Natalia Ershova

Parasailing, also known as parascending, paraskiing or parakiting, is a recreational kiting activity where a person is towed behind a vehicle while attached to a specially designed canopy wing that resembles a parachute, known as a parasail wing. The manned kite's moving anchor may be a car, truck, or boat. The harness attaches the occupant to the parasail, which is connected to the boat, or land vehicle, by the tow rope. The vehicle then drives off, carrying the parascender (or wing) and person into the air. If the boat is powerful enough, two or three people can parasail behind it at the same time.

Land-based parasailing has also been transformed into a competition sport in Europe. In land-based competition parasailing, the parasail is towed to maximum height behind a 4-wheel-drive vehicle. The driver then releases the tow line; the parasailer flies down to a target area in an accuracy competition.

The sport was developed in the late 1970s, and has been very popular ever since. The first international competitions were held in the mid-1980s and continue annually to this day.

Contents

1 History

1.1 Early years of parasailing

1.2 Improved parasail canopy designs

1.3 Regulation

2 Parasailing association

History

Early years of parasailing

There is at least one somewhat credible early-19c indication of a person being towed through the air on a kite; the instance is mentioned in passing as having been witnessed by an old sailor telling of it on the 1839-1841 cruise of the USS Constitution.

The first ascending-gliding parachute was developed by Pierre-Marcel Lemoigne in 1962.The same year, Lemoigne established an Aeronautical Training Center to introduce his new ascending-gliding parachute as a training tool for parachutists. The technique allows parachutists to train more efficiently by towing the parachutist to a suitable altitude, then releasing them to practice landings. This training method proved cheaper than—and just as effective as—an airplane. In 1963 Jacques-André Istel from Pioneer Parachute Company bought a license from Lemoigne to manufacture and sell the 24-gore ascending-gliding parachute which was trade-named "parasail."

In 1974, Mark McCulloh invented the first self-contained parasail launch and recovery vessel that incorporated a hydraulic winch and canopy assist mast that collectively launched and retrieved the parasail canopy and parasailors to and from the vessel flight deck. McCulloh's invention was patented in 1976 and later referred to as a "WINCHBOAT" which set the first parasail equipment industry standard that is utilized by all commercial parasail operations around the world. Independently of this, in 1981 Marcel and Azby Chouteau of Westport, Connecticut, designed and built a pontoon-based craft with a fan-shaped back deck and a winch in the front and ran a commercial parasailing operation using their original technology. The company, Old Mill Airlines, offered flights on Long Island Sound during the summer of 1981.

In early 1976, Brian Gaskin designed, created, and tested the first 16-gore canopy design which he named "Waterbird". The Waterbird was revolutionary in its canopy design, its unique tow yoke harness arrangement, its construction, and the use of zero porosity fabrics which allowed it to be used over water safely. The majority of commercial parasail operators then moved to the 16-gore canopy arrangement. In 1976 Gaskin founded his company, Waterbird Parakites, which is still in operation today, producing commercial and recreational 16-gore parasails.

In April 2013, the first ASTM parasail weather standard was approved. With the help of the WSIA, and the chair of the parasail committee, Matthew Dvorak, owner and operator of Daytona Beach Parasail, Inc. the new standard was implemented. This is the first standard in the parasail industry with three more in the works to be approved later this year. This standard was the first step in bringing the otherwise unregulated industry into a more uniform and safe industry.

Improved parasail canopy designs

In recent years, operators have moved from small (20-foot range) parachutes to large (30–40 feet) parachutes with high-lift, low-drag designs, enabling operators to fly heavier payloads in lower (typically safer) winds. Most operators now offer double and triple flights using an adjustable side-by-side bar arrangement. The side-by-side bar is aluminum attached to the yoke of the chute, allowing two or three passenger harnesses to be attached side by side.

Regulation

In 2014, the National Transportation Safety Board issued a press release in which it found the parasailing industry to be largely unregulated. The report identified a number of safety concerns which included vessel operators who continued to operate despite hazardous wind conditions, use of inadequate equipment and unserviceable gear, and compromised strength of rope tied to the parasail. In a period from 1998 to the third of July 2013, there were six parasailing fatalities in the Florida area.The great majority of deaths in parasail incidents have occurred when riders were unable to get out of their harness support system after an unplanned landing in water during high winds.

Prior to the release of the NTSB report, Florida passed the White-Miskell Act which added strict regulations parasailing companies must follow including obtaining an insurance policy, and restrictions on parasailing in inclement weather.

Parasailing associations

The leading trade associations for parasailing are:

Commercial Winchboat Operators Association (CWOA)

Parasail Safety Council

PAPO (Professional Association of Parasail Operators)

Water Safety Industry Association

Modeling agency

A modeling agency is a company that represents fashion models, to work for the fashion industry. These agencies earn their income via commission, usually from the deal they make with the model and/or the head agency.

The agencies find work for models by presenting them to designers, photographers, and ad agencies. The agencies are also responsible for booking the jobs, billing for the jobs, and eventually paying the models for their time.

The top agencies work with big-budget advertising agencies and fashion designers. They invest money into developing their talent so they can increase their status within the industry. These top agencies will help train models, get test shoots, layout portfolios, and put together comp cards (composition photo cards) and other printed materials models need.

Contents

1 Industry information

2 Scams

Booking agents versus managers and mother agents

A popular and conventional way for models to build their contacts and get booked for gigs is through model management companies or agencies. An agency specializes in finding gigs for models that are signed with them, while managers are there to guide their models and help them start, develop, and establish successful careers, present models to booking agents, and arrange placements for their models. Mother agents/model managers play a key role in the modeling industry. They provide the constant supply of new faces to booking markets from scouting markets. Most models are from countries like Russia, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, the Czech Republic, etc. while booking markets are New York, London, Paris, Milan, Tokyo, Shanghai, etc.

Contractual agreements

Most agencies sign their top talent to exclusive contracts in each market, which vary in length based on the model's industry status and experience. However, because a good agency finds their models work and negotiates top price for their talent, they earn a management commission (between 10% to 20%) from every job they book on a model's behalf. An agency usually bills a client an additional 20% service charge for booking the model, so a typical agency will make between 10-40% on each booking of which no more than 20% comes out of the model's pocket. This varies outside the US due to each country's law and taxes. Other contracts offered by modeling agencies are the mother agency contract and a non-exclusive contract. A mother agency tries to sign you with larger agencies in each international market, while non-exclusive agencies allow you to sign with other agencies (usually outside a certain city radius). Contracts typically last from a year to three years. A mother agency agreement can range from five to ten years.

Auditions and open calls

Modelling agencies will require new faces on a regular basis. The number of models in an agency depends on the demand brought in by its agents and changes throughout the year. To this end, modeling agencies advertise in local phone directories in order to remain visible.

Each new model-screening process is different from one agency to the next:

A casting call is where models show up by appointment to be considered for a specific job.

An open call is a time specified by an agency for any prospective models (or those interested in becoming models) to show up and be considered for future work.

A go-see is an appointment for a model to meet with a client for consideration for future work; like an open call, it is not for a specific job, but unlike an open call, the model is being specifically requested or sent.

A dry call is where models mail unsolicited comp cards to an agency. While this may work with smaller agencies, larger agencies host open calls where men and women can come into the agency and get seen by agents who may or may not be interested.

Mandatory height requirements

High fashion modeling agencies contract with a diverse group of models. However, nearly without exception (unless a model is young enough to still be growing), agencies require women to be between 5'9 (minimum) and 6'0" and men to be between 5'11" and 6'3" and in fit or reasonable physical condition for all heights.

Scams

In this constantly changing industry where old agencies close or merge and new ones pop up in their place, scam artists have many opportunities to prey on new, unsuspecting models and aspiring models. A legitimate modeling agency should have knowledge of the marketplace and honestly evaluate models for their market. It will have contacts with photographers, graphic designers, and printers to prepare a model's marketing materials. Texas, Florida, and California have online resources listing licensed agencies.

In the United States, the Better Business Bureau registers complaints against agencies that conduct dishonest business practices and scams. Scam artists and untrustworthy agencies generally demand long-term contracts up front and use high-pressure tactics to con models into committing to high-commission percentages or signing over unnecessary rights.

An example of a modeling scam is when an agency claims to have work but really what they are doing is trying to sell photoshoots and modeling courses to aspiring models. A legitimate agency should only make profit from agency commissions.