New PD Products???

[Skydive2 1]

I've heard rumors that PD is working on a new line of canopies. Does any one have any info? Like dates of relase and types of canopies?

[airdrew20012001 0]

No, but I am going to call and ask them as well as that dingbat Lisa at S1 and if I get the wrong answer they are all jerkoffs! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Drewfus McDoofus

[Kirils 1]

Yada..Yada...Yada
If PD IS coming out with a new line of canopies, it's only because Precision is getting an edge in the market and PD will just copy the new technology. The only
thing to drive PD towards innovation is a threat to their market share. Hey, they milked the buyers with a chute called the Sabre FOREVER. And it's an antiquated canopy and people bought it because it was just PD. Talk about blind buyer loyalty.
PD is the marketing king in sport parachutes, I just wish they put some money in product development!
Brian G. is the best thing to happen to PD.
Skydiving is not a static excercise with discrete predictability...

[weid14 0]

I agree they are marketing kings (right up there with Javelin), but they do spend a lot of money and time in product development -- there's even a tiny DZ right near them they do a lot of testing at (even got to see some reserve testing a few weeks ago, pretty cool).

[diverds 0]

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The only
thing to drive PD towards innovation is a threat to their market share

Actually, if you look at your parachute history a bit you will find that PD has always been a leader in canopy development. They had the first zero-p canopy (the sabre), the first really sucsesful eliptical canopy(the stelitto), and the first crossbraced canopy(the excalibur). My guess is that they have probably been working on new designs for several years. If and when they are released I will be watching with keen interest.
-Dave
"Gas...Undercarriage...Mixture...Prop...Beer"

[SkydiveMonkey 0]

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the first zero-p canopy (the sabre)

I thought the first ZP canopy was the Blue Track by PDF
boobies - the cause of, and solution to, all of lifes problems

[freeflir29 0]

Ummm....I think (I'm just guessing and going on the here say I have) that if you looked at hard numbers PD has probably put more money into product developement than all the other companies combined. Why...not because the other companies aren't trying it's just that plain and simple PD has it to spend. Certainly, if they fail to innovate they WILL lose market share. Regardless of product quality. New products are a must to stay afloat in this industry. I have liked every PD canopy I have ever flown. I'm sure the new stuff will be just as good if not better.
"It's all about the BOOBIES!"

[polarbear 1]

I don't think that's quite fair. PD has its share of innovations, like those mentioned above.
I think the most distinguishing thing about PD is the amount of testing they do on a product. It is good, because the products they release are all pretty good. In my opinnion, every PD canopy I have flown has been excellent. But, they shoot themselves in the foot with all of the time spent in development. They loose the distinctition of being the first to come out with something, and thus get accused of copying other people's technology.
It's the same old business story...it isn't the person who comes up with a new idea, it's the person who gets it marketed first that gets the glory. Who really knows what canopy design trick belongs to what person/company? As far as copying precision..I don't think PD has to. They have a whole line of good canopies...in my opinion, Precision was falling behind the curve and needed to get new stuff out to compete.
As to new products from PD... I am sure that all of the companies are working on new stuff.

[freeflir29 0]

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But, they shoot themselves in the foot with all of the time spent in development.

Yes....much better to rush things onto the market and have collapsible canopies.....Not going to mention names of course...."It's all about the BOOBIES!"

[polarbear 1]

I'll mention names. Icarus has some very successful designs, and some very happy customers. But in this engineer's opinion, the Crossfire was released before it was ready. Maybe their second version will do better. Personally, I think it is much more important to fully test the product...but I am not a businessman.
I don't think it is wise to buy canopies based on innovations. New design tricks are cool, but they don't neccessarily make the difference between good and bad canopies. They are only new tools...different designers will use them differently and get very different canopies. Bill Coe (PD) came up with cross-bracing, but wasn't super successful with the Excalibur. Icarus takes it and makes the Extreme, a very successful canopy. Who cares if they copied the cross-bracing idea? They made a nice design.
Buy a canopy becasue it flies nice, not becasue it has the new whoopty-do-whirly-ghig-whizzbang design trick on it.

[billvon 2,400]

>In my opinnion, every PD canopy I have flown has been excellent. But, they
> shoot themselves in the foot with all of the time spent in development.
Why? I agree with your assessment, and I think there is a market for very well tested and built canopies. I for one am willing to spend a little more on a PD canopy because I know it's not going to have any suprises (new bar tacks needed! A new line set should fix that problem. Oh, and sometimes it just collapses.)
-bill von

[Skydive2 1]

Ok ok, does anyone have any details such a release dates, and type's of canopies? I love my stiletto but it's old technology!

[jdhill 0]

PD has put out 4 or 5 canopies since I have been in the sport... for two of them, the velocity and the vengaence, they put out the name a month or two before any information (including what the canopy type was). In both cases, it was a "comming soon" deal... then a little while later they would put out some info, then would release the canopy... I would imagine that any new canopy, particularly at the high performance end of the line, would follow the same marketing strategy... build intrest and talk on the street before the release... I don't remember how they released the spectre, lightning or silloette.
So in short... I don't think anyone but PD and their testers knows anything, and they are obviously not talking yet.
My guess would be one of four... an updated stiletto, a "27-cell" x-braced, a "quad-cell" x-braced, or an airlocked x-braced combo... but that is just my guess.
Josh
http://www.aerialfusion.com

[polarbear 1]

I fully agree that development is of paramount importance...I have more faith in a product that has been "overly" tested. There are reasons I do not currently jump certain canopies and the reasons could have been addressed BEFORE releasing the product if more/adequate testing had been performed.
I like PD's approach, and I like their products. I feel comfortable with them because I do not think there will be any surprises. My only point was that they do seem to suffer from not being the first ones out with a new technology...some people seem to place a great deal of importance on "innovation". I am not one of them. In fact, when something new comes out, I prefer to watch it for a year or two to see what the "field testing" (I say testing cause that's what it is) reveals.
It is also worth noting that some "innovations" are really just old technologies that have been re-applied with more success, or more marketing power.

[weid14 0]

Right Clay, that Jonathan was a real bugger of a canopy

[alan 1]

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I for one am willing to spend a little more on a PD canopy because I know it's not going to have any suprises (new bar tacks needed! A new line set should fix that problem. Oh, and sometimes it just collapses.)

According to Poynter's Parachute Manual, there was a recall of the early Sabre 190. I think the fix was an added brake-line. I seem to recall a change made in the size of the slider on some Sabres. Maybe I'm wrong.
alan

[polarbear 1]

The early Sabres in the big sizes (190 and 210) suffered from extremely hard openings...they were fixed by changing the brake setting method (only the three outer brake lines are set, the inner one is left free) and maybe changing the slider. Since then, the Sabre has proven to be an excellent canopy. To my knowledge, PD has not had a recall since then, and has introduced at least 6 new canopy designs, all of them highly successful.
Keep in mind that PD was still a fairly young company at the time of the Sabre introduction...they probably didn't have the capital or the experience they do now. Also, the other Sabre class (9-cell square zp) canopies I can think of (Strong Z-po, Precision Monarch) generally open harder then the Sabre.

[klingeme 0]

I just recently purchased a used Stilletto 120 and it is one of the "originals" that only came in one color design and does not have the label on the canopy, and I was told by my rigger that I got one of the "good ones." He told me that PD changed the Stilletto shortly after introduction to "Slow it down" in some way, but mine was made before this change.
I've only owned PD canopies and love my current one, but based on what I've been told, they do make changes after release.
Mark Klingelhoefer
Mark Klingelhoefer

[amir1967 0]

I've bought a PD and allmost anyone I know in my dropzone flies PD Specter Stilleto Vengeance Velocity or Sabre but what can I do they are the only one that invested in here 10 years ago or so and at one point we get a snow-ball effect.
The only demo program is a PD one so I would say it is quit difficult or was to try somthing else .
so yes maybe they are not the best but I could not try a crossfire so I demo Stilleto and bought the Vengeance, is it the best canopy there is prob. not but I like it and feel confident flying it
Amir
AM67

[polarbear 1]

I hadn't heard of that. I'm sure they do change things as time goes by...they just haven't made many of the "your canopy is grounded until we make this change" type of changes.

[rogue108 0]

Kirils,
Maybe PD has spent a lot money on product development. That could be the reason their products have with stood the test of time. Maybe they were just ahead of their time and the other manufactures are just trying to catch up. For some reason certain individuals seem to feel that new products mean good products, but that doesn't always seem to be the case. As evident by a current recall. Also who is there to say that PD hasn't been developing canopies.