In 2017, when USPA made it clear that indoor skydiving was outside its mandate, it created a vacuum in the world of air sports. The International Bodyflight Association assumed some of the responsibilities for the sport on a temporary basis but didn’t want to assume the mantle in the long run. From this vacuum, U.S. Indoor Skydiving emerged as the new National Aeronautic Association-designated Air Sport Organization that will support the sport in the U.S.

Jumpers (clockwise from top left) Eric Bjorn, Mark Dorminey, Alan Stephenson, Trixie Stephenson, Nuno Merino and J.D. Colley successfully launch a 6-way chunk out of a PAC 750XL over Skydive Tennessee in Tullahoma.

Joe Abeln and Laura Golly celebrate their engagement by doing a 2-way at Skydive Paraclete XP in Raeford, North Carolina.

Bradley Meyer prepares to make a hot-air balloon jump over Skydive Arizona in Eloy just before the DZ’s annual Christmas Boogie.

Photo by Norman Kent | D-8369
Bryce Schunke flies toward the formation during the wingsuit world record attempts at Skydive City Zephyrhills in Florida.

Photo by Laszlo Andacs |  D-22468
Joshua Reinert flies above the pyramids of Khafre and Khufu during the Sky Seekers Boogie in Egypt.

Photo by Michael Tomaselli  |  D-18530

Canopy pilot Iain Jensen and wingsuit flyer Will Kitto fly an XRW formation through the keyhole of a canopy formation during the Project Blacklist 2018 event at Skydive Sebastian in Florida.  

Since 1961 USPA has compiled every skydiving fatality in the U.S., except skydives conducted under military orders. Thirteen skydiving fatalities were recorded in the U.S. in 2018. That’s a historic low.

The 2018 USPA National Collegiate Parachuting Championships wrapped up Wednesday, January 2, at Skydive Arizona in Eloy. The competition, the longest-running skydiving competition in the U.S., drew 73 college skydivers from 13 schools across the U.S.

Photo by Cheryl Brown   |   USPA #244108
Jay Sanders swoops the pond at Skydive City Zephyrhills in Florida during the For the Legends canopy piloting event during the International Skydiving Museum’s Hall of Fame celebrations.

Photo by Jeff Agard |  D-16906
Will DeBlois swoops a pond, jumps a berm and swoops a second pond, eventually landing dry, at Skydive Arizona in Eloy.

Photo by David Gerstein | D-28242

Monique Lai (left) and Jeff Harrigan dock on the hill during a sunset 8-way at Connecticut Parachutists Inc. in Ellington.

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

Real life often gets in the way of skydiving, and jumpers may find themselves away from the sport for 61 days, 30 years or something in between. One of the regular tasks of USPA Coaches and Instructors is to help these jumpers knock off the rust and get back in the air. Every jumper’s situation will be different, so it requires the instructional staff to create a training plan unique to each individual.

Four hundred and forty-nine. That’s a small number by some standards and a large one by others. To me, it is a much larger number than it should be. This is the number of civilian skydiving fatalities recorded in the United States during the 18 years and three months that I was the director of safety and training for USPA. Each one was a tragedy, with friends and family left in shock as they picked up the pieces in the aftermath of suddenly losing a loved one.

A jumper experienced broken suspension lines on his new main parachute that required him to cut away and deploy his reserve. Later, when investigators inspected the main parachute, they determined that tension knots, which most likely developed in the jumper’s semi-stowless deployment bag, caused one line to saw through the other lines. Jumpers must carefully fold suspension lines into the pouch of a semi-stowless bag to allow the lines to pull free in an orderly manner.

At Skydive the Ranch in Gardiner, New York, AFF student Kyle Nielson makes his required hop-and-pop jump from 3,500 feet.

At Skydive the Ranch in Gardiner, New York, Jim Cupples, D-23572, flies his canopy back to the DZ during his 10,000th jump.