gowlerk 2,246 #1 March 29, 2011 I'm looking for one. I'm not looking to pay $25 for a .pdf file. Can anyone help? Thanks KenAlways remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DoZ3r 0 #2 March 29, 2011 http://parachutemanuals.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=39&func=select&id=46If everything seems under control.. You're just not going fast enough..! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gowlerk 2,246 #3 March 29, 2011 Thank you very much. I searched and could not find that page for some reason. KenAlways remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Unstable 9 #4 March 29, 2011 Humor me for a second ~ I like the Stunts Tandem rigs, seem simple enough. I've never repacked a Stunts Eclipse, but they seem like pretty well designed rigs. What was the reason they stopped manufacturing them?=========Shaun ========== Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JerryBaumchen 1,426 #5 March 29, 2011 Hi Unstable, Quote What was the reason they stopped manufacturing them? I do not speak for any of the ownership, but it does seem as though there were numerous changes of ownership. I talked with Bill Dause quite some time ago and he felt that he could buy Sigma Tandem rigs for less than he could make his own. The last that I knew he had the company up for sale. Interested????? JerryBaumchen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Unstable 9 #6 March 29, 2011 QuoteI talked with Bill Dause quite some time ago and he felt that he could buy Sigma Tandem rigs for less than he could make his own. The last that I knew he had the company up for sale. Ha, I wish. I wouldn't know what to do with a Parachute Company. It's interesting though that it would cost him more than, what, $10,000 to make a rig? WIthout a production system of sorts, they probably have to piece it together manually.=========Shaun ========== Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 643 #7 March 31, 2011 QuoteHumor me for a second ~ I like the Stunts Tandem rigs, seem simple enough. I've never repacked a Stunts Eclipse, but they seem like pretty well designed rigs. What was the reason they stopped manufacturing them? ........................................................................ There was a huge surge in demand for skydiving equipment during the early 1990s, so several new parachute manufacturers (Altico, Eclipse, Fliteline, etc.)sprang up while several main-stream manufacturers offered simplified, discounted versions of thier regular rigs. But that demand died off in the late 1990s, so some of the major manufacturers moved to Arizona (Rigging Innovations) while a couple of newer manufacturers (Eclipse and Fliteline) closed their doors. During my last conversation with Mickey Cottle (Fliteline founder) he was finishing off the last few Eclipse tandems. Mickey also explained that a lawsuit had not been able to penetrate Fliteline's corporate firewall. On the way home, I stopped off to visit Bill Dause in Lodi, California. Dause had all the Eclipse patterns and sewing machines stashed in a corner of his hangar, but without a master rigger to set up production, there was not much profit to be made sewing Vector 2 Tandem copies when Sigma was starting to dominate the market. The other issue is that Relative Workshop got stuck with a batch of military Sigmas that violated the Berry Ammendment, so they dumped them on the civilian market, ruining the market for new-manufacture tandems for a couple of years. Either that, or you can believe the rumor that all of Eclipse's profits disappeared up Shoobi's nose .... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hookitt 1 #8 April 1, 2011 Ya know, I'm from that area so I have a lot of experience with the product and the shop. The Eclipse had much potential. Changes were being made slowly by the person who built the harnesses, some other parts and basically ran the shop. He didn't have anything to do with customer relations though. Shoobi may not have had the most ideal business sense but he treated his employees rather well. His ability to piss people was definitely there so his customer base became rather annoyed. Rightly so but the money went mostly back into the shop and employees and fed his 2 kids. Shoobi put a lot of effort into paying his employees including benefits. He expanded his La Selva Beach location and eventually remodeled a space in a warehouse in Aptos CA. He then moved operations there. It was much more suited for production. He was a good designer with a lot of ideas. The person who helped him was good at tweaking his ideas to make them work better. It's too bad the shop wasn't self sustaining because the rig would have become great. He had another rig in the works and unfortunately was never built past one prototype. The name of the rig was leaked and another manufacturer has a popular rig by the same name and one of the features is very similar. The Tandem was definitely a Vector II knock off. All in all it was pretty good but obviously needed refinement. No need to discuss that but there are plenty of them still in action. The business was partially sold to Jesse Rodriquez and Bill Dause. I forget the timeline but the place was still based out of Aptos. The person who basically ran the production eventually went back to school. For a few months He worked for Stunts on a piece by piece basis. The operation moved to Marina and Shoobi was no longer owner. He worked as an employee building harnesses and parts etc. About a year later, Shoobi quit and went back into high dollar finish carpentry. There was no one in the area able to take over production so all the assets were moved to Lodi and nothing became of it. As an after thought, if Jesse would have moved the operations to a warehouse in the San Jose area, the company would still be in action. Oh well, it had great potential but it didn't make it to mainstream. Nowadays and for the past 10 years, he works on mansions. For fun, he rides and races road bikes. (bicycles). He still places in the top along side people half his age. Going back into Carpentry was probably the best thing to happen because he's doing rather well. He doesn't bother doing his own rigging work unless he needs too. He didn't even build his own rig and he doesn't pack his own reserve anymore So you can think whatever you want. Even though his business sense wasn't that great, he was true to his employees and too a fault, put too much money back into making sure they were going to make it. Movie work money went right back into the shop. He burnt himself out being his own worst enemy, made a few bad decisions (read that as basically screwed up). His ego would get the better of him and that didn't help but he tried, eventually he gave up. He's a great guy, if I lived closer to his area, I'd go visit. I think I'll give him a call now to see how he's doing. My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Unstable 9 #9 April 4, 2011 Wow ~ thank you both for those detailed answers ~ like I said, I really respected the Eclipse family of HC system ~ they seemed to be pretty well designed and thought out, compared to other rigs of that generation. The Reflex too was a sad casualty ~ I am not a fan of the 1-pin pop top (I like 2 pins..) but the actual manufacturing quality of the reflex was superb.=========Shaun ========== Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 643 #10 April 6, 2011 If you cannot find an Eclipse manual, just use a Vector 2 manual. Hint: if you lose your Eclipse free-bag, Bill Dause (Eclipse TSO holder) will tell you to install a Vector 2 free-bag and reserve pilot-chute. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
heavydude 0 #11 April 7, 2011 OOh I can help ! Its availible free online at some site called skydivingmanuals online or something ! If you cant find it just send me an email as I have it saved on my work computer as a pdf. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hookitt 1 #12 April 7, 2011 If you pack it using the Vector manual, it will actually be easier. The tuck in reserve cover flap version: Regardless of how it may be numbered, close the top flap last. On all models, the closing loop should be no more than 5 inches from washer to end of the closing loop. That's measured fully stretched. With a CYPRES, you can often make it as short as 4 3/4".My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Unstable 9 #13 April 7, 2011 Quote ..........close the top flap last. Those are words to live by...=========Shaun ========== Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 20 #14 April 7, 2011 Its www.parachutemanuals.com Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hookitt 1 #15 April 7, 2011 Quote Quote ..........close the top flap last. Those are words to live by... Ha, I suppose the way I wrote that, it's always true. The last flap is the smallest flap closest to the Yoke, directly under the Reserve cover flap. Close the decorative flap first, (closest to the main), then the small flap Better ??? My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gowlerk 2,246 #16 April 7, 2011 Thanks Rob, now I just need to know if I can put the Argus back in it. Obviously permission to install it has not been withdrawn. Not surprising since no one ever authorized it. What about putting newer AADs in orphaned rigs? Talk about a grey area! KenAlways remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 643 #17 April 8, 2011 QuoteThanks Rob, now I just need to know if I can put the Argus back in it. Obviously permission to install it has not been withdrawn. Not surprising since no one ever authorized it. What about putting newer AADs in orphaned rigs? Talk about a grey area! Ken ..................................................................... It depends upon who you want to quote. Hah! Hah! The latest word - for Argus - is that you are free to install Argus in rigs that have the cutter below the pilot-chute (e.g. Vector). Now I know that Eclipse is a copy of Vector, but I cannot remember exactly where the cutter is above or below the pilot-chute in an Eclipse. However, if it was a tandem Eclipse, I would not install the Argus, simply because there are two lives on the line and student's heirs are far more likely to sue. As for installing newer AADs in orphaned rigs ... The first thing I would do is consult the sacred purple binder (published by Airtec) to see if there are published specs on exactly where to sew in Cypres pockets (FAA Master Rigger or Canadian Rigger B approved by Airtec). Most of the other electronic AADs slip easily into Cypres pockets. If the orphaned rig is not mentioned in the sacred purple binder, I would not sew in Cypres pockets. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pchapman 279 #18 April 8, 2011 QuoteThe tuck in reserve cover flap version: Regardless of how it may be numbered, close the top flap last. Jokes aside, that is useful info. Been a while since I packed one, but I recall seeing an Eclipse where the numbering order on the last two flaps was NOT the same as what the manual said the order was. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gowlerk 2,246 #19 April 9, 2011 The rig came to me with a factory installed Cypres setup. I put the owner's Argus back into it (after a battery change of course) The manual has Cypres approval in it, but not Vigil, or Argus, or M2. I needed 51/4 inches of closing loop, but it did have a Super Raver 249 to squeeze into it. KenAlways remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydived19006 4 #20 February 16, 2012 Just found this thread doing an unrelated search. Nice history Hookitt, thanks. In 1999 another skydiver and I bought an Eclipse tandem rig, and flew Shoobi out Kansas to train us. I've since acquired four more, all but one were virtually new, two from Shoobi out of his closet, one recently from Jay Stokes out of his closet. Anyway, they've been good rigs, and I see them going for another 10 years (500 tandems a year spread out on 5 rigs). I enjoyed meeting and training with Shoobi, and have touched base with him every couple/few years since.Experience is what you get when you thought you were going to get something else. AC DZ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aliencico 0 #21 February 20, 2012 Dear Sir, I have a copy of that related manual, in .pdf. If You want it, please send me an E-mail, and I will send it to You 36 pages, 1.8 Mb Hoping to have aided, Juan Fraile-Nuez Military Parachute Rigger (ret.) Spain, Europe Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
johnlyman 1 #22 October 11, 2014 I know this is an old thread but will give it a crack have a Ukrainian woman in my loft needing I&R on her Eclipse. Have packed many over the years, no big deal, have manual etc. However, her res PC is suspicious. No ID or TSO stampings/stenciling etc. Everything else is OK. Anybody know of any acceptable alternatives, UPT res PC for instance or something like that? I know there are a couple manufacturers that approve the use of a couple different res PCs in their rigs, or when one goes out of business they approve the use of another manufacturers components in some cases. However, I can't find anything to that effect in any of my documentation. thanks JHL Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gowlerk 2,246 #23 October 11, 2014 Thanks for reviving my thread. Yes Vector P/Cs are exactly what are used in eclipse containers. That is what they originally used, and the last I heard the TSO holder says to use Vector parts as needed.Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
