gowlerk

Thanks for that info on how those things fly. The oldest main canopy I've flown before is my first one, a bagged out Cruiselite. It had lots of jumps on it when I got it in '93 and I put about 250 more on. I think I remember how to flare them! It probably lands better than my Swift did. Sorry but this is a misunderstanding. The seller saw the movie and decided to try jumping because of it. It wasn't used in the movie. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I saw that manual. I love the part about only letting a Master Rigger hook it up. You don't want to be going really fast backwards on your reserve! Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

The DOM of the Saber is Aug. 92. The canopy appears low mileage, no fading, you can still read the label even though it's old enough that PD was still hand writing the DOM, lines are white. The seller said it was a "Point Break rig" (as in watching the movie inspired him to take up jumping) He did some jumps and bought a rig during that era, but the rig has been living in a closet since. He claims 40 jumps, and it looks believable. It appears the container and main were new in Dec. '92 and last packed in Oct. '94. I guess he was saving some cash with the old reserve. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Ebay came through for me again! I bought a Vector II with a low mileage Sabre 190. The ad said the reserve was an "older ram air" It turns out to be a Gargano Hobbit, Serial #55 Sept 82. SCORE!! It's complete with a couple patches. No diaper, but it does have an attachment point. Last packed in '94 in Eloy. Needless to say I'm going to retire it as a reserve. But what can I expect if I try jumping it as a main? Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I can't seem to upload the manual via PM. If you send me an address I'll send you the English 20u user and service manuals I have. The brand name won't be the same, but they are all just copies anyway. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

You are correct that one of the purposes of the thread was to apply pressure to the manufacturer to act responsibly and repair the defect in a timely fashion. I disagree that Airtec is offering an acceptable solution. As far as I can see you are merely being a "complainer/whiner" about a thread you disagree with. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

If you are thinking of putting a device outside, on the top flap, perhaps some kind of pyro charged pin puller can be devised. I'm fairly certain this was looked at and rejected about 20 years ago, but maybe fresh eyes can see this problem differently. Failing that a pin that incorporates a cutter would seem logical. But of course it would require unprecedented co-operation with container makers. This would likely be the largest change in thinking since cones were replaced. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Yes, I do want to sell it. If you want to make a real offer PM me. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Ace? Morons? Twits? Your credibility is failing like a CYPRES 2 when you talk to people like that. It just continues to show that you have no real argument to support your position. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I sent it in because my wife was not willing to jump with it in her rig after reading the SB. She started calling it her $1600 door stop. You may remember that from earlier in the thread. Good luck with all of that. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Your understanding of the issue is excellent. Brake line length is usually preset on modern canopies these days, but it is common to change it for the very reasons you describe. Many people find the correct length is just enough that you can hold the toggles and reach the front dive loops without deflecting the tail. If you don't use the fronts much, you may opt for shorter lines to help you get a more effective flare. Just as long as there is still a little slack before the tail deflects. I'm pretty sure you and your rigger will be able to work this out. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Ok, I get it. SSK are your friends. Your main point would seem to be "these are my friends and they are good people" You don't seem to have any argument at all about why Airtec should not act responsibly. Your lack of a good argument is why you are resorting angry name calling. Airtec's decision is about money. SSK has nothing at all to do with it as far as I know. The manufacturer is making new units with the same part, but upgrading the static protection and changing the software. Testing is completed and production has resumed. They know how to fix the problem. The only thing missing is the will to get it done. And yes, it is about not wanting to spend the money. And Airtec is cheating their customers. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

My jets are cooled. SSK indicates that they will be unable to give me even an estimate till at least 3 months from now. That just won't do. It's my wife's unit, her second CYPRES. When her first one timed out she insisted that only a CYPRES would do. She now says she will never again use one of their products. Not because of the defect, but because she feels they are cheating her in how they have chosen to handle it. I will probably get her an M2 as soon as they are available. When the CYPRES is finally repaired she will sell it on the used market. I'm guessing that she is not unique, except in being married to me that is. Just because I'm the only one trying to do my best to publicly shame Airtec into doing the right thing doesn't mean that others aren't angry as well. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I don't think any of your friends are incompetent or unprofessional. I think that Airtec made a decision to try to downplay the defect in order to save themselves the cost of dealing with it rapidly. The longer they make everyone wait the more units will be fixed at owners expense during the maintenance. The SB went out 8 weeks ago. If Airtec was serious about dealing with the problem they could have made a plan and announced it by now. The longer they wait the more they can just pass the cost to their customer. They should be expanding their capacity to fix the defect at their cost. If they can not do that immediately, they should at the very least announce when they can. Their silence is about reducing costs. I am indeed being a PITA. I intend to become a Royal PITA until this matter is resolved properly. Nothing I am asking is unreasonable. What I am asking is for a very successful manufacturer of a critical safety device that is defective to communicate to their customers a plan to deal with the defect in a timely fashion. Just basic common sense. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Just who's A do you think the SB is designed to cover? It's an attempt to pass off responsibility to the user. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

SSK has my unit. I have sent a message to both Airtec and SSK asking that it be sent to Germany if SSK can't handle it. I'm sure they are all nice people. I'm also sure they are in the business to make money. FWIW, I do not in any way blame SSK for the problem. The manufacturer caused the problem by inadequate testing and the manufacturer makes the money. The are not a charity. I do hope your TMs remember to test their unit before every jump. They probably almost always will. And even if they don't and the unit fails it's unlikely that will be critical on any one jump. Almost for sure you'll be alright. But wouldn't it be a little better yet if you had the option of getting them updated in your slow season if you wanted? And what about the military units out there? I wonder if these potentially mission critical units will be subject to "just a button push". This is not about how nice people are. This is about Airtec taking responsibility for fixing their defective product in a timely manner. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Excellent, lets see if they make an official announcement then. Because so far they haven't said they would do anything to put the resources needed towards fixing the problem or honoring their warranty. They need to spend money on the problem, and they seem to feel very shy about doing so. I am still waiting for them to tell me when they can return my unit and make it good. My inbox is open, but no word from Airtec. Just SSK with excuses. One interpretation of what was said in the interview could just as easily be " we are busy right now making money doing 4 year checks as usual. when we finish that maybe we can find the time to correct some of the defective product we have in the field. It will probably take at least two years, but that's ok." He may be a stand up guy, but what I'm looking for is a stand up company. The reason people are willing to pay a 20% premium in the marketplace for their product is a belief that they are a superior company with a superior product. So stand up and show us. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Don't take this as a defense of CYPRES, but I do think Cliff addressed it pretty head-on in the interview we did. He didn't seem to be ducking any part of it. Well first of all, this is just an interview and just a man talking. That not a firm written promise. Secondly it indicates that they are just fine with taking two years to fix the defect caused by failing to adequate test the new component. Third the condescending attitude of "what's the problem, it's just a simple button push" completely ignores the fact that it was sold as set it and forget it device. They have published an SB stating that it is mandatory to check it before every jump. That is not going to happen consistently. The device can not be used in the manner designed, according to Airtec's SB. Some may find that acceptable, I do not. Addressing the matter head on requires communicating a REAL PLAN to CUSTOMERS, not a soothing interview at an industy trade show. But thanks for asking him about it, it's the only info I've managed to get from this secretive outfit. They won't talk to a mere customer about it at all. Ken I've edited this to remove words that called the interviewer an "insider" That was completely unfair and implied a bias that I'm sure does not exist. Again, thank you for the interview and all your hard work. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Where's the like button? We need a like button for stuff like this. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I'm with you on that. All I want is a single blade and a breakoff warning. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Where are you getting your batteries from? I've bought mail order ones that were quite old and feeble on arrival. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Believe me, I considered doing that. And yes, Cyprus and CYPRES are both having a bad week. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

This is exactly what I want to hear. But from Airtec. SSK currently has my wife's CYPRES and a request for warranty service. I am in contact with both companies and all I get get is excuses about being busy and condescending answers about it being "just a simple button push". So far the level of unwillingness to even acknowledge that they are responsible for fixing the problem in a timely fashion is nearly breathtaking. (OK, that is hyperbole, but you get the point) When I ask for a time line for this repair, all I get is that maybe in 3 months or so they may be able to tell me how much longer. It is now at the point that I am considering my options to try to involve consumer protection agencies in Canada, the US and the EU for assistance. However, if Airtec would simply let me know that they intend to do something about the problem I would not even dream of doing that. The bottom line is that if they intend to take real responsibility for this defect in a timely matter they need to inform me and all other affected customers very soon. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I'm not sure what this means, other than maybe your mother should not let you out the sandbox so often. For what it's worth I don't use it, my wife does. But she has indeed stopped and says she won't start again till it's fixed. Thanks for your input. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

While you're schmoozing with the Airtec people maybe you could find a way to politely bring up the fact that they are currently doing a huge amount of damage to their brand. As far as I can tell they feel that they can deal with 4 years of defective product by continuing business as usual. If they are making any effort at all to increase their service capacity to fix the problem they are failing to communicate it to their customers. If you feel that taking 4 years to fix the product and charging customers to do it is not reasonable, please take the time to let them know. They are running the risk of turning from the company that gives the customer the peace of mind of the 4 year check to the becoming the company that merely uses it as a lame excuse to not honour their product warranty. While their customer wonders on every jump if they remembered to double check if the device is still working. Ken Gowler Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.