mean, ummmm... errr... a (tow) rope! Quote I am looking to sell it... Good luck with that! (seriously)coitus non circum - Moab Stone Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jumpsalot-2 2 #4 May 2, 2011 It's a "Surfair".....Duh.Life is short ... jump often. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Divalent 89 #5 May 2, 2011 You don't see too many people jumping these nowadays. But you might try putting up an ad in the gear-for-sale section here. (Canopy size might be just right for a heavy person just learning to swoop. ) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ccarty85 0 #6 May 2, 2011 hi guys, Thanks for your replies so far...obviously its not looking too good at the moment. I cant find any information on google by typing in `Surfair`, is this the make? Im pretty sure my dad paid a lot of money for it back in the day, i could be wrong though... Again, thanks for the help, hopefully more of you will be able to share your opinions/expertise. Chris Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
irishrigger 31 #7 May 2, 2011 its been a long time since i saw a surfair!! it was the first canopy i owned, i bought it second hand from a local jumper in ireland. it was made in france but PDF i believe, my size was a 220 and it loks simular size in the pic. i did about jumps on it,but after my 3 cutaway on it in that time i donated it to the BONFIREi doubt you will have much sucess in trying to sell it,and its hard to tell from the pic what kind of container it is, but it doesnt look like a skydiving rig to me, i am guessing it might be a pilots rig. cherrio rodger Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dragon2 0 #8 May 2, 2011 Like the label says, it's a Surfair, made by Parachutes de France. This is an ancient canopy (might be a label on it, my guess is 1985-ish), probably 220 sqft, made of F111 fabric, and very probably not airworthy (by condition, the age alone is prohibitive enough for most riggers/countries), even if someone would want to jump an old F111 canopy at all. Try putting it on ebay and selling it as a car cover/decoration non-airworthy canopy, that's basically your only option. ciel bleu, Saskia Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firemedic 7 #9 May 2, 2011 Quotehi guys, Thanks for your replies so far...obviously its not looking too good at the moment. I cant find any information on google by typing in `Surfair`, is this the make? Im pretty sure my dad paid a lot of money for it back in the day, i could be wrong though... Again, thanks for the help, hopefully more of you will be able to share your opinions/expertise. Chris Some info is listed in Poynter's Manual Volume 2 page 171. Go to google and search Parachutes De France Surfair Click on the link titled "The parachute Manual: a treatise on aerodynamic decelerators. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pchapman 261 #10 May 2, 2011 I looked it up just because I'm interested in old parachutes and paragliders. Parachutes de France is the company, Surfair is the model. It shows up as an old parachute design from '89 or before, in Poynter's manual (an older manual on parachute rigging): http://books.google.com/books?id=2PopFBjLZV8C&pg=PA171&lpg=PA171&dq=parachutes+de+france+surfair&source=bl&ots=ldmVycxZ7V&sig=6uRWDx_xQK5-DyqVJZFopPrJG_c&hl=en&ei=bQa_Tf60MsnYgQfUkczaBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=parachutes%20de%20france%20surfair&f=false It also shows up in the big paragliding wing (canopy) database at Para2000, first on the market in 1985: http://www.para2000.org/wings/parachutesdef/surfair.html Basically it appeared at the very very start of the sport of paragliding, and as such was basically a parachute that was also sold for paragliding, before the sports diverged. One can see in your photo that the harness is an early paragliding harness. Because of that and other reasons (eg, no pilot chute system) the canopy seems to have been originally sold for paragliding not skydiving. Towing a ram-air canopy (a wing style parachute) behind a boat is generally seen to be a dangerous thing to do. Towing ram air canopies aloft (parascending) has been a legitimate thing to do, but requires specialized knowledge to conduct such activities safely. Basically its current value is a waiver signed by whomever you give it to, not to sue you if they hurt themselves with it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Calvin19 0 #11 May 2, 2011 I'll give you 20$ for it. note that those equestrian style sleeve-releases are really bad. Don't use them for anything load bearing. (like a tow rope) -SPACE- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
piisfish 135 #12 May 2, 2011 also commercialised as a paraglider at the time (1985) http://www.para2000.org/wings/parachutesdef/index.html try contacting the museum in Strasbourg DZ (France), the might need one.scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davelepka 4 #13 May 2, 2011 QuoteIm pretty sure my dad paid a lot of money for it back in the day I know for a fact that my dad paid $500+ for our first VCR. Any thoughts what a circa-1983 VCR is worth today? Whatever number you're thinking of, that's about what your canopy is worth. E-bay will be your best bet where you might find a collector or person with no knowledge of parachutes what-so-ever who might be willing to pay more than market value. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mjosparky 3 #14 May 3, 2011 Ram Air canopies make a very poor “parasail”. Tow speed is critical, if too fast the canopy will break right or left dive until impact or the speed is reduced. SparkyMy idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mstlaurent 0 #15 May 3, 2011 QuoteHi guys, Since then, it has been sat in my garage collecting spiders. I am looking to sell it to help fund this new hobby....please help!! You'll probably get more money with the empty beer bottles you have in your garage. I have a Beta VCR that I could trade, if you pay shipping. ;-) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
