By now, you have probably heard of the Mutant Harness by United Parachute Technologies. The Mutant is the first of its kind for a multitude of reasons. One of the most significant of these industry “firsts” is the collaboration between United Parachute Technologies (UPT) and Flight-1/PD Factory Team.  The two have joined together to co-sponsor the development, training, and sale of this product. As Flight-1 and PDFT are sponsored by Sunpath, this is the first time direct competitors have worked together to this extent in the sport market. While UPT has spearheaded the design and development of the system via inventor Vince Reffett & Daniel ‘Blikkies’ Blignaut, Sunpath has supported the involvement of their PDFT athletes to take the lead on the test jumping, competition use, and implementation of training programs.

Flight-1 and PD Factory Team (both Sunpath sponsored) are at the forefront of new developments in canopy piloting, so it would only make sense of their involvement in the release and education of this product. Ian Bobo of Flight-1 and PD Factory Team has played an integral role in fine tuning the product for competition, as well as the development of the course curriculum. With his help bridging the gap between the two manufacturers, we are able to run all of the training courses for qualified Mutant candidates through Flight-1.  Additionally, within the next couple months, all the PD Factory Team members will have received their Mutant systems to begin training on them for competition and to help market the product to the broader public.

While UPT and Sunpath are direct competitors, both organizations are dedicated to the progression of our sport and the Mutant release shows the sport what is possible when we all work together. For questions, please contact mutant@uptvector.com.