The three main parachute brands I am used to all seem to be gone, going or will be a while til we see them again! Moyes Conars need to get re-certified due to bridles they were using were discontinued (and this doesn't seem to be high on their priorities). High Energy Quantums were sold off to another parachute company when their harness business was sold to Pilot Induced Operations - they are planning on bringing them back (maybe later 2022). WillsWings FFE LARA chutes are sporadically available due to WillsWings move to Mexico.
So time to explore other options! This is a big advantage of being a reseller of multiple brands of gear in this industry - we can roll with the punches and due to having an active school, we are able to re-invest and explore other products to make informed decisions for our students, grads and all pilots out there.
I just received our first Charly DiamondCross Delta reserve chute. Charly certainly isn't new in the hang gliding industry (HG chutes since 1984) and their DiamondCross chutes have been available to PGs and HGs since 1984 - it is nice to get chutes that have been certified in Europe as they are very stringent with their certifications and I must say it is nice to have the R&D put in from the paragliding side of things as this technology has been passed over to the hang gliding industry as well.
The DiamondCross Delta is a square (diamond) parachute that actually creates lift and attains a lower decent rate from being designed to actually glide forward some. Not only does this decrease its sink rate, but it helps to reduce spinal injury upon impact compared to pure vertical decent parachutes.
The paragliding version does come in a steerable version but that is not possible in hang gliding as we need a longer main bridal to order to clear our wingspan and also our recommended configuration that includes a paraswivel that aids in keeping our chute's shroud lines from winding up if the hang glider gets in a spin during its descent.
Reading the manual for the chute, I am impressed with the thought and design that has also gone into their deployment bag. Three unique considerations were given to their deployment bag:
- the d-bag is tapered - narrow at the bottom and winder at the opening. This is to provide less resistance when the chute exits the bag. Very logical!
- it has dual, independent loops to close the deployment bag - this helps to prevent accidental, premature opening of the deployment bag while in your harness
- they designed the bag to ensure the bundled shroud lines stay inside the deployment bag! Another logical feature! This is compared to "diaper style" bags found in other parachutes.
You can see a comparison of parachutes in our parachute section of our online store and there is more info there on how YOU can decide what brand and size of chute is right for YOU - there is no one-size-fits-all solution. I won't list prices in this article either as prices change due to exchange rates and our site converts our prices to your currency based on your location!
If we don't have the Charly's in stock, it only takes about a week to get them into our stock. The cost of getting them to us is included in the price - our system auto-calculates the cost of shipping it to you when you checkout.