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.

Anticipation is high for the 2019 British Parachute Association Skydive the Expo after record crowds attended the 2018 event. The event, hosted at the East Midlands Conference Centre in Nottingham, U.K., will feature seminars from leading skydiving experts, a large exhibition hall and BPA’s annual awards ceremony, as well as after-hours parties. More information is available at skydivetheexpo.com. 

United Parachute Technologies recently introduced its Mutant harness-and-container system, which the company designed to maximize performance in canopy flight. In contrast to familiar systems, the Mutant suspends the pilot in the supine position—resting back with the feet stretched forward—which is an efficient flying position resembling a paragliding pilot’s. This position reduces drag, thus allowing for more speed and range, and is also very comfortable, according to UPT.

Skydive Empuriabrava in Spain hosted a fundraising event for the Sky Family Fund, which raises money for victims of skydiving and BASE accidents, on November 16. The Sky Family Fund is part of the Care-All Foundation, whose mission is to give people the possibilities for better lives. Founded in early 2018, Care-All has already provided educational and business funding for recipients in Nepal, Kenya and Zambia, helped support an orphanage in Kenya and—through the Sky Family Fund—assisted two people injured in air-sports accidents.

Members of Skydive Suffolk in Virginia pose for the camera after performing a demo jump into a Toys for Tots event, where they also donated more than $150 worth of toys to the cause.