Who invented the first backplate and wing?

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If anyone has any pictures, I'b be interested in seeing what was commercially available when Flanagan made his.

I have some old plastic backpacks/harnesses laying around the garage but they aren't much like what we use today to mount our doubles. The idea is about the same but that's where the similarity ends.
 
sam miller:
"What Flanagan designed was new and THE major inprovement in the advancement of the backplate: the "flat bottomed "V"; that made his plate different than which came before and became the standard for cave diving - which is now standard for all tech diving."
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It was certainly not new...


yes sir, that's what he said ... and that's what i said too:

H2Andy:
yeah, i'm with aleman

a few companies had been putting out proto-backplates, but it was Flanagan in 1979 who came up with the modern design.

the idea of the backplate has been around for a long time... probably back to the 1950's

just like there were safety razors before King Gillette came up with his design; but the "modern" safety razor that we all use today came from King Gillette (that was his real name, yes)
 
Actually, some of those plastic plates did mount both doubles and singles using carriage screws through the backplate not totally unlike the current backplates. The bands had a curved section that sat down into the channel on the backplate. When diving a single the tank was mounted directly in the channel. The shoulder on the dish shaped channel correctly set the tank height as well. They were strung with a continuous loop of two inch webbing though often incorporating a left shoulder buckle and most of the ones I have owned used stainless buckles. I gave my last ScubaPro plate and doubles bands away last summer.

I have to admit that the modern BP and wing beats the plastic plate with chlorax bottle wings, a chlorax bottle tied on each side with a rope stringing between them around your waist, a puff of air and you were on your way. N
 
Nemrod:
Actually, some of those plastic plates did mount both doubles and singles using carriage screws through the backplate not totally unlike the current backplates. The bands had a curved section that sat down into the channel on the backplate. When diving a single the tank was mounted directly in the channel. The shoulder on the dish shaped channel correctly set the tank height as well. They were strung with a continuous loop of two inch webbing though often incorporating a left shoulder buckle and most of the ones I have owned used stainless buckles. I gave my last ScubaPro plate and doubles bands away last summer.

I have to admit that the modern BP and wing beats the plastic plate with chlorax bottle wings, a chlorax bottle tied on each side with a rope stringing between them around your waist, a puff of air and you were on your way. N

When I got my first wings, the Diverite "Classic Wings," they came with the ABS plastic back plate. I tried it one time and thought it sucked. So I got out an old Dacore hard pack and a set of the old steel bands with the curved section for one or two sets of 72's. The fit was good and I used it for 4 or 5 years till I changed to a stainless backplate. The bigest change was the modern plate brings the tanks about 2" closer to my back.

Still have a few of the hard packs, the almost new ABS plate and an original set of the steel bands. I even still use an original set of bands but I cut out the curved section to fit the modern plate.

The one thing I do miss about the hard packs is the moulded in handle, it made it a lot easier to move the tanks around.

I'm thinking I need to dig everything out and take some photo's. I think some of the DIR crowd would have heart attacks at some of the configurations that were used for many years. I can think of 3 or 4 ways to mount a pony that did not include any bags or quick release fixtures.

Pete
 
It was my impression that William Hogarth Main gave us the BP & Wing. Bill told me his first backplate was made out of a stop sign in the 60s. Of course, this is the man who gave us Hogarthian diving. I was under the impression that his first, was our first, but I could be mistaken.
 
i think his backplate was not "of the modern standard" that you see today

that goes back to Flanagan

there were backplates in the market prior to Main making his own ... i assume he just decided not to pay for one and make his own out of a stop sign, or perhaps he was not aware of them
 
well, even if you had answered the "right" question, Mr. Gorilla, you'd get a buzzer sound....

as... whereto, therefore, in as much as, there were backplates in the market prior to Mr. Main's
 
because Mr. Main put the package together ... and came up with the concept of a "system" of diving

(i want my cookie!)
 
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