Canopy designing

[Austin 0]

Do any of you either design canopies or know people who do?? I'm thinking that could be a pretty kick ass job..especially since I'm an aerospace eningeering student right now. I was kinda wondering what some other people who currently do this have done as far as education. I'm pretty curious to find out, so if you know or know someone any info would be appreciated.
Austin

[GeekStreak 0]

I would ask the existing canopy makers how they got started. They all started at zero just like you. 1111,
GeekStreak

[mouth 0]

We have a guy at our DZ who makes canopies and does serious mods to existing ones. He is great. The guy who makes slinks is also at our DZ. They both have REAL jobs but they are good at their second job too. Drop me your email and I'll forward the request to them this weekend.

[Austin 0]

Hey mouth,
my email is [email protected] that'd be great if you can ask them those sorts of questions for me. I figure i'll have to have a "real" job also, but it'd be really cool to have a second job doing something as fun as this!!
thanks,
Austin

[mouth 0]

No problem just remember me when you design your own line of canopies.

[Austin 0]

will do!!
it's gonna be quite a while though......i'm only sophomore status in school (aero engineering) and i don't have my A license yet (about 5 more jumps should do it).
happy hops!
Austin

[pyke 0]

It seems pretty obvious to me...but I have been there and know that sometimes you need a little help from the outside as far as where to go/what to do...
BUT, if you are really THAT interested in taking your AE degree and using it on parafoil...then how about internships with Icarus/PD/PA/Flight Concepts/Pisa(if S.A. appeals to you)/any of the others.
Having not done an internship while in school and finding it increasingly hard to compete with the ,000's who have...I wish to hell somebody had told me of their importance while I was a sophomore.
I have a friend in the front of the office who has her AE degree from Ohio State (good school!) and is a receptionist because she worked her way through school (like me).
[little rant]C'mon BIG SHOT employers...what about all the kids whose parents couldn't put them in flash cars and hook them up with cushy jobs 3 weeks before graduation...we have marketable skills too, and ours are HARD EARNED!!!![/little rant]
Good luck and yeah, remember us when you get your first job...hook us up, bro!!!
Kahurangi e Mahearangi,
Pyke
NZPF A - 2584

[weid14 0]

This isn't about skydiving, but since you brought it up... I work for one of those big shot employers (really, really big). We typically don't even look at anyone (in the division I'm in) unless they have had some sort of co/op experience. OR something else that sets them apart from the crowd. Typical co-op jobs are not hard to get and pay pretty well. I've done a fair amount of recruiting and interviewing, we find it hard to get good people to fill co-op positions. the co-ops usually get the first shot at the entry level jobs that open every year. rich parents never enter into the equation (in fact, we didn't hire a VP's kid, based on how he interviewed)

[SkymonkeyONE 3]

[rambling diatribe]It is true that most people do not have sense enough to think about what they might want to be doing "down the road." It amazes me the amount of friends I have that spend exhorbitant amounts of money on graduate and terminal degrees only to find out that they have educated themselves into a corner. "Hey, I have this great Master of Social Work degree and am working in my designated field, but damn, I hate this job and I am only making $22k a year! That does not buy a bunch of skydives." My wife and I are both in the Army, barely work because of our seniority, and pull down a collective $80k. That buys plenty of skydives and we only have Associates degrees. That MSW my buddy has is not going to get her a good paying I.T. job anywhere, BUT a riggers ticket will get you hired on at a canopy manufacturer. There, you can apprentice under a designer and eventually possibly venture out on your own. An aeronautical design degree would be VERY cool to have in that instance, but I believe that you can pick up the necessary skills on your own without actually paying for the entire program. That's just my feelings, though. I could give a shit about the actual degree. That is not going to help me one bit when I retire in less than a year and a half and take over my Dad's DZ. What is important in my situation is having the required ratings in order to do the job (commercial pilots license, rigger ticket, instructional ratings, outgoing personality and good looks (LOL!). What is most important to me, though, is being able to afford to skydive and feed myself. If none of that made any sense, blame the fact that I am all doped up on Percocet. [/rambling diatribe]
To the original poster, send a private message to CobaltDan. He is a real-live engineer and parachute designer among other things and could possibly hook you up with the information you need.
Chuck