dcskydive

Looks like the Diffuser is ready: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.421729087925926.1073741826.334265216672314&type=1

https://www.facebook.com/iFlyToronto/posts/417355961696572 :)

J, Thanks for the response and PM! As requested, I will be forwarding you the most recent email communication I sent to Aerodyne (Back in December). It's unfortunate that apparently no one there received my email, however I find that difficult to believe as I CC'd myself on it and received no error in the delivery to the other two addresses! Regardless, computer issues happen and I look forward to attempting to resolve this situation with you! I'm sorry that it had to become a public discussion, but I felt like I had exhausted all other avenues to get the attention of someone over there! If it somehow turns out the damage was my own fault, so be it, however I really do not feel this to be the case, nor do several reputable riggers who have examined my rig first hand. Any reply I have received so far has attempted to put the blame on me and brush the issue under the carpet and I find that quite unfair. For example this recent message from an apparent ICON representative: Actually Spike09, I have attempted to contact Aerodyne several times over the course of the past year. I am very aware that they are located in Florida which is why I once again attempted to contact them prior to traveling there. I made mention of my many attempt in the forum which you are referencing. Spike, I work in a manufacturing industry, one with a very strong safety and quality control culture, and I find it interesting that in 25 years in the industry you have never encountered a “factory defect” as simple as an unshaven edge. If you are not catching issues like this, perhaps your quality control program is deficient? I guess if you close your eyes each time a defect is brought to your attention and simply blame the customer for the damage, then yes it would be pretty easy to maintain a 100% success rate. Interesting philosophy

One of their dealers contacted Aerodyne directly for me about a year ago, he told me they were arguing that the damage was my fault and due to poor care of the rig. I was pretty disappointed by that reply as I take great care of my gear (always in a gear bag when on my back, never dragged across the packing mat, etc). The DOM is 2009. These problems begun to appear with 50-100 jumps on the container (some time in near the end of 2010). Like I said I have been trying to have aerodyne take responsibility for this issue for quite some time but they seem to prefer to ignore me :( If I truly believed I some how caused this damage I'd let it go, however rigger after rigger has told me that there is a manufacturing deficiency with the container and that it is in no way my fault. I'm more so concerned now that the last rigger wouldn't even deem it air worthy without patching it first, the reserve riser covers still remain exposed (as she refused to touch them / was unable to make any fixes to it easily) the reserve risers are now in constant contact with a sharp piece of plastic. :/ Keep in mind this container still looks essentially brand new with the exception of the one riser flap :(

I have tried contacting a few aerodyne dealers, one of them made several attempts to contact them with little progress. Thanks for the contact info though, I will give Sandy a try! I now have my rig back online, however with the patch, the riser flap now blows opened as soon as I leave the plane or sometimes just while sitting down (just like it did when I first bought the rig up until the time the stiffener cut through the Cordura and relieved the tension). This is a little bit unsettling, especially when freeflying and at opening time (seems to cause my canopy to spin up, maybe due to uneven riser tension at extraction?)

Sent you a PM on the contact info subject. Thanks for the PM. I actually tried contacting him directly via that same email back in December requesting aerodyne to perform about $700 in standard maintenance (reline, reserve repack, cypress servicing, etc). I also asked him about the issues I was having with my rig. As of today, neither he nor the generic aerodyne email address I CC'd it to has replied to my request :( I ended up having the servicing done at a local DZ in Florida. Unfortunately the rigger refused to declare my rig airworthy due to the snag hazard on the riser flaps (due to the defect). I had to let them perform a quick patch job on it just to be allowed to fly it again.

So after about 50 jumps on a new Aerodyne Icon Rig the stiffener on the riser flap begun to cut through the cordura flap. Shortly after, the same happened to the reserve portion of the flap. It appears that this is a manufacturing defect (several riggers have confirmed this with me at various dropzones). I have been attempting to contact Aerodyne for over a year now and received no reply worth mentioning. I even attempted contacting a few of their reps directly and received no reply to date. Can someone recommend anyone within the company that might be willing to reply to one of my emails / calls? Their website only point to '[email protected]' which has proven to be useless. I'm disappointed with their customer service to say the least. Both my main and container are Aerodyne, but I don't think I'll ever buy from them again nor would I recommend anyone else do the same if this is the way they treat customers. Has anyone else had problems with them or is it just me? More importantly, has anyone else had quality issues with their gear? Pics attached below.