egons

Hi Martin... Bill Booth is on a trip in Europe and is in Italy currently. Communication is limited and if he was to be looking at the site I am sure he would supply a response. As for the canopy combination you are asking for - this is simply not a normal canopy combination setup! The fact that various other manufacturers are prepared to build a one of a kind is generous, but containers do not just scale in CAD at will... in theory yeah it all sounds great, but you will still need testing. We currently have around 48 sizes for the V3 off the top of my head... the amount of Engineering invloved in redesigning a container for this combination is simply allot more than what most will imagine... we are not a chop shop that just chops 2 inches off the main container and hopefully it now works My suggestion is that you make contact with PD (Kim) demo department and let them send you some reserves out so that you can test fly them if you have not done so. I do not want to get into a debate as to whether you are right or wrong in your canopy choices, but as a manufacturer where do we draw the line as to the amount of canopy combination sizes! "Start doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you're doing the impossible!"

Retail on the Sigma 370 is $3555.00 which is only $556.00 above the A2, and obviously there are still discounts to be taken into account! Currently we are working on a smaller 340 and I have personally done a bunch of test jumps and its coming on very nicely - the thing I have always enjoyed about the Sigma mains is the Huge Bottom End Flare one has availible... As for the small canopies availible - yeah they are super fun, but proves pointless if you cannot shut them down... Cheers Egon "Start doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you're doing the impossible!"

Yes you are right, but at many facilities instructors are only paid to jump and there emphasis is not on the ground schooling - the smaller dropzones suffer a little less with regard to lack of gear knowledge in my opinion. The 182 dz's have a small lift capacity, so there is plenty of sitting around and chatting and things are learnt this way! Maybe the programs out there are not gear intensive enough... There is no single perfect solution and each dz in conjunction with the instructors have to come up with a plan that works for them and their students... Safety first always! "Start doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you're doing the impossible!"

...you give me a call when you head to Deland! I am sure you will have a great time, and there are many folks on dz.com who can agree!

You know this thread was started with someone pointing out a price increase... but has rather turned out to a thread of which rig is better and bla bla bla... The fact is I think you know very little about a Micron and when we meet I would be more than happy to explain the Micron in depth and why we do things the way we do... Maybe you will cross Bill Booth's path and you will have the pleasure of sitting down and educating yourself about gear... I am certainly not going to sit here and argue with you or any one else... its pointless and we will achieve nothing! Fact is we specialize in building Harness/Container systems and we build damn good safe gear - fact! You own a Icon and I can see why you are comparing it to the V3 of which we are flattered as most container/harness companies have gauged themselves against what RWS has done in the industry and market place. We have constantly being pushed by the industry to bring the level up to a new high and we always do! Have you visted RWS yet! Before you go knocking a company for a so-called premium understand what we do here and how we come up with our products! The Icon is a very new product and has a very long way to go to establish the reputation we have in the industry. I know the guys at Aerodyne and they are good people and understand I am not bashing them what so ever. I see you jump PD canopies - is it worth paying the so-called premium to jump their canopies! For me the answer is simply YES! I am a believer in PD's canopies and understand what they go through to deliver a product and this all comes at a price. I do not think I am going to win you over on the V3 pricing and for that I apologize, but rather accept that each company has its own choice as to what it builds, markets, and engineers its products. We are not perfect and we are certainly trying to please everyone... I am sure you will meet me one day and we will share a beer and you will laugh at this thread Cheers mate! "Start doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you're doing the impossible!"

I really do not want to get into a large debate as to why Wings is cheaper than the V3 or an Icon is priced the way it is. I do not have numbers in front of me as to how many man hours it takes to construct a Wings. The two companies are very different in many ways and similar in the fact they both manufacturer a sport harness/container. One thing is for sure on the business side - we simply cannot afford to build products at a loss... and I don't believe any company should. Making money out of innovation - sure we do, but also understand innovation comes at a great expence having a large Engineering department and testing programs for which you as a customer should appreciate knowing it has gone through a well documented program. You bought your Wings based on comfort, price and lead time! The Wings is a fine system and I do believe every manufacturer does an honest job in building the safest gear they can. Unfortunately no one likes price increases - me included! I am the one batting here at the factory with my fellow colleagues trying to keep our exit pricing to the sport market as low as possible... ultimately the bean counter (accountant) has to be pleased with the margins we yield from our various products in order for the company to stay competitive in the market place on a global stand point and affording us the opportunity to grow as a company at the same time. Rental pools at dropzones are for the most part up to the gear store owner or drop zone operator. Very much the same as its their choice what tandems rigs they purchase or aircrafts they operate and for the most part its a financial decision as to what they can afford and what they cannot. I can tell you that we spend a small fortune on going to Boogies/Events and dropzone visits around the world - I think it has paid off extremely well as we have build more 43000 containers! Hope this sheds some light! Cheers Egon "Start doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you're doing the impossible!"

...is it really worth having a 3-ring system, AAD... and the list carries on! The Skyhook is not a bling bling toy - its a safety innovation and you need to look at it that way - obviously you have enough experience to understand that you will never be in a position to need a skyhook! I hope that is the case... The Skyhook is simply a valuable safety innovation that has taken years to come of to the point that it is availble to the skydiving market. If you think the Skyhook is the only reason skydivers buy the Vector 3 Micron... then you need to look closer and understand why we build the V3 the way we do! The V3 is maybe not everyones choice and I am super glad you are happy with your Icon. I am not bashing any other product here, but comparing the V3 against other manufacturers is definitely not the way we sell them. The manufacturing costs of the V3 are simply higher than your Icon - simple economics of one product being manufactured in South African vs US. I am sure we could get the V3 built in China for a fraction of the cost... No disrespect to the Chinese, but we build military equipment for the US and various countries all over the world and outsourcing our product manufacturing abroad is not an option and as a US citizen I am sure you could understand this. The V3 is proudly built in the US "Start doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you're doing the impossible!"

You are correct in saying the dealers should be first to know - and that is exactly what we did! A mass mail was sent out to our dealers of the notification... I can only assume your dealers email address has possibly changed or the mail was somehow not received... The increase notice was also placed on our website! Cheers Egon "Start doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you're doing the impossible!"

Glad to hear that! The 6-8 weeks is a worst case scenario... right now if I look at our orders receiving and shipping dates we are more on the 5-6 week mark. Adding the additional production line has made a massive difference! Hope you enjoy your new rig

....ok no bashing here! The increase will also have the Centerline PC standard with a Hackey or Freefly pud! So, all in all the increase is only $185.00 Believe me we have worked our hardest to keep the costs down to the sport market. The V2 was quite simply allot easier to build than the current V3, so comparing the two is not a fair comparison. Please keep in mind the retail pricing you see is MSRP - get quotes from your local dealer for pricing and get your order in before the 6th!!! With all our current production changes and increases in volume out of the factory we can have your order delivered within 6-8 weeks. Cheers. Egon "Start doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you're doing the impossible!"

...when you get the serial number send it to me and I will hand it to Pablito in the rigging department - we have a list of goods missing/stolen that we alwasy cross reference! Cheers Egon "Start doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you're doing the impossible!"

...Side spins is easily understood! A large portion of the side spin is introduced with the TI incorrectly sizing and fitting the passenger harness. Collapses due to turbulence is unfortunately an extremely dangerous thing if low down - however I have noticed many new canopies out on the market for tandem skydiving... The issue I have mostly with the majority of the new tandem canopies out there is this collapse issue with the canopies trimmed so flat... guess yes the pro is slightly lighter toggle pressure, but has unforgiving con's I can honestly tell you that every manufacturer out there does everything it can to make gear safer for us and I think gear has jumped in leaps... The innovation continues thankfully to some really dedicated people... "Start doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you're doing the impossible!"

Yes you have a point! But Bill does not let me out much "Start doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you're doing the impossible!"

...unfortunately not all articles are acurate Head down tandem is certainly no where near the speeds of 300 mph... not saying that I have actually done anything that crazy Keep in mind that in Soul Flyers - Loic took an experienced skydiver and not a student. I know as manufacturers we are certainly not wanting to police anything, but then again (help me out here guys) - when you get a guy/girl with 100 tandems under their belt and they want to start free flying with tandem... someone needs to step in and talk from experience! Where do we start and stop the craziness... I can just imagine what the guys on the dz's thought when Bill Booth did his first tandem skydive - can you imagine the talk that night in the bar! And back then the old school skydivers and FAA and anyone who could were trying to block tandem skydives! You got to take your hats off to all the tandem pioneers

...I guess I am going to have to look at the new Racer Tandem System - did not actually know they had a new Tandem system availible. Let me know what you think of the Sigma - I would interested to see what you think after jumping it Safe Jumping!!! Cheers Egon "Start doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you're doing the impossible!"

Funny you mention this! In fact we have had a few skydiver's buy V3's Skyhook equipped with intentions of low opening - obviously we have no idea what they do with them or where they jump them "Start doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you're doing the impossible!"

.... I think the Sigma addresses a little more than the drogue placement! The Sigma is a drogue deployed system... as apposed to all other tandem systems (including the V2) where the drogue was merely tacked onto an existing container! If you honestly think there is a safer tandem system I would love to know what it is and what makes it safer... I am not knocking any other products out there - and I have jumped many tandem systems and the Sigma has taken tandem gear to the next level... fact! Keep in mind all Sigma's come standard with Skyhook as well which no other tandem system offers Cheers Egon "Start doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you're doing the impossible!"

...100 Tandems!! Have you read the tandem fatality base - the 100 jump tandem instructors are only beginning to understand the concept... just relax and learn to fly the tandem! When you have a few more thousand tandems you may be in the position to try things like this - but never with a paying customer!!!! Cheers Egon "Start doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you're doing the impossible!"

Now I am scared "Start doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you're doing the impossible!"

Ja chom - baie dankie! Now get your fast ass out here to Deland so we can have a Lekker African Braai!!! "Start doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you're doing the impossible!"

...then how am I supposed to get work done with you girls around - sounds like trouble "Start doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you're doing the impossible!"

Yeah...right! Nothing like keeping everyone guessing Cannot wait to try my new Beer Mug out that Paige made for me... going to oh so taste fantastic! "Start doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you're doing the impossible!"

You guys rock! Thanks for all the wishes!!! Today has been so awesome - even the girls made my morning by dressing my office with balloons, etc. And I made sure to wear my Pink shirt for them Tonight I will surely be throwing a few jars down for everyone... You guys all rock Beer Light is ON!!!!! Egon "Start doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you're doing the impossible!"

Well hopefully I will make it out sometime soon... My boss keeps me very busy all over the planet - you know that Bill Booth character The thing with tandems is to never stop learning and improving your flying skills... your student is only going to benefit from your approach to learning more and more! As for making money in the tandem industry - lets put it this way I took a very big pay cut to work here at RWS - priorities change and money is not the only motivating factor in my life! You are young, so taking a year off to play is never a bad thing... Keep up the good work mate! "Start doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you're doing the impossible!"

Hey buddy! Firstly congratulation on reaching 601 tandem - I am sure 1000 will be reached this year. For the record I have always done more tandems at 182 dz's than the biggest turbine dz's... back to backs are way easier - personal best was 23 tandems in one day from a 182, and I did 94 in five days(18,19,23,16,18) - thanks to the dzo I got a well deserved day off! Not many turbine dz's can offer you that Good on you mate! Cheers Egon "Start doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you're doing the impossible!"