Stefan Banic (1870-1941), was a Slovak inventor credited with the first US Patent (1,108,484) for a parachute design. He first jumped his parachute from the 41st floor of a building in Washington DC in 1913 outside of the US Patent Office, and a year later made his first parachute jump from an airplane in 1914. He then donated his patent rights to the US Army Air Corp (which would evolve into the US Air Force) and the American Society for the Advancement of Aviation, and his parachute design would go on to play an integral role in military operations and general aviation safety for decades to come.
Stefan Banic was a pioneer in the field of parachute design.
In 1997, the Stefan Banic Parachute Foundation was created to honor the legacy and memory of Stefan and his enormous contribution to the aviation and parachute industry world wide. Today, the foundation awards the world's leading parachute industry professionals and manufacturers, past or present, with the Stefan Banic Award.
At this year's Parachute Industry Association (PIA) meeting held recently in Daytona Beach, FL, Performance Designs, Inc. owner Bill Coe and company Vice President John Leblanc were awarded the Stefan Banic Silver Medal award. This prestigous award was presented by PIA Chairman Cliff Schmucker at the Saturday evening PIA dinner. In attendance of the award presentation were perennial parachute industry publisher Dan Poynter (past Stefan Banic award recipient) as well as dozens of current and former parachute industry professionals and parachutists,
Performance Designs, Inc, would like to congratulate Bill and John on receiving this prestigious award as they celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the company in 2012.
