Whats happening with ZPX Material? Big delays due to supply or quality of fabric??

[barbs666 0]

Hi,

Placed an order in January for a complete rig, and have an Aerodyne Pilot 168 ZPX custom colour, and Smart Reserve.

As far as I know it aint been started yet due to ZPX fabric quality probs OR Supply Probs.....

Can anyone shed some light on this?

Thanks!

Wings container; Main: 168' ZPX Pilot; Reserve: Smart 160'; Cypres 2;

[Unstable 8]

The folks at Aerodyne are straight shooters ~ I think the thing to do is call and ask them directly. I'd sure like to hear the deal too, so plz post..

=========Shaun ==========

[freakyrat 1]

The folks at Aerodyne can help you on this but my Guess is it is fabric supply problems. When I ordered my Pilot they were just getting over some of the ZPX supply problems. I've been jumping this 140 for over a year now.

[barbs666 0]

I emailed Aerodyne and recieved an ordinary response.

There was NO mention of problems, just call your store for info on delivery dates!
Very uninformative!

I was told from my "store" maybe Mid to late April 2012 for a ZPX that was ordered very early January '12; And that they keep extending delivery dates. Mainly due to the Q.C of the fabric.... which I gues means the supply of fabric to standard!

In saying that it is not just Aerodynes problem, its happening to everyone...e.g PD etc.

Wings container; Main: 168' ZPX Pilot; Reserve: Smart 160'; Cypres 2;

[kingbunky 3]

it might not be just zpx fabric. i ordered (and paid for) a new sabre2 in early december and had to rent a demo for the fitz boogie because it wasn't ready, still isn't ready, and i have no idea if it will be ready for the start of our season. i sent PD an email and was told to talk to my dealer. problem is, the dealer doesn't know much either, other than the fabric is on backorder. they have done their best to keep me updated, but if they don't get any info, they have nothing to pass on.

"Hang on a sec, the young'uns are throwin' beer cans at a golf cart."
MB4252 TDS699
killing threads since 2001

[sundevil777 93]

I know of a person waiting a long time extra on a PD Pulse because rolls of the white bottom skin material (non-ZP) keeps being rejected by PD due to quality problems.

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

[mfuller 0]

I ordered a canopy from PD in November. I was told I could expect the canopy by mid January. In early February, I checked on my canopy and was told there were supply problems with white canopy material. My dealer was as forthcoming as they could, but it seemed to me that PD was doing a very poor job talking to their customers about the circumstances. Earlier this week, I sent an email to PD asking for more specifics. I got a reply saying they were having problems and had a big back log. I was told orders were filled on a first in first out basis, but no estimate was given when I could expect my canopy. I did get an email from my dealer right after saying PD was hoping to have an updated time table out soon. I still have no idea when I can expect my canopy. I paid in full for my canopy in November. Whatever the problems are, PD failed to keep its customers in the loop. People are down on what they are not up on. Hope i hear something soon.

[LouDiamond 1]

The dealer you bought your canopy from is who you should be interacting with and answering the questions you have as PD doesn't sell direct. PD does address customers questions when they by pass their dealer and make inquires because they believe in providing good customer service. You have to keep in mind that PD has no way of looking at where Jumper X's order is or how long it will take due to the orders coming in from the dealers in the field. It's kind of like someone saying "oh you're from Utah? I have a friend named Joe in Utah, do you know him?"

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[richardw38 0]

Hi Guys,

I am also waiting on my new rig, I got this email this morning from Aerodyne :

Hello Richard,
That are no delays with production at this time. We did have a fabric shortage about 6 months ago. But we have be up to speed for some time now.
12 weeks is still the correct ETA. You can always contact your dealer for any update on you gear. As we cannot give you any exact info on orders placed via a distributor.
Blue Skies,
Rob

[diablopilot 2]

I wonder when we are dealers are going to get responses.

----------------------------------------------
You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[wmw999 2,116]

Me too

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[kingbunky 3]

from Perfomance Designs site:

Quote

Fabric Delay Notice

March 29, 2012



Situation: Shortly after the first of the year PD tested and rejected part of a fabric shipment from one of our suppliers. This does happen periodically due to the intense battery of testing performed on all materials and supplies we receive and the high volume of materials we use. Fabric may be rejected for a variety of reasons based on our stringent standards that exceed those of the suppliers and most of the industry standards. However, we started noticing an abnormal amount of fabric being rejected and it was at that time we began contacting dealers to make necessary arrangements with their customers’ orders that would now be affected.



Background: While PD does reject fabric from time to time, fabric shortages are quite rare. Our usage analysis and forecasting of fabric needs is quite complex and reliable. We keep a very healthy inventory of fabric on hand with a buffer to allow for any abnormalities in customer purchasing trends and to cover any needed rejections or hiccups in the supply chain. If the occasional roll or even dye lot of fabric is rejected in our receiving and inspection department, it would not be cause for us to fall behind in production or have late deliveries to customers as a result. Our track record of producing canopies on-time (even early) over the years has given us assurance that our processes work well. However, the situation we’re in today is different than the normal rejection and re-supply process.



Investigation of Root Cause: As we began investigating with the suppliers what the cause of the abnormalities were, we had to collectively start tracing each step of the process through each manufacturer involved in the various stages of parachute fabric processing. As you might imagine this is a very involved trouble shooting process.



The fabric the parachute industry uses is specialized, and the production is quite complex. Though it might be perceived that we simply purchase our fabric from a ‘fabric company’, it doesn’t quite work that way. From its birth as a raw nylon compound to its final delivery at PD’s door, the material has gone through many different companies that play individual roles in the fabric finishing process. Many of these steps are specific to parachute fabric manufacturing. To add to the difficulties in the investigation process, each company in the production process is guarded about their steps and/or formulas involved.



However, we were finally able to identify the root cause of the problem as an individual component in the treatment process which had changed. This change took place due to increasingly strict standards in global environmental protection. Chemical manufacturers are in the process of changing some of the components they use in a variety of products to be ready for new and future standards. In this case, what seemed to be an appropriate replacement for a particular compound in one formula had an adverse reaction at a later stage of the finishing process.



Solution: Thanks to PD’s stringent testing and exhaustive investigation we were able to isolate the root cause and make necessary arrangements to get the process back on track with the original formula. We are happy to make this announcement that our production will get back on track in the very near future. We also want to make it clear that we fully expect additional changes to take place with parachute fabric at a later point in time due to the previously mentioned environmental considerations.



Performance Designs, Inc. is a strong believer in protecting the environment and the world we live in. We are happy to work with companies that look for more environmentally friendly ways to produce parachute materials and applaud their research. We will do everything we can to assist in this exploration and test materials that result from these formula changes. What we don’t intend to do is allow changes to materials to go into our products until we have thoroughly tested and accepted these fabrics for use in PD products.



Expectation: At this point we are maintaining full production in all colors with the exception of Zero Porosity White, Silver, and Tangerine. We predict the best case scenario of adding the white, silver, and tangerine back in the mix in 60-65 days. This is the amount of time needed to have raw goods dyed, coated, and shipped to PD for inspection and testing. At that point we can resume cutting new canopies ordered with all PD offered colors.



Customers: For those of you with custom canopy orders currently placed with your dealer we will be working diligently in the coming weeks to notify your dealer if your estimated canopy completion date will remain the same or possibly change. In some cases we may need a bit extra time to receive and inspect fabric, in other cases we may need to deliver your canopy sooner than anticipated. For any customers currently preparing their custom canopy orders, we are not anticipating that they will be affected by any delays we are currently experiencing. Please note that stock canopies listed on our website are updated on a regular basis and available for immediate shipping as usual.



Conclusion: We very much appreciate the patience and consideration we have received from dealers and customers alike during this difficult time. We apologize that we could not provide better information while we investigated the problem, but we simply did not know what the problem was. While conducting this investigation we had to simultaneously keep our system running during a period of extremely high order volume from skydivers anxious to fly a new PD canopy. We look forward to fulfilling that desire and seeing lots of happy customers in the sky.



Thank you,
Performance Designs, Inc.

"Hang on a sec, the young'uns are throwin' beer cans at a golf cart."
MB4252 TDS699
killing threads since 2001

[barbs666 0]

Thanks good info;

I just spoke with Aerodyne and they advised that although they had, along with other manufacturers, a quality/supply problem; it has now gone back to business as usual!
10 weeks for all canopies now :-)

Yahoo! will be jumping Dubai and Qatar in no time!

Wings container; Main: 168' ZPX Pilot; Reserve: Smart 160'; Cypres 2;

[crazydiver 0]

I wonder if pd is still on their delay or back to business as usual.

Cheers,
Travis

[richardw38 0]

apparently my rig should be ready soon, however I've been told there is a huge delay on Cypres' now. Might not get it unti late June

[kingbunky 3]

still delayed. i had to go with different colors just to get back on the production schedule.

"Hang on a sec, the young'uns are throwin' beer cans at a golf cart."
MB4252 TDS699
killing threads since 2001