Photo by Tom Sanders |  D-6503

At the Boogie in Belize, Elizabeth Higgins, D-13274, who was not current but wanted to make her 1,000th jump over the Great Blue Hole, fulfills her wish on a tandem with instructor Andy Malchiodi.

“This whirring carousel of images accompanied the start of the very last hour of my 45-year voyage through life. Its final phase, which commenced on the third of December, 2014, at nine minutes before noon, would be spent suspended in midair in a wicker basket dangling in the shadow of an enormous 40-meter-tall balloon, now rising silently but steadily toward the stratosphere. 

I knew this moment would be critically important for the future I’d envisioned for myself.” 

Photo By Zach Lewis | D-21616

At Skydive Arizona in Eloy, jumpers build a formation in memory of legendary skydiver Tom Jenkins, who died of complications from Parkinson’s disease in December.

Last August, two tandem double fatalities occurred just a week apart. The details for both of those tragic accidents can be found in “Incident Reports” in this issue of Parachutist. While the casual observer may not see a correlation between the two accidents, they should be a flashing neon warning sign that screams for every tandem examiner, Safety and Training Advisor and drop zone operator to regularly review staff members’ tandem procedures.

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.

Photo by Raymond Adams | D-30158

Kyle Stubbs swoops in for landing during the Fitz Boogie, an annual St. Patrick’s Day event in Fitzgerald, Georgia.

Photo By Ellen Morris | D-26655

Neither wind nor the threat of a late-season snow storm could dissuade DZO Ole Thompson (second from right) and other intrepid jumpers from Vermont Skydiving Adventures in Addison from attending Safety Day, which the DZ traditionally holds in April rather than March due to the climate. 

Over Easter weekend, Skydive the South—a small, homey drop zone in Tuskegee, Alabama—transformed. The hustle and bustle of people, parachutes and airplanes brought about by the DZ’s first Easter Boogie (and fundraiser for two charitable organizations) was astonishing. 

The Spring Fling—which started at the Florida Skydiving Center in Lake Wales back in 2004 with only 18 participants—has grown to be the world’s largest annual gathering of canopy formation skydivers (aka canopy relative workers or CRW dogs). The 2018 Spring Fling, which returned to Lake Wales this year, attracted 112 participants from 10 countries.

It sounds like a lot when you don’t yet have them. But in reality, 200 skydives is not that many. And in some cases, it’s not enough to prepare the jumper for the added complexity of flying a wingsuit, which adds risk and reduces comfort during almost every phase of a jump from exiting the plane to deploying the parachute.

Nick Barson doesn’t just say he loves animals. He proves it. In fact, more than 700 animals owe their lives to Barson and his nonprofit rescue operation charmingly named “Paws Landing.” Barson’s plan is to keep that number growing.

Danji “DJ” Marvin, D-22292, is an influential and safety-conscious AFF Instructor Examiner, Tandem Instructor Examiner and Coach Examiner who owns and runs The Ratings Center instructional ratings school. Marvin, along with co-host Nick Lott, also shares his enthusiasm and passion for the sport on Gravity Lab Radio. 

“The Perfect Nightlight”  
Aluminum, brass and steel rotating sculpture with LED lights

Timothy Uhl    |    A-79945
Walden, New York

This is an election year for USPA, meaning that each of the 22 seats on USPA’s board of directors is up for grabs by any USPA member who is qualified to run. 

Photo by Norman Kent  |  D-8369
Richard Scheurich (foreground) and Luis Prinetto from Team Fly4Life fly their Performance Designs Valkyrie Hybrid canopies in formation after a jump during the Fly4Life Flight Camp at Skydive DeLand in Florida.

In a sport that requires correctly functioning equipment for your survival, how much do you really know about your skydiving gear? Each year, fatal and non-fatal accidents stem from issues with skydiving equipment. The vast majority of these could have been avoided had the jumpers simply known more about their gear or performed basic gear checks to discover the problem before boarding or exiting the airplane. 

On April 18, The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale announced that the World Games 2021 in Birmingham, Alabama, will include canopy piloting. 

At Skydive Carolina in Chester, South Carolina, Sisters in Skydiving members Amy Milhorne and Christina Horner added a new activity to the drop zone’s SIS events: Dive-Flow Bingo!