For eight years, five months and counting, USPA members have enjoyed the longest run ever without a dues increase. That streak will end on January 1, when USPA dues and rating and license fees go up an average of 20 percent. No one on the staff or the board takes such action lightly, and both should be commended for making the 2009 dues change last as long as possible.

Jennifer Davidson, D-30287, is a member of the U.S. Army Golden Knights 8-Way Formation Skydiving Team. Until recently, she was a member of GKF4, which in 2012 was the first all-female team to medal in open FS at a USPA Nationals and in 2016 took gold in women’s 4-way FS at the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale World Championships. A versatile jumper, Davidson was also on the 2010 FAI Women’s World Record for Largest Head-Down Formation Skydive. The Army recently promoted her to master sergeant.

Photo by Daniel Hernan-Perez Aguilera | D-31147

Clockwise from top, Ze Miguel Abreu, Pier Luigi Querci and Guillermo Martinez exit for an upright dive during a freefly weekend organized by the team Cowabonga at USPA Foreign Affiliate Drop Zone Skydive Madrid, Ocaña in Ocaña, Toledo, Spain.

In 1964, I launched my magazine, DZ-USA, to promote the sport and contribute something other than doomsday predictions at a time when the man on the street viewed a parachutist as a daredevil looking for a place to die. In that same year, I was invited to appear on “The Joey Bishop Show” in Hollywood to represent the sport. There, I met John Frankenheimer, who was promoting his movie “Grand Prix,” and Lyle Cameron, who produced Skydiver magazine. John was very interested in what Lyle and I had to say about the sport. He stated that he’d always wanted to make a movie about it and would contact us if a future project came up.

Jumping out of an airplane was never on my bucket list. Well, honestly, I never had a bucket list until May 14, 2016: the day I completed my first tandem.

With proposed air-traffic-control privatization, skydiving—and indeed all of general aviation—is facing the gravest threat to its longevity and future than ever before. If the 21st Century AIRR Act, otherwise known as H.R. 2997, goes through the U.S. Congress and the president signs it into law, it would carve the ATC function out of the Federal Aviation Administration and hand it to a new private corporation funded by new aviation user fees.

Beginning November 1, USPA will no longer be involved in indoor skydiving by supporting indoor skydiving national championships or selecting U.S. Teams for international indoor skydiving competitions. USPA will seek to cooperate with any emerging national governing body for tunnel flying.

The USPA Board of Directors held its summer meeting July 21-23 in Seattle, Washington. Following are meeting highlights:

• The board voted to raise individual and introductory membership dues, rating fees and Group Member dues effective January 1, 2018.
• The board changed the Group Member pledge so that Group Member drop zones must now require individual USPA memberships once a student is cleared for self-supervision.
• Beginning November 1, USPA will no longer be involved in indoor skydiving by supporting indoor skydiving national championships or selecting U.S. Teams for international indoor skydiving competitions. USPA will seek to cooperate with any emerging national governing body for tunnel flying.
• The board determined that any aircraft used for high-altitude or wingsuit distance or time skydiving records must comply with all Federal Aviation Regulations related to that aircraft for the record to be valid.
• Effective immediately, the board increased the required number of evaluation jumps to obtain a Coach Examiner rating to 25.
• Effective immediately, the Safety & Training Committee will review all proficiency cards for candidates seeking a Coach Examiner or Instructor Examiner rating.
• The board awarded the USPA Gold Medal for Meritorious Service to Mark Baur, USPA #9091; Ben Crowell, USPA #73563; and Chuck Karcher, USPA #27444.
• The board awarded the USPA Regional Achievement Award to DeWayne Bruette, USPA #812; Harry Ervin, USPA #555; Miles Hubbard, USPA #1697; and Marilyn Wuest, USPA #56785, and Doug Wuest, USPA #57623.

The USPA Board will next meet March 2-4 in San Antonio, Texas.

The House bill that would privatize air traffic control, HR 2997, has been pulled and there will be no House vote this week. That indicates that House leadership does not think there are enough votes to pass it at this time. A vote on the bill will almost certainly be rescheduled. "The voices of USPA members and 120 other general aviation groups are being heard," said USPA's Executive Director Ed Scott. "We all need to be ready to weigh-in again in the coming weeks."

Photo by Niklas Daniel | D-28906

Mike Hall jumps with the American flag while the sun begins to set at SKYDIVE ARIZONA in Eloy.

Since I was a kid, I’ve dreamt of flying. I would have dreams that were so vivid that I could feel the zero-G sensation as I flew in my sleep. As a boy, I would climb onto the roof of my house and jump off with a towel stuffed in the back of my shirt, yelling, “Superrrrrmaaaannnnn!” Thankfully, I never broke any bones, because the secret would have been out, and my parents would have killed me once they learned of my dangerous hobby! No matter how much I tried to hide it, though, all the early warning signs were there that I was an aviation addict.

Ryan Risberg, D-22873, is a vertical formation skydiving competitor and freefly organizer. He was a member of SDC Core, which won the gold in vertical formation skydiving at the 2015 USPA Nationals, and was also a member of the team that set the 164-way Fédération Aéronautique Internationale World Record for Largest Head-Down Formation Skydive. Risberg, who is known for jumping in flip-flops, now travels the world sharing his knowledge and love of the sport and all facets of freeflying.

More than once in past “Gearing Up” columns, you’ve read me urging jumpers to take a canopy course. Of course, since 2012, USPA requires those who want a B license to take one. But it’s generally conceded that it’s a good idea for all skydivers who haven’t done so yet to go through a canopy course, no matter how many jumps they have. It’s also a good idea to go through a refresher course if your last one was a while ago. After all, the average number of jumps made by those who died last year in landing accidents was 1,840. 

Last weekend, I finally took my own advice. 

With the surge in popularity of wind tunnels among both skydivers and non-skydivers alike, USPA is faced with many questions regarding the sport of indoor skydiving. First and foremost, how involved should USPA be with the burgeoning sport? Is indoor skydiving actually skydiving, or is it only related to skydiving?

Should USPA remain entirely hands-off and consider it a different sport, just as it does with BASE jumping? Or should USPA completely incorporate indoor skydiving into the organization and issue memberships, licenses and records and select champions and U.S. Teams just as it would for jumpers of any other discipline? Or should we take some middle ground?

For the many skydivers who jump from Cessna 182s or Cessna 206s at their local drop zones, group separation is not much of an issue. If the airplane carries two 2-way or 3-way groups, by the time the second group climbs out and exits, the airplane usually covers enough distance that group separation is not a problem. However, larger airplanes usually mean more groups on board. On top of that, if the jumpers are performing many different disciplines, the group dynamics may be very complicated because they may be falling at very different speeds and not necessarily straight down. (Wingsuit, tracking and angle flyers cover a lot of real estate before breaking off for deployment.) Each jumper in all the various groups must plan and execute the jump properly to ensure that everyone has clear airspace for deployment.

As a USPA Instructor or Instructor Examiner, you may need to help a skydiver who holds foreign or military credentials obtain a USPA license or rating. USPA does not have a process for automatically converting non-USPA licenses or ratings into USPA licenses or ratings, but shortcuts are available in some circumstances.

While opening a container to start a reserve repack, a Federal Aviation Administration Senior Rigger found that the reserve ripcord was positioned on the top-reserve-flap grommet, pressed between the pin and the top of the grommet.

Brought to you by Niklas Daniel and Brianne Thompson of AXIS Flight School at Skydive Arizona in Eloy. Photo by David Cherry. Information about AXIS' coaching and instructional services is available at axisflightschool.com.

The International Skydiving Museum & Hall of Fame will hold its 2017 Celebration Event at Chicagoland Skydiving Center in Rochelle, Illinois, the weekend of September 21-23. Now in its eighth year, the Hall of Fame recognizes and honors those who “through leadership, innovation and/or outstanding achievement have defined, promoted, inspired and advanced the sport at the highest levels.” The hall and museum strive to preserve the sport’s rich history, as well as inspire current and future skydivers to document their aerial achievements. 

This week the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee released the draft of an FAA reauthorization bill, the 21st Century AIRR Act, that would remove air traffic control from the FAA and create a new private, non-profit corporation to run the nation's air traffic control system. The bill gives the privatized ATC corporation authority to enact new user fees to be paid by system users. While the bill also exempts general aviation operators from paying a user fee for air traffic control services, there is no guarantee that a future Congress or administration wouldn't remove that exemption. (The companion Senate bill proposes neither ATC privatization or aviation user fees.)