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Realizing that the production of the space vehicles we loved was generating a great deal of Carbon Fiber waste, Ryan, an engineering student and Greg, an entrepreneurship instructor, set out to create a win/win solution to this problem. We knew we could make something awesome from this amazing aerospace grade material and 121C was founded. The Aileron skateboard became the first product of our upcycling mission. It’s a perfect marriage of technology, environmental benefits and inspired design; Made in the USA.
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After investigating the way aerospace firms disposed of excess and scrap carbon fiber (landfills), we determined that if the material was collected, processed and stored properly, it would retain the incredible characteristics of the original material: awesome strength and that gorgeous carbon fiber look. Additionally, it was important to develop a manufacturing process that was less capital and time intensive than the curing methods (ovens and autoclaves) traditionally used by aircraft and spacecraft manufacturers.
We were given the opportunity to test our upcycling protocols and manufacturing processes on a small scale with excess material and scrap generated by the Rocket Propulsion Lab at the University of Southern California. Ryan designed and built a prototype hot press and began to press skate decks. The initial results were flawed but promising. More than a year of work went into perfecting the process and after many iterations, we are proud to present the Aileron, the ultimate cruiser style skateboard. Now that we’ve established our process, supply chain and manufacturing, we want you to be part of our story. Please help support our solution to this environmental problem by becoming a backer of this project and if you’d like to, reserve your new board!
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Dude! Did DARPA design a skateboard or what? Bill Thomas, FB follower
Your new board will be crafted with the highest quality carbon fiber collected from the production lines that build today’s coolest commercial rockets. When you step onto an Aileron, you’re riding on a spacecraft.
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Excellence in product quality is a core principle at 121C. When we discovered that the space and military grade material we are upcycling is so sophisticated that its uncured export is restricted, we were actually pretty excited. We have to make our decks in the USA and competitors simply can’t offshore this stuff in order to save money by polluting the environment or exploiting offshore workers in China or elsewhere. We strive to source all our major components from American manufacturers.
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In fact, as is fitting to the origin of skate, all these items come from Southern California. Our decks are pressed by Akra Plastics in Ontario. We finish them off with Randal trucks, cast in South Gate, and Fireball wheels, poured in Lake Elsinore. Shark Wheels are also made in California.
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