Articles - Page 59 - Skydiveforum.com

Sky Systems Ltd. changing ownership

DENVER, CO (April 21, 2005) – After sixteen years in business, Sky Systems, Ltd. finds new ownership with Carey Whitley, Yvonne Gnirss and Doug Park, where the business will find its new home in DeLand, Florida.
Troy Widgery, former competitive skydiver with Airmoves, and also founder of Go Fast Sports & Beverage Co., established Sky Systems, Ltd. in 1988 with the invention of the Tube Stoe®. In the years to follow, Sky Systems’ designs revolutionized helmets in the world of skydiving, and the company established and owns several patent/trademarks in the skydiving industry.
The change in ownership is for the benefit of skydivers worldwide, and for that of Sky Systems. “With my need to focus my energy on Go Fast, I figured who better than Doug and Carey to carry on the innovation and quality production of Sky Systems – and to help Sky Systems remain the skydiving helmet and accessories leader worldwide,” said Troy Widgery. “With their experience and passion in this industry, they have the ability to take Sky Systems to an entirely new level, and to continue the original mission to develop new trends and products based on skydivers’ demands.”
The change in ownership will move the Sky Systems headquarters and production facilities out of Colorado. Sky Systems headquarters and production will be moved to Florida later this month.
About Sky Systems, Ltd.
Established in 1988, Sky Systems Ltd. was founded by Troy Widgery with the premise that skydiving equipment should be designed for skydivers by skydivers. Troy's experience includes performing in several world-class teams, including Air Moves and Vortex. As a result, Sky Systems Ltd. has been able to maintain first-hand knowledge of the trends and current demands of this dynamic industry, and in turn, produce some of the most innovative, unique, and highest quality products available in the skydiving market today.
About Doug Park/Carey Whitley/Yvonne Gnirss
With nearly 22,000 skydives between them; this new ownership team will bring a tremendous amount of first-hand industry knowledge to the production, growth and marketing of Sky Systems brand products. All three ownership partners come from independent small business backgrounds, and have made skydiving an integral part of their personal and professional accomplishments.
Doug Park / DeLand Majik

16000+ skydives
2004 World Champion 4-way, Croatia
2004, 2003, 2002 Anton Malvesky World Cup Champion, Russia (WR ave. 23.1)
2004, 2003 US National 4-way Champion
2004, 2003 US National Overall Champion
2004, 2002 Shamrock Showdown Champion (WR ave. 22.7)
2003, 2002 National Skydiving League Champion
2002 World Cup Champion 4-way, Spain
2002 World Cup Bronze Medalist 8-way, Spain
2002 US National Bronze Medalist
1998 World Cup Champion, Portugal
Multiple US National Silver Medals
Former landscape company business owner, Vermont
Carey Whitley

4400+ Skydives
Current Manager and Chef at the Perfect Spot, DeLand
AFF Instructor
Competitor at Nationals
Former owner of one of the “25 Fastest Growing Companies and Best Businesses” in Richmond, VA – Sharper Palette catering company
Small Business Consultant
Yvonne Gnirss

1500 skydives
Owner and Artist of Fused Image (www.fusedimage.com)
Marathon/Multi-Sport Endurance Athlete – training for 2005 Florida Half Ironman For more information, please email doug@skysystemsltd.com.

By admin, in Gear, April 23, 2005

Skydance Photography updates name, introduces the Sonic

By admin, in Gear, April 23, 2005

Could 6,000 be your new lucky number?

Performance Designs, Inc., located in Deland, Florida, is having a contest to celebrate the making of its 6000th Sabre2 main canopy which has been one of their most successful lines of main canopies.
The Sabre2 emerged from over 15 years of ongoing research and development. Named after its predecessor – the original Sabre – its purpose was to fulfill the evolving need for an all-purpose all-around canopy. Starting as a replacement of the original PD 9 cell, the original Sabre was designed to appeal to the needs of an emerging skydiving market in the late 80’s. The President of Performance Designs, Bill Coe, and Vice President, John Leblanc, said they needed a canopy that would appeal to a general market that wanted better openings, landings and performance characteristics than the current models available at the time. The canopy was designed with such vision that continues to endure. The original Sabre established precedence as the benchmark for rectangular zero porosity canopies with over 20,000 of them produced and jumped all over the world since 1989.
As the needs of our customers evolved, so did our research and development and it was clear that the time had come for the original to spawn the next generation of Sabre. The Sabre2 was introduced to the skies in 2001 - A totally new design from the original, Sabre2 incorporated advances in design accumulated throughout the decade or more that had passed since its predecessor – and it promised to be exciting! The Sabre2 provides a broad range of features to the general skydiving population from weekend jumpers to professional skydivers, such as Max Cohn from Generation Freefly and Arianna de Benedetti from the Italian National Team. Additionally, various drop zones use Sabre2 canopies in their student programs, as well as in transition and rental applications. The Sabre2 boasts the slogan ”Quite possibly the world’s most perfect all around canopy” and since its release has sold nearly 6,000 of them in just 4 years. To celebrate this, Performance Designs is giving one lucky winner the prize of a lifetime!
FREE canopy—your Sabre2 canopy at no charge
FREE flight to Deland, Florida to visit Performance Designs’ facilities.
FREE first jump on your new canopy with John Leblanc, vice-president of Performance Designs and head designer of our products!
FREE case of beer
FREE canopy control class with Scott Miller
And of course, tons of pictures and memories as we feature you on magazines and websites worldwide!
About the Sabre2
The Sabre2 is a slightly tapered, zero-porosity nine cell canopy, suitable for intermediate jumpers at light wing loadings and a wide range that makes it attractive to more experienced jumper at higher wing loadings. The Sabre2 is designed to be fun to fly, easy to land, and to be a great all-purpose skydiving canopy. Slow openings, crisp positive response to toggle input, along with its light toggle and riser pressure are some of the characteristics that set this canopy apart. The Sabre2 has an incredible amount of lift available on landing that will give you tremendous ability to slow down when you wish to. Sabre2’s performance envelope is huge – it will feel aggressive at higher wing loadings while maintaining its incredible ease of landing and forgiveness at lower wing loadings. If you are looking for a canopy that represents the evolution of modern, carefree performance, the Sabre2 is it!
How to participate
All you need to do to participate is place an order for your Sabre2 canopy through your favorite dealer. And when lucky 6,000 comes up – John Leblanc will contact the winner personally. So what are you waiting for?

By admin, in Gear, April 3, 2005

What is a temporary password - How does it work

By admin, in Account Help, March 29, 2005

Why am I not receiving the validation e-mail

By admin, in Account Help, March 29, 2005

How do I activate my account

By admin, in Account Help, March 29, 2005

Skydiving at Night

So you want to make a night jump and don't know what to expect? Here is an example of how many dropzones run their night jump procedures and what you need to know before you participate in night jumps.

Before you even sign up for night jumps at a DZ you need to do a few jumps at the location during the day. Open somewhat high on at least one of the jumps looking and examining the potential hazards and outs if you end up in any direction from the DZ at night. Also before the end of the day arrives you need to have at least 1 glow stick and 1 strobe light that can be easily turned on under canopy.
Typically most dropzones will hold a briefing before dark to go over the procedures for the specific location or situation. You will most likely then be asked to sit in a dark room with no lights for a period of time to allow your eyes to adjust to the darkness
Typical things that are covered during night jump briefings include:
Prep work
In plane procedures
Exiting
Opening separation
Under canopy behavior
Landing Before you can even prepare your eyes for the night skydives you need to prepare your equipment. First take the time to actually do a proper pack job on your main. Last thing you want to add to an already complex skydive is a reserve ride. You need to securely attach a glow stick to your altimeter or use a clearly lighted altimeter. If you are going to use a glow stick it is best to activate it before you start preparing your eyes then cover it with duct tape that is pulled off right before you jump. This insures that your glow stick is not a dud and it also keeps the light from shining on people's eyes. You also need to securely fasten your strobe light to you or to your rig. Attaching it to the rear of your leg, rear of your helmet or back is preferred since as the strobe fires your body will be blocking the light from getting in your eyes, but it is still very visible to everyone else. Some DZ's also require you to attach glow sticks to an arm so you need to listen during the briefing for individual DZ procedures. The most important thing in the preparation of the equipment is for the strobe and light sticks to be securely attached.
One of the most important things you can do to maintain your night vision is to avoid looking at any lights during your climb to altitude. Make sure your jump plane does not have any interior lights on, that no one is using flashlights, or anything else to light up the plane. The only color light that should be used inside the plane is a red light since that does not affect night vision. If there are any other light sources or colors (from jump lights) cover as much of them as possible to maintain your vision and still maintain their functionality.
According to the USPA SIM first time night jumpers are required to do a solo before they do any group night skydives. It is a really good idea to spend your first time in freefall at night looking around to make sure you find the landing area and pulling at your correct altitude. Typically groups are sorted by both group size and wing loading of the people in the skydive. Usually people with higher wing loadings are the first out on night jumps for reasons to be detailed shortly. After the groups and solos have been sorted most good night jump organizers will dictate exit order and pull altitudes. Usually with larger planes such as Caravans, Otters, Skyvans and Casa's two passes are made to allow for a greater horizontal separation then normally is allowed. Discuss with the pilot and S&TA; what the needed delay is for proper night jump separation. Exit on time, but as during the day do not rush the count. Just prior to exiting you need to activate the lights in the altimeter or uncover the glow sticks. DO NOT activate the strobes yet. In the last rewrite of FAR 105.19 the FAA changed the wording so the strobes no longer have to be active in freefall and since the lights of others in the group could affect your vision keep the strobes off. You do need a strobe that's visible under canopy still though.
At most DZ's each night jump group is separated by a solo skydiver. The first group out the door is assigned the lowest pull altitude. 3000 feet is a standard first pull altitude for the first group to allow proper separation and more time to deal with the complexities of night canopy flight but this may change with the group experience and DZ procedures. Each solo or group exiting after the first group is assigned an altitude 500 feet higher then the previous group up to usually 4500 to 5000 feet. Pull at your correct altitude. Do not pull higher then your altitude since the combination of horizontal separation, vertical separation and wing loading separation make for the safest possible night jump environment for you.
Once under a good canopy you need to do a few things differently than you normally would. The first is do not collapse your slider. The flapping noise that it makes can be heard by other canopies that might be getting close to you. You also need to turn on your strobe light. Do not do any spiraling or altitude loosing maneuvers since this will eliminate the vertical separation factor that the assigned pull altitudes established. Remember that. In a lot of cases of near misses on night jumps its usually discovered one jumper spiraled down to the other jumpers' level. Fly a very conservative pattern with no hook turns, S turns or other erratic flying. As you are flying constantly be scanning for the dropzone, outs, hazards and other canopies in the air. Hazards at night are different then hazards in the day since its easier to mistake a river for a road or not see power lines. If you are going to land off, try to avoid landing extremely close to roads since there are probably power lines above them you can not see. Always assume a PLF when landing off at night since you will not be able to clearly see the landing area.
Typically most DZ's will light their landing areas by having the jumper's cars facing into the wind with the headlights on. Jumpers must plan and fly a flight pattern that has them passing over the cars high enough to miss them, but low enough that they do not out fly the lighted safe landing area. Overshooting the landing area is acceptable if the jumpers know the terrain and know of any potential obstacles they need to avoid. Notice the wind direction as you are boarding the plane, in some locations near large bodies of water the winds will change 180 degrees at night as the temperatures change. Take note of the lights and wind direction before you are set up to land. Also to safely land at night the jumpers are best advised to concentrate on the horizon more then looking down. Looking down will distort your vision and cause you to assume you are at the wrong height for flaring.
If you learn nothing else about night jumping learn about the shadow effect. In a lot of situations where the moon is at your back as you are landing you will see a large black canopy rising up on a direct collision course with you. This is your shadow that you are flying into. Lots of jumpers have made avoidance turns only to pound themselves into the ground breaking bones or killing themselves only to find out it was their shadow they were avoiding. As soon as you land depending on the DZ procedures and where you landed, most DZ's either have you walk towards the cars or to the side of the lighted landing area. Others have you stay where you are until your entire pass has landed. Check in with either manifest or the organizer as soon as you land.
Additional safety items to be taken into consideration are to carry a cell phone and the DZ phone number with you. Carry a DZ business card or pamphlet with you to make sure you have the correct local DZ phone number and not just a 1-800 number that redirects to them. This way if you land out you can call to let people know where you are or if you need help. Give your cell phone number out to manifest so that if you do not check in right away they can try to contact you. Leave the ringer set to high so if you are injured the rescue parties can locate you that way. Also a whistle around your neck can be used under canopy to scare away any canopy coming close to you or if you are coming close to them. The whistle is also a great way of assisting responders to find your location if you are hurt at night. As with all jump activity, the use of any alcohol or drugs is not only against the law, it is dangerous to others and STUPID. If you or others are unable to refrain from said activities do not get on an airplane to jump. Also some jumpers go the extra steps of attaching a glow stick to their main risers so in the case of a cutaway it is easier to track and then retrieve from the ground. Discuss the best method of doing this with your rigger or S&TA.; If a jumper lands off field do not rush into a truck to get them, slowly drive towards them with your head lights on high with someone walking in front of the truck to make sure you do not run over an injured jumper.
This article was compiled by Eric Boerger D-26333 with assistance by Keith Laub, Michael Owens and Art Shaffer.

By admin, in General, March 28, 2005

Service Bulletin - Icon Harness Container Cutaway Cable and Cable Housing

By admin, in Gear, March 13, 2005

Para-Gear Photo Submissions For Catalog #70

Para-Gear is interested in photographic submissions that you may have for the 2005 -2006 Para-Gear Catalog #70. We have taken the time to briefly describe the format and certain criteria that we look for, in order to help you to see if you have something worth submitting. We have included examples of previous catalog covers for your reference.
Over the years Para-Gear has used photos from all of skydiving's disciplines. We do not have a preference as far as what type of skydiving photo it is, rather we look for something that either is eye-catching or pleasing to the eye. In light of the digital age, we are also able to use photos that in one way or another may be less than perfect and enhance them, removing blemishes, flipping images, altering colors, etc.
The following are preferences. However what we prefer and what we get, or choose, are not always the same. If however we came down to a choice between two photos of equal quality, we would opt for the one that met more of our preferences. We typically prefer that the photo be brighter. In the past we have used sunset photos and even a night jump photo, although by and large most of the photos are daytime. We like the subject of the image to have contrast with the background. Subjects that are wearing brighter more colorful clothing usually stand out more. We prefer to have the people in the photo wearing equipment since that is what we sell. Headgear, goggles, jumpsuits, altimeters, audible altimeters, and gloves are all good. We also prefer to see skydivers wearing head and foot protection.
We do not print any BASE jumping nor any Tandem photographs. No submissions of these will be accepted.
Our basic criteria is as follows:
Vertical Format. The front and back covers of the catalog are both in a vertical format. We can use a horizontal (landscape) shot, as opposed to a vertical (portrait), and then crop it as long as the image lies within a vertical cropping.
Photo Quality. The front and back cover shots will be printed as 8 ½ x 11 in 300 dpi format. Any film that can hold its quality up to this size and print dpi is fine. Slide film is preferred. In the event of a final cover choice, we prefer to be sent the original slide for getting the best quality out of the image.
Back Cover Photo. The back cover photo is no different from the front except in one respect. We need to have room on the left side of the image for the thumb index. In the past we have taken images and been able to horizontally flip them thereby creating this room.
Originality. Anything that is original, eye-catching, or makes someone take more notice of the catalog covers is something we look for. It could be a photo from a unique camera position or angle, a scenic skydive, shots under canopy, landings, etc. We look for photos that have not been previously published and most likely would not accept them if they have, as we want a photo that no one else has seen yet. We also do not want any photos that are chosen as the front or back covers to be used for other non Para-Gear advertising for a period of one year.
Para-Gear offers $250.00 each for both the front and back covers we choose. Our current deadline for catalog cover submissions is March 18th 2005 . Sending sample pictures by e-mail or mail are both fine. We will return any mailed in photos or slides after we are done with them. Please feel free to contact me directly with any questions.
Para-Gear Equipment Co. Inc.

3839 West Oakton Street

Skokie, Illinois 60076 USA

Ph: 847-679-5905

Fax: 847-679-8644

E-mail: sales@para-gear.com

Internet: http://www.para-gear.com
When replying, please advise your full name, address, e-mail, phone/fax and copy our e-mail or refer to the subject so we can reply easily back to you. Thank you.

By admin, in News, March 5, 2005

Z-Brace Technology from Performance Designs

By admin, in Gear, February 21, 2005

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Sky Systems Ltd. changing ownership

Skydance Photography updates name, introduces the Sonic

Could 6,000 be your new lucky number?

What is a temporary password - How does it work

Why am I not receiving the validation e-mail

How do I activate my account

Skydiving at Night

Service Bulletin - Icon Harness Container Cutaway Cable and Cable Housing

Para-Gear Photo Submissions For Catalog #70

Z-Brace Technology from Performance Designs

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