Firebird Skydiving
 | |
| Company type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Founder | Bernd Pohl |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Parachutes |
| Website | flyfirebird |
Firebird USA LLC (formerly Firebird Skydiving GmbH and Firebird Sky Sports AG) is an American parachute manufacturer based in Eloy, Arizona.[1] The company also has locations in Germany, Sri Lanka, and the Czech Republic, and was formerly based in Füssen and Bitburg, Germany.[1] The company specializes in the design and manufacture of parachutes and at one time also constructed paragliders and parafoil kites.[2][3][4]
Background
[edit]Firebird was founded as Performance Variable by Bernd Pohl in 1995.[5][6] In 2017 skydivers Sara and Steve Curtis, and George Reuter purchased Firebird.[5] After previously manufacturing its products in Germany and the Czech Republic, in 2018, the company moved its production facility to Eloy, Arizona,[5] a city that has the world's biggest drop zone.[7]
In the mid-2000s, as Firebird Sky Sports AG, the company produced a range of 11 different models of paragliders, including the beginner Firebird Sub-One and Z-One, the intermediate Grid and Hornet, the competition Debute and Tribute as well as the two-place Choice Zip Bi, that incorporated zippers to reduce its wing area.[2][8] Once one of the world's leading manufacturers of paragliders,[2] the company stopped producing them around 2013 to concentrate on parachutes for military and civil applications, along with reserve parachutes.[9] Today, Firebird manufactures custom parachutes and related products, such as tandem rigs for parachutes, reserve parachutes, harness-and-container systems, and magnetic riser covers.[1][5][7]
Products
[edit]Canopies
[edit]- FB Tandem
- Rush Reserve
- Quick 400 Reserve
Containers
[edit]- Evo
- Evo Student
- Evo Tandem
Aircraft
[edit]
Summary of paragliders built by Firebird, introduced in the mid-2000s and since out of production:
- Firebird Choice Zip Bi
- Firebird Debute
- Firebird Grid
- Firebird Hornet
- Firebird Hornet Sport
- Firebird Sub-One
- Firebird Tribute
- Firebird Z-One
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Smathers, Heather (September 20, 2018). "New council member made jump from Luxembourg to Eloy". Eloy Enterprise. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
- ^ a b c Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003–04, p. 16. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster UK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485X
- ^ "Contact". flyfirebird.com. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
- ^ "Firebird – Skydiver's and Paraglider's Favorite". flyfirebird.com. Archived from the original on February 17, 2008. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Firebird Changes Ownership". USPA. June 1, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
- ^ "Firebird goes USA". Freifall Press. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
- ^ a b Clinch, Tanner (October 12, 2016). "Eloy parachute business to service skydivers". Arizona City Independent. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
- ^ "New Paragliders / Archive – January 2004". ojovolador.com. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
- ^ Firebird (2013). "Fly Firebird". flyfirebird.com. Archived from the original on March 22, 2013. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
External links
[edit]