Ten good reasons to support the 1968 United States Parachute Team.  See page 6 for the story of their training and more Chip Maury photos.

There are several modern AADs available for skydivers to choose from, all of which offer jumpers the ability to offset the activation altitude (temporarily change the activation-altitude settings to compensate for a landing area that is higher or lower than the point of departure). Additionally, both the Airtec CYPRES 2 and the Advanced Aerospace Designs Vigil 2+ offer a feature that allows users to increase the activation altitude semi-permanently (until the user changes it again).

In the days following the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the nation reorganized its priorities. While President Bush called for a return to life as normal in America, no group outside New York City, Pennsylvania and Northern Virginia felt the sting as much as civil aviation.

Follow all the scores at OmniSkore.com, and check out USPA’s Facebook page for photos throughout the event, which continues until September 18.

After nearly two full days on the ground due to weather, the first events wrapped up at the 2018 USPA National Skydiving Championships at Chicagoland Skydiving Center in Rochelle, Illinois.

Alex Patterson and Erick Arevalo work on head-down exits with Brianne Thompson during the Arizona X-Force Vericial Challenge at Skydive Arizona in Eloy.

Photo by Nathan Roth | C-41152

Amy and Cliff Butler exit over Skydive Monroe.

Photo by Max Sidner | D-24801

By Noah Clark| D-36812

Wearing rig with a tertiary canopy, Noah Clarke hangs under a 28-foot-diameter round parachute manufactured in January 1953 that he will cut away to celebrate his 1,000th skydive.

85 competitors from 27 nations test their skills at the Federation Aeronautique Internationale 7th Canopy Piloting World Championships and 1st Freestyle Canopy Piloting World Championships.

Photo by Michael Tomaselli | D-18530

Canopy formation skydivers enjoy the view of a beautiful cloudscape during the Dawg Daze Boogie at Chicagoland Skydiving Center in Rochelle, Illinois.

At Skydive the Ranch in Gardiner, New York, (clockwise from left) Stephen Boyle, Dennis Dorman and Eric Junge launch a 3-way head down exit.

Photo by Laszlo Andacs | D-22468

 Imagine a place that captures all of our sport’s exciting and dynamic history, where jumpers and non-jumpers alike can see the evolution of skydiving and the many facets of its rich and storied past. That’s the dream of the International Skydiving Museum and Hall of Fame, which the late USPA Executive Director Emeritus William H. Ottley conceived decades ago.

PHOTO BY Ralph Kristopher
With a spectacular view of the Chugach Mountains, Pryce Brown exits from a Super Cub flying above a wilderness area northwest of Anchorage, Alaska. 

Wingsuit flying is complicated and requires a significant amount of training, education, practice and dedication. It isn’t something you can just do a little here and there and still do it well. It deserves respect and your full attention. Your life is on the line, along with the lives of others. A wingsuit skydive presents many opportunities to make fatal errors. And don’t kid yourself about the risks to others: If you mess up in this sport, you can kill someone. It has happened before.

Instructor, coach and champion Christy Frikken hardly needs an introduction. If you’ve been in the sport over the past 16 years—or watched formation skydiving podiums since 2007—you’ve certainly seen her. Unfortunately, dozens of major wins and one of the most highly respected names in 4-way coaching apparently only gets you so far.

The 2018 USPA Board of Directors summer meeting—the sixth and final meeting of the 2016-2018 board before the fall elections—took place July 13-15. For the board’s first visit to Milwaukee, Skydive Midwest in nearby Sturtevant, Wisconsin, welcomed board members and staff to the drop zone the Thursday before the meeting, and everyone enjoyed the cool, northern temperatures and blue skies before heading into three days of meetings. Compared to recent meetings, agendas were light, allowing the board to explore each topic fully.

There is an old saying about death that states: “They say you die twice. Once when you stop breathing and the second, a bit later on, when somebody mentions your name for the last time.” If that’s the case, Carolyn Clay will never truly die. On Friday, June 29, approximately 350 of Clay’s friends gathered at Virginia Skydiving Center in Petersburg to say a final good-bye to their beloved Queen of Skydiving.