MilTech: Can you tell us something of the history of CYPRES? Cloth: So-called automatic activation devices (AAD) for parachutes have been around since the 1960s. Before 1991, however, almost everybody was afraid of them. There had been frequent activations in error that led to injury or death. Some even caused aircraft crashes. Then, in 1986 came the fatal jump accident of a friend, who - like everyone else - did not use an AAD. This generated the question whether a 'good' or even a 'perfect' AAD was a possibility.The aim was to develop a defect-free AAD, which would become trusted and thus accepted. After four years of development and multiple trials, we had such a device. This changed skydivers' attitude towards AADs from ,,I don't want" to ,,I need."
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