Cypres question...

[crotalus01 0]

I bought a used Cypres last year, it was 7 years old, needed new batteries and the 4 year check (was used for 4 years then removed for 3). I sent it in for the 4 year and new batteries.
Now, according to SSK, I need to send it in for an 8 year check even though it was just checked last year...WTF?
So my question is, do I have to send it in? Is there a BSR I am violating if I don't? The damn thing only has 4 years left (after which I am going to buy a Vigil). Apprecite any relevant info.

As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD...

[riggerrob 643]

Sorry,
But the FAA, USPA, CSPA, DBLA are quite clear: AADs must be maintained in accordance with manufacturers' instructions.
IOW, you can only legally jump a Cypres if it follows Airtec's inspection schedule.
Next year you have to send your Cypres to SSK (in Ohio) or Airtec (in Germany) for an 8-year inspection.

Try to look at it from the FAA's perspective. The government freely admits that it knows almost nothing about AADs, and as long as the manufacturers' maintenance schedules keep the fatality rate low, the FAA does not have to get involved in regulating AADs.

[divnswoop 0]

Quote

Now, according to SSK, I need to send it in for an 8 year check even though it was just checked last year...WTF?

Cause that is what Airtec came up with when it started selling the units back in the early 90's. Most re-sellers will take that fact that it needs 4 or 8 year checks into account when selling a used cypres. If you only paid a couple hundred for it, that is why. If you paid far more, I would research what you buy more, or ask your instructor/ rigger in the future.

[crotalus01 0]

Okay, just so I am crystal clear - I HAVE to send it in for the 8 year, even though it was inspected last year? OR I can jump with NO AAD with no problems... Honestly I think I would rather jump with the AAD that is "out of date". I have the safety margin provided by the AAD. Who am I gonna sue if I burn in?
Of course I WILL jump with no AADand have).
My family explicitly knows I accept the risk of this sport and that I have a "no sue" clause in my living will.
I am more worried about my rigger in this case....

As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD...

[davelepka 4]

Quote

I am more worried about my rigger in this case....

So is your rigger, which is why they won't pack your rig with an AAD that's not legal.

It does suck, but thems the rules.

[PhreeZone 20]

The pilot also can stand to lose his licence if he's allowing you to jump with gear that is known to be in violation of the FAR's.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[peckerhead 0]

Give it to your rigger, He/She will tell you what to do.

[dragon2 2]

You may want to sell the cypres now and get the vigil now You can get a 2nd hand vigil for about the same price your cypres should get you.

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[Chrisky 0]

When you bought it, it was not airworthy because the 4 year check was 3 years overdue. Now it's time for an 8 year check. The checks are not extending the validity of the previous checks, they are checkpoints in overall service life. If the service life is 3 years in a closet that is bad luck...

You could have found that out _before_ buying a 7 year old Cypres. If you paid as much for it that the 4- and 8-year inspections can't be paid for and still give you a good price (there actually is a "remaining value calculator on SSKs website i think), it was the Seller who ripped you off, or you paying too high a price, not Airtech/SSK giving you bad service.
What do you expect, that you get a 4 year maintainance cycle extension after the first scheduled maintainance being late 3 years? That would extend your units overall service life to 15 years, which is invalid according to Airtechs maximum device life of 12 years.

Even if they did that, you'd HAVE to have the second maintainance check anyway before the 12 year lifetime end (after 7+4=11 years). So if you pay next year or in four years, one year before the device runs out of "life", does that matter?

Smart thing to do would have been to call SSK beforehand, and ask if they could do the 4 and 8 year maintainance and battery check all in one go, but that would've meant to wait jumping it another year. Not trying to sound smart, but either way, a bit of homework about the gear might have prevented this.

The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open.
From the edge you just see more.
... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

[jeremy_o 0]

This is common knowledge around the DZ and definitely from riggers. Do your research before buying next time

http://planetskydive.net/ - An online aggregation of skydiver's blogs.

[DrewEckhardt 0]

Quote

I bought a used Cypres last year, it was 7 years old, needed new batteries and the 4 year check (was used for 4 years then removed for 3). I sent it in for the 4 year and new batteries.
Now, according to SSK, I need to send it in for an 8 year check even though it was just checked last year...WTF?

The FAA requires your AAD to be maintained according to the manufacturer's directives and that's what SSK says. The price should have reflected that. Simplistic on-line calculators do not.

A Cypres should cost about $11.25/month to own regardless of when you bought it. Paying more means you're covering for some one else's bad shopping habits or picking up the tab on their wear.

For example, I paid $875 for one of mine (The DZO thought everyone should have a Cypres and therefore didn't charge MSRP) and will have spent 5 * 85 on batteries + 2 x ($140 + $20 + $20) for maintenance and shipping - $80 for the trade-in, or $1620. Divided by 144 months that's $11.25.

You should have expected 5 years and 3 months of life life from that Cypres, 3 battery replacements, 2 inspections, and an $80 trade-in value and given the seller

63 months * $11.25
+ $80 trade-in
- 3 x $85 batteries
- 2 x ($140 + $20 + $20) maintenance
$133.75

The seller should have waited until it was 7 years and 9 months old and sold it with four years of useful life left with 2 battery replacements and 1 inspection

48 months * $11.25
+ $80 trade-in
- 2 * 85 batteries
- ($140 + $20 + $20) maintenance
$250

The inspection timing (+/-3 months is allowed) and end of life (+ 3 months) means a buyer with a seasonal lay off could leave it with no battery for six months.

The same thing works for the Cypres 2. They cost more to begin with but have no separate battery replacement so total cost of ownership is nearly identical.

An out-of-inspection Cypres with dead batteries and less than 18 months left is only worth the $80 trade-in value.

[crotalus01 0]

Thanks for the info guys. I am having my rigger pull it out to get the 8 year at my next repack cycle.

As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD...

[sundevil777 102]

I think that if you had just waited until the 8 year check was due, that you only have to have just that one check done, but of course it would not be possible to have used it between years 4 and 8. I think that is true, perhaps others can confirm. What is definitely true is that if you had posted a question on this forum about what is a reasonable price for the AAD you bought, you would have been provided all the right answers to allow you to get it at the right price.

It is very tempting to see the lack of a costly maintenance check as an advantage for other AADs, but consider that the self test function simply cannot confirm the accuracy of the unit (it can't provide a change in pressure to the sensor to simulate a jump), and can't confirm that it will withstand environmental (temp/vibration) extremes. All the self test can do is confirm that the electronics still work and that there is continuity to the cutter. The self test is just not good enough for a device where accurate function is so critical. You do not want it to be off in either direction - up or down.

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am