{"id":30818,"date":"2021-01-22T18:08:55","date_gmt":"2021-01-22T18:08:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/?p=30818"},"modified":"2021-02-03T12:46:10","modified_gmt":"2021-02-03T12:46:10","slug":"30-years-of-cypres","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/30-years-of-cypres\/","title":{"rendered":"30 YEARS OF CYPRES"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On 10 January 2021, CYPRES celebrated its 30-year anniversary \u2013 and the outstanding achievement of having saved over 5,000 lives<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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We look back at how CYPRES changed the sport, with a timeline of over three decades of development and innovation\u2026<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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1980s<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In the eighties, the biggest cause of skydiving fatalities was people impacting the ground without sufficient parachute. Either they did not open their main, or they cut away and failed to deploy their reserve, or ran out of altitude for the reserve to open. No-one could interview these jumpers to find out the cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At that time there were AADs on the market but, due to operational flaws and inaccuracies were not generally worn by experienced skydivers, only by first time and early jumpers. Back then, AADs had injured and even killed their owners so there was a feeling it was better to have none. Actually people said: \u201cWear an AAD? Are you crazy?  Do you think I want to kill myself?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1986 \u2013 An End marks a Beginning<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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In 1986, Helmut\u2019s close friend Freddy Leising died because he ran out of altitude to deploy his reserve. Helmut was pretty sure Freddy\u2019s death \u2013 all those deaths, really \u2013 were preventable. Helmut was an entrepreneur, an engineer, and an active skydiver. He was starting to realise that he could build the solution. The AAD concept was sound but it must be made 100% reliable. He identified failure points of existing AADs, and compiled a list of 13 points which he thought would define a perfect AAD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AAD Requirement List 1986<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Never activate incorrectly<\/li>
  2. Be absolutely reliable when required<\/li>
  3. Be extremely accurate<\/li>
  4. Not restrict the skydiver in any of his \/ her actions<\/li>
  5. Have an own autonomous container opening system<\/li>
  6. Require minimum attention<\/li>
  7. Be simple to operate<\/li>
  8. Not be detectable from outside the rig (because of the negative attitude towards AADs those days)<\/li>
  9. Require minimal maintenance<\/li>
  10. Be small<\/li>
  11. Be lightweight<\/li>
  12. Withstand all outside influences while parachuting, packing or traveling<\/li>
  13. Be easily installable in all existing rig models<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    1986 \u2013 Vorsprung Durch Technik<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The devil was in the details. Helmut and his team went through all possible technology options, including radar and sonar, before they designed the world\u2019s first air-pressure-responsive digital altimeter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    1987 Onwards \u2013 CYPRES Development<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The next four years saw thousands of hours of testing by experts in aerodynamics, thermodynamics, machinists, physicists and engineers, reinventing the AAD from the ground up. There were hundreds of challenges, from piddling to \u2018Mission Impossible\u2019. The device had to work for every skydiver, in all weather and humidity conditions, to have pinpoint accuracy, be tiny, use miniscule power, and be failsafe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1990 \u2013 Manufacture<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Now, perhaps the biggest challenge of all: series production with impeccable quality. Helmut rented premises in Bad W\u00fcnnenberg, Germany, designed a future-proof factory, recruited specialized staff and created a vigorous quality control system. Nothing was ordinary; everything had the idea of the highest possible quality level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Helmut with astronaut Ernst Messerschmidt (one of the crew on space shuttle Challenger 1985) at the award ceremony<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    1990 \u2013 Best Safety Development in Aviation Award<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The Berblinger prize was awarded to Helmut for the best aviation safety development. This one of the highest-valued prizes in the field of general aviation and rarely awarded within skydiving. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    The original CYPRES<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    1991 \u2013 CYPRES Launch<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    CYPRES \u2013 the CYbernetic Parachute Release System \u2013 was launched, under the company name of Airtec, on 10 Jan 1991. There were three different models \u2013 Expert, Student and Tandem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Expert CYPRES, for experienced skydivers would activate at 750 ft if the freefall speed was 78mph (35mps) or higher. The Student CYPRES had the same freefall settings but also activates under canopy at 1,000ft, if the descent rate is below freefall speed and above 29mph. This could occur for example, with a partially opened canopy. The Tandem CYPRES had a higher activation altitude of 1,900 ft (580m) AGL, to allow for the larger canopies and higher main opening height. These parameters were chosen due to extensive tests performed with canopies those days. Interestingly, they have not changed over time and have been adapted by other AAD manufacturers.<\/p>\n\n\n


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