Pilotwear made by pilots for pilots
Back in 2104 three great friends got together and decided to design clothing specifically for paramotor and paragliding pilots under the brand name FlyKandy. Sure, there is some great technical gear out there, but for pilots, it’s a compromise because it’s not been designed by or for pilots. Many of the paraglider and paramotor manufacturers make and sell flying suits and over the years I’ve tried quite a few with mixed results. Equipment companies are expert in designing equipment but they don’t have the expertise (or time) to design technical clothing.
The three guys who started this project hit all sorts of snags, with a low point in 2015 when one of them, Dean Eldridge died in a tragic accident. This single incident could have easily marked the end of the project but instead, Mike and Stu stepped up and decided to push this forward as a tribute to their friend.
Winter 2016 and after changing designers, changing manufacturers and countless prototypes they had a (nearly) final version prototype. I got to see and try this jacket when Mike joined me in Lanzarote in January of 2017 and was honestly blown away. I sat down with 2 other instructors and a friend and we really tried to come up with things we’d change. 2 hours of discussion plus lots of gin and tonics later and we still couldn’t come up with anything.
FlyKandy have just launched on Kickstarter so please take a look and if you can, please support them. I really want to see this work because I want to have access to the sort of clothes that these guys are coming out with. I’ve already ordered a jacket, The Ridge DE Pro, and would love them to go on and fully develop their range. Here is the link to their Kickstarter campaign, https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1774029608/unique-technical-jacket-for-paraglider-and-paramot
If you’d like to find out more about FlyKandy, their values and design philosophy, take a look at their website, www.flykandy.com
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