APCO since 1976 — the brand history in verified facts
Hang-glider roots from 1974, APCO founded in 1982 by Anatoly Cohn, built in Caesarea, vertically integrated. What five decades actually document — from the embedded hook-up points of the 90s to today's reflex line.
APCO Aviation was founded in 1982 by Anatoly Cohn in Israel — after eight years of building hang gliders at Agur Gliders (from 1974). APCO’s own motto: “Paragliding Manufacture since 1976”. Today the company manufactures in Caesarea on the Mediterranean coast, fully vertically integrated. Instead of an embellished chronicle, here is what the manufacturer’s own documentation directly supports.
Verified milestones
- 1974 — company founder Anatoly Cohn designs and builds hang gliders at Agur Gliders.
- 1982 — APCO is founded; an early focus on the paraglider.
- 1984 — Mayday production begins: over 40,000 reserves delivered to date, hundreds of life-saving deployments.
- 1986 — System K: the first series-built APCO paraglider (7 or 9 cells).
- 1990s — APCO’s embedded hook-up points reach the market: “introduced to the market in the 1990’s and carry a lifetime warranty”. A construction detail from back then that still sits in current models like the Nestra Light.
- Today — a complete product line from one house: paragliders from the EN-A school wing (KARISMA II) through the Hybrid to the high-EN-B 2.5-liner (Nestra Light), the reflex paramotor line F5/F7/F3/F1/NRG III/F3 Bi, harnesses and the Mayday rescue range.
The constant: in-house production
What connects the decades is the production model: everything under one roof in Caesarea — down to custom colors as a regular order option and warranties covering individual in-house components (lifetime on the embedded hook-up points and the trimmer system, 3 years / 250 hours on wings and DSC cloth). The details are in the workshop story.
The in-house technologies
The construction elements carrying APCO’s own signature, as listed in today’s datasheets: FLEXON® battens, HIT Valve®, DSC cloth, embedded hook-in points, Mohawk (introduced on the F5), Flow Aligned Ribs and the OAA speed system. Every term is explained in the glossary — with the manufacturer’s statements behind it.
And Flyapco?
Flyapco is the DACH/EU distribution: delivery warehouse and service connection in Taufkirchen near Munich, B2B sales to schools and dealers, a direct line to the factory for custom orders. Buy an APCO wing through us and you get the chain Caesarea → Taufkirchen → your door — with the original logbook, datasheet and certificate.