wardhessig

Thanks everyone for the complements on the new logo and look. Our look, branding, and identity, like our products, will continue to evolve for the better as it always has. I got this from Forbes magazine "logo changes are frequently used by corporations to signal shifts in corporate culture or strategy, and should ideally be presented as such to employees and customers." That is exactly what we are doing here at Mirage. We want to shift our focus this coming year and years beyond that, to better customer service oriented sales, a better presence in the field at skydiving events, and to develop better personal relationships and bonds with our skydiving community. We will also continue to do what we have always done by providing a constantly evolving product that remains on the cutting edge of technology for our constantly evolving sport. For those who got the old logo tattood, you don't have to have them redone, rather remember that logo for a certain era in your skydiving life and get another with the new logo to remember the era yet to come. It's like remembering what life threw at you when big hair and power ballads were hip in the 80's compared to what life is throwing your way now. Tattoo lovers love a reason to get new tattoos anyway, I know I do. You have no worries of pricing changes because we are evolving our look and or logo and or branding identity, or because we advertise in skydiving periodicals. Price increases are at times necessary due to the rising costs of raw materials and production and are just necessary changes brought about by our changing economy, but not because we advertise or put work into keeping our products or corporate identity fresh. Advertising, marketing, customer service, and research and development are all critical parts of running a company that require constant effort and resources and are part of the costs of doing business. Advertisement is essential for a company to get the word out about it's products, to assure the community that they are not going anywhere, and to show that they are continuing to work for their customers and provide a stable platform for the purchasers of it's products. I hope our skydiving community will appreciate that we are always working towards bettering our company and our products and these are just some of the steps we are taking to do so. Again, thank you all for your complements and your opinions, you are the reason we are here and why we strive to be the best we can be. Ward Hessig Marketing

We are as well now. www.myspace.com/miragesystems

Actually, If you'll read the entire PSB put out by Argus and not just the tiny excerpt that is on the first page of dropzone.com you will see that all Argus cutters are being recalled. It isn't a mirage issue, it is a cutter issue, hence the recall of all the cutters in the field.

Hey....... Thanks Jeremy, That's awfully nice of you to remember and comment. I'm at P.D. now by the way, moving up in the world huh? see you at the boogie this year. ward

Here is a link to the Mirage Systems past issue of a newsletter. In it is an explanation of that junction. That junction has been drop tested to 10000 lbs. dynamic drop. That means an immediate stop at 10000 lbs. The type 7 webbing stretched a couple inches before the junction would stress. Jeff Johnston (The designer of Mirage) is the Guru of all Guru's, it is his brainchild, and if it came from Jeff, you know its good. Here's the link http://www.miragesys.com/Newsletters/MNL051305.htm

Just thought I would jump in on this one a little bit. Its good you found a buyer and got a little more for your rig. When you trade in the rig with us it is just like trading in your car at a dealership. You can probably get a little more by selling it privately but you have the convenience of not having to deal with it. Also from this post I noticed that you said no 6 week wait. When we agree to take a rig on trade, you jump your rig all the way up to the day your new one is done, then we just make out the swap so you're not down a weekend without your rig. We do have to assume the cost of refurbishing the rig to like new status, advertising the rig, stocking the rig and all that goes along with it and thats why the value is less than you can get on the street. Just thought i would clarify a couple things for those that are interested. ward

Thanks for the Kudos Tim. It's always nice to hear when customers are happy. We've always had a tremendous product but our service suffered for a bit, I'm here to change that. Also, if you put your rig on and cinch everything really tight and roll your shoulders in and bend over curving your upper back the wrinkles in your reserve tray will smooth out. I would have done it when I packed it but wearing another man's rig before he does is like being with another man's woman before he gets to. If you need anything at any time give me a yell, there is service long after the sale. ward

I'm not saying that its supposed to stick out that far, but rather that there is no way to alleviate the problem with standard or inset stabilizer designs. My rig fits me perfectly, in fact a little too snug in the stabilizers, but it still gaps off my back in a sit-fly or de-arched position. My current rig has inset stabilizers, it will be the last one. My next will definately be the elastic lumbar support. DomFF's rig probably fits him wonderfully though I will admit, other than showing that the unisyn harness isn't binding and flows freely with the jumpers body and its position, or how it pivots at the right point at his hips, its not the best picture in the world to show a good fit. I'd like to see a picture of how the rig fits in a standing or arching position on the ground just for the sake of argument. Does any other dz.commers feel that their rig is a good fit but still have it gap in a sit because of this? Just curious as to some feedback

Hi All, I just figured I would chime in on this one and give some food for thought. Contrary to most jumpers beliefs, inset stabilizers do not hold the rig tighter to the jumpers back? The intention of inset stabilizers (cut-in laterals) was originally designed for very thin people with wide rigs. Under a standard stabilizer configuration the stabilizer (lateral) attaches from the main lift web to the outside corner of the main container. Now let's say the jumper is a very small girl and is for conversation's sake, 14" wide. And lets say her rig is 20" wide. The rig is 6" wider than her body so her main lift webs attach from the outside corner of the main tray and then run inwards towards her body to the main lift web. That rig can now shift left to right on the jumpers back the distance of that gap. Making the rig feel loose on the jumpers back. So.......out came inset stabilizers (cut-in laterals). The stabilizers attach in towards the jumpers small of the back and wrap the jumper where my love handles would be. The rig is not being pulled into the jumpers back any tighter but can no longer shift left to right, causing it to feel tighter or a better fit. Ok, next point........ Stick with me here. When you are measured for your rig you are measured in a standing position. Before the invent of freeflying 99% of the time you were in an arched position. If you stand straight up and down and the rig is snug to your back that is a good fit. If you can imagine in your mind, if you were to arch, then the leg straps rotate forward as you arch. The stabilizers are attached to the same junction that your leg straps and your main lift web is. When your leg straps rotate forward then the stabilizers are pulled towards the front of the jumper with the rotation causing the rig to be pulled in tighter to the jumpers back. Ok, now to my point......with the geometry of a harness, the same thing goes when you de-arch. (sit-fly). Wouldn't you agree that when you sit-fly you are de-arching? When you bring your knees to your chest the leg straps rotate towards the rear of the jumpers body which lets the junction travel towards the rear of the jumper allowing the stabilizers to go slack or the rig to gap off the jumpers back. It is not a flaw, it is just the geometry of the harness and what happens when it is moved in that manner. So with standard stabilizers or even inset stabilizers you really only have two options..., have a rig that fits comfortably snug while arching and standing and then get loose on your lower back while de-arching. Or you can have a rig that is a bit too snug while arching or standing but comfortably snug when you de-arch. (sit-fly) We at Mirage really didn't want to produce inset stabilizers because of this reason but we did per customer demand only. We feel that it is not the best answer to the problem nor the best design by any means. We feel that there is a much better solution to the problem which brings me to the third option. There is a third option and to avoid advertising on here if you would like info on it you can check out an article on it in our newsletter here, or contact me directly. http://www.miragesys.com/Newsletters/MNL061605.htm But in this case DomFF loves the fit of his rig and it feels secure on his body when he flies so he decided to be kind enough to take the time to put his appreciation into words on dropzone.com. As a manufacturer it is nice to hear from the 90% of people who are happy with their rigs for a change over the 10% who aren't. In the picture that he posted the rig and the harness are doing exactly what can be expected when flying in that orientation. It seems to me that he just posted a pic showing the articulated harness moving with his body and not binding or bending in places as the other non-articulated harness is. Or maybe showing that the lower ring junction is at a perfect middle point where the legs and the upper body pivot in comparison to the lower position on the other harness where only the legs can pivot. So his harness probably fits him great and he loves it, give the guy a break, no need to flame him over it and just thought I would give some food for thought on it. ward

If you are a Mirage fan you can look at our apparel here. http://www.miragesys.com/ProductInfo/CoolStuff.aspx

sorry to add to the confusion, we have two versions of the split bag depending on the size of your rig. A 3 grommet and a 4 grommet. You are closing your bag right if you have 4 grommets in the top flap. You pull the rubberband through the grommet on the other side of the split and then do a line stow, then onto the top flap grommets. On the smaller bags with 3 grommets the rubber band goes through the grommet on the other side of the split, then through the center grommet on the top flap, then the first bite of lines get stowed then alternate sides. My apologies, let me know if you need any more info. ward

Oh Goodie, I love when I get to get on here and answer a few questions. The split bag on the g4 is split because of this. The g4 has a tapered main container which means the base of the container (the lowest part on the rig towards your butt) has a smaller circumfrence then the top of the main pack tray (near the reserve) the g4 was designed that way to give it a more tear-dropped tapered look over the wedge look of the g3 We split the d-bag to accomodate the main tray. When you roll the packed d-bag's line stows towards the bottom, you are rolling the mouth of the bag towards the bottom of the rig which is narrower than the top. The g-4 split bag when closed is the same size as the main pack tray with a smaller mouth than base. If we were to make the bag non-split but still made to fit the main containers dimensions then you would have a smaller opening at the mouth than at the base for the canopy to come out of. Think of it as the monkey's fist in the tree scenario (a bunch of stuff out of a tiny hole). You have all that stuff trying to come out of a narrower opening. That opens the door to poor deployments and with todays highly elliptical heavily wing loaded canopies we all know what line twists usually means. So we split the bag and hold it closed with a locking stow. When closed the dimensions of the d-bag are fitting to the tapered main container but after the last locking stow is released the bag is wide open, even wider than regular bags letting the canopy come out very freely. We do offer a non-split d-bag but it is just a compatible size g-3 non split bag. It is not custom tailored to the dimensions of the g4 main tray but is compatible and works just fine. The only downside to it is that there is that extra material at the mouth of the bag. When you close the container that extra circumfrence of the bag andthe extra material just gets smooshed down by the main flaps. On most rigs you can't even notice a difference but I have had a couple rigs where you can see the bumps in the main flaps where the extra material is being smooshed down. ( i know not smooshed is not too technical of a term but it should suffice) If you have a split g4 bag and are hating life here is a good tip to make closing it easier. On your locking stows that close the bag, use a pull-up cord threaded through the rubberband just as you would on your closing loop. It makes it much easier to handle and get it through the two grommetsthen trying to finger tip the rubberband through two grommets. Ease of packing isn't a factor on either bag it is more of an aesthetics and good deployment thing. We approved the use of the compatible g3 bag for those customers who really don't like the split bag. We want to offer every available option and work to improve upon our product by customer feedback and there were those that hated the split bag. So just some food for thought before sewing that bag closed. There have been individuals that have sewn the bag shut and I have heard neither good or bad about it but we don't recommend it. If anyone wants any more info on it email me at ward@miragesys.com If you don't know about something contact the manufacturer, we will be happy to explain it thanks ward

I added one other to the list, I hope you don't mind.. Aerodyne - aubsmell - Aubrey Easterlin Aerodyne - EAaerodyne - "Bushman" Anderson Aerodyne (Rigging Contact) - jsconn - Jody Conn Airtec GmbH - airteckai - Kai Koerner Airtec USA/SSK - ssk - Cliff Schmucker Alti-2, Inc. - laraatalti2 - Lara Kjeldsen Atair - cobaltdan - Dan Preston Big Air Sportz - briansgermain - Brian Germain Birdman - jari - Jari Kuosma BodySport USA - bodysport - Jim Straight Bonehead Composites - hottamaly - Linda Hardesty Flite Suit - skybytch - Lisa Briggs (Production Coordinator) HiPer - lavielle - Pascal Lavielle HiPer USA - beezyshaw - Beezy Shaw Icarus Canopies - cata - Hector Alonso, COO Icarus Canopies USA Service Center - masterrigger1 - Mark "MEL" Lancaster Jump Shack - sid - Peter Draper Mirage Systems - wardhessig - Ward Hessig Mirage Systems (Authorized Service Center) - chutingstar - Mike Gruwell Paratec - fandango - Stefan Ertler Paratec - speed2000 - John Cranston Performance Designs - isaiah85 - Isaiah McCauliffe Performance Designs - kolla - Kolla Kolbeinsdottir Performance Designs - cloudi - Kim Pothuisje (Demo Program) Phoenix Fly - robibird - Robert Pecnik Precision Aerodynamics - precision - George Galloway Relative Workshop - billbooth - Bill Booth Relative Workshop - mikeforsythe - Mike Forsythe SKYDIVE HEAVEN--Egon Sussman SKYDIVE HEAVEN RIGGING CONTACT--Piers Littleford Sun Path - f1freak - Travis Flint Sun Path - upndownshop - Jerry Schrimsher II Sunrise Rigging - freeflajankie - Ankie Berry Velocity Sports Equipment - kellyf - Kelly Farrington Vigil USA - kimgriffin - Kim Griffin **Reflex H/C Information - riggermick - Mick Cottle (former VP of Fliteline Systems)

I just want to throw in my opinion on your question. Although dropzone.com is an amazing resource for knowledge, if you want to make the best informed decision on one rig over the other contact the manufacturer and ask for a member of their sales team to tell you the ins and outs of their rig. Of course we will be biased towards our individual containers but we won't lie to you. We'll tell you the straight facts of what our product offers. We will also tell you comparisons of our rig compared to the others. I know the Icon very well and I know for certain that Aubrey knows our rig very well too. I would be more than happy to help you if you choose. My email is ward@miragesys.com and I'm sure Aubrey can give you some great info and his side too. Their website is www.aerodyne-int.com Also, if you don't really want to have to talk to us, check out both websites, they give great product descriptions of the products. Ours is www.miragesys.com Feel free to contact me if you have any questions I can answer ward

If you choose to go with Mirage risers we can make them any length you want and the price tag is $110.00 for standard and $135.00 for stainless. Any other questions feel free to contact me at ward@miragesys.com

Just to get answer your question.....yes, the slider stops can be added to any set of risers if you choose to send them in to us. ward

Amen Pollster, Contact me at ward@miragesys.com with what you are unhappy about your Mirage and we will make it right. There is service long after the sale, give me a buzz. ward

as responded to andy by email Hi Andy, Thanks for inquiring about your Mirage with us. We are always more than happy to continue to provide service long after the sale and I want to make sure our customers know it is absolutely recommended to contact us with anything that they may need. In this case, unfortunately you have a double whammy. The reserve is too large for your container and no matter how skilled the rigger it will be difficult to make your rig look nice and flush after the modification or even before the modification for that matter. The new pilot chute, along with a Mirage proficient rigger may help some but we definitely recommend a compatible reserve and container combination for aesthetics and safety. With the safety issue, it is somewhat of a concern that the reserve tab comes out of the d-flap as that is where it is intended to be. If you take your hand and rub it up and down the center of the back of our rig you will notice that it is one long smooth surface with nothing protruding to become a snag factor. We designed it that way intentionally and that tab sticking out does introduce a snag factor. For example, it is entirely possible for a line from your main canopy to snag on that during deployment. Chances are it will just open the reserve flap and deploy normally but there is the possibility of snagging on your reserve pin, deploying the reserve, all sorts of ugly stuff. Its just much better to be safe than sorry. Live to make a whole lot of jumps has seemed to be my policy. As for recommendations on what you can do……..If you are intent on keeping the reserve and main container as is, you will need all the help you can get to make it sit flush, you will need to buy the new pilot chute as it is an excellent enhancement and really helps to make the flaps sit flush on more difficult rigs. If your rigger isn’t proficient with Mirage reserve repacks you can send it to us and we can do the best repack available for you if you wish and if it is an option for you. I do not know the rigger that you used and am not questioning their skill or expertise but the modification is only allowed to be performed by a master rigger not senior riggers if you wish to pass along the information as the senior rigger that did it can be held liable if an incident were to happen. I hope this answers all your questions and please feel free to contact me if you need anything else. Thanks ward

Damn't Al, leave it to you to let out all my good secrets. I suppose you told everyone about the case of beer, 5 jump tickets, and a personal servant with 36-24-26 measurements that comes with the new g5 too! (only measurement for the servant version that goes to to the ladies is 9") Thanks a lot Al.

How did you find out about the new g5 self packer? I haven't told a soul about it....................

I'm just curious to one thing you said: About the bombproof riser protection significantly better then the Mirage. I'm not getting into any type of debate, just wanting you to clarify what you mean and why, in your opinion. thanks ward

Now, now, don't make me blush.

I am sure you are aware of it Tonto but for the other posters on here, the elastic lumbar support is easily removable on the g4 if the jumper chooses to do so. And let me know if your elastic is getting worn as i will replace it for you. I have put over 600 jumps on mine and its still in perfect shape but I would love to get some feedback because as of yet, no one has given any on the elastic, other than good. And we have yet to replace any so I was just wondering.

I would be happy to tell you all the differences between the two if you want to email me at ward@miragesys.com. A couple of them have been listed here but here are a few more. On the g4 the backpad comes padded standard. It is a pay option on the g3, On the g4 we have elastic lumbar support or cut in laterals (inset stabilizers) that come standard where they are a pay option on the g3. The reserve pin cover tuck tabs are smaller allowing to put the reserve pin cover back in easier then the g3 with a retainer strap that doesnt allow the flap to be pushed out of the d-flap. The yoke is a 2 piece hinged design where the g3 is one piece. There are some other things but those are the major things you will notice, email me for more info.

Point well taken, no need to hold off on ordering anything. I don't want to be mistaken on this point. We are not introducing an entirely new rig or anything even near that which you want to hold off on ordering for. But if you will look at our rig over the years, we are continually making improvements to our rig, that is something we will never stop doing. For example, when swoopers started tying their slider down with a bungee we designed the slider stop risers to have a properly engineered solution to a problem, when we found out the cypress fire thing we improved our rig with the 12-04 mod, when people were having premature openings due to poor bridle protection we improved our bridle protection, when people were having a hard time getting a good grip on the freefly handle with gloves but still wanted the security of the freefly tab we came out with the freefly hacky. I could go on and on but if you are waiting to order a Mirage for the latest version that has all our improvements you will wait forever as we will never stop improving our rig or stop being innovators in the harness container manufacturing business.