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		Press Releases Don't have Adobe Acrobat Reader? Download it for free here! Downloadable PDF file Airborne Systems Celebrates 90th Anniversary of Irvin’s Historic Parachute Jump Santa Ana, CA (April 19, 2009) Airborne Systems Group, which has combined the world’s leading parachute brands specializing in aerial delivery, rescue and survival equipment, and engineering services, today marked the 90th anniversary of the historic parachute jump by Leslie Irvin, who later pioneered an entire parachute industry. Born near Los Angeles, Irvin started a ballooning and parachuting career in 1911 while in his early teens. In 1915, Irvin joined the Universal Film Company as a stunt man for the fledging Californian film industry where he performed acrobatics on trapezes from balloons and made descents using parachutes. His experience as a stunt man contributed to his later belief that a jumper in a free fall descent would not lose consciousness. On April 19, 1919, Leslie Leroy Irvin, made the world’s first premeditated free fall parachute descent using a rip cord, rather than using a canister or tether line attached to the aircraft to pull open the parachute. Working with the US Army’s Air Service parachute research team, Irvin made the historic jump from a plane over McCook field near Dayton, Ohio. During the jump, Irvin broke his ankle but was inspired to start his own parachute business. Later that year, he opened the Irvin Air Chute Company in Buffalo, NY. What became known as the Irvin parachute gained rapid acceptance, and by the early 1930's was in service with some 40 air forces around the world. With the start of World War II, Irvin became a major manufacturer of parachutes. During the war, Irvin parachutes saved over 10,000 lives. The Irvin name had set the standard for innovation, reliability, and quality. As a humanitarian, Irvin was obsessed with saving lives with his equipment. He founded the Caterpillar Club to recognize individuals that had their lives saved by a parachute. Today, the Caterpillar Club is one of the most famous flying clubs in the world and has awarded thousands of airmen, and a few airwomen with a gold caterpillar pin, symbolizing the silk from which early parachutes were made. Some of its famous members included names such as Charles Lindberg, General James Doolittle and former astronaut John Glenn. Irvin’s design innovations weren’t limited to parachutes. With aircraft flying at increasing altitudes, pilots were subjected to lowering temperatures. To address this requirement, Irvin designed and manufactured the classic leather and sheepskin RAF flying jacket which became recognized during the Second World War. In later years, Irvin’s company also made car seat belts, slings for cargo handling and even canning machinery. The company later changed its name to Irvin Aerospace to reflect the change to the newer markets it served. Today, Irvin Aerospace is a brand of Airborne Systems, a leading designer and one of the world’s largest manufacturers of parachutes and related equipment. “Leslie Irvin was a parachute pioneer and a true American hero” said Paul Colliver, a 50 year employee of the Irvin Company who worked for Leslie Irvin. “How many people can say they made something that saved tens of thousands of lives?” Downloadable PDF file Airborne Days Showcases Parachute Technology to Allied Military Audience Eloy, AZ (February 15, 2009) Airborne Systems Group, which has combined the world’s leading parachute brands specializing in aerial delivery, rescue and survival equipment, and engineering services, held a unique two day parachute technology event, demonstrating some of the world’s most advanced aerial delivery products. “Airborne Days II” showcased the latest in non-steerable, steerable and ram-air troop parachute systems. Demonstrations were also provided for precision cargo delivery and search and rescue systems. The event allowed allied militaries from around the world to participate in a specialized, hands-on educational format where qualified airborne military personnel were encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity to test jump new state-of the art parachute systems made available from the company. Military personnel from 19 different countries made jumps with a variety of equipment. Attendees marveled at the precision demonstration of the Airborne Systems MicroFlyTM and FireFlyTM JPADS (Joint Precision Air Drop Systems) which use GPS (Global Positioning Systems) to “steer” the cargo to a specific target location. These JPADS systems are revolutionizing troop re-supply in remote hazardous locations as they can be dropped from altitudes and locations well out the range of small arms fire. The company has developed a series of these precision cargo delivery systems for use with varying weights and sizes using the same software platform. With this “family” approach, the user interface on the Autonomous Guidance Units and the Mission Planer are identical across the various models of precision guided cargo delivery products. One of the new troop parachutes featured was the T-11 advanced tactical parachute system. The T-11 is the world’s most advanced non-steerable parachute system and is slated to replace the US Army’s aging T-10 series of non-steerable troop parachutes in use since the 1950’s. The T-11 is designed to carry more weight, reduce opening shock and reduce impact energy upon landing to lessen the potential for injury. Another new technology shown on interactive display was the U.S. Army’s latest steerable troop parachute, the MC-6 system which is being fielded to replace the U.S. Army’s MC1-1 series of steerable troop parachutes. Like the T-11, the new MC-6 has reduced opening shock, less oscillation and reduces impact energy upon landing Several high performance military parachutes were also featured. These included the Hi Glide HAHO (High Altitude, High Opening) system which has the highest gliding capability available and has been adopted by the U.S. Marine Corps, along with the Raider/Intruder System currently under evaluation as a candidate for the replacement of the U.S. Army’s MC-4 Ram Air Parachute System. A static demonstration was also provided for the ARK (Aerial Rescue Kit) and SPARK (Small Pack Response Kit) which are the latest technologies used in aerial delivery rescue and survival equipment. “We really felt this was a great opportunity to learn about products and have a better understanding of how they perform; something we can’t get in a brochure” said a Special Forces attendee who asked not to be named. Downloadable PDF file Airborne Systems Demonstrates Modular Heavy Payload Autonomously Guided Ram-Air Parachute YUMA, AZ, January 14, 2009 –Airborne Systems, a world leader in parachute design and manufacturing, announced they successfully completed a test drop deploying an 18,000 lb payload from 17,500 MSL under a modified modular ram-air parachute. This testing was conducted as part of a US Army Natick Soldier Research Development & Engineering Center development program to investigate the use of a modular design for precision guided airdrop of heavy payload systems. Two of Airborne Systems’ products called MegaFly™ and GigaFly™, are designed to carry heavy payloads (15K to 42K lbs) using GPS navigation to “steer” bulk supplies, equipment or vehicles to an intended point of impact. Both systems are modular and are assembled using five separate sections. When the sections are connected together to form a single large parafoil wing, the combined size is close to the wingspan of a Boeing 747 (211-ft). “One of the unique features of this design is the interchangeability of parafoil sections to function as a modular system” said Brian Bagdonovich, Program Manager, for the US Army Natick Soldier RD&E Center. The MegaFly™ parafoil was designed for 20-30K pound payloads. Using modular canopies to carry heavier loads, the MegaFly™ system can easily be converted to a GigaFly™ system by removing the 2,500 sq-ft center section of the MegaFly™ and replacing it with a 3,900 sq-ft center section. The benefit of this modular interchangeability is to allow the system to accommodate a higher payload up to a 42K pounds”. “Conversely, the modular concept can also be applied to accommodate smaller payloads said Bagdonovich. By removing the center section of the MegaFly™, making it a four section parafoil instead of its typical five section configuration, the system will accommodate accurate delivery of payloads from 15K to 20K pounds”. The four section parafoil configuration was successfully demonstrated with an 18K pound payload. “From an Army standpoint, the concept of modularity is just as impressive as GigaFly’s ability to deliver high payload weights to a precise location” said Bagdonovich. Back To Top PREVIOUS \| NEWS & EVENTS \| NEXT About Us \| News & Events \| Capabilities \| Products \| Engineering Services Manufacturing \| Contact Us \| Doing Business With Airborne Systems \| Site Map