Industry Views

23May 2017

Stance Width Options

Riders come in all sizes, Jetblades are designed for each rider to be able to find their optimum width for comfort and stability, not too wide, not too narrow, just right! Riders as young as 9 years old can fly with careful parental supervision. (For riders under 18, parental supervision and acknowledgement of the riders physical limitations and the risks of hydroflight over open water is paramount! Use proper judgement and take advantage of proper training and safety equipment.)

Stance width is not a fixed formula, outside shoulder width is a good starting point for a freestyle stance. For advanced maneuvers where sideways tweaking in important and knee angles come into play, wider stances can allow more flexibility. For beginners, wider stances can offer a bit more stability as long as not uncomfortably wide, for example, children riding wide stance adult boards. All of this is dependent on the individual riders physical geometry and musculature. Jetblades come with inserts mounted in slotted tracks that allow the user to vary the position and find the optimum comfortable flight position. Advanced versions of the Jetblade such as the Jetblade CX and the Jetblade Scorpion feature customized stance width in any dimension for the advanced rider that has locked in their stance.

14May 2017

Competition Focus

- Competition is the center of many driving factors.
- The desire to win drove us from the beginning to build the best equipment and make it flexible for use by athletes. An important factor in each competition is to evolve the equipment to win. Our rider make requests, we make advances, and we look to prove it on the hydro playing field.

07May 2017

Hydroflight Market Segmentation

A quick graphic used internally showing the approximate relative market scale and the possibilities for growth in 2017. The “possible converts” section also includes users that bought in early before the equipment was market ready and could be convinced to re-enter. Interested observers are the audience for a competitive series. General population, 6.99 billion people.

07May 2017

2017 Core Values Target

Graphic illustrating the concentration of efforts and focus of Stratospheric Industries, Inc. We don’t just build equipment, we look to build the sport!

24Feb 2017

Competition as a driving force in sport

Competition is what drives most all of us. Not only survival of the fittest, but the desire to excel, that drives us and it shapes the way we think and the way we act.

Competition shapes sport the same way it shapes all aspects of the human experience. Men and women competing against each other to be the best to be number one. Teams of every size, supporting and working for the goal of beating the competition. Whether it was to hunt the biggest animal or to be first to reach the moon. We race forward and better what we do to compete, as individuals, organizations, countries. Sport is one of the fundamental expressions of this personal and team competition. A footrace between children no doubt was the first competition. As technology has advanced, the races became more complex, in hydroflightwe find ourselves propelled through the air gymnastically in three dimensional paths, guiding and riding a high powered stream of water. Continue reading

22Feb 2017

Hydroflight – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

What is the SWOT evaluation of the hydroflight industry? The image is of a SWOT table Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. These evaluations are used to study how to improve a business or a company. In this example, we’ll look at the hydroflight industry and make our assessment as a discussion starting point.

Let’s start with the positives.

Strengths: The sport is dynamic, fun, easy to learn and challenging to progress one’s abilities. Hydroflight is the safest form of personal flight. All ages can participate, and a low level of physical exertion required means that it can be practiced just as easily by men and women, young and old. People with disabilities can be guided into the experience. Hydrosport is to watch and can be practiced in bodies of water available everywhere. The sport is relatively new and remains attractive to alliances with other brands for promotional possibilities.

07Feb 2017

X’s Design Direction 2017

Driven by function and use by experts, a purity of materials, the direct design purpose results in a minimalist beauty based on function and resulting in pure performance.

X is building equipment for a new targeted user for season 2017. For 2016 our operating theme was built on #serious, a serious approach to contrast with economy plastic approaches to hydroflight. We have always placed a high emphasis on proper engineering and a ease of use. We are doubling down this year on our core values and the core pursuit of building the world’s best performing, most awesome hydroflight equipment. We love building cool sports gear and we just had to pursue building the ultimate gear we could think of.

With industrial design, and every engineering effort and design, there are compromises. A series of choices on where to put the emphasis in a design. X has always built products to fit the widest range of users, emphasizing ease of use, safety and durability. In 2017 with riders capable of a higher level of riding becoming more prevalent, X has taken the direct riders feedback and continuously evolved its Jetblade and Jetpack line to meet their ever increasing demands.

At this point, a complete new line of product in the X line has been developed to take this shift in the market one step further. A re-balancing of the core aspects of the design approach has opened up possibilities for higher performance Jetblades and Jetpacks. Continue reading