gowlerk

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.

They have sent an email acknowledging that they have received it. That's all for now. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

You are indeed mistaken. That would be one possible solution. People sure do get emotional around the whole subject of AADs. They have and will continue to save lives. That said, too many people put too much trust and faith in these devices and then feel anyone without one is somehow unsafe. As the label says, it's only a backup. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Your bad mood is showing today. I just gotta disagree with this. Skydiving is an adult sport and people are entitled to make up there own minds about this. And FWIW price does matter. At least to me it does. I've never owned an AAD myself, I only use them for tandem. The only reason I don't own one is the price. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

FWIW I've never known Sunrise to understate what will fit into their containers. Anytime I've put in the most they recommend it's been VERY tight. I would tend to believe them if they say 150 is the max. Maybe you should get a larger container, or a small main depending on your needs and save yourself some trouble later. Your packer will thank you. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

It could be interesting getting testing done for a cutter alone outside the context of a complete system. I'm having a hard time imagining an system that grants approval on a device depending on the particular cutter used. Getting complicated here. Or a DZ like Skydive AZ which refuses to allow an Argus to be used in any container, approved or not. Are they supposed to somehow determine the cutter model? Of course none of these obstacles are impossible to overcome. I'd love to see more choice in AADs. Having just one main one, or even two leaves us too dependent on the health of the company. And it's ability to serve the market. Witness the current problem with the large percentage of the devices out there under the cloud of an SB with no apparent ability to do clear it up in less than 4 years. No to mention the shortage caused by the production disruption. More options would lessen this risk. The size of the potential market for replacement Argus cutters is likely a sizable portion of the total of them produced. Most people who own them would jump at the chance to use them again. Probably to the tune of up tp $200 per unit. I don't own one myself, but if I did I would consider that a bargain. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

It would seem to me that the Argus was once approved, but that some approvals were withdrawn due to the cutter issue. As I remember it ended with the cutter manufacturer deciding to discontinue supplying them. This made it no longer possible to sell the Argus, approved or not. If you have a suitable cutter, and Aviacom have a unit already designed, tested and proven but with no cutter supplier it would seem obvious that there is a potential for a business arrangement here. Ken Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Thank you. I'm glad to see that the level of the discourse around this issue has improved greatly. The main reason I posted in the first place was to let the group know that I had decided to send the unit to SSK for repair under warranty and that we would see what happened. I did not say that all these units are doorstops. I said that once it was decided to remove the unit from service until it's repaired mine may as well be. I'd rather have it sit in the SSK building than my desk. It won't get repaired here. I must confess that I do have enough FUD in me that I do not entirely trust that the unit can only misfire under the limited conditions stated. This partly grows out of the understanding that it is in Airtec's best interest that this be so, and I hope it's correct. But Airtec's best interest is not my best interest. FUD can be misused, but it is not a bad thing. We would not be here without it. I do not advocate that these units be pulled, only that in our case that is the decision we have come to. And I'm not wanting to rehash the AAD argument in general but I stand by the simple statement that only a small benefit is received in this case. I chose those words carefully. Do not read into them any more or less than they say. I am curious about the fix for this. I had assumed it would be replacing the component, but the FAQ states only that there is both a software and a hardware aspect to it, and that the original component is no longer available. I'm not sure why they need to be so murky about this, but I do feel there may be a reason they aren't more clear. As to seeing what will happen with the unit the UPS tracking indicates that they received it 7 days ago. They have not yet acknowledged that, or answered my request for warranty service. Under the circumstances I can understand that and I will give them another 7 days before I inquire about it. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.