All about Halcyon wings

[Uncle Pug]

sylvester once bubbled...
I was making contact with the 1st Stage when I would look up. That is why I wanted to try the STA and also to get some wgt off my belt.

...that is not a bad thing unless your tank is too high and you can't tip your head back enough to see forward when you are horizontal.

I like my tank as close as possible so I can reach back to manipulate my vavle. Some folks don't see that as a necessity... usually folks who couldn't do it if their life depended on it.

As for getting weight off the belt... that is a worthy goal. Relaxed breath control will do more for you in that regard than an STA not to mention increasing your bottom time by decreasing your SAC.

A steel tank will also allow you to take of considerable weight as will the right kind of undergarment and proper use of the drysuit if you are using one of those.

You can also add a channel weight under the cambands on the inside of the plate a further reduce weight on the belt.

However... best to have a least some ditchable weight.

 

[FredT]

Is designed to go on a wing without the built in rods of the Pioneer and minimize the height of the tank. The bolts provided with the STA are sized to do that. If you leave the rods in the pioneer the STA will still fit, but it will place the tank higher off your back. This may effect your ballance and trim depending on what type of tanks you are using. You may also need to get some longer bolts. If you ordered an "unfinished" STA from AUL you'l need to "break" some of the edges, and round others. PM me with an e-mail address and I'll get the information of just what needs to be done to the STA to you to protect the wing and your drysuit. If you ordered a finished STA ( It'll have a brushed finish) I have already completed those steps.

The tank straps can be either routed through the STA or the Pioneer and backplate slots. The STA will still center the tank and provide good tipping stability either way.

Rod removal involves making a tiny slit on one end of the rod pocket across the pocket. Keep the slit as small as possible. The rods can then be worked out of the wing and the slit either permanently closed with Aquaseal or equal, or the edges of the slits can be heat sealed to prevent fraying. Heat sealing allows the rods to be reinstalled when not using the heavy STA or a two piece STA for tropical diving. The lightweight two piece STA fits with the rods installed.


FT

 

[ScoobieDooo]

Thats one thing I liked about my OMS - no rods to mess with...

 

[sylvester]

Thanks for the replys, I did get the unfinished STA and I cleaned all the edges with a file and sandpaper to remove the sharp edges.

Since I am leaving in a few hours for Mermet Springs, I will work on my wing next week.

And for UP, I will still have some ditchable wgt. My canister light, and a few lbs on a belt. , belt 1st oviously.

 

[Scubaroo]

FallenMatt once bubbled...
I've seen somewhere a post on scubaboard of somebody doing it.. but you would have to search for it

I've changed my ways - I have a new 36lb Pioneer wing, and I decided to leave the rods in on this one. I started using different STAs originally for the extra weighting, but now find that I can get by without one.

ScoobieDooo once bubbled...
Thats one thing I liked about my OMS - no rods to mess with...

That's one thing I like about my Halcyon - no STA to mess with...

 

[ScoobieDooo]

STA is a solid 'lock-up' thats adds anywhere from 2-7# weight.

 

[bridgediver]

I have no idea how this happened but there is two small holes in a halcyon 36# wing. they're about an inch apart on the underside near the back part of the wing (not anywhere near the seam). One hole is about 1/8 inch, the other is more of a pin hole. Can this be repaired somehow or is the thing garbage?
This was my first expossure to the highly touted halcyon wing and I'm pretty discouraged. I didn't abuse it in any way and I thought they were supposed to be tough. I only noticed the holes after the dive when cleaning up after the dive.
Anyone else have hole problems?

 

[Scubaroo]

I had some pinhole leaks in the blue gusset of a 36lb wing - Halcyon replaced the wing as it was determined to be a manufacturing defect. Try contacting Halcyon directly, they may do the same for you.

 

[lragsac]

I somehow got a pinhole in my 27# wing and was able to repair it with Aquaseal. That was more than 6 months ago and, many dives later, it's holding up just fine. As for the 1/8" hole, I'm not sure Aquaseal will do the trick. Hopefully Halcyon will replace it for you.

 

[wetman]

Did you aquaseal the inside or outside? I have a small pinhole by one of my seams but have just lived with it since i got it. If aquaseal works i'll do that though

steve