My first year here at USPA as director of safety and training has gone by so quickly.

Oil and water, Red Bull and milk, brass grommets and rubber bands: all things that don’t mix together well.

A tandem student points out his altitude as he makes his first skydive with instructor Jeff Whitt at Skydive Spaceland–Houston in Rosharon, Texas.

On back-to-back loads organized by T.J. Hine at Skydive Chicago in Ottawa, Illinois, Doug Janssen (left photo, red helmet), C-46750, celebrates his 2,000th jump and Larry Stein (right photo, blue jumpsuit with black grippers), D-9016, celebrates his 5,000th jump.

Members of the Parachutists Over Phorty Society and its many subgroups gathered at Skydive Spaceland–Houston in the quaint Texas town of Rosharon October 2-6 to compete in the annual POPS National Championships and Jumpers Over Seventy Record Attempts.

On October 3, a historic 74-year-old Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress known as Nine-O-Nine (after its military serial number 42-31909) crashed and subsequently caught fire in Connecticut during a living-history flight, killing seven of the 13 people on board, including the pilot and copilot.

Marian Sparks (center) founder of the breast cancer charity Jump for the Rose, makes a pink-bra-clad skydive with (from left) Marshall Madden, Greg Armstrong, Patie Duttlinger and James Davis during the Jump for the Rose Pinkfest Boogie at Skydive Spaceland–Houston in Rosharon, Texas.

The Aviation Trail Parachute Museum in Dayton, Ohio, joined other aviation organizations at the first Festival of Flight at Wright State University on October 5.

A herd of unicorns (Michelle Hart, Karla Katherine, Jeannette Copeland and Marina Prokopenko) takes to the skies at the Aeronautrixx Unicorn Boogie, a Sisters in Skydiving event at Skydive California in Tracy.

Chicks certainly rocked this year at Skydive Elsinore in California during its 19th annual Chicks Rock Boogie.

At Skydive Perris in California, jumpers release the ashes of longtime California jumper Linda Hardesty, D-15263, and her father, Ted Hardesty.

Skydive the Falls in Youngstown, New York, hosted its first Skydive the Falls Fest September 13-15.

Skydive Arizona in Eloy kicked off its busy fall season with the Dia De Los Muertos Halloween Boogie October 25-28.

On October 23, Advanced Aerospace Designs issued reminders of approaching deadlines for compliance with its last two service bulletins.

The Women’s Skydiving Network, an international network of more than 3,000 female skydivers, recently announced the launch of the WSN Pro team, an all-female skydiving demonstration team founded by professional skydivers Amy Chmelecki and Melanie Curtis.

In early October, Skydive Spaceland celebrated the fifth anniversary of its now biannual Sport Accuracy Competition with its biggest one yet!

Niklas Daniel of AXIS Flight School at Skydive Arizona in Eloy demonstrates his edge-flying technique.

During the Carol Clay Birthday Boogie at Virginia Skydiving Center in Petersburg, jumpers celebrate the life of the jumper known to all as "the Queen" by making her honorary 20,000th skydive.

While many people go to the East Coast to see the fall colors, canopy formation skydivers know that the West Coast is the place to be for a truly incredible display, because that’s when Skydive Elsinore in California hosts its annual Fall From Planes event.