Lightweight Emergency Parachute

MD Test Opening Sequence

Apco Aviation started manufacturing the Mayday in 1984, and since then put over 40,000 pieces into service in the Paragliding and Hang Gliding markets. The Mayday has hundreds of life saving deployments to its name, from beginners to world champions ( Read letters from saved pilots).

The time proven classic DHV certified Mayday line from APCO has undergone an intensive diet.
In line with the market demand for lightweight equipment, APCO added lightweight versions to our emergency parachute range to be offered Side by side with our classic Mayday range.

• Super light (SLT) Mayday range - Mayday 16 SLT, Mayday 18 SLT, Mayday 20 SLT - designed for pilots who wish to keep their equipment extremely light. Weight reduction for SLT was achieved by using state of the art materials - canopy cloth used is PN9 (the last, most sophisticated development in parachute cloth), as well as additional weight saving advanced design solutions.


• Light (LT) Mayday range - Mayday 16 LT, Mayday 18 LT, Mayday 20 LT - The LT shares the same construction as the SLT, but uses PN1 cloth which is slightly heavier.


• Classic Mayday range - Mayday 16, Mayday 18, Mayday 20, Guided Mayday and Mayday Tandem, as well as Mayday 28 UL.

The main benefit the MD LT and SLT range offers is keeping the performance and quality the same as our classic Mayday, but slimming down the weight and bulk to the incredible numbers specified in the table below:

Mayday	Weight [kg]	Max Load[kg]
16 Superlight (SLT)	1.220	100
18 Superlight (SLT)	1.597	115
20 Superlight (SLT)	2.083	130
16 Light (LT)	1.490	100
18 Light (LT)	1.868	120
20 Light (LT)	2.300	140

For full comparison test results by FFVL/SHV click here»

 

MATERIALS & CONSTRUCTION

The Mayday SLT and LT chute design is exactly the same as the classic, DHV certified , Mayday - with  pull down, flat circular canopy - same area, same performance same design.

Weight reduction for was achieved by using state of the art, latest materials. The SLT canopy cloth is from PN9 - the last word, most sophisticated development in parachute cloth. The LT is exactly the same as SLT, but uses the PN1 cloth which is slightly heavier.

 Lines and tapes for both the SLT and the LT are made of high tenacity Nylon 6.6 with Teflon sheath interlocked to prevent friction and direct line connection to the harness - allowing for maximum reduction in weight.

Line protector (serving as slider too)	Teflon interlocked center line (connection detail)	Spliced line connection detail

It was a difficult project and we broke many chutes, testing again and again, polishing the deployment, but finally we got it right - see short video clip showing some drop tests and problems encountered on the way:

 

SPECIFICATIONS MAYDAY 16 RANGE

Mayday	MD 16	MD 16 LT	MD 16 SLT
Area [m2]	23	23	23
Gores	16	16	16
Weight [kg]	1.890	1.490	1.220
Max Load[kg]	106	100	100
Sink Rate m/sec*	6.3	6.15	6.15*
Stability (rated from 1 to 5)	5	5	5
Gr. per kg. load	17.83	14.9	12.2
Canopy Material	PN4	PN1	PN9
Lines	Nylon 180kg	Nylon  120kg	Nylon 120kg
Construction	V-tab + radial nylon tape reinforcement	Light construction, spliced lines	Light construction, spliced lines
Certification	DHV	EN Certification by Air Turquoise

* As measured by Air Turquoise test laboratory
Stability rating by Air Turquoise (1 bad - 5 excellent)

 

SPECIFICATIONS MAYDAY 18 RANGE

Mayday	MD 18	MD 18 LT	MD 18 SLT
Area [m2]	30.4	30.4	30.4
Gores	18	18	18
Weight [kg]	2.220	1.922	1.597
Max Load[kg]	120	120	115
Sink Rate m/sec*	5.4	5.1	5.1*
Stability (rated from 1 to 5)	5	5	5
Gr. per kg. load	18.5	15.6	13.8
Canopy Material	PN1	PN1 / similar	PN9 / similar
Lines	Nylon 180kg	Nylon  120kg	Nylon  120kg
Construction	V-tab + radial nylon tape reinforcement	Light construction, spliced lines	Light construction, spliced lines
Certification	SHV	LTF Certification by Air Turquoise	EN Certification by Air Turquoise

* As measured by Air Turquoise test laboratory
Stability rating by Air Turquoise (1 bad - 5 excellent)

 

SPECIFICATIONS MAYDAY 20 RANGE

Mayday	MD 20	MD 20 LT	MD 20 SLT
Area [m2]	37	37.5	37.5
Gores	20	20	20
Weight [kg]	2.690	2.300	2.083
Max Load[kg]	160	140	130
Sink Rate m/sec*	5.4	4.48	4.48*
Stability (rated from 1 to 5)	5	5	5
Gr. per kg. load	16.85	16.4	14.8
Canopy Material	PN1	PN1 / similar	PN9 / similar
Lines	Nylon 180kg	Nylon  120kg	Nylon  120kg
Construction	V-tab + radial nylon tape reinforcement	Light construction, spliced lines	Light construction, spliced lines
Certification	AFNOR/CEN	EN Certification by Air Turquoise	EN Certification by Air Turquoise

* As measured by Air Turquoise test laboratory

Stability rating by Air Turquoise (1 bad - 5 excellent)

CHUTE COMPARISON

APCO's Mayday 16 SLT is the lightest chute on the market, in terms of canopy weight for the maximum load it can carry (12.2gr. of canopy per each kilo load)

Mayday 16 SLT(on left) vs MD16

There are lighter chutes on the market, but they are certified for very small loads - 80kg. and sometimes less.

When you compare the weight of the chute against the load it can handle, APCO Mayday 16 SLT emerges as the clear winner.

CANOPY	Max. load	Canopy Weight	Gram per kilo load
APCO MD 16 SLT	100kg.	1,220gr.	12.2
Sky lite L	95kg.	1,210gr.	12.7
MCC L	110kg.	1,423gr.	12.9
Sup'Air M	95kg.	1,197gr.	12.6
Nervures L	110kg.	1,378gr	12.5

A Grand Comparison test of rescue chutes conducted by SHV and FFVL jointly, proves once again the superiority of APCO's Mayday!

• Mayday 20 SLT ranked no.1. Is at the top of all 41 chutes tested - Stability 5 and the best sink rate (4.48 m/sec.)
  
  
• Mayday 18 SLT rated Stability 5, with sink rate 5.1 m/sec is one of the best. It is the lightest chute per kg. of load (see table attached)
  
  for the full test click here
  

CERTIFICATION

Since APCO's Mayday range is certified and no parameters were changed, there was only the need for an additional load test to have the new chutes confirmed.

The light version of APCO's Mayday 16 were load tested by EN laboratory of Air Turquoise.

Also Mayday 18 SLT and 20 SLT fully certified to EN standard by Air Turquoise.

Click here to see load test report »

 

OPTIONS AND ACCESSORIES