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Launch Full Issue in Flipbook
Flip through the pages of back issues from September 1957 to today as if you were holding the real magazine! Once you open an issue, swipe the hand icon to the left to begin reading. (You may need to disable your pop-up blocker to view.)
Organizer Jason Brigmon (bottom) makes a 2-way freefly jump with Neal Wiggs at Skydive Paraclete XP in Raeford, North Carolina.
Photo by Elliot Byrd | D-32251
Andy Beck and Jarod Thompson sit fly at Oklahoma Skydiving Center.
Photo by Zack Line | D-36774
Jumpers angle fly at the March Fly4Life Flight Camp at Skydive DeLand in Florida.
Photo by Norman Kent | D-8369
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.
After landing, a jumper set his brakes and left the rig for a packer. The packer noticed that the jumper had stowed the left brake incorrectly by placing the toggle through the cat’s eye above the metal guide ring, which will not secure the brake line. The brake line would have released during deployment and resulted in a spinning main parachute if the other brake remained stowed. This common packing error is easily preventable by paying attention and stowing your brakes correctly.
“When can I downsize to a smaller main canopy?” This is probably the most commonly asked question at every drop zone around the world. It seems like everyone—from newly licensed jumpers to those with thousands of skydives—wants to jump a smaller parachute. The answer to the question is tricky and can mean the difference between an uneventful experience and a serious injury or even fatality.
Skydiving coaches, instructors and instructor examiners would much rather spend time in the air skydiving than on the ground handling paperwork. While this is understandable (hey, nobody likes to fill out forms, right?), each rating holder’s administrative responsibilities are extremely important.
AFF Instructors Anastasis Sideris and Dimitris Sourlis fly with student Christos Tsoros at USPA Foreign Affiliate Skydive Athens in Kastro, Greece.
Photo by Ioannis Vlachiotis | D-31871
Canopy manufacturer Performance Designs would love it if every time you needed a canopy you'd buy a brand-spanking-new one. Of course, that's not always possible, and without a doubt there are some great deals on used parachutes in the marketplace. Many people choose to buy used, especially for their first or second sets of gear. If you do choose to buy used equipment, particularly a main canopy, you’ll need to do your homework.
The record series kicked off on April 20. First up was the three-day JOS world record event. Thirty-two skydivers in their 70s from Canada, Germany, Sweden and the U.S. participated.
The subject of wingsuit exits—specifically, in what order wingsuit flyers should exit and how to conduct the exits—seems to cause a lot of confusion and worry among wingsuit flyers themselves, as well as other jumpers at the DZ. Much of this confusion and worry can be resolved by simply doing a little pre-planning before boarding the aircraft.
On April 19, 132 members of the Parachutists Over Phorty Society (and subgroups Skydivers Over Sixty, Jumpers Over Seventy and Jumpers Over Eighty) made the trek to the rural drop zone for the 14th POPS World Meet, temporarily increasing the town’s population by 11 percent.
Photo by Guru Khalsa | D-32694
From left, C.J. Roane, Cody Edgeworth, Laura Wagner and Steve Downey fly a head-down flower at the Looking to Build event at Skydive Spaceland–Houston in Rosharon, Texas.
I truly miss the sport and its inherent camaraderie, but above all, I often think of those whom Tom named and the many close friendships formed during decades of jumping in Southern California.
Photo by Michael Tomaselli | D-18530 At Skydive Lake Wales in Florida, canopy formation skydivers Chris Gay, Scott Lazarus, Ihab Mahmoud and Greg Meadows make a triple flag jump.
Valinda Mitchell and her husband, John, are vacationing in France. These lovebirds travel a lot … a month in Ireland here, a long stint jetting around Australia there. When your childhood sweetheart and the mother of your four children says her final goodbyes to the family from a hospital bed and manages to claw her way back, such forays are understandable and maybe even necessary. Wandering hand in hand around Paris is the only way to respond, n’est-ce pas?
Photo By Elliot Byrd | D-32251
Sean Van Acker, B-46379, celebrates his 100th jump with Courtney McCarthy at Skydive Paraclete XP in Raeford, North Carolina, while wearing Chewbacca costumes.
Garrett “Snake” Shaw, D-2600, passed away May 3 after an illness. He was 80 years old.
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