Photo by Craig O’Brien | D-19294

Magician and C-licensed skydiver David Blaine takes off under a cluster of weather balloons to make a nearly 25,000-foot jump over Page, Arizona, for his YouTube special event “Ascension.”

From top, Todd Gleason, Eric Issacs, Victor Olivo, organizer Luis Prinetto, Max Salinas and Andrei Ponomarev enjoy a sunset angle jump during the Tropical Space Camp at Skydive Spaceland–Houston in Rosharon, Texas.

Jumpers form a big-way round, the signature formation of the 2020 Heroes Skydiving event at Skydive Paraclete XP in Raeford, North Carolina.

The USPA Instructor Rating Manual states in T3—Tandem Method, Section 3-4, F—Tandem Emergencies: “In the event of a main canopy malfunction, decide and act by 3,000 feet to cut away and deploy reserve.”

Keeping track of the manufacturer’s requirements for every year and model of AAD has become a really daunting task for riggers. They really need the help of the owner.

No s**t , there we were, thought we were gonna die. Fortunately, after 45 years of skydiving, I only have a few stories that begin like this.

On the morning of September 2, 9-year-old Dessa Blaine looked up above the small town of Page, Arizona, and saw her father, David, become a tiny dot in the sky.

I've insured skydiving airplanes for 25 years. In that time, I've paid for about 50 heavily damaged or totaled turbine skydiving aircraft. That's a lot of bent iron … unnecessarily bent iron. If you wonder why your insurance costs are so high, let me say it again: 50 heavily damaged or destroyed airplanes! There seems to be an insidious common thread in 85 percent of these accidents, and that’s the lack of following a checklist.

Liam Wertheimer runs out his landing at Skydive Spaceland–Clewiston in Florida.

Wingsuit flyer Craig Lambton carves around skysurfer Kyle Batchelor during Shredfest at Cleveland Skydiving Center in Garrettsville, Ohio.

Different line types create confusion among skydivers of all experience levels. What are the different types of lines? What are the pros and cons of each? Which size line is best for you?

On Saturday, August 15, more than 40 military veterans around the country took to the air on tandem skydives during the 6th Annual Freedom Freefall event.

So, you’ve been jumping for a few years and you’ve decided it’s time to work on earning a tandem instructor rating.

Dynamic warm-ups are a perfect way to get ready for a day of jumping. They increase your core temperature, and the increased blood flow enhances your nerve impulses and reaction time.

Half-braked canopy flight is a useful and life-saving skill, but recent incident reports (including the non-fatal incident reports in this issue of Parachutist) show that it is highly underutilized.

Instructors have been performing a lot of currency training lately and overall have been doing a great job. However, our recent incident reports show that one area of emergency-procedure training could use more emphasis: low-altitude emergencies under canopy.

Now that many drop zones have re-opened, most with face-mask requirements in place to help control the spread of the coronavirus, lens fogging has become a common issue.

Reports in this column have been compiled by the USPA Safety & Training Department from information received from the field and are the most accurate reports possible through such input. They are printed in Parachutist for their educational value.

Ben Renze (green shoes) celebrates his 100th jump with a hybrid skydive at Chicagoland Skydiving Center in Rochelle, Illinois.