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The Dolphin container/harness is touted by Altico as the “most affordable” skydiving system. Designer Mike Furry has previously designed the Manta, Fury and Javelin. The first Dolphin was manufactured in 1995. While Dolphins of the first few years were geared toward belly-flyers and student operations, updated Dolphins now come with main riser tuck flaps, bridle protection and a tight, heavy-duty BOC pouch making this rig versatile for all types of skydiving. The rigs do not have the fancy color pattern options of other containers, but if packed correctly, the rigs have a clean, decent look. Some riggers either don’t have the patience or experience to make a Dolphin’s reserve container look good. Part of this is to due to a fairly plain set of packing/closing instructions. Because our drop zones use Dolphins as student gear and the Dolphin is the second most popular rig that comes through the loft, there are a few tips I can pass along to make a Dolphin reserve container have a great finished look. Similar to Javelins, all Dolphins can use the same length of reserve closing loop — about 2 inches. Bulk management for a reserve in a Dolphin is also like most Javelins, with long ears filling as much of the upper part of the freebag as possible. We have found the original flap order to work best for all Dolphins with only the top flap over the reserve pilot chute cap. When pinning the pilot chute, large flat folds, instead of a tight roll, under the bottom and sides keeps the cap seated into the container. The excess pilot chute material is placed on top of the side flaps and under the top of the pilot chute cap, forcing the bottom of the cap further into the bottom flap. This will prevent the cap from rising off the container. Final touches include pushing the sides and bottom of the reserve container against the cap while the top flap is pushed into the pack job. The top flap should be straight/level without a bulge at the top and the pilot chute material completely hidden.

Until a few months ago, the FXC Astra had been the only semi-viable competition to Cypres since its introduction to the skydiving world in 1991. A few weeks ago we reported on the Mpaad unit being manufactured by MarS in the Czech Republic. This company’s single unit design while interesting may be a hard sell due to the needed gear modifications to install the unit with a window in the backpad. But a Belgium manufacturer has an automatic opener product that could pose a much sooner threat to the market share of Airtec, the German manufacturer of Cypres. Advanced Aerospace Design has announced through its web site it is completing testing and will soon begin marketing the Vigil automatic opener. Photos of the unit closely resemble the Cypres, which mean the unit was more than likely designed to fit in Cypres channels, pouches and pockets. As these competitors announce the features of new automatic openers, the standard of measure is the Cypres. So how does the Vigil unit claim to be better than Cypres? It claims to have “no limited life cycle” and is usable as long as the unit finishes the startup mode. The Vigil device is also supposed to be maintenance free. According to an e-mail from the company, the battery lifespan is four years or 700 jumps. It can also be programmed for student, tandem or expert settings, making it an “all-in-one” unit for the same price. And finally, the company is offering free cutter replacements if fired. The company does have an online order form, but it is not clear if the units are commercially available as of yet. Still, you may be able to get a “test unit” from the company in June as the company plans to mail out 180 units to a cross-section of the skydiving community for evaluation. Those interested can e-mail Advanced Aerospace Design at info@vigil.aero. This year is set to be an exciting one in the AAD market between Cypres II, Mpaad and Vigil. Who’s next?