Skybear

There were accidents when the pin-pulling AODs didn't pull the pin, because it got bent somehow during climb, exit or freefall. This alone is the reason why Helmut Cloth decided to follow a different path and figure out another way to open an container. Does somebody really want to go back to the good old time? Remember, sex was safe and skydiving was dangerous then.

About the helmets: Cookies are a great choice. But the G3 is a much better choice for freefall than the GAS. Imagine being on short final to the landing area and someone walking in your path without looking. With a open flip-up-visor you can shout at him and let him realize he is in danger (and you are as well). The visor of the GAS is always closed and therefore takes this option away. About the wrist alit or finger loop: Take whatever feels more comfortable to you. About the audible: Yes, it is just a backup. Therefore my audible is set to 100m below pull height. If I ever hear my audible without at least grabbing the hackey something is wrong. And yes, it happened a few times already. It is good to have an audible but you should never get device-dependend.

Take a helmet like this and wear a black wing suit. Take a deep breath, and another one...one more....and say: "I am Lord Vader!"

The exact number of saves could be tracked at the timeof Cypres 1 when the cutters had to be replaced at the factory. Now it can only be estimated as they are replaced in the field. The guesses vary between 3000 and 4000 saves. Way more than 2000 are definitely confirmed. 22000 cutted loops seems pretty reasonable with all the testing taken into account., plus all those applications of the Cypres cutter which are not skydive-related.

Fixed it

We didn't make it all in the grid at the same time. Camera-flyers did a perfect job, no problems there. Videos and pictures are on http://www.skydivingphotography.com/events/wingsuitrecord-091812

Just a little addition: The Cypres 2 is good for 12 years and 6 months (guaranteed by Airtec) while the Vigil is expected to be good for 20 years but only guaranteed for one year.

How about contacting the manufacturer (www.paratec.de)?

I suggest to leave this decision to the pilots. They are flying the aircraft so they have the authority about how to operate it safely.

Simply not true. Cypres calculates in real time and thus decides at 750 feet to fire or not. Of course it also can decide lower, in case you reach more than 35m/sec again after being slower at 750feet. In doubt ask Airtec, that 's where I got this info from. The fact sheet is very suspicious, as it does not state the name of the author or any sources. That doesn't make it seem much reliable.

Old school Pecos Style

This means your exit height above ground would have been 2200 feet or less. If I did this on a planned jump I'd switch my AAD off anyhow, because of the risk of a two-out.

It 's quite simple. NEVER ship gear without sufficient insurance. This costs a few $ but it 's worth it. Responsibility then rests with the shipping company.

Pullout Skydive is located at Gießen-Lützellinden (EDFL), about 45 km north of Frankfurt. Take exit "Wetzlar-Süd" from the Autobahn A45 and you are almost there. The dropzone has a well maintained Pilatus Porter, indoor and outdoor packing areas, rental gear, a big landing area, a small canteen and a good restaurant on site. Video debriefs are possible on a big screen in the packing area. The dropzone is operated from friday to Sunday and on national holidays from March to October. During the season there are several jump weeks when the dropzone is open all week. For this you should check the calendar on the dropzone's website. Manifest is doing a good job on balancing tandems and students versus licensed jumpers. On weekends the number of tandems per day is limited, so that even on a very busy day you will be able to make at least 4 to five jumps. Coaching is available on request in formation skydiving, freeflying and wingsuiting. Although there are no popular names amongst the coaches some of them are holding national records in their discipline, and all of them are very professional and safety-minded. On weekends you can meet small groups of fun-jumpers doing anything from solos to nine-ways. As the dropzone is not that big, there are no closed groups or teams and visitors are always welcome to join in. The landing area is divided into two sections. One for all and one for high-performance landings. Before you get in the plane for the first time you will get a briefing on local rules like this, which is part of the check-in at the dropzone. There is no rigging loft directly at the dropzone, but smaller problems can be fixed by local riggers during the day. For everything else you can leave your gear with the local shop and you will get it back one week later. When the jumpers call it a day it is time to enjoy a beer with friends at the terrace in front of the canteen, or at the restaurant. The food is reasonably priced and the quality very good. Meat-lovers as well as Fish-eaters or Vegetarians will find a good variety on the menu. Pullout Skydive is probably the best dropzone close to Frankfurt. The only thing that can be really wrong is the weather, but that applies to every other dropzone in this area as well. Enjoy your visit!

What I don't understand: Why didn't FedEx offer to pick up the parcel and charge you for delivery to Spain? You could then sort it out with NZA who surely would pay the shipping fees back to you. I had an issue with shipments from Australia twice in the past. Both shipments were directed to the USA instead of Germany, but both were redirected to Germany when it was found out that they were labelled wrong. This shouldn't be a big deal for any major shipping company.

Hey Virgin-Burner, you are from Switzerland right? Go to Beromünster. I sold a few G3s in black matt and gloss and also one in charcoal to people jumping there. There's nothing better than seeing them in real life.

The tour is really excellent. Do it! About GPS: You can take the chance to talk to Helmut about this on the tour. They thought about it already years ago, but there were numerous problems with GPS that can't be solved in a satisfactory manner for different reasons. It is too much to write it down here and I am not an expert for this. But you will see that Helmut is one of the smartest persons ever who designed skydiving gear. The way he thinks and approaches problems is really inspiring. His philosophy is: "If it is not 100% perfect it is not good enough."

The initial development of the Cypres 1 was over one million german marks back in the 80s. I think we can say that today it equals more than a million euro or 1,5 million USD. And then it didn't stop. Continous research is done to evaluate the lifetime limits, the usefulness in new disciplines (swooping, birdman), new hardware (waterproof cases) and so on. Plus what feuergnom already wrote. My C2 is the piece of electronics in my household which is developed and tested to the highest standards. Neither my Audi S5 or my Canon 70-200 2,8 IS II lens can compete with its standard. Just to mention two really expensive things and not all the fancy stuff from Apple.

If your friend has any worries the best way is to contact Airtec as Bram already said. They can look it up in the database in no time and tell him if something was noted at the last check-up.

www.westerwings.de

Send it to SSK if you are in the US or to Airtec if you live in another part of the world. The repair will be for free as it falls under the 12,5-year warranty of Cypres.

Since my comment on Lees posting was deleted I want to support Abedys statement: Referring to german people as descendents of Goebbels is extremely rude. I wonder why this post was not edited by the mods but mine was deleted completely. Since I do not even know which mod deleted my post I have to ask publicly: Why is it obviously okay to insult germans, but not okay to explain this insult by using a comparison within the north american culture? This post can be deleted or will be deleted by myself when my question is answered. Thank you!

Maybe I do not understand some humour here, because english is not my native language. Otherwise what I understand is a serious insult against the inventor of the Cypres. If that is the case you better shut up when talking about evdidence of some sort of failure. Remember you are a descendant of people who talked to the world about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Once again: Sorry if I got you wrong, but please keep in mind that there are a lot of non-english-native-speakers in that forum.

Glad to hear that he is still alive and good that it makes you and some more people thinking. From my point of view the major lesson is: Unless you are 100% physically and mentally fit to skydive, don't do it. You must be able to make decisions and operate your gear properly even when the whole skydive is totally fucked up or you are dead. As many people here in this forum say: AADs are backup devices only and we should never rely on them. A rule which the jumper clearly had in mind. Once more: Glad to read that he is still here. Now let 's learn this little lesson together.

The sizing is the same. Me and my wife were comparing G3s to G2s yesterday and both worked out in the same sizes for us.