Irvin Aerospace is a member of the Airborne Systems Group that includes five of the world's leading parachute companies, Irvin-GQ, Irvin Aerospace, Irvin Aerospace Canada, Para-Flite and Airborne Systems Global. Each company is known for particular capabilities, product and industry leading technology. Corporate ownership is held by Alchemy Partners Nominees Limited on behalf of investors in the Alchemy Investment Plan. The Alchemy Investment Plan is advised by Alchemy Partners LLP, a major private equity firm based in the UK.

Irvin Aerospace

The Irving Air Chute Company began operations in Buffalo, New York by Leslie Irvin after he made the first successful free-fall parachute jump in history. He incorporated the company on June 18th, 1919 and shortly thereafter manufactured the first parachutes ordered by the U.S. government. A blueprint of Leslie Irvin’s first 28 ft. parachute design used in the manufacture of his first parachute and his first fee-fall parachute jump is prominent on the Irvin Aerospace Home Page. This design became the standard and basis of the first parachutes manufactured by Irvin and adopted by militaries and governments worldwide. Since then, Irvin Aerospace has manufactured millions of quality aerodynamic decelerators to both military and commercial customers on a continuing basis since 1919. This uninterrupted history of parachute design and manufacture has enabled Irvin to establish all the necessary resources, including facilities, equipment and manpower to perform recovery system design, development and production programs. Irvin Aerospace is both the oldest and largest developer and manufacturer of parachute systems and related products in the world.

As a side note, a clerical error resulted in the addition of the "g" to Irvin and this was left in place until 1970 when the company was unified under the title Irvin Industries Incorporated. In 1996, Irvin changed its name to Irvin Aerospace to better reflect the aerospace industry to which the focus of the company had returned.

Irvin Aerospace designs, develops, and manufactures best-of-class parachutes for space and air vehicle recovery systems, deceleration systems for high-performance aircraft, military personnel parachute systems, cargo parachute systems,ordnance and weapon delivery, spin/stall parachute recovery systems,flare chutes, airbags, simulation, analysis and test. Irvin Aerospace has more than 85 years of parachute engineering design experience and meets customer and airborne equipment requirements through a commitment to workmanship, design, innovation, integrity and quality of products and service. Irvin U.S. Corporate Headquarters is located in a large, modern 63,000 sq. ft. facility in Santa Ana, California.

Within the US, Irvin Aerospace and Para-Flite have complementary operations; Irvin concentrating on ballistic parachutes, Para-Flite on steerable canopies. Staff from both companies regularly support the other's activities, allowing any customer to tap into the considerable pool of talent that resides in each organization.

Thousands of airmen and airwomen harbor among the most highly treasured souvenirs of their military and air related service a tiny Caterpillar pin. It is their passport to one of the most famous flying clubs in the world-The International Caterpillar Club, all of whose members have saved their lives by parachute.

After Leslie Irvin’s 1919 successful first parachute jump, any person from that time on who jumped from a disabled aircraft with a parachute became a member of the Caterpillar Club.

The Club was named after the caterpillar for several reasons. The parachute main sail and lines were woven from the finest silk. The worm spins a cocoon, crawls out and flies away from certain death, if it remains in sight of the cocoon. As Leslie Irvin later said, “A better example of what a pilot or passenger should do in the case of an uncontrollable plane could not have better figurative depiction."

In 1922 Leslie Irvin made a pledge to donate a gold pin to every person whose life was saved from one of his parachutes. Today the Club boasts tens of thousands of Caterpillar Club members of all nations who have escaped death by jumping with an IRVIN parachute. For more information on the Caterpillar Club, contact

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