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Mirage Systems has received 2 reports of reserve ripcord pins breaking under apparently normal wear. Although the company and the subcontractor who manufactured the ripcord assemblies have not been able to identify the cause of the failures, Mirage has issued the following mandatory Product Service Bulletin: MIRAGE SYSTEMS - Product Service Bulletin Issue date: 28 April 2003 Bulletin number: 280403-01 Subject: Soft Reserve Ripcord Recall Status: Mandatory. Compliance date: Immediate. Identification: Mirage 27” Soft Reserve Ripcord, part #SH01-27, batch #M005128, mfd. 11/25/2001 – 5/10/2002 Background: Mirage Systems has received 2 reports of reserve ripcord pins breaking under apparently normal wear. Mirage Systems, working with the subcontractor who manufactured the ripcord assemblies, has not been able to identify the cause of the failures. Detailed microscopic and metallurgical examinations have been carried out with nominal results. Further investigation is ongoing. Both failures occurred in a single batch of ripcord sub-assemblies manufactured in November 2001. Other assemblies from the same batch were tested and were normal. However, because both failures occurred in the same batch, in lieu of the discovery of a definitive cause and in the interest of safety, Mirage Systems and the subcontractor, Capewell Components, have decided to recall all ripcords from this batch for inspection and possible replacement effective immediately. Action: All Mirage owners with soft reserve ripcords should check the ripcord data panel, found on the soft handle opposite the attachment Velcro. Suspect handles are marked “S/N M005128”. Affected owners have 2 possible courses of action: 1. Return the ripcord ONLY together with identification and rig serial number to Capewell Components ATTN: Mark M. 105 Nutmeg Road South S. Windsor, CT 06074 Capewell will conduct non-destructive testing and inspection and, if necessary, Mirage Systems will replace and return the ripcord assembly, free of charge. Assemblies which pass inspection will be so marked and returned, cleared to jump, by Capewell. 2. Contact Mirage Systems with the serial number of their rig to place an order for immediate replacement at: Mirage Systems 1501A Lexington Ave. DeLand, Fl 32724 386-740-9222 info@miragesys.com Customers returning their old handles at time of order will be charged $15. Other orders will be charged $64, but will be eligible for a $44 refund upon receipt of the old handle. Customers shipping handles to either Capewell Components or Mirage Systems may use UPS account #E8E841 (Capewell Components) to cover shipping charges or use another service at their expense. Soft reserve ripcords bearing batch numbers other than M005128 and all metal handled ripcords are NOT affected. Because Capewell Components makes assemblies for other container manufacturers, all skydivers are recommended to check all hardware assemblies for unusual wear, cracking, scoring, marking or bending. All skydivers are reminded to check all their equipment for problems frequently. Authority: Daniel Thompson, President, Mirage System Jeff Johnston, QC Manager, Mirage Sysetms Mark Magdalenski, QC Manager, Capewell Components Distribution: FAA, Mirage dealers and customers of record, Parachutist, Skydiving, Int’l periodicals. Download the PDF

As many as 100 skydivers from across the country will gather in Longmont on Saturday for a commemorative jump and memorial service to honor a colleague who died in a plane crash over the weekend. "It's a special kind of memorial that skydivers do for one of their own," said Gary Sands, brother of Jeffrey Sands. Jeffrey Sands, president of the Mile-Hi Skydiving Center in Longmont, was a passenger in a Pitts S-2B stunt plane that went down in a hayfield northwest of the city on Saturday. The pilot, 57- year-old Thomas Bullington of Boulder, also was killed. Gary Sands of Golden said Monday that his brother was an adventurous free spirit who logged more than 4,000 jumps since 1984. He was one of 300 skydivers to set a world record with a simultaneous formation jump in December. "Jeff was a thrill-seeker," Gary Sands said. "He lived life at full throttle. He loved the adrenaline rush, but in spite of that he was known as the consummate perfectionist." Sands, 49, had to work hard to get his skydiving school off the ground, but his perseverance built it into one of the best, his brother said. He was a safe, able instructor who introduced many to the sport. Jeff Sands also was known for his annual landing at Folsom Field during the Bolder Boulder race. After much practice with weights and tests, he perfected a method of carrying a giant American flag in by parachute, his brother said. Sands is survived by his mother, two older brothers and a sister. He was not married and had no children. "He was married to skydiving and flying," Gary Sands said. "He went the way he would have wanted to go, doing something that he loved." ~ Special to The Denver Post

Long Island, NY - April 24, 2003 - Atair Aerospace was one of five manufacturers honored by New York State’s Empire State Development and the Long Island Forum for Technology during their COMET expo and awards dinner at the Long Island Business & Technology Center on April 10, 2003. The event was created as a way to feature the numerous high-technology manufacturing companies of the Long Island area, with a particular emphasis on defense related companies. BAE Systems, EDO Corporation, Northrop Grumman, Empire State Development, Fleet Bank, and Margolin, Winer & Evans, LLP, judged the over 70 participating companies in five categories: Innovative Products, Precision Parts, Electronic Assemblies, Complex Integrated Products, and Unrestricted. Atair was honored with the 2003 Manufacturer of the Year Award for Innovation for their ONYX family of Autonomous Guided Parachute systems. Conflicts in Somalia, Afghanistan, and Iraq have demonstrated the wide spread use of inexpensive surface to air missiles by enemies. The United States Military has at the highest level recognized the critical need for the development of guided parachute systems to replace current, obsolete airdrop delivery techniques. A $3000 shoulder fired SAM can put in jeopardy aircraft flying up to 25,000 ft. Conventional military airdrop techniques release cargo under round parachutes from altitudes below 1,500 ft. At such low altitudes placing cargo at the intended landing target is accurate, but puts the carrier plane and personnel in grave danger. Using such airdrop techniques at altitudes of 25,000 ft. to 35,000 ft. provides safety for the aircraft and personnel, but makes delivering cargo to the landing target impossible. With funding for guided parachute systems now coming from the Secretary of Defense level, government and military agencies appear primed to dedicate serious resources to resolving this critical strategic military requirement. Having foreseen this need and begun the development of guided parafoil systems several years ago, Atair Aerospace continues to develop the state-of-the-art, advanced-design parachutes guided by Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites and Inertial Navigation Sensors (INS) for the precise, reliable and cost-effective airborne delivery of material and ordnance to remote locations in fulfillment of critical military, relief and rescue missions. Atair has been a pioneer in bringing forth new technological advances in military and sport parachute systems since 1992. For more information please contact Mark Montalvo at mark@extremefly.com or visit Atair Aerospace’s website at www.extremefly.com. Read more about Atair's Autonomous Guided Parachute systems

PITTSBURGH -- Robert Bonadies was falling at a rate of about 176 feet per second when he grasped the rip cord of a student who had tumbled out of control, saving her life and sacrificing his own. Bonadies, 47, of Vernon, Conn., was one of 21 people honored Thursday by the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, established in 1904 to recognize human courage under extreme conditions. He died on May 6, 2002 while instructing students at Connecticut Parachutists, Inc., near Hartford, Conn. Bonadies, called Bobo by friends and family, was passionate about skydiving and running. His wake was attended by an estimated 4,000 people from both communities, including those he had taught to jump from planes and finish marathons. The wake lasted more than five hours, said his friend and fellow instructor at Connecticut Parachutists, Inc., Don Semon. "The circumstances were pretty shocking for everybody, but in this type of work, things happen quickly," Semon said. "Certain people act in certain ways." Bonadies was performing an "accelerated free fall" from 12,000 feet with another instructor and two students, Semon said. The student began to tumble around 5,500 feet and was unable to activate her chute, authorities said. "The procedure is, at 2,000 feet, if a student's canopy is not open, you open your own chute and look out for yourself," Semon said. "You've done everything you can." Bonadies stuck by his student as she hurtled toward the earth until he was able to activate her chute, enabling her to touch down safely, witnesses said. Traveling at 120 mph, it was only seconds before Bonadies was killed. He had been diving since the mid-1970s and was a veteran of more than 2,700 jumps, Semon said. Bonadies was one of five people honored with the Carnegie Medal posthumously. He is survived by his wife, Lisa and two teenage children. Also honored Thursday was Michael K. Daley, of Mount Washington, Ky. Daley, 47, a salesman, squeezed under the cabin of a tractor-trailer that had caught fire, trapping a woman inside. Daley suffered first-degree burns while pulling the woman from the fiery wreck in Jeffersontown, Ky., on Feb. 5, 2002. The woman spent five months in a hospital recovering from extensive burns. Another medal recipient was 46-year-old firefighter Jerome F. Fryer, of Hamburg, N.J. Fryer ran from his station during a shootout in March 2001 to aid a police officer who lay wounded just outside. With police exchanging fire with two men, Fryer helped the officer to the station where he and other firefighters treated him for a gunshot wound to the leg until further medical help arrived. Industrialist Andrew Carnegie started the hero fund after being inspired by rescue stories from a mine disaster that killed 181 people. Awards are given only to those the commission feels risked their life to an extraordinary degree in attempting to save the life of another in the United States or Canada. On-duty emergency workers and police are not honored unless their actions are clearly beyond the call of duty. The awards, bronze medals that come with $3,500 for the honorees or their survivors, are issued five times a year. About $26.4 million has been issued in one-time grants, scholarship aid, death benefits and continuing assistance over 99 years.

A 28-year-old serviceman has died during a parachute jump at an airbase in Oxfordshire. The victim was taking part in a recreational jump with the RAF's Sports Parachuting Association at RAF Weston-on-the Green. Police and ambulance crews were called to the scene at around 1230 BST on Friday. The identity of the man and the cause of the accident have yet to be released. The incident was the second parachuting accident in the area this week. A man, aged about 60, died after suffering multiple injuries in a skydiving accident on Wednesday morning. It is thought his parachute failed to open when he made a jump at Northamptonshire's Hinton airfield near Brackley, near the Oxfordshire border. He was taken by air ambulance to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford where he later died. The British Parachute Association and Northamptonshire Police are investigating the incident.

Dropzone.com users have formed a team to help with a world-wide effort to understand proteins and their role in certain diseases. It is called "Folding@Home" and this effort is already producing results. Some of you may have heard about SETI@Home, and it's search for extraterrestrial intelligence by scanning the skies with radio telescopes and analyzing the signals they pick up from space. Folding@Home (F@H) works much the same way, in that analysis of data is shared by many computers. Collectively, many computers become one, huge, super-computer. This "super computer" studies protein folding, misfolding, aggregation, and related diseases. Something much more meaningful to most of us than searching for extraterrestrial intelligence. To help in this effort is very easy. You simply download a program from http://folding.stanford.edu/. And install it on your computer. The program only runs when you are not using your computer, so it doesn't interfere with any work you are doing. When you install the program, you can also join the Dropzone.com team. Simply put "31515" for your team number. You can also do this later, or change to a different team at any time. Join the conversation in the forums

Para-Gear is interested in photographic submissions that you may have for the 2003-2004 Para-Gear Catalog #68. 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 foot protection. We do not print any BASE jumping nor any Tandem photographs. 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 May 15th 2003. 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. Sincerely, Curt Bachman Para-Gear Equip. Co. Inc. curt@para-gear.com

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. - Three Army skydivers were injured Sunday when strong wind knocked them to the ground before a NASCAR race. A group of eight jumpers from the U.S. Army Special Operations Command Parachute team from Fort Bragg came sailing into the track area, trailing red smoke as part of the pre-race activities for the Subway 400 at North Carolina Speedway. With wind up to 40 mph, one jumper was carried away from his targeted landing on the track and into the infield, where he appeared to bounce off the top of a tractor-trailer before landing on the ground, his chute caught on the antenna of a van. He was airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte and was in good condition, a nursing administrator said. The hospital did not provide the soldier's name. Messages for spokesmen with the Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg were not immediately returned. Another jumper sailed into the garage area and bounced off the top of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s hauler. He landed between race team trucks and a fence. That jumper, as well as a third who landed hard on the asphalt of the track, were taken to Womack Army Hospital in Fayetteville for treatment of minor injuries. The hospital did not immediately return calls. Track personnel did not immediately have their names or any other information about the injured soldiers. At least two jumpers nailed their landings on the front stretch of the race track. Another skydiver never made it to the track, landing outside the Turn 1 grandstands. ~ Associated Press

Tampa, FL -- Big Air Sportz, Inc., makers of high performance airlocked sport parachutes, has slashed retail prices on its Samurai and Lotus models of airlocked canopies. The new retail price of $1,499 US is the same for any size of Samurai or Lotus canopy. Add-on options are additional to this new low price. These new aggressive price changes serve to promote more factory-direct orders and more intimate contact with customers. Big Air CEO and Head of Research and Development, Brian Germain, also announced a shift from traditional "dealers" to a network of "Field Representatives." "The Field Representatives are the voice of Big Air out in the field… Quite simply, the Reps are our connection to the customer," said Germain. "This means that the educational materials published by Big Air Sportz are prerequisite reading," he added. Further, applicants must pass a written examination. A field rep is expected to be knowledgeable about canopy flight and the Big Air models of canopies to effectively promote and match customers to appropriate canopies and sizes. For more information on becoming a Big Air Sportz Field Representative, please contact Big Air Sportz at 813.788.4444 or andy@bigairsportz.com. And, finally, effective March 1, 2003, Andy Frey comes on-board as the Marketing Director for Big Air Sportz, Inc. Andy has been flying Brian Germain's airlocked canopy designs since 1995. He can be contacted at andy@bigairsportz.com.

I've been jumping for more than 20 years, but I still remember my very first skydive, and I'll bet you do too. Likewise, I remember the anxiety of trying to find a drop zone, and I remember my concern about the safety of the school, and my own ability to handle this exciting sport. In the years since my first jump I've earned instructional ratings in IAD, SL, AFF, and tandem programs, and am now the Safety and Training Advisor at The Ranch. Last spring I was approached by McGraw-Hill to write a book about skydiving targeted at beginners in the United States. That book, "Jump! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy" has now been published and should be available soon at local booksellers. It is already being shipped by major web retailers such as Amazon.com. "Jump!" has more than 128 pages and 86 illustrations, including images from 19 photographers. I think this is the first comprehensive book about skydiving training to be commissioned by a major publisher like McGraw-Hill. I'm really proud of "Jump! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy" and am confident it will appeal to our new students. "Jump!" is designed to answer all the common questions presented by prospective students, as well as offer guidance to those that have already made one tandem jump. While "Jump!" is designed for beginners, it will probably also be of interest to experienced jumpers for use as a gift…I think it's a great way to quickly handle inquiries from coworkers, family, and friends. "Jump!" is also a great book to share with local government and airport officials who might not otherwise understand our sport. I'm also betting drop zones that send a copy of "Jump!" to their local newspapers and television stations along with feature ideas will have an easier time arranging free media coverage. "Jump!" is loaded with statistics and includes lots of detail covering training methods, costs, regulation, drop zone evaluation, and much more. My hope is that "Jump!" will help to educate consumers about our sport, and drive interest in student training. Readers will find themselves excited by skydiving, but they will also be well informed about the risks of our sport. As I prepared to write "Jump! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy" I spoke with hundreds of instructors and students, and read a vast number of posts on this site and others. Likewise, I chatted with many drop zone owners, checked their web sites, and spoke with leading experts including TK Donle, Jim Crouch, Paul Fayard, Rob Laidlaw, Nancy LaRiviere, Bill Dause and (Dr.) John DeRosalia. "Jump!" is a significant collection of wisdom gathered from these experts. While the specific information in "Jump!" is based on USPA programs in the United States, it should appeal to many international jumpers interested in comparing programs across borders. It is also a great guide for prospective students from other countries who are thinking about doing their skydiving training in The United States. I hope you will have a chance to read "Jump! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy", and I hope you will recommend this book to beginners who are looking for basic information about our sport. "Jump!" with a list price of 14.95, is now on sale for 30 percent off at www.amazon.com, and is also available at significant bulk purchase discounts directly from McGraw-Hill. If you would like more information about those bulk discounts for resale through drop zone stores or web sites, please let me know and I'll be happy to coordinate the contacts with McGraw account executives. Blue Skies Tom Buchanan/D-8514 Buy from Amazon.com

On Friday, January 24th 2003, Sergeant First Class Charles W. Blue II stood at attention in front of his Commanding Officer for the last time. After 20 years of service to his country, SFC Chuck Blue, also know as Skymonkeyone in the skydiving community, retired from the U.S. Army. As witness to the fact that there was a large crowd at Chuck's retirement ceremony, one could tell that he was a well respected member of his unit and among the people in Raeford and Ft. Bragg. Amongst the group watching the ceremony were his fellow soldiers, friends, skydiving buddies, past roommates, girlfriend Katie Sell and family members. Earlier in the week, Katie had phoned Chuck's father and step-mother to let them know about Chuck's retirement, but she wasn't sure they were going to be able to come. Five minutes before the ceremony was to begin, Buddy, the DZO of Skydive Opelika in Alabama, and Diane Blue walked through the doors, surprising everyone in the room but most of all Chuck. During the ceremony, Chuck's Commanding Officer recited Chuck's military history and then he said many kind words about the type of soldier Chuck was. Finally, Chuck was presented with a medal, and a large framed collage documenting the different areas in which Chuck became proficient during his tenure in the Army. The ceremony ended with a long receiving line of everyone giving Chuck their well wishes and he gave every person a big hug in return. One could tell from the grin on Chuck's face that his retirement was a moment he was quite happy to be experiencing. Once the ceremony was over, it was time to party in true Skymonkey fashion and it was declared that everyone was to "drink like Vikings!" The ceremony and party were both held at Aviator's Bar and Grill on the Raeford dropzone located at the P.K. Airpark in Raeford, N.C. A delicious buffet dinner was provided for all of the partygoers, including desserts made by Katie herself. There were many shots and toasts abound, all saluting the man of the evening making it a very celebratory time. To add to the festivities, the Bob Steele Band, a rock/blues band, performed for the remainder of the night. The band brought the house down with their smooth, rocking sound, and got the crowd to dance the night away helping the party continue well into the morning. All in all, it was a great way to honor an amazing soldier, skydiver and man. SFC Blue enlisted in the army on 23 October 1981 on the delayed entry program. He then entered active duty on 2 August 1982 after graduating from Beauregard High School in Opelika, Alabama. Upon completion of 11C basic training at Fort Benning, GA, then Private Blue was assigned to B Company, 3rd Battalion 36th Infantry, 3rd Armored Division in Ayres Kassern in Kirchgoens; the post generally referred to as "the rock". After completing the Basic Airborne Course in September 1984, Spc4 Blue reported to the Special Forces Qualification Course. Then he went onto Company C 1st Special Warfare Training Bn where he completed the 18C Special Forces Engineer Course. Upon completion of the course, SFC Blue was assigned to B Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group where he spent the next 6 years. In September 1991, SFC Blue volunteered for newly reformed 3rd Special Forces Group. SFC Blue was assigned to Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group where he spent the next seven years performing both the Junior and Senior Engineering duties. In July 1998, SFC Blue was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Special Warfare Training Group S-3 where he served as the liaison for the BN's Company D in Fort Bragg and geographically displaced Company C. These companies conduct some of the highest risk training in the United States Military. SFC Blue is a graduate of the 18C SFQC; the Operations and Intelligence Sergeant Course; the Combat Dive Qualification Course and Combat Dive Supervisor Course; the Military Freefall Parachutist Course and Military Freefall Jumpmaster Course; the Special Operations Training SWC pilot course in 1988; and the Anti-Terrorist Instructor Qualification Course. His awards and decorations include the Expert Infantryman's Badge; the Master Parachutists badge; the Military Freefall Jumpmaster Badge; the Combat Diver Badge; the Guatemalan and Honduran Master Parachutist Badges; the German Shutzenshnur (gold award); and the Dominican Republic Military Academy Instructor Badge. He also received the MSM, ARCOM with 2 OLC's; the AAM with 6 OLC's, two awards of the Humanitarian Service Medal for service in Cuba and Haiti; the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal; 7 awards of the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal; the Overseas Ribbon and the Army Service Ribbon. SFC Blue retires to the life of a professional skydiver and hippy biker and he is now taking over the reigns as Manager of the Raeford Parachute Center School. He is accompanied by his girlfriend, Katie, his dog, Billy Bob, and his cat, Kitty.

Taylor Air Sports has folded it's last parachute and closed it's doors at the Fairfield County Airport. "We told them we were not going to renew their lease when it runs out next May," said Steve Goodyear, president of the Fairfield County Airport Authority. Gene Taylor, president of Taylor Air Sports, said they decided to close the doors Jan. 1. Taylor Air Sports provided parachute training for students and carried out jumps at the airport during good weather. Taylor said they were running approximately 1,000 students through the school a year and providing between 3,000 and 4,000 jumps a year. "We've been there for 14 years, and I spent the last two years there full-time trying to make it a go," Taylor said. Goodyear said one of the reasons for not renewing the lease was concern about the number of jumps being made onto the runways with the air traffic coming into the airport, especially on the weekends. Taylor said the closure and the non-renewed lease was partly political and partly because he just didn't want to bother with it anymore. Ron Houser, a member of the Taylor Air Sports Skydiving team, said he would miss it. "Taylor Air Sports has run a safe, fun and friendly operation at the Fairfield County Airport since 1988," Houser said. "Their safety record is impeccable, as any of their customers can attest to." Houser said Taylor was the life at the airport. "Taylor Air Sports actually breathed life into the Fairfield County Airport. On Saturdays and Sundays, when TAS was open for business, a majority of the cars in the parking lot belonged to TAS members or skydiving spectators. There were countless people who had no interest in the airport or flying at all who would come there to watch the skydivers," said Houser. "With the departure of TAS and Gene Taylor from the Fairfield County Airport, that facility will lose a very valuable resource of aviation knowledge and experience. These are qualities that any airport of that size would be proud and happy to have available to it." Taylor said that he was looking around and trying to find a place to base the school, but it had been a tough couple of years. "If we don't find something by the beginning of the season, sometime by April or May, we will quit," Taylor said. "It's too bad, but that's life. I quit a lucrative full-time career to pursue this, but business is tough enough without having to fight the Good Ole Boy network at the Airport Authority. It's time to move on." Goodyear said the airport was looking to use the hanger for other aircraft.

Seven people, including the pilot, escaped with relatively minor injuries when a Britten-Norman BNA2 twin engine Islander belonging to Skydive Thailand crashed in a cassava field outside Pattaya Airport opposite the Phoenix Golf Club at about 1 p.m. on Tuesday, January 14. This Britten-Norman BNA2 (twin engine) Islander crashed shortly after takeoff in a cassava field outside Pattaya Airfield near Phoenix Golf Club. Seven people, including the pilot, escaped with minor injuries. Pol. Lt Col Somchai Yodsombat from the Banglamung police station reported that the plane was nearly broken in half, with one of the engines from the left side almost protruding into the cabin. Pieces of wreckage were scattered around the area with the front of the plane and cockpit crushed from the impact. The crash occurred in the Chatngaew area of Huay Yai District. The pilot and the passengers were taken to the Bangkok Pattaya Hospital by members of the local community. Pattaya resident Patrick van den Berghe, aka Flying Frog, wasn't flying on Tuesday when he was wheeled out of the hospital. Patrick was all smiles, however, as he escaped with minor injuries. The aircraft belonged to Skydive Thailand, which takes passengers for skydiving. The plane had an 8-seat capacity. At approximately 1 p.m. the plane took off from Pattaya Airport and had been airborne for 2 minutes. Flying in the area of Chatngaew, approximately 1.5 kilometers from the airport, the aircraft ran into difficulties and one of the engines cut out, causing the pilot to initiate a crash landing. Manote Sukjaroen, a resident in the Huay Yai area said that just prior to the crash they had heard the sound of the plane take off from the airport as per normal, as there are usually around 3 trips per day. This was to be the second run of the day, but approximately 2 minutes after takeoff they heard one of the engines cut out. Shortly after, a loud crash brought residents running out to investigate. Ms. Lorna Martin was banged up but otherwise ok after her scary ordeal. Reporters also visited the Bangkok Pattaya Hospital, where the injured were taken for treatment. Fortunately the seven people, including the pilot escaped serious injury and only had relatively minor cut and bruises. The list of injured include the pilot, Asadawut Srirunsun, Patrick Van den Berghe (aka Flying Frog), Steve Bavington, Jukka Holtinen, Paul Moran, Paul Dinessen and Ms. Lorna Martin. All were treated for cuts and abrasions and released from hospital. At press time, the initial reports suggest engine failure; however, commercial aviation inspectors are investigating the cause of the crash. Police, aviation inspectors and the owners of the aircraft inspect the site of the crash. Luckily, all 7 on board, including the pilot, escaped with relatively minor injuries. Despite such incidents, flying is still much safer than driving on the road, particularly in Thailand.

As the sun rose over the desert I hurried for the hangar, knowing full well that time is always in high demand for a world champion. I am greeted as always with a smile and I watch as it dances in his deep brown eyes. Omar, always the epitome of manners, gives a full on hug with gentle reminder to those around him to not forget to greet others with sincerity. He hands me a resume of which I cannot use, but I glance over it and learn more about the complexity of the man standing before me. I am left amazed for there was much I did not know about him, and the knowledge only served to raise the bar. To say that he is well educated would be an understatement, his experiences as diverse as a man twice his age. He is a man of many layers that can only truly be seen by spending much time in his presence. He is a traveler, an educator, an actor and a businessman. He is soulful, mindful, spiritual and deeply private. He has lived in several countries on different continents and speaks five languages fluently. He speaks others only conversationally and therefore discounts his knowledge of them. He is engaging and happy, that happiness carries over to those around him. As a skydiver, he offers help to all that would ask, and is quick to offer correction when errors are made, especially if it compromises safety. Omar is committed to the continued development of freeflying and thusly available to all for comment. His goal is simple, the perpetuation of the sport of skydiving. In his unassuming way he greets people daily at Skydive Arizona, many having no idea who he is, or of his achievements. He comes across as a "regular Joe" and many are astounded when they learn of his identity. His many accomplishments have never caused him to be arrogant, for it is his belief that anyone can do the same. It requires dedication and the right mindset. He has spent the past 10 years skydiving and tells me frequently: "It's nothing that 10,000 jumps won't fix!" I laugh at his gentle humor. With 10 National and World Gold Medals, 5 skydiving World Titles, 3 BASE World Records, his humility is refreshing. Jumping with the least of us is often times what brings him the most rewards. "How great it is to make someone's day by simply jumping with them?" And he does! When not in training mode one may find Omar painting in his studio, or just hanging around the café to converse with the passers by. His hobbies are many, from water sports to multi media art, and philosophy. He believes in having balance in all things in his life and works toward that end. He believes in giving back to this sport and encourages all to do the same. Whether it is simply by answering a few questions for the people who come to watch, or by rewriting rules, Omar is ready to help. He is a great role model, a gentleman, but moreover a true ambassador to the sport of skydiving. If by chance you happen to meet up with him, ask him to jump because he would like nothing better. Just a word of caution though, he can fly anybody like a "cheap kite" just ask Sangiro. It's on video!

Going to fly on the 2002 300-way Record Attempts was something I had to do. When it was announced that the attempts were being moved from Brazil to Eloy, AZ, I started thinking how I could work my way on. I was a pilot on the record 246-way in 1998 at Skydive Chicago and the thought of getting into an aircraft formation larger than the 12 aircraft formation we used was very inviting. I originally asked Pat Patton (Skydive Arizona Director of Flight Operations) if he needed any more experienced formation pilots to fly on the big-way. He told me they had enough pilots for SDAs aircraft but that Roger Nelson might need a pilot for his aircraft that was going to participate. I immediately went to Roger and in about a 30 second conversation I was slated to fly on the attempts. The next part was getting permission from work at my airline to take a leave of absence during the attempts. Not an easy thing since most coveted vacation periods are during the month of December. But, after some pleading (begging) they granted my request and I was fully confirmed for going to Eloy. December 6th. I showed at Skydive Chicago early in the morning at 3am. Sorry Donovan. Donovan had the plane all gassed up and loaded with what we would need during the week. Extra oil cans, spare parts, and log books. I threw my stuff on and met up with Skydive Arizona pilot John Schulz who was also headed to Eloy to fly on the attempts. The weather looked great for a night flight and air traffic was light. Only the occasional check hauler or FedEx flight was heard. With a quick refuel in Salinas, KS at Flower Aviation (good cookies) and then again in Las Vegas, NM we were arriving on the doorstep of Skydive Arizona about noon. While inbound I heard N220EA (Roger's other plane) arriving ahead of us from Florida. They didn't have as much luck on weather as I did. They had to go through some not so nice thunderstorms in Florida and Texas. After arriving, the first order of business was to get the planes jump ready with oxygen and to take the hard doors off. Having flown jump Otters for so long it always looks funny when we travel with the regular doors on. Something is just not quite right with the picture. Friday night we had our first pilot meeting. I looked around the room and we had six pilots who had previous world record, large formation flying experience. Doug Evans, Eric (skyvan), Steve Stewart, John (Johnny Long Spot) Schulz, Jason (Skydive Oregon), and myself had flown on the 1998 record or 2000 attempts at Skydive Chicago. On Saturday we added Karl from Skydive Elsinore and that brought the total to seven pilots with previous big way formation flying experience from the 1998 or 2000 attempts. This was starting out to be an excellent group of aviators. Then around the room we had Geoff Ferrington from Kapowsin; Steve Boyd from Skydive Spaceland; Sven from Skydive Dallas; Lance from Skydive Oregon; "Stretch" from Lodi, CA; Rob from Perris, CA; and Sean Hill from Skydive Arizona. I figured this was going to be a cake walk right? Wrong! We were going to have just as steep a learning curve as the jumpers if this record was to be successful. Saturday started with five ship formations so that we could get our feet wet again in formation flying. The skydivers used this time to get used to each other as well. We rotated through the group of aircraft so that all planes would get a chance to fly at least one high load to 20,000 feet to test the oxygen system. We didn't want to find a problem on the first actual 14 aircraft formation. That would be a very expensive abort. We worked out the minor issues of aircraft placement during jump run and logistics for turning on, regulating, and turning off the oxygen system while in flight. Even though it was not necessary, we also practiced the formation takeoff using both the runway and the parallel taxiway like we would come Monday morning. It was almost like a drag race. I took off on the left side most of the time and it was a bit surreal to see the scenery zooming by but this one object next to you didn't seem to move at all. Climbing to altitude was a hoot as we all wanted to show how excellent pilots we were and how tight we could fly. This, of course, led to the word coming back that some aircraft were TOO close and needed to loosen up a bit because jumpers didn't have much room to maneuver down to the formation. No problem. We were there to put the aircraft wherever they were needed. The picture on the right was taken during a five-plane formation after I had to switch from my normal slot of left left trail to right right trail. When the jumpers boarded they got on the wrong planes. Three aircraft had to switch slots in flight. Everyone kept cool and we just talked it out so that we could all move around and get in position. I'll never forget the look on the closest jumper's face when I asked what plane they were supposed to be on. She said, "Right, right trail!" I told her "But you're on the left, left trail!" She looked confused so I told her to sit up and look my front window as to where we were (photo on the left). She looked out and said "Oh ****!" No problem. That's what we're here for. We'll put the aircraft where you need them. Saturday and Sunday went very well as we worked out the bugs and the organizers got to see how we performed in our slots. They were still making their final decisions on who was going to fly where in the 14-ship formation. As to how they arrived at their final decisions I really don't know. But, Sunday night we had the briefing and I was assigned left, left, left, left, left trail. Jump 2 was my call sign and Otter "B" was my jumper assigned name for the aircraft. While it may seem obvious to any pilot that one aircraft's paint job is very different from the other, the jumpers needed a way to positively identify the aircraft they were supposed to be on. Red vinyl letters were put on the nose area of each aircraft so the jumpers could easily identify it. We couldn't afford to have aircraft misloaded during the 14 ship formations. Monday. Game Day. It was time to show everyone how good an aviator we all thought we were. Well, we just about got our booties handed to us. The plan was to have the first five aircraft (skyvan and four otters) fly your typical 45-degree angle down and to the side formation. But then the formation was to straighten out, as it got wider. They wanted us to fly with the nose of our aircraft even with the tail of the plane we were following. It is almost a line abreast formation and most of us have never had to fly a formation this way before. Another effect of this type of formation was that when we turned the formation on the way to altitude the aircraft that were on the inside of the turn had to slow down considerably. The wider you got the shorter the turn radius had to be to stay in position without shooting past the lead aircraft. Well, when you consider that we were flying at max gross weight for takeoff (11,600 pounds) and we were flying in the thin air above 20,000 feet there isn't exactly a whole lot of performance margin available. Any little bobble or over controlling was quickly revealed and amplified as the wave went down the line to the outer edges of the formation. Several times the aircraft on the inside of the turn were having to make large power changes to keep from shooting past the lead and yet not fall out of the formation. Making up altitude and distance behind the formation is very difficult at altitude. In the first night's brief I made mention that we were NOT the show. We were not to be noticed by the jumpers. We were necessary to get them to altitude but if the aircraft formation became a distraction there was going to be no record. Well, on this first day of the 14 aircraft flying together, we were noticed. It was a rough ride and a distraction to hear the engines spool up and down over and over. We pre-briefed each load and debriefed after we put in our fuel and oxygen orders to the ground support. From the first to the last load of the day we made major improvements in technique. But we still weren't satisfied. The goal is to fly NORDO (NO RaDiO). When everyone is doing their job and flying smoothly the formation frequency will be silent. And we needed some work to achieve this goal. The end pilot meeting was very spirited. We are all professionals and we are all perfectionists. A lot of good things came out of that meeting and I will leave it at that. This is the view out of my window. As you can see, there is whole heck of a lot of metal up there. From left to right the aircraft are Skydive Chicago 220EA, Skydive Oregon OX, Perris Valley "Shark Air", the other Skydive Oregon Otter, Skydive Arizona Skyvan, Lodi's Otter PV, Skydive Dallas "The Short Bus", and Kapowsin's Otter. Remember, there are SIX planes not shown in this photo including mine. And you can see how wide we get on the inside of the turn being so far on the left side of the formation. Each successive load got better through the climb. My plane captain (jumper in charge and go between for the pilot and skydivers) was Kate Cooper. For those who don't know her, Kate has been a skydiving organizer for a long time. She was one of the organizers behind the Jump For the Cause all women's large formation skydive world record in 1999 and 2002. She sat in my right seat to operate the oxygen system and to watch the other aircraft in the formation. She was a tremendous help. It isn't easy flying a line abreast formation while sitting on the left side of the aircraft. You have to look through a small site view (window on far side of aircraft) and still pick up on the cues that tell you when you are drifting closer or farther away from the aircraft on your right. What made it easier was to go and fly referenced to one of the aircraft in the base 5-plane formation and just leave a wide enough gap that the other aircraft could come up in their slot if they happened to fall behind for a bit. This greatly reduced the stress on us and dampened the waves that we were experiencing in the beginning of the week. Kate did an excellent job calling out the other aircraft's positions when they fell behind since she had a good view from the right seat. Thanks Kate. The picture on the right was taken just after we built the first complete 300 person freefall formation. And yes, I was done flying for the day before drinking that beer. The record formation: What can I say? It was perfect. It was the last load of the day on Thursday the 12th. The last load of the day had been a problem for us because of sun angle and jump run direction. So I guess it was only fitting that this was the load we accomplished the impossible. It was the world record and it was a perfect spot. Way to go Eric! For jump pilots out there, we weren't running into the winds aloft for the lowest groundspeed possible. We were actually running downwind because of the sun angle. The crowd on the ground got an eye full to say the least. And when they all opened the people on the ground could hear the cheering because they all knew they had just done it. Norman Kent got on the ground cheering and telling people that he didn't see anyone low and everything looked complete. Pat Patton called up to the aircraft as we were still descending and said "I think we're drinking champagne tonight boys!" Oh yah! That only meant one thing. FLY BY!!!!!! We descended with the formation intact rather than splitting it as usual. We looked like a big flock of geese headed south for the winter. My girlfriend Renee took these photos. I noticed something very striking though. The picture with the formation headed towards the camera is impressive. But the picture going away just seems to show how big this formation really was. We pulled off the impossible formation to build the world's largest freefall formation with a perfect spot. And yes, that is smoke coming out of the otter on the far left. It's intentional so don't worry. In top photo I am the second from the right. And in the bottom photo I would be the second from the left. Thursday night there was a lot of celebrating as you can imagine. The plan was to come back at noon on Friday to go for bigger than 300. Only 2 people did not show from the dive the night before. The willingness was there. The additional jumpers were there and ready. The pilots were standing around waiting. But the organizers decided that in the interest of safety it was best that they not make any jumps that day. There was a bit too much partying the night before to put up an attempt. So, the jumpers did more dirt dives (practicing on the ground) because they are free and the rest of us scattered. I got to make a couple of fun jumps myself and relax. We certainly did need it. Saturday came with the intention of breaking the 300-way record. But you could tell there was a change in the atmosphere. I knew the edge had been dulled a bit even if people wanted to do it. The 328-way potentially was going to be harder to make than the 300-way. Getting that many people focused and staying focused together is a darn near impossible thing. That's why the 300-way has stood unbroken for so long. Many have tried and records have been broken along the way from the 200-way set in the early 90s. "If it was easy then no one would want it because everyone would have it." -Roger Nelson. That's why we keep coming back to this record because it IS hard. Logistically, physically, and mentally, this is one of the hardest things to do in aviation. It requires so many people doing things perfectly. Go to DiverDriver.com for more jump pilot information.

Max Cohn is the chief instructor of Generation Freefly, a human flight school whose home base is The Ranch Parachute Club in Gardiner, New York. Max has over 5500 jumps and has been in the sport for more than 7 years. This year he is running as a write-in candidate for USPA national director. Dropzone.com spoke to him about where he came from and where he's headed. If you don’t mind, can I have your jump numbers, the gear you jump, and your canopy progression? I have over 5500 jumps. I did my first jump in 1995 (tandem). I began AFF in May 1996. I jump a Mirage G4 with a Precision Aerodynamics Mircroraven 135 reserve. I jump an Icarus Safire II 101. My first canopy (after student status) was a Paraflite Robo Z 205 (300 jumps). Then, while I was working at Action Air Parachutes in the summer of 1997, I had the opportunity to jump many sizes of Sabres, Monarchs, Spectres and Triathalons, sizes ranging from 190 to 135. I finally landed a good deal on a Sabre 135, which I used for about 400 jumps. After I lost my Sabre 135 on a baglock, I jumped a Chute Shop ZP 125 for a few hundred jumps. Then I settled into an Icarus Safire 108. I’ve been jumping Safires for 4000 jumps or so. Give me an intro on what Generation Freefly is, and what you’re trying to accomplish. Generation Freefly is a freefly school. We strive to teach students about human flight and safety. For four years, we’ve taught thousands of students at our home campus (The Ranch Parachute Club) and all over the world at various drop zones and events. We are here for the skydiving community and to promote human flight in all forms. What do you like best about working with students? My favorite thing when working with students is seeing them make personal improvement. Freeflying (and skydiving in general) is not easy to learn. It is very rewarding to be able to help people in their learning process. In addition, it is really great to be able to meet so many wonderful people from all over the world. If you could give one piece of advice to a beginning freeflyer, what would it be? Accept that learning to fly will take time. We only get so many seconds per jump and so many jumps per day. Try to learn something from each skydive and build upon it for your next skydive. In light of accidents involving inexperienced freeflyers, would you like to see a licensing system for freefly put in place? We have to stress safety in our sport constantly. That is the most important thing. It’s a good idea to have some sort of license systems, like the current 3-D award. It gives a structure for people to reference from. I am not sure how strict of a license system we need. That will be determined by communication of the skydiving community and the USPA. What would you like to see skydivers doing to improve safety? I would like to see skydivers continue to stress safety every chance possible. Programs such as [USPA] Safety Day are great ideas. In general, I think that if every skydiver takes the attitude to never get complacent, then we will be better off. Also, I think that every skydiver should be able to accept constructive criticism. It is all about safety. If you could change one thing about skydiving, what would it be? In a perfect world, I would change the fatality rate to 0%. What is competition’s place in this sport? Competition is very important. It helps give our sport a focus. It becomes a celebration of what we can achieve in the air. Competition helps us push the limits of what we can accomplish in the sky. Would you like to see any changes in the way competitions are conducted (for example, drug testing, scheduling, etc.)? I think the biggest thing that we need to improve competition is to listen to the competitors. If we always value the opinions of those participating in the events, then the glitches along the way will hopefully be worked out by communication between judges, officials and athletes. How often do you do dedicated belly jumps? When I fly, I utilize all of my body’s surface areas, including my belly. In many of my skydives, both with students and in my personal jumps, I implement belly flying in various ways. I participate in traditional RW jumps here and there. Usually, all of my skydives are not ‘one body position’ type skydives. I like to mix it up as often as possible; belly, back, head down, upright flying, tracking, etc. What do you see yourself doing 10 years from now?My desire is to continue to grow as a skydiver and as a human being. Human flight will always have a place in my life and I plan to always be as active as possible. I also look forward to many new exciting experiences in life. Other than skydiving, what is the most important thing in your life? That’s an easy one, my family. Other than skydiving, what is your greatest accomplishment so far in life? My personal greatest accomplishment in life, other than skydiving, is graduating from Colgate University in 1998. Four years of education (in the blistering cold upstate NY weather) and I made it through with a degree in sociology. My marks were pretty good too. Max is running as a write-in candidate for USPA national director. “I think it is important that younger members of our association show an interest in our government,” he says on his reasons for entering the race. “If we want to keep the USPA strong, we all have to participate in some form of another, to keep in self-governed.” Ballots are due at USPA headquarters by Dec. 31. -- Jessica B.

Big Air Sportz is proud to announce that their instructor discounts are back for a limited time. Big Air Sportz, Inc. is offering significant discounts on all canopies sold directly to current rated coaches and AFF, static line and tandem instructors. “We have recognized that students look up to their instructors for insight as to which canopies to buy,” says company President Brian Germain. Big Air Sportz is offering any size custom canopy for $1,399 until January 31st, 2003. Big Air Sportz is the maker of the Lotus, a 9-cell semi-elliptical airlocked canopy designed for beginning and intermediate jumper from 20 jumps up. The Samurai (the next-generation Jedei) is a 9-cell elliptical airlocked canopy designed for an experienced pilot with more then 300 jumps. The airlock design uses valves to seal off the cells of a canopy once it is inflated to provide stability and prohibit instantaneous deflation of the airfoil, thus increasing the safety margin when flying in rough conditions. More information about Airlocks is available here on Dropzone.com and on the Big Air Sportz site. In order to qualify for the discount, any current, rated instructor must fax a copy of his or her rating card to Big Air Sportz at (813) 977-5000. Valid ratings are coach, jumpmaster, instructor, and evaluator from any acceptable country or association. The applicant must present a current rating card to qualify for the discount. A deposit of $250 is required to confirm the order, with the remainder due upon the canopy’s completion. Retail prices on the Samurai and Lotus range from $1,905 to $2,048. Demo canopies are available for $50 for 2 weekends. Big Air Sportz also offers dropzones or clubs highly experienced speakers for a choice of seminars, with topics including Canopy Flight from A-Z, Freeflying, and the Psychology of Skydiving. To schedule a demo, a seminar or for any other information, contact Big Air Sportz at 8525 Bramwell Way, Tampa Florida 33647, or Tel.: (813) 788 4444, Cell: (813) 230-2161, e-mail: zenfreefall@aol.com, and on the web at http://www.bigairparachutes.com About Big Air Sportz: Big Air Sportz was founded in 1998, but its founder Brian Germain has long been involved in the parachute design and skydiving industry. Brian designed his first airlock while recovering from a paraglider collapse in 1993 that left him in a wheelchair for months. From those first drawings and tests eventually came the Jedei canopy. Brian has won various medals in X-trials and various other freefly competitions around the United States. He has taught hundreds of skydivers everything from canopy flight to freeflying. Most recently, Brian and the Big Air Sportz team were freefly organizers at WFFC ’02. With current research projects including the Shogun, a 7-cell airlocked canopy; an as-yet-unnamed cross-braced airlocked elliptical ultra-performance canopy; CRW airlock canopies; and kite-surfing training kites and recreational ram-air kites (http://www.bigairkites.com); Big Air Sportz is ready to provide canopies for the future of skydiving.

The Freefly Training Center (located at Skydive Sebastian, Florida) is incorporating a new program to benefit the freeflyers planning to go to the SkyVenture wind tunnel in Orlando to freefly. The new program is aptly called "FREEFLY THURSDAYS." Every Thursday from 6pm to 8pm starting in November 2002, the Freefly Training Center (or FTC for short) will be conducting training and group coaching for freeflyers willing to have fun and train in the two-hour long flying party. All bookings into the weekly "FREEFLY THURSDAYS" sessions are done directly with The Freefly Training Center (info@freeflytrainingcenter.com). "FREEFLY THURSDAYS" is a combined effort by the FTC and SkyVenture to provide a safe, structured and educational environment for everyone from Florida residents and non-residents alike looking to learn or improve upon their freefly skills. The demand for this education comes from the large influx of freeflyers now visiting Orlando's SkyVenture wind tunnel with the goal of translating their newly formed tunnel skills to the skies. More often than not, however, when freeflyers arrive at the tunnel, they are not joined by other freeflyers and therefore have a hard time assimilating how to efficiently fly with the same body positions they would use while skydiving. By creating "FREEFLY THURSDAYS", the FTC is giving all who join them on Thursdays a way to learn freefly in the tunnel. FTC instructors are on hand to give basic coaching tips and a solid reference to practice maneuvers, grip-management and two-way dynamics. The cost for "FREEFLY THURSDAYS" is based on the time each participant flies. Time is offered to participants in 15-minute "blocks" which may be shared by up to two freeflyers to offset the cost. Participants of "FREEFLY THURSDAYS" also have the option of engaging in private, one-on-one coaching sessions with the FTC instructors. These sessions offer private pre-briefings, intensive in-tunnel coaching, and full video debriefing following the actual flight session. Wind tunnel training has become an integral part of the relative work training regime…so much so that if your team is NOT training there, then you are behind the power curve. This level of tunnel training is exactly what the FTC is promoting for freefly, citing the marked increase of each flyer's learning curve and the ability to accelerate beyond his or her current experience level. The tunnel training lends itself to noticeable improvement even after your first sessions. The FTC is actively involved in training, coaching and the continued development of flight programs for all levels of freeflyers at SkyVenture Orlando on a weekly basis. In addition to the weekly "FREEFLY THURSDAYS," the FTC has scheduled three intensive freefly tunnel camps in December, January, and March. Also, the FTC hosts private tunnel camps for individuals or groups that cannot make the pre-scheduled dates. The tunnel has proven to be a very useful tool to the FTC by incorporating tunnel coaching prior to their "in-air" coaching. The proven program accelerates the level the flyer can obtain by not only removing bad habits, but by also reinforcing presentation and balance in the relative wind. All this may be acquired during an intensive, 15-minute session (which is the equivalent of almost 20 skydives). This amount of training is very cost effective, one-sixth the cost of conventional in-air coaching for the equivalent amount of "air" time. Further information on booking, session arrangement for Private Tunnel Camps or to book into a pre-scheduled Freefly Tunnel Camp, contact the FTC at info@freeflytrainingcenter.com.

Tis the season.... Summer for skydivers is the time that we let loose, enjoy the longer days, jump as much as possible, go to boogies, see old friends and meet new people. For The Freefly Training Center (FTC), this past summer was no exception. Following a successful and eventful season at Skydive Sebastian in Florida, these guys didn't slow down at all for the 'busy' summer season. Instead they tracked into the summer with a demanding agenda of skills camps, boogies, and competitions…and I got to be there for most of it, so here's my take on it. Intensified Skills CampsSkydive Sebastian was well represented at many different dropzones this summer, coaching and organizing at Skills Camps run by FTC instructors. They kicked off the summer, as many 'northern' dzs do, on Memorial Day weekend. Current National and World Champions, Mike Swanson and Rook Nelson, headed to Cross Keys, NJ, to organize with Monkey Claw during the annual Monkey Claw Jam, this year's theme being 'The Running of the Bulls'. Following that boogie, Mike met up with FTC instructor Dave Brown, in Orange, Mass. to hold an intensive skills camp at Jumptown. This is the second year for a skills camp at Jumptown, and again, it was a great success. Before going back to Chicago, to continue an arduous training schedule for the U.S. Nationals and the World Cup, Mike hosted successful skills camps at both Skydive New England and AerOhio. Rook, Mike and Dave, who spent the majority of their summer at Skydive Chicago, organized and coached freeflyers who were stoked to get in on the learning atmosphere. They also placed 1st (Rook) 2nd (Mike) and 3rd (Dave) at the3rd Annual Freefly Money Meet that Skydive Chicago hosted. 'Alaska Jon' Devore, who together with Rook and Mike, form team 'Alchemy', also joined the Chicago contingency to help organize and coach during Summerfest, the Midwest's newest large scale boogie. In late July, Dave and Mike joined forces once again and went up to Canada, for the 3rd annual Canadian Freefly and Film Festival, hosted by Skydive Burnaby in Ontario, and the Gravity Pilots freefly team. They kept the Otter flying all day for 8 days, with coaching, organizing and Atmosphere Dolphin (AD) tests. They held nightly seminars regarding safety, gear, group dynamics, an overview of how to get the most out of your dives. Dave and Mike also gave AD "A" tests for the first 3 Canadians to get their ADs on Canadian soil.... Congrats to Glen, Brent and John. Rook was busy organizing at the annual Richmond boogie in Indiana at the end of August, keeping the Skydive Chicago Super Otters turning all day every day of the event. And on the far East Coast, the New Englanders kept Dave busy during the Labor Day weekend coaching and organizing, as well as attending the coolest 'Tiki Bar' party of the year. On his way back down home to Florida, Dave enjoyed a 5 day stay at Cross Keys where he organized local freeflyers, and organized the pond swoop and chug which Thomas Huges from Sebastian XL eagerly took the first place prize and glory. Following N.J, Dave was in Orange, VA, for the last skills camp weekend of the tour na d was greeted by the always warm welcome of the locals. One on One coaching started off each day for registered partispants which by afternoon turned into group organizing and each night a big way sunset jump, followed by 'beer kicking' (a local dropzone tradition), and video debriefs. Swoopin' It Up Out ThereIn between all of the boogies and dzs that the FTC attended, they also were quite active in competing in some of the biggest swoop competitions of the season. It began with the 'Red Bull Wings Over Chicago' event, held on Lake Michigan, in downtown Chicago. Congrats to Rook, Mike, Dave and Alaska, who all placed in the top ten!! That was only the beginning of the 'swoop tour' for the summer, to be followed by the swoop event sponsored by GoFast at the World Freefall Convention, this year held in Rantoul, IL. Dave attended and had lots of positive feedback from the experience. The event was hosted by Jim Slaton, from the Icarus 'Team Extreme', and Lyle Presse, a local organizer and event manager from Skydive Sebastian. The combined efforts of these guys have led to the creation of the 'Pro Swooping Tour' (PST), which recently had its first event in Perris Valley, CA at the beginning of October. (ps. The Convention was a great time, if you didn't get there this year, you should definitely check it out next year!!) Less than a week later, Rook, Mike and Dave headed up to The Ranch, in Gardiner NY, for the Pond Swooping Nationals. Although a small injury kept Dave from competing past round 2, he kept the crowds entertained as the MC for the remainder of the event. Rook did very well, placing in the top ten, out of over 65 competitors, and taking home a cash purse, congrats! Dave and Alaska Jon went on to compete in the Pond Surfing Championships held at Skydive New England the following week. This was the first year that this dz has had a swoop pond/competition, and I think it left quite a favorable impression on everyone. The day after the competition was over there was a 2 jump 'demo competition', 2 rounds, 1000$ each, winner takes all, at Old Orchard Beach in Maine. The next stop of the swooping tour brought Dave, with teammates (PD Velociraptors) Vladi Pesa, Christopher Irwin and Sonic, to California to compete in the first ever Pro Swooping Tour Team Challenge. For never having jumped as a team in a competition, these guys finished fourth, closely behind the Icarus 'Team EXtreme'. Congrats again!!!! The FTC will be attending and hosting some swoop events coming up for the winter season, and is looking forward to seeing everyone out there pushing the sport further. On Top of the World MaWhile the summer was full of fun events, it was also a time for serious training. Team Alchemy, representing the USA, logged more than 800 team jumps together this summer, training for the US National Championships held in Chicago, IL, and the World Cup held in Vienna, Austria. Meanwhile, over in England, other FTC instructors Rob Silver and Chris Lynch, of team 'Sebastian Free Jive', trained for the British National Championships, with teammate Tim Porter. Chris and Tim formed 'Skyjiver', a freestyle team, to compete in the British Nationals as well. Here's what a lot of training and a whole lot of skill can produce....GOLD! Congratulations to all the teams.... US National Championships Freefly - Gold -Team Alchemy World Cup Championships Freefly - Gold -Team Alchemy British National Championships Freefly - Gold - Sebastian Free Jive British National Championships Freestyle - Gold - Stylejiver Also congrats to Chris Lynch, who won gold in individual accuracy on his PD Velocity 103, and to Sebastian Free Jive who also won gold in the team event. All of these world class teams will be representing Skydive Sebastian and the Freefly Training Center at the 2003 World Air Games this summer, held in Gap, France. Way to go guys!!!!!! Othere Worthy NewsThe IMAX movie 'Adrenaline Rush: The Science of Risk' recently had it's grand premier in Montreal, Canada, before being shipped to theaters worldwide. It was very well received by all those attended. Mike, Dave, Rook and Rob open the movie with a segment of freeflying over Sebastian, which was filmed with the IMAX film crew from 'S.H.E Entertainment' and director Carl Sampson last December. The film also has some of the most breath taking view's of BASE jumping in Norway , Wing Suit flying in the Florida Keys and Leonardo Da Vinci's parachute jump by Adrian Nicholas in the Mojave Desert. Check out your local IMAX theatre for showings-it's not one you want to miss! The FTC has also been busy planning out a packed season here at Skydive Sebastian, starting with the season 'opener' Halloween boogie (Mike and Dave/LO's), shortly followed by the Keys boogie (Dave and Rook/LO's), held in the Marathon Key. The FTC will also be holding tunnel camps, skills camps, the 'Pure Progression Program', Big Way Invitational Camp, and many other events. Drop Zones or individuals interested in having an Intensive FTC Skills Camp at their dz this upcoming season, contact skillscamp@freeflytrainingcenter.com. For any other info, or just wanting to get down on the new school vibe….go to www.freeflytrainingcenter.com or e-mail info@freeflytrainingcenter.com Hope to see you soon!!! Erin Golden

What a day. The skies were patchy and it looked like it was going to be good weather for us. I arrived at the dz a bit late; as I walked in a couple people stopped to let me know that we were on a 15 minute call for a full gear dirt dive. We dirt dived a 132 way formation for the first jump. How many ways can you screw up on one skydive? I discovered at 1000 feet that I'd forgotten to turn my ProTrack on; at least I remembered the Cypres . Climb out signal was given. I was in the door before I remembered to pull my goggles down. Fast exit, the picture was a bit different than normal. I was overamping and commited a major "red zone" violation - instead of approaching my slot on a direct radial, I came in high and over another jumper. Managed to get into my slot and pick up grips without affecting anyone else or wasting too much time. The dive didn't complete; another jumper had gone way low on her approach. I blew it again on landing - ended up landing the wrong direction. Luckily there was no traffic close to me. Just to top it off... I landed feet, knees, face. Photo: Jump Run Productions Jump For The Cause Shannon Embry Daily Updates: Day 6 - 10/19/2002 Day 5 - 10/18/2002 Day 4 - 10/17/2002 Day 3 - 10/16/2002 Day 2 - 10/15/2002 Day 1 - 10/14/2002 I was sure that I would get cut after that. I went directly to the team room after dropping my gear and checking in, mentally kicking myself the whole way. Dropped my helmet off and was headed out when my plane captain, Linda (hotamaly), came in and asked if I was okay. I told her what I'd done and that I was sure they were going to cut me. While hanging around waiting (and stressing), I heard that the girl who'd gone low got cut. I kept waiting for one of the organizers to come tap me on the shoulder... but lucky for me that didn't happen. Linda came out from the captain's meeting and told me I was still on. Out to the landing area in full gear for another dirt dive. We were 131 strong. Mary SantAngelo - a breast cancer survivor and a wonderful woman - came to the center and called all the other survivors on the load to join her. We gave them a round of applause, then Mary's mom came to the center. She asked us to get the record, then blessed us with holy water. Even the non-religious of us were very touched. After our now ritual chant - "Right here. Right now. This skydive. My personal best" - we headed to the aircraft. E plane was quiet and focused on the climb to altitude. We all wanted this really bad. Out the door and the picture was perfect. I made a sweet approach to my slot and docked on Charlene's leg and Rhonda's wrist softly. There was a bit of tension (okay, quite a bit of tension) on my left leg, so I was damn near tracking to keep myself in my slot. Looking at Kate's butt I could see the formation building quietly on the other side in my peripheral vision. It felt and looked really good! Clean break off, landed in the far field and starting yelling. Picked up my canopy and ran to the nearest girl for a hug. The bus picked us up and headed to the landing area where we could see the entire group gathering. It was a loud bus ride; we all were sure that we had done it this time. Sure enough. The bus unloaded us in the grass and we joined our sister's in hugs, tears, laughter, smiles and a lot of whoooo hoooo's. Rumor had it that we'd held it for around 10 seconds! We gathered for pictures, then headed across the runway to the packing area. Spectators and other jumpers lined the fence and both sides of the sidewalk. They knew we'd gotten it too. I saw Darryld, a load organizer at Perris that I've jumped with quite a bit this year, standing along the fence; went over to give him a hug. As I turned to walk to the sidewalk I saw my brother, his girlfriend and my niece Reynee. Hugs all around, then I asked Reynee if she wanted to walk in with me. Carried her and my canopy halfway down the sidewalk, smiling and enjoying the congratulations. We broke for lunch while the judges confirmed the record. They were not only timing it, they also were looking for any broken grips or jumpers in the wrong slot. The official confirmation from the judges was that we'd done it - the new FAI women's world record formation was a 131 woman formation held for 10.73 seconds. I don't think I've ever given and received so many hugs! My cheek muscles are still sore today from the big grin I was wearing - and I still catch myself smiling every time I think about it. We brought all of our sisters back on the load for the final jump of the day - a 135 way. Most of us were worn out after celebrating, but we all dug deep and brought back the energy that we'd been jumping with all week. Breaking our own records would be sweet! After the dirt dive we headed over to the hangar where they'd arranged aircraft and a golf cart for the taping of a short segment for Good Morning America (if you get it, watch for it Monday morning ). The segment may be short, but it seemed like I was on my knees forever while they taped it. Finally we were sent to our aircraft. We had to rearrange our seating in E plane with the addition of our two sisters. There was a bit of confusion as we got seating and oxygen lines sorted out. The rest of the ride to altitude was quiet as we all focused on doing our jobs and breaking our own records. This dive was basically over very high when a girl went low on her approach and couldn't get back up. I didn't see the video but I heard that she was the only one out - we were soooo close! After getting back to the packing area and checking in we were released. Lots of us headed to the bar for a celebratory drink. The energy was still high on the dz; everyone was still smiling and congratulating each other. The official closing ceremonies were held at 6 pm by the pool. Judy Celaya, FAI judge, gave us our official confirmation of the record. The organizers, Kate, Tony, Brad and Mallory thanked everyone involved in putting together such an awesome event. We raised almost US$400,000 for the City of Hope's new stereotactic biopsy room We raised awareness of breast cancer through the massive media coverage And we set four new records in only 13 jumps together - the Perris dz largest formation record, the California state largest formation record, the Guiness women's world record formation and the FAI women's world record formation. Kate congratulated all of us, and went on to tell us that we were the best group of big way jumpers she'd ever jumper with. We built and held the FAI record formation on our 13th jump together - that is an awesome achievement. Dinner was served, partying was in full effect. We all celebrated hard. So that's it! JFTC 2002 was a great success despite the weather gods attempts to keep us down. I had an amazing week; this was truly one of the high points of my life and is something that I will always remember, treasure and be very proud of. Once again, my thanks go out to each and every one of you who've supported me the past ten months. Without you I would not have been a part of this incredible event. I am humbled and deeply touched by your support and belief in me. I also would like to thank Kate Cooper and Tony Domenico. Without their support, caring and teaching I would not have been on these dives. My personal thanks also go out to the JFTC organizers, staff and volunteers; to the Perris staff - from the pilots and loaders to manifest to the bar and restaurant, everyone was incredibly supportive and helpful; to the spectators and skydivers who came out to cheer us on; and most especially to my 134 sky sisters. What more can I say? Girls kick ass! Pull & Flare, Lisa

At 5:30 pm on Monday, October 14th, Shannon Embry died while making a skydive. Shannon, 40 years of age, was an experienced skydiver from Tennessee. She was participating in the Women's World Record attempt, "Jump for the Cause", a breast cancer fundraiser. On an otherwise uneventful skydive, Shannon Embry suffered mortal injuries during or shortly after deployment of her main canopy. Shannon was an exemplary tracker, and it is possible that deployment of her main canopy while still in forward motion could have incapacitated her or perhaps even ended her life. While the main canopy was 100% undamaged, she made no attempt to release the brakes or stow the slider, and continued in a steady weight shift turn until impact. She had trained medical personnel (fellow skydivers) with her within seconds of landing, but could not be resuscitated. She was a mother, a mate, our sister in the sky, a lover, a skydiver, a woman and our friend. She will be missed. Jump for the Cause

All was going well last Saturday, September 28. It was a pretty day in Beaver Oaks, Oregon, and Skydive Inc. had put up about 12 loads. There had been no previous incidents, but we all know that things can change rapidly. And on that load, they did. Rick Liston, Craig Wilwers, John Allen, and Chris Lattig were planning on launching a casual 4-way from the private DZ's C-182. All had been jumping together for a while, and all were very familiar with the dz. The pilot, Travis Marshall, was known to be a competent pilot, and very interested in ferrying jumpers. Marshall had sat through many weekends watching first jump courses taught by Ralph Hatley, the S&TA; of the dz, and always wore a bail-out rig. All participants were comfortable, and ready to make this last jump of the day a fun and memorable one...and, to top it off, there was a birthday party being readied on the ground for Rick Liston. Reaching jumprun at an altitude of 10,500 feet, the jumpers knelt, moved forward, and arranged themselves at the door. The first jumper positioned himself, and Rick Liston moved to his position between the door and the strut with his back to the prop, sort of sitting on the strut with one foot on the step (the position is often referred to as the "crotch" position). The third jumper began moving into his position. No-one was dreaming, and yet, the nightmare was about to unfold. According to Hatley, that was when Liston noticed his D-bag on the floor between his legs. He tried to recover the bag, but the lines began unstowing, wrapping around the strut. The lines snaked over the front of the strut, and they were wrapping around the gear leg when Liston released his main canopy and fell away from the plane. As he cut away, the canopy escaped from the bag, and part of it caught on the step, with the rest catching and snarling on the horizontal stabilizer and elevator. One of the jumpers grabbed his hookknife, and tried to cut the canopy away from the plane, but lost his grip on the knife and it went out the door. Liston deployed his reserve uneventfully. The other jumpers all followed suit and left the disabled plane, and, as they still had plenty of altitude, did not use their reserves but opened their mains. They all landed uneventfully at the dz. But that's not the whole story. The rest of the story began when the jumpers left the plane, and the pilot was alone in a damaged and uncontrollable aircraft. Travis Marshall had successfully struggled to maintain control of the plane to allow the jumpers time to exit safely. But he had never jumped before, and he knew he had to do it this time. As the jumpers left the plane and deployed, Marshall began to lose what little control he had of the C-182. The plane inverted, and went into a flat spin, pinning Marshall to his seat. Unfazed, Marshall shut down the plane, and notified air traffic control that he had an emergency. He then activated the transponders, climbed out of the pilot's seat, and, while the plane was still upside down and spinning, somehow managed to climb out onto the wing of the plane. Holding on to the wing, he clearly heard Hatley screaming "ARCH!!" in his head. So, as Marshall let go of the wing, he did the only thing he could do...he arched. Hard. Upon leaving the plane at about 6,000 feet, Marshall fell a short distance, and then reached for the ripcord and deployed a round canopy. Trying desperately to remember how to manage the canopy ride, he was able to steer towards a clearing about a mile away from the dz. As he approached the ground, he got ready to plf as he had only watched people doing. But he must have seen enough of them, because he plf'ed, and stood up with nothing worse than a few bruises to show for his first jump. He gathered up his gear, and began the walk back to the dz. During his walk back, he met Hatley in the truck. As Marshall climbed in, Hatley recalls, Marshall's first comments were "that was a hard opening", and "man, I threw the ripcord away." Hatley laughs as he recounts this, glee and disbelief in his voice that those were the concerns Marshall had. "Can you imagine? That's what he was worried about. Losing the ripcord!". "Everyone was fine" states Hatley. "Every last one of them performed exactly as they had trained to do. I always tell my students and jumpers to identify the problem, react to the problem, and don't procrastinate. These men - well, that's exactly what they did. And they all walked away." When asked if there was anything wrong with the aircraft, per the Oregon State Police's press release, he emphatically rejected that idea. "Nothing wrong with the plane, nothing wrong with the parachute. The FAA has already cleared the rig Liston was wearing, and the plane was in fine working order. It got a parachute wrapped around the strut and the tail. That's enough to cause the crash! Everyone kept their heads and no one even got hurt. That's the important part. No one even got hurt." Hatley continued, "the jumpers had gear checks before getting on the plane, and Liston's pilot chute was still in it's pocket when he first saw the D-bag. The only thing we can figure is the pin got knocked loose somehow. C-182's are crowded with 4 jumpers and a pilot. The pin was checked, and it was fine. The rig was checked, and it was fine. All we can figure is it (the pin) got knocked loose somehow. Sometimes, stuff happens. This was one of those times". Hatley was gracious with his time, and thanked Dropzone.com for trying to get the story out to the jumpers. "While the mainstream media has been very good, and not sensationalizing this, it's also complicated for non-jumpers to understand how something like this can happen." Hatley concluded with this comment: "remember that when something happens, it happens fast. Identify, react, and don't procrastinate taking action to save yourself. And have safe jumps!"

HEMINGFORD, Neb. (AP) — A 1,965-foot-high TV tower collapsed, killing two workers who were trying to strengthen the structure, which had been taller than the Empire State Building. Three other workers were injured Tuesday, rescue officials said. The cause of the collapse was being investigated by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Two of the workers were repairing the roof to a small transmission building at the base of the tower. The three others had been hired to strengthen the tower so it could be equipped for high-definition television transmission, according to the owner, Duhamel Broadcasting Enterprises of Rapid City, S.D. "I happened to glance up and saw the tower toppling over. It looked like the center section kind of leaned out first and the top fell down", said Don Jespersen, a 46-year-old farmer who was working in his field about a half mile away. Jerry Dishong, station manager for ABC affiliate KDUH in Scottsbluff, said there was no apparent reason for the collapse, citing clear and calm weather. After the accident, the station could only be viewed by cable subscribers. Killed were Lawrence A. Sukalec, 59, of Valier, Ill., and Daniel E. Goff, 25, of Sesser, Ill. They were on the tower when it collapsed, according to the Box Butte County sheriff's office. Three other workers were taken to a hospital in Alliance. Two were treated and released and the third was listed in good condition. The tower, about 20 miles northwest of Alliance, had been the tallest structure in Nebraska and one of the world's highest. It was more than 500 feet taller than the Sears Tower in Chicago and 700 feet higher than the Empire State Building in New York City. In 1998, eight skydivers from Utah were arrested for trespassing after jumping from the top of the tower. They left a black flag at its top to show they had made it to what they deemed their "holy grail."

Beaver Oaks, Oregon - A team of skydivers leaped from a crippled airplane Saturday, moments before it crashed into a stand of trees near Estacada. The four trick-parachute jumpers aboard and the pilot survived without injuries. Their small Cessna C-182 crumpled into trees near Highway 224 and burned before Estacada firefighters arrived. The plane was flying at 10,500 feet over the “drop zone” for the parachutists. Investigators believe the second jumper’s parachute opened early as he jumped, wrapping around the plane’s tail. The plane then began to drop as the pilot lost control. The jumper, Rick A. Liston, 46, of Clackamas, cut himself free and used his secondary parachute to escape. The other skydivers – Craig N. Wilwers, 50, of Portland; John C. Allen, 49, of Tillamook; and Chris I. Lattig, 42, of Tualatin – then bailed out. The pilot, Travis William Marshall, 23, of West Linn, followed. The plane crashed shortly before 7 p.m., about 200 feet from Highway 224. Nobody else was hurt. The plane belongs to an Eagle Creek man and had left a private airfield at Beaver Oaks. The Oregon State Police and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating. The state Department of Environmental Quality will oversee the cleanup of a small amount of fuel that spilled into a nearby pond.

Numerous people have asked me how to start and maintain a club in the past, so I have put together a little (or not so little) essay on how to do this. I started the skydiving club at the University of Maryland, College Park in September 1998. It has grown quite a bit since then and there is much more active participation by the members. The beginning of a club is very strenuous on the founder, as there is a lot of legwork and red tape to get through. But, someone has got to do it. Each school works differently for how a club could be formed. Anyway, you could find our constitution at: http://www.inform.umd.edu/StudentOrg/cpsc/Documents/Constitution.doc I thought that you could use that as a standard constitution to see what you could put into your constitution. Each school has different rules on what should be in a constitution but for the most part, they are all the same. You should see if you your school would actually permit such a club (skydiving) on campus. I say this b/c I have a friend who tried to start a club at U. Delaware and they didn't let him b/c the school takes on a different role with the student clubs there. At U. Delaware, the university has control over the club that they would be liable for any incidents. At U. Maryland, we are considered a student organization/club, NOT a sport club and the university allows us to do pretty much anything b/c they don't have any liability over us. The only thing that we must abide by are the basic university rules (non-discrimination, etc.). Okay, so I could only tell you how I started the club here at U. Maryland as I don't know how it works at other universities. We needed to fill out a student organization form that required a President's and Treasurer's signature. Moreover, it required a minimum of 7 other undergraduate students to sign and put their social security #'s (Student ID's) on it. Finally, we had to have an advisor sign it. The advisor could be anyone who is faculty/staff of the university as long as they are not an undergraduate student (I'm UMD's advisor now as I finally became a graduate student and TA for the university). Most professors are kind of wary about signing a form to be an advisor for a skydiving club. Therefore, you might need to go to your Office of Campus Programs (that is what it is called at UMD) and request some literature to show to the potential advisor on what they are liable for or what they are not liable for within the club. After you get them to sign the application and you have the signatures/SID #'s of other students and the constitution done, you hand it in to the Office of Campus Programs. It may take a little while for them to approve it as they need to read your entire constitution and pick out the details that need to be changed. After they approve it, you might want to apply to the Student Government Association (SGA) to be a club under them. They may require you to change the constitution a little according to their policies but this is usually a standard procedure and the Office of Campus Programs should be aware of it already. So, you end up filling out another application to the SGA with some student signatures and Student ID #'s (25 minimum in UMD's case). After the SGA approves it, you may have to just be a SGA club without funding from the SGA for the first year. Again, it depends on the school. Anyway, the treasurer or whoever you have as the contact person would get a notification that a budget is due if you are requesting funding from the SGA. You need to fill out a budget with items that you wish the SGA would fund you for. I find the best way to get the SGA to fund a skydiving club is to orient everything around SAFETY as you stress that you want to keep all the skydivers in the club safe. They rarely refuse this. But, if you choose to itemize the same exact item without using the terms safety, they may reject your request. For instance, if you want to get some funding for equipment, you could call it "Safety equipment", which you may have to put under "Contractual Services" (as that is what it would be considered at UMD. Another example would be time in the wind tunnel, which you could call "Free fall Safety Training". This would also fall under "contractual Services". At UMD, they have a few different categories that you could itemize things under such as "Transportation", "Advertising", "Contractual Services", "Subscriptions", and "Dues and Fees". "Transportation" would be the use of a motor pool that your school may have (i.e. van). "Advertising" would be something such as an ad in the school newspaper. "contractual services" typically means paying for a "lecturer" to come (in skydiving, it would be an instructor or some other skydiving expert). Or you could use "Contractual Services" for stuff such as Safety Training (as in my example of the wind tunnel). Moreover, you could designate the "Contractual Services" to alleviate the initial cost of 1st timers. The SGA would also be happy with this as you tell them the entire goal of the club is to get more students into the sport of skydiving and introduce diversity among the club while keeping it as cheap as possible. "Subscriptions" would be something like a subscription to "Skydiving Magazine" in the name of the club. But, this would be rejected if you don't have a centrally located office where students could come to. "Dues and Fees" would refer to the club membership fees to USPA ($200 the first year and $100 every year thereafter). The money from the SGA doesn't usually go directly to the club, but rather an invoice may need to be required by the company, which you want the SGA to pay with the Federal Employee # and mailing address for the check. The university may take a while to process this and send it to the company that you want the money to go towards. Our university is big on "Safety" and "Diversity". So, you could tell the SGA that you are trying to make the club as diverse and safe as possible, so you need their financial assistance. If the SGA says no, they are just pricks. You could make your club a "sport club" by contacting your school's "Campus Recreation Services" department and talk to them about it. They may fund you after a year of recognition or so. This funding may include club gear (rig, etc.) and owned/maintenance by the Campus Rec. Services. But, at UMD, it ends up being a huge hassle b/c the Campus Rec. Services requires meetings every week, a lot of paperwork, permission for the club to leave the state (our dropzone is in a different state), and permission to spend money where we want to. The only advantage of becoming a sport club is that the Campus Rec. Services may potentially buy us gear. Of course, this all depends on the school. Next thing you might want to consider (depending on the drop zone's waiver and the university's policies) is a legal waiver for your members to sign. You could get this done through the Student Legal Aid Office that some schools may have on campus. We started using the legal waiver when we first started but that got phased out b/c the drop zone's waiver covered us, as well as our club is just considered a "referrer" as opposed to a profit organization. A website helps the club enormously in getting information out to the public and to the students who don't quite understand what skydiving is about. You should have descriptions of the types of jumps (i.e. Tandem, AFF 1, and Static Line), prices of the jumps, and pictures of what each type of jump looks like. Also, you should have directions to the drop zone, contact information for possible students, events calendar, FAQ section, statistics on how skydiving is safer than driving your car or even walking on a treadmill. You could take a look at our club's website to get a general idea of what information you may want to have on your web page at: http://www.umd.edu/StudentOrg/cpsc You need to choose which drop zone will handle your club. You should call all of the local drop zones nearby and tell them that you are apart of a club at a university and you want to set some prices that are discounted dramatically from the regular price. If you are apart of a big university, you could tell them that and that you are potentially able to get hundreds of 1st timers each year. Also, you may want to work a club membership fee into the price of the 1st jump. That way, the club could make some money towards other things (i.e. boogies, gear, etc.). You could even have a "referral fee" worked into the price but that is your choice. Basically, you should have the total price be lower than the regular price by a good amount, which will increase your potential of getting students to jump through your club. Another thing to consider when choosing the drop zone is the type of aircraft they have. Drop zones with little Cessna's may not be able provide the necessary service for large groups. Also, if you were to charge a membership fee to people who are jumping through your club for the first time, you may want to give them something back in return such as a "free" t-shirt, sticker, etc. that would cost the club $5 per person. This money would be met up with the money from the membership fee. Anyway, this item that you would give the student would also allow you to get advertising on campus. A t-shirt would be worn around and others may ask that person about it. Then, they would probably direct those people to your club. You should choose 2 - 4 jump dates throughout each semester to start off with. That way, if someone can't make it 1 of the dates, they could make it to another one. Before each jump date, you may want to have an "information session" meeting somewhere on campus. In the meeting, you should go over what each type of jump is like, the costs, the places to sleep/shower at the drop zone, safety, clothing to wear on the jump, what skydiving feels like (not roller coaster type of feeling), pics/video of people who already jumped who are in your club, etc. The pics/video of professional skydivers are good to get the students interested but it is also good to have some of the experienced skydivers at the university. That way, the students would realize that it is very possible that they could become good at the sport while having a good time as you started out the same way at some point. You may want to have the club pay for some pizza, which sometimes is an initiative to get people to go to the meetings. It is okay b/c it will pay off as people will become interested in skydiving through the meetings. You could make this meeting as formal or informal as you wish. You might want to have some gear there to explain the different components of it along with its safety devices (i.e. AAD and RSL). Moreover, you might want an instructor from the drop zone come and make a speech about skydiving and the drop zone itself. Just remember this, the students are going to be very nervous and scared about their first jump, so keep that in mind when giving a speech in these meetings. Don't make any skydiving jokes mocking death. In fact, explain to them that skydiving is safer than most acts of daily living. But, still keep their attention by telling them that you are a student too and like to have fun. Just don't act cocky about it as the students will think that their safety would be in jeopardy. The most important key to these meetings is to smile and act extremely excited about the sport. The students will draw off of your enthusiasm and you will have more students wanting to jump despite the costs! Besides these information meetings, you should have general club meetings with the active members. You should discuss advertising issues, budget issues, etc. with them. This way, you all could brainstorm for more ideas as well as it would get the other members more involved with the club. This way, you don't have to do all the work. You could delegate the work so it is easy for everyone including yourself. Advertising: You should plaster the campus with fliers in the most NOTICEABLE areas. For example, at UMD, no one put fliers up on the bathroom doors in the dorms nor in the elevators until after I started doing it. Students notice these fliers while ignore the most used flier spaces (i.e. kiosks). You may want to make quarter sheet fliers and pass them out at a place on campus that many students frequent (i.e. Student Union or Dining Hall, etc.). Make the fliers have a dark background with light colored writing (i.e. white letters). This also, makes it more noticeable. Try not to have too much text on the fliers as students would just glance at it. You may want to just put "SKYDIVING" in large letters with information on the next jump or meeting along with your website. Other ways of advertising are pretty much infinite. You could put an ad in the school newspaper, put an ad on the football stadium's TV screen (or basketball), have some demonstration team jump onto campus with a banner trailing behind them, set up a table in front of the student union with pics of skydiving on a poster on the front of the table, co-host a happy hour with a local bar, or just email all of the presidents of other organizations (including frats/sororities) with information on your club. Fund raising would predominately be through your membership fees or referral fees. But, you could always purchase t-shirts or stickers, etc. with your club logo on it and sell them at a reasonable cost. If you have any more questions, please feel free to email me at: Lgershen@umd.edu Blue Skies, Soft Landings, Lewis D-25265