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Precision
Aerodynamics was originally founded in 1975 by George W.
Galloway as Southeast Parachute Exchange. SPE operated drop
zones in Dalton and LaGrange, Georgia, with loft facilities
located in Signal Mountain, Tennessee.  SPE
developed numerous pieces of prototype parachute equipment,
but began manufacturing ram air parachute canopies in 1981
as a subcontractor to Django Enterprises, Inc of Atlanta,
Georgia, makers of the wildly popular Pegasus and Firefly
canopies that dominated the skies in the 1980s. In early
1981, SPE began work on the Seraph S-24, a backup system
for hang gliding and early ultra lights. In January, 1983,
Galloway founded Precision Parachute Company, which introduced
the Skyhook™ in May of 1983, designed as a tertiary parachute
for jumpers in the early days of CRW. Precision Parachute
Company moved to Dunlap, Tennessee in June 1983 and began
work on the Raven Series of ram-air parachutes. The Raven
Series was unique to the skydiving industry, because up
to that point, no other manufacturer has ever produced canopies
with any concept of wing loading as it related to performance.
The Raven Series was first introduced in four different
sizes, so that a very wide weight range of jumpers  could
experience similar flight characteristics by flying identically
designed canopies scaled to various sizes. The popularity
of this concept manifested immediate results in the world
of CRW. In addition to being a popular main canopy, all
Raven canopies were also certified for reserve use under
the new tough TSO C-23c. Additionally, since the Raven was
built to order in custom colors, now a jumper could have
a custom colored reserve canopy, built to suit his specific
weight. There is no question that the Raven reserve is the
most widely deployed reserve design in the world, even to
this day. In 1985, Galloway formed Precision Aerodynamics,
Inc., a Tennessee corporation which distributed not only
the products of Precision Parachute Company, but also sold
a wide variety of skydiving items, including harness/containers
as well as canopies manufactured by Precision Parachute
Company's competitors, including the Pegasus and Firefly
canopies from Django. In the mid-1980s, Precision Parachute
Company merged into Precision Aerodynamics, Inc., and moved
into a 22,000 square foot manufacturing facility in the
Industrial Park of Dunlap, Tennessee, which includes a private
airstrip and drop test range just outside the back door.
Many unique Precision airfoils were introduced during the
late 80's and early 90's, including the Falcon 9 cell F-111
main canopy, the Interceptor 7 cell CRW canopy, the Monarch
9 cell ZP design, and the elliptical Batwing canopy. In
1998, Precision Aerodynamics finalized the development of
the new Icarus Extreme crossbraced canopy, and began manufacturing,
promoting, and distributing the Extreme worldwide under
an agreement Paul Jyro Martin of NZ Aerosports in New Zealand.
An early and unrefined version of the crossbraced idea was
design patented by Bill Coe and sold under the brand name
Excalibur by Performance Designs, but the early F-111 crossbraced
Excalibur never exhibited the opening and flying characteristics
that were acceptable to skydivers. With Jyro's refinement
to the idea designed as the Icarus Extreme, and Precision's
manufacturing capability and distribution channels in the
USA and around the world, an agreement was solidified by
Precision Aerodynamics, Inc. to manufacture Jyro's Icarus
Extreme design under a patent royalty agreement with Bill
Coe of Performance Designs. During late 1998 and early 1999,
Precision Aerodynamics, Inc. released the first 27-cell
crossbraced design marketed as the Icarus Extreme VX. Other
canopies came to market during the same timeframe, the Icarus
Omega and the Icarus Safire, and the Icarus Crossfire. Frustrated
with the lack of NZA's support and willingness to move forward
with the stagnation of the crossbraced designs, the Icarus
designs were sold off to a new company called Icarus Canopies,
Inc., and Precision Aerodynamics, Inc. continued to refine
and develop its own line of 21 and 27 cell crossbraced canopies,
elliptical and tapered 9 cells, tandem canopies, and student
canopies under a development project known as Project Ground
Zero. After the events of September 11, 2001, the name "Ground
Zero" was abandoned, but project development continued,
and the current line of brand names have become indelibly
popular by all who jump them. These brands include the Synergy
7 cell ZP tapered, the Fusion 9 cell ZP tapered, the Nitron
9 cell ZP Elliptical, and the Xaos 21 and Xaos 27 crossbraced
canopies. These canopies represent the culmination of more
than 25 years of development, design, testing and manufacturing
experience, with all canopies, both mains and reserves,
produced under a Quality Control System approved by the
Federal Aviation Administration. More than 90% of our production
during the past 25 years has been TSO'd reserve parachutes.
For more information on Precision Aerodynamics and associated
parachute products, consult the contact page for appropriate
contact information. |
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