The fact remains however, that far too many skydivers die each year when they shouldn't. Free fall collisions, faulty or unfamiliar equipment, disorientation, improper or incomplete emergency drills - the reasons are many. The cause of death is always the same, ground impact! And in the vast majority of cases the skydiver impacts with an unopened reserve or one that has been activated far too late.
The concept of Cypres, which is the acronym of "Cybernetic Parachute Release System," started in 1986. The design philosophy was to produce an AAD which was totally reliable, would not and could not fire until the pre-programmed parameters were met, and could therefore be used in all the advanced skydiving disciplines with total confidence. The only possible way to achieve this was to make use of advanced electronics, which is what Cypres does. Four years of development, a large investment sum and the granting of worldwide patents made the realization of Cypres possible.
The Cypres processing unit, or brain, has the calculating power of a personal computer and is programmed to take account of all eventualities. It can tell if you are falling in a stable position, if you are upside down, or even if you are doing a backloop - and it constantly makes adjustments to correct for the consequent pressure changes around the body.
If you pass 750ft above ground level at a speed of 78 mph (115ft per second) or more, Cypres recognizes the fact and an electronic impulse activates the release unit. This cuts the reserve closing loop cleanly to allow for instant reserve deployment, irrespective of ripcord pins, handles or cutaway systems. And let's face it, if you are still in free fall at 750ft, conscious or unconscious, you need a reserve - NOW. It doesn't matter how experienced you are, hit the ground in free fall and you're dead!
Cypres is the only totally accurate, reliable and foolproof AAD for the experienced skydiver. Life insurance against the unexpected - and it could happen to you.
Can you afford to jump without it?
Every time Cypres is switched on, it will calibrate to ground elevation by measuring the air pressure several times in a short period of time and taking the average value as the value for ground level. This is happening during the integrated self-test which also checks the battery, the entire internal electronics, etc. If this check is successful, Cypres will go into function - otherwise it will shut itself down. While it is in use it will constantly check the air pressure on the ground and, if necessary, adjust to changing weather. This always provides an accurate calibration which is the basis for Cypres to recognize the activation particulars.
The factory-programmed microprocessor of Cypres is capable of real-time calculations of the jumper's altitude and rate of descent on the basis of barometric pressure. By monitoring this data, certain criteria are generated from which conclusions are drawn. Should the conclusion be that the jumper is in a dangerous situation (i.e. still in freefall at a low altitude) the processing unit triggers the release unit to open the reserve container. The release unit for the reserve container is completely independent of the rig's system, because it does not pull the ripcord pin out of the closing loop but actually cuts the loop inside the reserve container to release the pilot chute. This method is exclusive to Cypres.
All models are available either for 1-pin or 2-pin containers and counting in either meters or feet.
SSK Industries, Inc. - 1008 Monroe Road - Lebanon, Ohio 45036 - USA
Phone: 513-934-3201 - Fax: 513-934-3208 - E-Mail: info@SSKinc.com
