ARLINGTON – If you need to strap Para-Phernalia Inc.’s best-known product onto your back, then there’s a good chance you’re in trouble.
It could be that you’re several thousand feet up in the sky when the oil pressure in your small plane’s engine drops to nothing or the throttle stick gets stuck.
It’s time to bail out, with your life depending on one of Para-Phernalia’s emergency parachutes.
“It’s one of those products you hope they never use,” said Dan Tarasievich, Para-Phernalia’s owner.
Unlike large skydiving rigs, which have a main parachute and an emergency parachute, the emergency rigs for pilots consist of just one parachute.
For 25 years, Para-Phernalia has made a name for itself as the maker of Softie emergency parachutes for pilots. The small firm also has branched out more recently into making specialized flight suits and protective covers for ultrasound equipment.
The company started in 1979 and was initially located in Issaquah, which hosted a parachuting center until the late 1980s. Tarasievich, who bought the company in 1984, moved it to Arlington in 1992.
After the 2001 terrorist attacks sparked a temporary dip in the general aviation industry, Para-Phernalia’s sales have been good since early 2002, he said.
“We’ve been rocking and rolling for two and a half years now,” said Tarasievich, who also lives in Arlington. “We usually have a slow period, but we haven’t had those in the last few years.”
Customers who buy the Softie emergency parachutes include many pilots of acrobatic planes and those who build small or experimental aircraft on their own. That clientele may grow soon, as the Federal Aviation Administration has eased requirements for sport pilot licenses.
Lynn Cunningham, owner of Cunningham Aircraft Covers in Arlington, said Softie parachutes seem to have a good reputation among pilots.
“I’ve looked at his competitors’ stuff and, as far as I can tell, he’s the best,” Cunningham said.
Tarasievich said his company’s parachutes aim to lead the industry for their comfort as well as reliability. Strolling through his production space on the east side of the Arlington airport, he showed how the parachute containers and harnesses are sewn together with heavy-duty sewing machines.
“We really pride ourselves on our quality in what we sew,” he said, adding with a chuckle, “You don’t want it to break.”
After the nylon and steel parts are sewn together, the small parachute itself, which is produced by a California company, is attached. Employees then pack the parachute into the container and ready it for shipment.
Tarasievich said he has distributors around the country for his emergency parachutes, but many individual orders also come in directly to the business.
The business makes several hundred Softies a year; Tarasievich estimates Para-Phernalia has sold nearly 8,000 during the company’s existence.
The Softie parachutes sell from about $1,400 to more than $1,800 each, depending on the model.
Several years ago, one parachuter Tarasievich knew worked for ATL Ultrasound in Bothell and suggested that Para-Phernalia bid on a job to make ultrasound covers.
It may not sound related to the company’s main business, but the durable material used for the parachute housing also is used for protective covers. Para-Phernalia now has patterns to make covers for most of the full-sized machines on the market, Tarasievich said.
More recently, Para-Phernalia has made hundreds of special jumpsuits for the U.S. Air Force. The suits are designed specifically for “combat controllers,” who usually are the first to land during an invasion.
“Those are the guys who would secure a landing zone, for instance,” Tarasievich said.
Para-Phernalia also has done sewing work on aircraft seats. The business takes specialized sewing jobs when it can, but Tarasievich said tough competition from overseas sewing shops and individual, in-home sewing contractors make that an unreliable side business.
Para-Phernalia has only a few competitors for its emergency parachutes. Even so, Tarasievich said he is always looking for ways to improve the Softies parachutes.
When major changes are made that require FAA approval, he often participates in the field testing. Despite professing that he’s afraid of heights, Tarasievich is a longtime parachuter.
Which makes it that much easier for him to appreciate that his product can actually save a life. Over the past 12 years, Para-Phernalia can claim that its parachutes have saved the lives of 15 pilots, he said.
Para-Phernalia’s Web site has testimonials from three pilots who had to bail out and deploy their Softie parachutes, and Tarasievich said he occasionally gets calls from grateful pilots as well.
“Sometimes you wonder what you’re doing,” he said. “Then you get a call from a customer … and it puts a grin on your face.”
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
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