Two memoirs—“D.B. Cooper & Me: A Criminal, A Spy, My Best Friend” by Carl Laurin and “Getting the Truth: I Am D.B. Cooper” by Joe Koenig—and the documentary film “D.B. Cooper: The Real Story” assert that military parachutist and convicted criminal Walter Reca, who died in 2014, was the 1971 hijacker known as D.B. Cooper.

The Parachute Industry Association recently announced that it established a new award, the PIA Mentor Award, to recognize people in the parachute industry who have contributed to the knowledge and skill sets of others in a classroom environment, through seminars or by performing on-the-job or individual training. The PIA Awards Committee will approve up to 10 recipients per year for the award. Recipients may receive the award—an engraved medallion in a presentation box— at any skydiving or parachute industry event from any PIA member in good standing. Those interested in nominating a mentor for this award can find the nomination form and additional information about the award at pia.com in the Standard Operating Procedures document in the Public Documents tab.

All USPA Group Memberships expire March 31. U.S. drop zones that have not already submitted renewal applications should do so as soon as possible. After March 31, USPA will remove any non-renewing Group Member’s listing from Parachutist and the USPA website. If a DZ renews after membership has lapsed, it may take several months for the listing to reappear in the magazine due to publication deadlines and print cycles. USPA mailed renewal packets to Group Members in mid-January. DZs that have not yet received a packet should contact the Group Membership department at groupmembers@uspa.org as soon as possible.

On November 4, Sharon Har-Noy Pilcher and Luis Prinetto, longtime organizers and coaches with years of experience organizing movement jumps, held a Leading Workshop at Skydive DeLand in Florida. The program gave attendees the tools to make informed decisions when leading and participating in any type of jump in which the jumpers fly away from a single column of air. These include tracking and angle jumps, as well as wingsuit skydives.

Corrections from the January 2019 issue of Parachutist.

In December 2017, Luther Kurtz, DZO of the Phoenix Skydive Center, prevailed in his Federal Aviation Administration Part 16 formal complaint against the City of Casa Grande, Arizona. Kurtz alleged that the city’s denial of access to his skydiving business was discriminatory and thus violated the city’s FAA grant obligation to accommodate all types of aeronautical activities.

December 8 dawned chilly and gray at Skydive Spaceland–San Marcos in Fentress, Texas, the newest location in the Spaceland family of drop zones. Twenty-two jumpers gathered for a weekend of fun and challenging formation skydives deep in the heart of Texas. (Yes, where the stars at night are big and bright.) Led by caffeine-fueled organizers Scott Latinis and Mark Pharr, the participants were ready for some awesome skydives! DZ Manager Thomas Hughes gave a speech welcoming everyone to Spaceland San Marcos, and the jumpers excitedly prepared for the first jump.

“Every man dies, but not every man really lives,” is a quote from the movie “Braveheart” but could easily apply to the group of friends I have been honored to know and perform with in this perhaps strange but compellingly thrilling sport.

Ari Perelman, D-27247, is a world-class formation skydiving competitor, coach and organizer. He is a current member of Arizona Airspeed, which recently took silver in 4-way FS at the 2018 Fédération Aéronautique Internationale World Parachuting Championships in Australia. Also skilled in vertical flying, Perelman has competed in vertical and mixed formation skydiving and was on the 138-way FAI Head-Down World Record in 2012.

Acrylic on canvas

Christine Lewis
Facebook.com/clewisdesignstudio

How safe is skydiving? Very safe? Somewhat safe? Not safe at all? Safety experts will say that the question really is, “What is skydiving’s level of safety?” or in other words, “What is the level of risk?” Even then, we must focus the question more to ask, “Risk of what? Death? Injury?”

Photo by Juan Mayer|D-26130

Rashid Abdullah and Michael Sean Washburn of the SkyTrash wingsuit team train at the Skydive Dubai Desert Campus in the United Arab Emirates.

Veterans Day is a time to thank those who have served our country through military service. So, on a brisk, sunny Veterans Day weekend in November at Skydive Arizona in Eloy, Team Elite and Arizona Airspeed joined forces for an invitational 42-way sequential skydiving event that paid tribute to those who have risked life and limb for their country. Organizers Niklas Hemlin and Guy Wright and skydivers from all over the world enjoyed early morning takeoffs, great vibes and extra altitude to accomplish their celebratory jumps.

Jumpers had a lot to be thankful for at Skydive Arizona in Eloy over the course of the Thanksgiving Boogie. The weather was perfect, and participants were able to jump from sunrise to sunset.

PRO-rated skydiver Mary Tortomasi of Bodyflyers.com recently organized a PRO-rating course at Skydive Elsinore, where seven participants had the privilege to learn from two of the most experienced demonstration jumpers in the world: Jim Wallace of 21st Century Skydiving and Rich Piccirilli of Just in Time Skydivers.

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.