RUSH RESERVE GERMAN ENGINEERING

[R C 0]

Has anyone had any experience with a RUSH Reserve? I have been searching for intell for weeks and cannot find any solid evidence or its reliability other than the salesman's word.

[gowlerk 1,903]

10 hours ago, R C said:

Has anyone had any experience with a RUSH Reserve? I have been searching for intell for weeks and cannot find any solid evidence or its reliability other than the salesman's word.

I've never seen one. But it's apparently "German engineered and manufactured in the USA". It's TSO'd and therefore should be safe. (Many will laugh at that!) The website is here:

https://www.flyfirebird.com/fb/canopies

It is most likely a reliable product, but I will say one thing against it. That is simply that because it is not a well known product if you ever need to sell it you will probably have a hard time and you will find a limited market for it. Which means it will not hold it's value as well as a more common reserve. This is totally unfair, but there is no getting around it. Unless it is priced cheaper than other more well known canopies it is not in your financial interest to buy one. I can see at their website that they are offered big discounts to "influencers" in an effort to become established as a brand. They list the top high volume gear stores as dealers. Ask for a discount or just pass, the salesman is likely pushing you toward this brand because he will make more commission.

All that said the product is probably just fine, and I would not hesitate to jump it. There is one review of it on this site under the "gear" heading.

 

I just read the manual for the product. It is a poorly translated from German into English kludge. It also contains this nugget:

32. Allowable Service Life

On the condition that the parachute is in accordance with the regulations and has been handled corresponding to the instructions contained in this Equipment Handbook, the allowable service life is 15 years and can be periodically be extended by the manufacturer

 

This would seem to apply to the EVO container as well. There is no separate manual for the reserve canopy, just a combined manual. Until this company gets it's act together I would advise you and anyone else considering this product in North America to just say no thanks.

Edited October 31, 2019 by gowlerk
More info

[betzilla 56]

I packed one in 2013. I don't recall having any negative feelings about it.

[Deyan 31]

If you are on the market for a new reserve, what's your reason for not getting a PDR?

Is 30 years on the market and close to 60 000 reserves out not good enough to convince you? If it's about the price, the 100-200 bucks you gonna "save" by choosing it over a PDR for example, you gonna loose the moment you try to resale it.

About the RUSH, I have packed many of them over the years. Nothing special. The ones I have packed had orange stitching (which is very nice for inspecting) and some custom made Spectra lines. Will I recommend it? Not likely. Having seen an average guy stalled a 130 sq.ft on landing, I would assume it's not build to handle heavy wing load. ( not that there's an excuse for jumping a small reserve with high wing load, but other reserves handle higher WLs just fine)

[pchapman 261]

" allowable service life is 15 years "

That is a deal breaker for North America. (Although then you can get into the arguments about how the FAA interprets service life requirements & TSO's, given that their 2012 letter to the USPA was unclear.)

Curiously, my old Rush manual from '04, when it was still Performance Variable and only with a JTSO I think, didn't have any assigned life -- Although maybe some of the European national skydiving organizations had limits so nobody thought of putting a limit in the manual as well.

 

 

Edited November 2, 2019 by pchapman

[JerryBaumchen 1,046]

45 minutes ago, pchapman said:

 how the FAA interprets service life requirements & TSO's, given that their 2012 letter to the USPA was unclear.)

 with a JTSO I think

Hi Peter,

Like you, going from memory of their old manual.

There is no service life unless specified at the time of certification.  And no TSO that I know of has any wording on just how to do this.  One could ask but I doubt that the FAA ACO's would know.

I seem to remember that they had an actual FAA TSO certification.  

Jerry Baumchen

[pchapman 261]

Hi Jerry, to follow up a bit more on all this:

Quote

And no TSO that I know of has any wording on just how to do this.

That issue has left me scratching my head at times. Is "putting it in the manual from day 1" considered "at time of certification" or does it have to be within some un-seen TSO document that the user can't confirm, if such a document could even exist? But in any case there are plenty of riggers who are scared off if they can't follow manufacturers' recommendations, no matter what is actually mandatory legally.

 

FWIW I went through my manuals:

The 2004 Performance Variable manual said JTSO  C23d only.  (European Joint TSO)

The 2006 Firebird (Germany) manual said ETSO  C23d. (I think just the new name for the JTSO)

The Firebird (USA) manual is dated Sept 2017, revision 0, and is current on their website. Now it just says FAA TSO C23d.

(Don't know when they started producing for the US market, but I know guy who has been a Canadian dealer and he was using a Firebird here in Canada -- no TSO required -- in 2013.)

I see the manuals also say that one "should" do  30 lb tensile tests each year on the reserve canopy -- much like what Performance Designs dropped a few years back.

[JerryBaumchen 1,046]

29 minutes ago, pchapman said:

FWIW I went through my manuals:

Hi Peter,

From memory only ( so it is not perfect ), I seem to recall a version of their manual in which they had a copy of the letter from the FAA granting them the USA TSO.

 I do not have a copy of that 'memory' manual.

Jerry Baumchen

PS)  Personal opinion re TSO-life:  I think the best way is somewhat how National now does it.  They say that they will no longer offer any service for any of their equipment that is more than 15 yrs old.

[pchapman 261]

1 hour ago, JerryBaumchen said:

Hi Peter,

From memory only ( so it is not perfect ), I seem to recall a version of their manual in which they had a copy of the letter from the FAA granting them the USA TSO.

Makes sense if they were selling in the USA before '17 but hadn't put out a fully revised manual yet.

[JerryBaumchen 1,046]

17 hours ago, pchapman said:

if they were selling in the USA before '17

Hi Peter,

I think it was about + 8 yrs ago that they ( the German ownership ) made a strong effort to crack into the North American market.  They took out some full-page ads, sponsored some jumpers, etc.  I know that they gave a rig to Bryan Gile as his dad is a good friend.

They would have had a FAA TSO to sell here.

Jerry Baumchen

[wolfriverjoe 1,340]

On 11/2/2019 at 5:14 PM, pchapman said:

...But in any case there are plenty of riggers who are scared off if they can't follow manufacturers' recommendations, no matter what is actually mandatory legally...

One problem with debating the 'legality' of going against Mfr's recommendations is the liability issue.

I wouldn't pack something the mfr says is 'too old'. 

My 'fear' wouldn't be issues with the FAA.
It would be with the ambulance chasers who could convince the family that I should be held responsible (financially) if something went wrong.

"Ladies & gentlemen of the jury. My client's father (son, daughter, mother, husband, wife, whatever) trusted the so-called 'certified' rigger to safely inspect and pack his reserve. Instead, the rigger ignored the manufacturer's instructions to not pack one that old..." 

Perhaps I'm overcautious. But I would not take the chance.

[JerryBaumchen 1,046]

6 minutes ago, wolfriverjoe said:

But I would not take the chance.

Hi Joe,

You are about to enter a crosswalk but you see a car speeding at you.  

Well, you do have the right of way.  The driver is breaking the law. 

But, if you are dead, does it really matter?

Jerry Baumchen

[firebirdusa 2]

Hi everyone,

Firebird is an US owned and based company since 2017. We are headquartered in Eloy and many of the people here and around the US jump our RUSH or other products with positive feedbacks.

We can name Steve & Sara Curtis, Jason Peters, Sean MacCormac, Andy Malchiodi, Kim Winslow as satisfied users.

The RUSH has a TSO c23D and has no service life limit. Same for other Firebird products

We did realize that the old version was still on our website and the new manual will be uploaded shortly. We apologize for that mistake as we are working on a new website. Every product comes with the new manual on an USB stick, so that actual customers have the latest version.

[email protected]

[gowlerk 1,903]

18 minutes ago, firebirdusa said:

Hi everyone,

Firebird is an US owned and based company since 2017. We are headquartered in Eloy and many of the people here and around the US jump our RUSH or other products with positive feedbacks.

We can name Steve & Sara Curtis, Jason Peters, Sean MacCormac, Andy Malchiodi, Kim Winslow as satisfied users.

The RUSH has a TSO c23D and has no service life limit. Same for other Firebird products

We did realize that the old version was still on our website and the new manual will be uploaded shortly. We apologize for that mistake as we are working on a new website. Every product comes with the new manual on an USB stick, so that actual customers have the latest version.

[email protected]

 Well please hurry and put the correct manual on the website. As a rigger I can assure you my customers never supply me with the manual that came with their product. I always have to find the manual on my own.

[airnutt 8]

On 11/1/2019 at 2:43 PM, Deyan said:

If you are on the market for a new reserve, what's your reason for not getting a PDR?

Is 30 years on the market and close to 60 000 reserves out not good enough to convince you? If it's about the price, the 100-200 bucks you gonna "save" by choosing it over a PDR for example, you gonna loose the moment you try to resale it.

About the RUSH, I have packed many of them over the years. Nothing special. The ones I have packed had orange stitching (which is very nice for inspecting) and some custom made Spectra lines. Will I recommend it? Not likely. Having seen an average guy stalled a 130 sq.ft on landing, I would assume it's not build to handle heavy wing load. ( not that there's an excuse for jumping a small reserve with high wing load, but other reserves handle higher WLs just fine)

Well i'm not sure what average guy means, I've jumped the 130 150 and 110, taken to terminal, and did not stall once,the Rush had a powerfull flare and great landing.Instead of watching someone land it maybe try jumping one to assess your own opinion.I'm not trying to be rude by my statement, but as the saying goes, don't knock it unless you've tried it