Rocket carabiner

THE SAFEST ALUMINUM AUTOMATIC CARABINER IN THE WORLD

Developed in collaboration with AustriAlpin, the NEO AUSTRIALPIN ROCKET aluminium automatic carabiner has been designed to meet the specific safety requirements of paragliding: we have thus obtained the safest automatic carabiner on the market, certified EN362. This standard requires that the carabiner be able to withstand a load of 1,500 daN if the gate is open and a load of 2,000 daN if the gate is closed. They must be self-closing and self-locking or manual and must only be able to be released by at least two deliberate and consecutive manual actions:

• Automatic closing
• Self-locking
• 2 directions of solicitation.

RESISTANCE: 22 kN
CERTIFICATION: EN362
CONCEPT: automatic autolock closure
COLOR: red or blue
SIZE: one size
WEIGHT: 64 g
MATERIAL: Aluminum
LIFE LIFE: Replace every 5 years or 500 flight hours
MANUFACTURED: AustriAlpin Austria

1. FATIGUE PHENOMENON

There have been several incidents of automatic carabiner failures in flight from various marks. These sudden ruptures are due to the phenomenon of fatigue of the aluminum on the The “climbing” type locking carabiners are very commonly used in paragliding. Since 2014, at NEO, we have detected this problem during a study that we aircraft made by the University of Savoie. The constraints of use are not the even in paragliding and climbing: in paragliding the tension is permanent and variable (loads and discharges). Based on the results, we developed a carabiner specific to the practice of paragliding with the Austrian brand AustriAlpin, which has significantly reduces the phenomenon of fatigue with its Autolock system: a stainless steel bar with the inside of the automatic closing finger fits perfectly and without play into the machined body of the carabiner. This exclusive and patented Austrialpin system reduces micromovements and thus micro-cracks.

Additionally, the original section of the Rocket's aluminum is 10mm, not 8mm.

The risk of rupture is reduced.

2. WORK AXIS

We observed during the rupture tests that a carabiner not working in its working axis preferential can lose 70% of resistance.

The lightening of sails and harnesses leads manufacturers to use more efficient materials, reducing the size of the straps of risers and harnesses. As a result, automatic square or rectangular carabiners no longer meet the diversity of these developments.

So we used an asymmetrical shape that fits perfectly with all types of saddle geometry and riser sizes. This asymmetry keeps the stress axis of the carabiner on the axis that has the best resistance.

3. MULTIPLE HOOKS

Carabiners are increasingly used in paragliding due to the multiplicity of hooks that are grafted onto the main attachment points. We have developed the Rocket to allow to increase the number of attachment possibilities and to secure them:

- by widening the lower part of the carabiner, allowing different straps to be anchored there harness, cockpit, cocoon rappels and reserve parachute halyards...

- by using less force on the closing finger

- by reinforcing the resistance of the closing finger (AustriAlpin autolock system)

- by reinforcing the resistance in the 2 axes (22 kN / 15 kN) securing among other things opening the rescue at the main attachment points.