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Sky Systems is proud to offer the Edge with PORON XRD, offering the best protection and comfort of any helmet on the market today! Edge with PORON XRD The Edge with PORON XRD by SkySystems USA is a great all helmet for the novice or highly experienced skydiver as the versatility of it’s design allows the Edge to be used as a standard open-face helmet with padded chin-strap. And later on, or for the expert skydiver, it can be expanded to become a top-mounted video helmet setup with addition of a chincup. The Edge comes standard with the Poron XRD- extreme impact protection liner, which is the thickest and most comfortable helmet liner with the best impact protection available in skydiving! PORON XRD offers anti-microbial protection too, which means it eliminates 99% bacteria, mold and mildew which increases the longevity of the liner and decreases unwanted stains and odors. It has a unique open face design that allows for a small camera top mounting, perfect for a GoPro, Contour or Drift camera. Also standard are dual audible pockets and a wide, comfortable leather, adjustable chin-strap. This helmet is arguably the quietest and most comfortable open faced helmet on the market today. The Edge is available in Flat and Gloss Carbon for immediate shipment. Custom colors are available for an additional charge. The Edge sizes are x-small (under 21.4″), small (21.5-22″), medium (22.1-22.5″), large (22.51-23″), x-large (23.1-23.4″) and xx-large (23.4″ and above), custom fitted sizing is available

François (Frank) Xavier Chevrier, 81, President of FXC Corporation and Guardian Parachute, passed away suddenly on September 17, 2012. For over 60 years, Frank had been very active in the military life support equipment industry. Frank, from Montreal, Canada, joined the Canadian Air Force in his teens. He came to the U.S.A. in 1962 and began working in the aerospace industry in Southern California. In 1973, he founded the FXC Corporation in Santa Ana, California, which bears his initials. With his FXC team, he immediately addressed an upswing of industry interest in parachute safety and advancing escape system technology. FXC Corporation developed and became a world leader in Automatic Parachute Ripcord Releases for the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, NASA and foreign militaries. FXC Corporation is also a designer and manufacturer of critical components for military ejection seats and aerial delivery applications. In 1976, Frank acquired the Guardian Parachute product line. Today, the Guardian Parachute Division is a qualified manufacturer of all parachutes for U.S. militaries and a designer of High‐Glide Tactical Parachute Systems for Special Forces and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Recovery Parachute Systems. Frank had been a long‐time corporate supporter in the military aircrew life support equipment community of the SAFE Association and the Parachute Industries Association. In recognition of his business leadership, industry service, and commitment in delivering life‐saving product innovations, Frank was recently informed that he was selected to receive the 2012 SAFE Association Career Achievement Award at its Annual Symposium in October 2012. The company will celebrate its 40th year of operation in 2013. Frank was a resident of San Juan Capistrano, California and is survived by his wife Irene and four children: Sylvia, Rick, Anna and Francois, Jr. He also has five grandchildren and five great‐grandchildren.

What: Skydive Moab’s ninth-annual skydiving festival When: Sept. 26-30, 2012 Where: Skydive Moab (Canyonlands Airport off Highway 191) Cost: $15-$45 registration fee; $200-$235 per tandem jump More info: Tandem skydives, fun jumps, beautiful scenery, and nightly parties Get ready to free-fall over one of the most spectacular landscapes in the country! Beginning Wednesday, Sept. 26, Skydive Moab is hosting its ninth-annual Mother of All Boogies (M.O.A.B.), a five-day festival inviting thrill-seekers from across the globe to experience skydiving at its finest. First-time jumper? Accomplished skydiver? No matter your experience level, Skydive Moab welcomes individuals age 18 and older to revel in all M.O.A.B. has to offer. Jump with a professional tandem instructor or maximize your number of skydives as a fun jumper. View Arches and Canyonlands National Parks from 17,500 feet MSL, enjoy four- to seven-minute canopy rides overlooking the La Sal Mountains and the Colorado River, and top off the excitement with an array of nightly festivities. In collaboration yet again with Skydive Arizona, SkyVenture Colorado and a number of exceptional coordinators, Skydive Moab plans to deliver an unforgettable 2012 Boogie for approximately 150 participants. What to look forward to this yearUnlike past Boogies, however, this year’s festivities will begin on Wednesday. For $235, tandem students can jump and land at the Moab airport—a perfect location for taking in the beautiful desert scenery. Deduct $35 if you have jumped with Skydive Moab before, and ask about deals for locals, which are available during the festival and all year long. C-licensed skydivers (those with at least 200 recorded jumps) can also take advantage of this extra day to experience more remote areas of Moab. What better way to kick off the Boogie than with specialty jumps from a Cessna 182 into Caveman Ranch, a scenic site with its own runway along the Colorado River. The adrenaline will pick up again on Thursday morning with the arrival of a Skyvan and Super Otter provided by Skydive Arizona. Offering space for 22 skydivers per load, these aircrafts can accommodate individuals who prefer to jump in large groups or alongside friends and family: a perfect photo op for those interested in recording their exhilarating Boogie memories. Videos and pictures are available for purchase at Skydive Moab. In addition to the thousands of words’ worth of pictures taken, some of the finest organizers in the world of gravity-defying sports will be attending this year’s Boogie. Licensed jumpers and tandem students alike are sure to have a memorable jumping experience with help from coordinators specializing in all-that-is-skydiving. Skydive overload? M.O.A.B.ites can reflect on day two of jumping over delicious beer and grub at the Moab Brewery on Thursday night. But they’ll be at it again Friday morning. Boogie members interested in harnessing up with a tandem master can skydive at the airport all day long (until, of course, they’ve worked up an appetite). On Friday night, paid participants can celebrate another successful day of jumping with barbeque and a bonfire all night long. That’s right—Skydive Moab will be feeding all hungry adrenaline junkies for FREE. And things are bound to get heated with a spectacular fire show performed by Moab’s own Pyromancy. For all you fun jumpers out there, Friday evening will consist of skydives into spectacular Castle Valley. Surrounded by 1,500-foot red cliff walls and 13,000-foot mountain peaks, Castle Valley offers C-licensed jumpers yet another view of the incredible Moab scenery. The airport party continues through the weekend with—well, more skydiving (obviously), as well as a $10 feast and a little rock and roll. Saturday’s entertainment will be provided by the very talented Stonefed, a local blues band sure to bring the funk. The last of the boogieing will take place on Sunday, Sept. 30. Can’t attend all five days? No problem. Skydive Moab offers a $15 one-day pass for those with limited time in the area. Not just skydivingAttention fun jumpers: Free camping is available at the airport, or for you spelunkers out there, Caveman Ranch is providing unique hospitality for $50 per night. Its eight available caves are located 39 miles south of the airport. Visit www.cavemanranch.com for more information on this one-of-a-kind opportunity. Furthermore, M.O.A.B. participants with time permitting are encouraged to explore the plethora of other local activities and businesses. A world-renowned mecca for outdoor sports such as mountain biking, jeeping, base jumping and rock climbing, Moab also caters to the southwestern aficionado with its distinctive restaurants and galleries. Founded by Clint MacBeth in November 2003, Skydive Moab now claims over 30,000 recorded skydives, including tandem, sport and student jumps. Upholding its stellar reputation in the skydiving world, Skydive Moab also boasts the title of Best Scenic Cessna Drop Zone in the country. Bestowed by Blue Skies Magazine’s 2010 reader-poll, this accolade recognized Skydive Moab for its state-of-the-art piston-powered aircraft. Safety is priority number one at Skydive Moab. Jumpers can rest assured that they are in good hands, as the drop zone prides itself in using the most advanced equipment on the market, including Automatic Activation Devices (AADs) and United Parachute Technologies Sigma rigs. Helping to maintain Skydive Moab’s outstanding reputation are tandem masters Pat Martin and Jimmy Peterson, along with pilot Chris Garrison and FAA-certified rigger Greg Stone. The staff members have been acknowledged on numerous accounts for their welcoming attitudes, excellent proficiencies and entertaining performances. Enthusiastic about his role at Skydive Moab, Peterson states, “I have the best job in the world, and I love sharing the sport with new people every day.” Drawing on a combined expertise of over 75 years in the business, as well as more than 10,000 successful tandem jumps, Skydive Moab ensures a safe and comfortable experience for skydivers of all skill levels. And the customers agree. In addition to the numerous online testimonies, on-site customers have expressed their great satisfaction and appreciation, offering “sincere thanks to Skydive Moab. Your prep time made us feel like a friend!” Recognized for going above and beyond in training and prepping its clients, it’s no wonder Skydive Moab is the most referred skydiving center in Utah. First-time jumpers Shelly Steadman and Erek Burek even heard about Skydive Moab on a Colorado radio station. Although nervous at first, the marketing manager and software technician from Grand Junction were beyond pleased with their experience at Skydive Moab. “Not only were the views spectacular,” Burek said, “the operation went so smoothly and the staff did a wonderful job of keeping us calm and prepping us for our first jumps.” Steadman noted her “impressive stand-up landing,” stating that “the instructors were awesome” and “we would definitely recommend Skydive Moab to our friends!” Experience the hype for yourself by registering for Skydive Moab’s ninth-annual Mother of All Boogies festival. Skilled jumpers will pay $45 for all five days of fun, including the food, fire show, live music, and top-of-the-line airplanes not normally found in Moab. Tandem students and spectators are also welcome to join in the festivities. Come boogie with some of the best in the business! For more details or to register for M.O.A.B., visit www.skydivemoab.com or call 435-259-5867. Spots are limited.

This week Contour launched their new Contour+2. Like its predecessors the Contour+2 is a light-weight versatile full HD action camera. Contour took a look at their previous models and combined the best features from the ContourROAM and the Contour+ into the new easy to use Countour+2. By sticking the existing form factor they made sure the camera is still small and light, two of the most important requirements for any mounted action cam. The Contour+2 weighs only 0.2oz more than its immediate predecessor. What's in the box? Contour+2 Camera Micro SD Card (4GB)* Profile Mount Rotating Flat Surface Mount Rechargeable Battery USB 2.0 Cable Mini HDMI Cable Mic Cable Waterproof Case Specs: Full HD – 1920 x 1080 @ 30/25fps Tall HD – 1280 x 960 @ 30/25fps Action HD – 1280 x 720 @ 60/50 or 30/25fps Slow Motion – 854 x 480 @ 120/100, 60/50, or 30/25fps Photo Mode: Every 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 45, or 60 seconds 5MP Sensor Codec – H.264/AAC / File Type – MP4 AAC Audio Compression 32GB microSD Compatible Battery Life: 2-2.5 hrs While most of the improvements are to the video itself, there are some external changes that, on the face of it makes real sense and will probably make this an even more desirable little camera to have. Contour brought back the built-in tripod (1/4" - 20) mount, something that got lost between the ContourROAM and the original Contour+ that just didn't make sense. There’s also an Instant-on record switch and no more power button. Slide the slider forward and you’re ready to jump. There's a slide lock to prevent you from having a dreaded premature recording stop. The Contour+2 records full HD (1080p) at 30FPS video and SD (480p) video at 120FPS. However, it now also embeds “rich data” like speed, elevation and distance via a built-in GPS receiver as part of the recording. All of this can be edited and fused via their Storyteller app (PC/Mac). So, much easier to track and share your most excellent wingsuit jump. Other cool features include: a 270° rotating lens which allows you to mount this camera in almost any position you can imagine and the built-in leveling laser will help you get frame and get the picture right regardless. An external mic port, a 4GB microSD card and a mini HDMI cable for live streaming all included. Also part of the package is a 60-meter waterproof case and then of course the one we like, improved Bluetooth connectivity, turning your iOS or Android smartphone into and external remote viewfinder. Another great thing, at $399.99, you get all of this at about 100 dollars cheaper than the old Contour+! We hope to have a full review of the Contour+2 in the very near future for you. In the meantime, find out more about this camera on the Contour Website.

Designed as advanced wingsuits for those experienced pilots (200+ wingsuit jumps) interested in maximum performance, the Rigor Mortis suits are available in three sizes in order to accommodate for proper wing-loading and flight characteristics. Recommended pilot naked weight: Rigor Mortis Small: 100-165 lbs (45-75 Kg) Rigor Mortis Medium: 150-195 lbs (68-88 Kg) Rigor Mortis Large: 195+ lbs (88+ Kg)

The Volturius (vulture) is an all-around wingsuit for the heavy weight pilot suitable for all experience levels blending incredible performance with ease of flight and issue-free pull-time. Recommended pilot naked weight: 190+ lbs (86+ Kg)

The Flockus is an all-around wingsuit for the light and middle weight pilot suitable for all experience levels blending incredible performance with ease of flight and issue-free pull-time. Recommended pilot naked weight: 100-165 lbs (45-75 Kg)

All the greatness of the Raptor in a new stylish design. Perfect for both sky and tunnel flying. Features • Very technical design suiting the most advanced freefly techniques. • Standard windproof spandex and zipper for ultradurability. • Fully articulated in key areas to make it incredibly comfortable. • Seat reinforced with Cordura and articulated Cordura knees for extra protection and performance. • Mesh lining for extra breathability and comfort. • Double stitched and reinforced in key areas for extra durability. • Inside chest pocket. • Choice of 2 ankle cuffs styles and 2 body fits.

Our most performing and versatile suit to date! You won’t believe how great it is to fly with it. Perfect for both sky and tunnel flying. Features • Very technical design suiting the most advanced freefly techniques • Standard windproof spandex and zipper for ultra durability. • Fully articulated in key areas to make it incredibly comfortable. • Seat reinforced with Cordura and articulated Cordura knees for extra protection and performance. • Mesh lining for extra breathability and comfort. • Double stitched and reinforced in key areas for extra durability. • Inside chest pocket. • Choice of 2 ankle cuffs styles and 2 body fits.

This suit is specifically designed for advanced flyers who need the best performance a suit can offer. This suit is very form fitting to minimize unwanted drag. It is also available in "shorty" style for hot climates or Zero drag. Perfect for both sky and tunnel flying. Features • Very technical design suiting the most advanced freefly techniques • Standard windproof spandex and zipper for ultra durability. • Fully articulated in key areas to make it incredibly comfortable. • Seat reinforced with Cordura and articulated Cordura knees for extra protection and performance. • Mesh lining for extra breathability and comfort. • Double stitched and reinforced in key areas for extra durability. • Inside chest pocket. • Available in short sleeves and/or shorts (legs). • Choice of 2 ankle cuffs styles and 2 body fits

Performant, innovative and extremely durable, this RW suit has everything to please every belly flyer. From beginner to expert, each flyer can benefit from this advanced and fully customizable suit. This RW Loose fit version is designed for those needing an average to slower fall rate. For a faster fast rate, see our RW Slim Fit.

Performant, innovative and extremely durable, this RW suit has everything to please every belly flyer. From beginner to expert, each flyer can benefit from this advanced and fully customizable suit. This RW Slim fit version is designed for those needing an average to faster fall rate. For a slower fast rate, see our RW Loose Fit.

All the Z Suit versatility in one pair of pants! To wear alone or with the Z Jacket for even more versatility. Features • Classic design that can be fully customized. • Spandex inserts on inseam for added comfort. • Double layers on knees and seat for extra protection. • Double stitched and reinforced in key areas for extra durability. • Choice of 2 ankle cuff styles and 3 leg fits.

The all-around jacket. Pair this with the Z Pants and get the most versatile 2 piece suit ever! You can also add camera wings to this jacket. Features • Classic design that can be fully customized. • Spandex insert on back for added comfort. • Double stitched and reinforced in key areas for extra durability. • Inside chest pocket. • Choice of 3 body fits.

Our most performing and versatile pants to date! Features • Standard windproof spandex for ultradurability. • Fully articulated in key areas to make it incredibly comfortable. • Seat reinforced with Cordura and articulated Cordura knees for extra protection and performance. • Mesh lining for extra breathability and comfort. • Double stitched and reinforced in key areas for extra durability.

Our most versatile suit! Suitable for beginners in freefly and basic RW, as well as for the most advanced freeflyers. A great all-around suit. Choose our Hybrid version for tunnel flying and extra durability. Features • Classic design that can be fully customized. • Spandex inserts on back and inseam for added comfort. • Double layers on knees and seat for extra protection. • Double stitched and reinforced in key areas for extra durability. • Inside chest pocket. • Choice of 2 ankle cuffs styles and 3 body fits. • Hybrid version features windproof spandex and zipper to provide for optimal tunnel flying comfort and durability.

With the Icon our engineers have shown that security, durability and functionality can come to you in a harness-container system that is pleasing to the eye and very comfortable to wear. In freefall it is good to know you have a rig on your back. But when you wear an Icon you will want to check again, that’s how comfortable the fit is! Similarly the Icon greatly contributes to your appreciation of the canopy flight. It carries you in a way that supports your body in a natural sitting position and offers you maximum movement for canopy maneuvering.

Fredericksburg, VA... Pat Moorehead, 80, of Long Beach, CA, will be awarded with the National Skydiving Museum's Trustees Award during the museum's fundraising weekend celebration at Skydive Arizona, Eloy, November 10, 2012. The award is being given to recognize Moorehead's TEAM 80 event where he made 80 skydives to celebrate his 80th birthday. The event raised more than $18,000 toward the museum's building fund. On November 20, 2011, to celebrate his 80th birthday, Moorehead jumped out of a plane at Skydive Elsinore -- 80 times. Despite cloudy skies and rain, he set the world's record for the most skydives by an 80-year-old in one day. Moorehead actually made 81 jumps; after he broke the record, he went up one last time to fly the American flag. The feat took a little over 6 ½ hours and was supported by more than 50 volunteers including Moorehead's wife Alicia, riggers, cameramen, a pilot, and a doctor on standby. Moorehead also managed to get the necessary equipment and an airplane on loan for the event. The jumps began around 6 a.m. and concluded shortly after 12:30 p.m. right before the skies opened and the rain began. Friends and admirers from around the world sent in contributions to the National Skydiving Museum to honor Pat. His original goal was $8,000….the final total was more than $18,000. The Trustees Award is a newly created award that will be given at the discretion of the museum's Board of Trustees for significant contributions to the museum and its mission. Moorehead will be presented the award by the president of the museum's Board of Trustees L. Len Potts at its prestigious Hall of Fame Dinner Saturday, November 10. The gala will be held at Skydive Arizona. Tickets to the Dinner are still available. The dinner is part of a weekend fundraising celebration with activities starting Friday morning (November 9)that include exhibit displays with some of the rich history of the sport, a theater featuring great skydiving footage, and a special display on the history of the Star Crest Recipient Awards (SCR). A video of Moorehead's jumps will be continuously played along with a banner signed by all who donated to his efforts. Throughout the weekend, a group of large-formation skydivers will be building 64-way formations to commemorate the birth of relative work. On Friday evening, there will be a BBQ with some of the sports' living legends sharing stories from the past. The culmination of the weekend is the Hall of Fame dinner presented by the Parachute Industry Association when seven skydiving legends will join 17 others into the museum's Hall of Fame. More than 300 people from around the world are expected to join in the festivities and the event is expected to bring in more than $125,000 to support building the museum. The fundraiser will benefit the National Skydiving Museum's $6-million capital program that will raise the necessary funds to build the museum in Fredericksburg, VA. The National Skydiving Museum is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation governed by a Board of Trustees. For more information and to register for the National Skydiving Museum Weekend and Hall of Fame celebration, visit www.skydivingmuseum.org or contact museum administrator, Nancy Kemble, at 540-604-9745 or nkemble@skydivingmuseum.org.

CRESWELL, Ore—Eugene Skydivers owner and operator Urban Moore filed an FAA part 16 complaint against the City of Creswell and the Creswell Hobby Field in December 2011. The complaint was filed to restore landing rights for skydivers at the Creswell Airport. A ruling is expected to be announced no later than August 2012. The decision is expected to have national implications because it will set a precedent for cases involving airport access for skydiving activities on federally assisted airports. The part 16 complaint stems from a 2006 disagreement over landing rights for skydivers at the Creswell Airport. The dispute affects where skydivers land their parachutes and reduced Eugene Skydivers business operation to tandem skydiving only. An alternate landing site, located near Seavey Loop Road in Eugene, is currently being used until this issue is resolved. If the FAA affirms the rights of skydivers to land on the airport then full operations is expected to resume later this year. About Eugene Skydivers Eugene Skydivers drop zone opened for business in February 1992 at the Creswell Airport with only a single aircraft. Six years after opening, Eugene Skydivers built its operation to include three Cessna 182 airplanes. The drop zone has performed exhibition skydives for local businesses and charities. In 1998 a state skydiving record was hosted at the drop zone. Eugene Skydivers has performed an estimated 65,000 skydives over the past 20- years. This year alone over 400 tandem skydives have been safely conducted. The hours of operation are weekends and by appointment.

Estimated to cost USD 1.3 Billion for a month, the billboard features a Jet Pack Man flying around the billboard in a seconds-long promotion for Skydive Dubai and Go Fast Skydive Dubai, the world's premiere skydiving center, in association with Go Fast, a global energy brand, showcased the world's most expensive billboard located in Downtown Dubai, yesterday, at 6pm. In what is deemed to be the most expensive billboard, Skydive Dubai and Go Fast have utilized a Jet Pack to create the interactive billboard. The billboard involves a man with a Jet Pack, initially hidden within the billboard, to emerge from the billboard and fly around it for approximately 20-30 seconds, before landing back on the billboard. If the Jet Pack act for the billboard were to continue for a month, it would cost approximately USD 1.3 Billion. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ptr5gyLwq8 The billboard is strategically positioned at the entrance of the stunning Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building. Located in one of the most premier destinations in the world, Downtown Dubai, billed as 'The Centre of Now,' the Go Fast billboard by Skydive Dubai has created a new landmark for Dubai. Commenting on the Skydive Dubai's association with Go Fast for the billboard, Mr. Nasser Al Neyadi, Chairman of Skydive Dubai, said: "This is an epic moment, and we are very proud to be part of it. This initiative is another example showcasing Dubai as a world leader in innovation and technology. The billboard came into being with a simple idea that has transformed into an exceptional event to attract a global audience. Our gratitude to our partners, Go Fast and Emaar Properties, without whose support, this would not have been possible." "Skydive Dubai would like to acknowledge that the creation of such a monumental dropzone would not be possible without the support and extraordinary vision of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council and President of the Dubai Sports Council." Skydive Dubai is supported by Emaar Properties PJSC, the global property developer of iconic projects, and the provider of premier lifestyles. Emaar has been shaping landscapes and lives in the Emirate since its inception in 1997, creating value-added, master-planned communities that meet the full spectrum of lifestyle needs. Downtown Dubai is the flagship mega-development of Emaar, and features iconic developments including Burj Khalifa, The Dubai Mall and The Dubai Fountain, in addition to homes, commercial offices and leisure attractions. Mr. Troy Widgery, CEO of Go Fast, commented on the event, saying, "We are very happy to be in Dubai. During our first visit two years ago, the city left us mesmerized. Its people and the culture here is amazing. We were immediately convinced to bring Go Fast to the UAE and have introduced the Go Fast Halal Energy Formula, the first of its kind in the world, developed especially for this region. We are certain that the brand will be received very well here. We are grateful for the support of Skydive Dubai for our venture in this part of the world. With this billboard, we want the people to know that we will be here soon." The seconds of flight time for the billboard in Downtown Dubai would cost a minimum of USD 500 per second. If the number of seconds in a month (60 seconds x 60 minutes x 24hours x 30 days = 2,592,000 seconds) is multiplied by USD 500, the total amounts to approximately USD 1.3 Billion for the month long fly time for the billboard. Skydive Dubai is an all-turbine drop zone, offering safe, professional and fun skydiving experience over the breathtaking Dubai skylines. Skydive Dubai caters to skydivers of all experience levels from the first time tandem jumpers to fun jumpers and experienced skydivers. Go Fast is an independent, authentic, lifestyle brand. Based out of Denver, Colorado, Go Fast was established in 1996 to support the lifestyle of extreme sports enthusiasts. The world-recognized brand is known for the Go Fast Energy Drinks, Go Fast Energy Gum, Go Fast Gear, & and everything that Goes Fast! For Further information, please contact: Mr. Firas Al Jabi Skydive Dubai Tel: + 971-50-348-8802 Email: skydive.dubai7@gmail.com

Fredericksburg, VA (April 6, 2012) - Mark your calendars for November 9 - 11 to be at Skydive Arizona (Eloy) for the 2012 National Skydiving Museum Weekend and Hall of Fame Celebration. The weekend's activities will focus on the “Birth of Formation Skydiving - The Star Crest Recipient Award” with the highlight of the weekend Saturday evening when seven skydiving legends will join 17 others into the museum's Hall of Fame. More than 300 people from around the world are expected to join in the festivities and the event is expected to bring in more than $125,000 to support building the museum. The activities start Friday morning and include exhibit displays with some of the rich history of the sport, a theatre featuring great skydiving footage, and a special display on the history of the Star Crest Recipient Awards (SCR). Throughout the weekend, a group of large-formation skydivers will be building 64-way formations to commemorate the birth of relative work. For those looking to share skydiving memories and catch up with old friends, the “Pioneers Lounge” sponsored by Pope Valley Parachute Ranch will serve as reunion headquarters. On Friday evening there will be a BBQ where Bill Newell, Jerry Bird and others will share stories about the SCR Awards program and its contributions to the sport. The culmination of the weekend will be the Hall of Fame reception and dinner Saturday evening presented by the Parachute Industry Association. The 2012 inductees are Carl Boenish (posthumous); Bob Buquor (posthumous); Claude Gillard; Craig Girard; Dan Poynter; and Hank (posthumous) and Muriel Simbro. The Hall of Fame recognizes and honors those, who through leadership, innovation and/or outstanding achievements have defined, promoted, inspired and advanced skydiving at the highest and sustained levels in the past, present and for future generations of skydivers. Seating is limited at the dinner so make your reservations early. Skydive Arizona™, located half way between Phoenix and Tucson, is the premier place for skydivers of all skill levels. With Arizona's beautiful weather, one of the largest aircraft fleets, amazing facilities and the largest drop zone in the world, Skydive Arizona has the ability to offer more sun, more fun and more jumps. This skydiving resort has become a mecca for the skydiving community! The fundraiser will benefit the National Skydiving Museum's $6-million capital program that will raise the necessary funds to build the museum in Fredericksburg, VA. The museum has already acquired the land that is situated adjacent to the U.S. Parachute Association. When completed, the 15,000 square foot National Skydiving Museum will recognize and promote the sport of skydiving through public education and awareness; recognize the contribution to skydiving by its participants, suppliers and supporters; capture forever the history of the sport through is events, equipment and personalities; and enhance aviation safety as it pertains to skydiving. It is expected the museum will draw visitors from throughout the world to experience the thrill of skydiving through its history of people, equipment and events. The National Skydiving Museum is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation governed by a Board of Trustees. For more information and to register for the National Skydiving Museum Weekend and Hall of Fame celebration, visit www.skydivingmuseum.org or contact museum administrator, Nancy Kemble, at 540-604-9745 or nkemble@skydivingmuseum.org. There are also a variety of sponsorship opportunities available for the event to show your support.

This article applies to FS belly flying, not Freefly or Canopy piloting. Safety firstWingload: Before considering jumping with weights please consider if you are comfortable with the higher wingload of your canopy. You will fly faster with the weights and if you are already pushing your limits then it may be unsafe or unnecessarily stressful. When choosing your canopies it may be a good idea to choose one size larger to allow for wearing weights. Water landings: You cannot swim with weights on! So please consider this if you are jumping near water. A weight belt is a clear advantage in case you have to dump the weights to allow you to swim. A tight jumpsuit and a weight vest are not good when landing in water, you cannot swim with the vest and it is nearly impossible to get off in the water. Health: Please consider if your body can handle the extra stress of jumping with the weights. If you have a bad back, a hard opening while wearing a heavy weight belt could be really bad for you! Comfort: Not exactly a safety aspect but weights can be really uncomfortable. Safety of others: Please make sure your weighs are firmly attached to your body. Losing or deliberately dropping weights can kill people on the ground, destroy houses and sink boats! Then why would anyone choose to jump with weights? Considering the safety and comfort issues why would anyone consider jumping with weights? Because it makes you a much better FS skydiver! Unless of course you naturally fall fast. When you see top performing skydivers, you will see that more than half of them wear weights. They do it because it is a clear performance advantage. Weights is a personal thingJust like your body shape and flying style are unique, so is your need for weights. The big or dense people don't need weights at all, and could do the rest of us a favor by choosing a jumpsuit that will slow them down. Smaller or skinny people often need weights, but the amount varies significantly. DefinitionsJust to make sure everyone is one the same page, two definitions; The Ideal fall rate is your fall rate when you are in freefall alone in a neutral comfortable body position without trying to go either fast or slow. (Mine is 187 km/h - 116 MPH) The Fall rate range is the range of speeds at which you are able to fall when trying to go faster or slower. (Mine is 160 - 220 km/h or 99 - 137 MPH). The purpose of weightsThe purpose of jumping with weights is to increase your Ideal fall rate and shift your Fall rate range upwards. In other words, to make it easier to fall faster and keep up with your team. The fall rate range of most skydivers is +- 30 km/h (+-20 MPH) from the ideal fall rate. The heaviest weights people are comfortable jumping with will give an increase in ideal fall rate of 20 km/h. The body is therefore much stronger at controlling the fall rate than by wearing weights. What a lot of people don't understand is that the weights will not actually make you fall faster! With the weights you will fall at the rate of the team, and without the weights you will fall at the rate of the team, you will just struggle more to do it! This of course assumes that you have a reasonable range, if you don't then you should work on improving it. Avoiding struggling to maintain a higher than ideal fall rate is the real propose of jumping with weights. What happens is that it requires attention to fall faster than the ideal fall rate, attention unnoticed taken away from flying your slot, turning points etc. Less attention on what you are supposed to do will make you perform at less than your potential. Wearing the right amount of weight, so you don't need attention on falling fast, will free your mind to be a better skydiver. With the right amount of weight you will notice that you are stronger, can move and turn faster, be more aware of what is going on around you, and you will make fewer mistakes and brainlocks. How to know if you need more weightIf you need much more weight (5+ kg) then it is easy to feel because you are struggling a lot to fall fast, or you may not be able to keep up with your team. If you don't need that much then it is very likely you will not notice you are struggling. Things to look for indicating you (or others) need more weight; 1. You pop up a little during challenging moves or if unexpected things happen 2. You feel unable to move as fast as you normally can 3. You feel slightly unstable 4. You fly with your hands above your head Video of your jumps can be great for seeing these things since you may not notice during the jump. How much do I need?How much weight you need for a given jump is surprisingly complicated! Obviously, it depends on your ideal fall rate and the fall rate of the team you will be jumping with. For the first jump with a team it is a guess, and then you adjust the amount of weight to match your ideal fall rate to that of the team. It may take several jumps to get it right. As I wrote earlier the body is much stronger than the weights at controlling the fall rate, so don't be afraid of taking more weight, it takes a lot before it makes a real difference. Actually, I doubt anyone will be able to feel any difference if 1 kg (2 pounds) is added. How fast will it make me fall?Assuming everything remains the same, then adding 1 kg will increase your ideal fall rate by 1 km/h (1 pound gives 0.3 MPH). This is true for all but the most extreme body shapes. However, everything does not remain the same! The weight will change but so will the balance and the forces on the body. If your body is very flexible then a weight belt will pull your hip down and effectively make you arch more and thus make you fall even faster. There are several other smaller effects that also change the fall rate, so it is quite complicated and not possible to calculate exactly how much weight you need. A rough guide is; Inflexible body: 1 km/h per kg added (0.3 MPH per pound added) Very flexible body: up to 2 km/h per kg added (0.6 MPH per pound added) Please be conservative when adding weight and keep you increments at maximum 2 kg (4 pounds). Never make big changes in the amount of weight, the result may surprise you! Seeking adviceWhen you are in doubt about how much weight you need (and you will be in doubt), seek advice from an experienced FS skydiver with a body shape, size and weight similar to you. Don't ask the big guys who have never jumped with weights, they may be highly experienced skydivers but they haven't got a clue about your needs. Often they will give useless advice like "You just need to arch more!" or my favorite "Take off your booties!”. Have fun, improve on every skydive and be safe! Jacques Jonsman is an engineer, serial entrepreneur and product & business innovator. He is an FS instructor and has been skydiving for 21 years.

In this book world famous competitive skydiver and coach Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld presents proven tools and techniques for success and explains how they can be used in everyday life. Dan survived a plane crash from which sixteen of the twenty-two people on board were killed. He was left critically injured and woke up from a six-week-long coma with a broken neck, broken skull, severe head trauma, a collapsed lung, and other serious internal injuries. Against all odds, Dan recovered and went on to become one of the greatest competitive skydiver in the world. His book is available on Amazon.com Waking UpSomething was wrong. I was groggy, fading in and out. My body felt tired, weighted down. What was going on? I tried to see but my eyelids were too heavy to lift. I summoned all the strength I could but still didn’t have the power to peel them open. The last thing I could recall was training with my new skydiving team, Airmoves. After nine years of competition, much of which was spent living in my van and eating out of a cooler so that I could afford team training, the owners of the Perris Valley Skydiving Center in California had presented me with a team sponsorship opportunity. I would get to pick and run the team. They would cover the training costs. This was it, the opportunity I had always hoped for. Since money wasn’t an issue, I was able to pick the teammates I most wanted. The first person I called was James Layne. I had known James since he was eleven and had taught him to jump when he was only fourteen. His whole family had worked at my drop zone in Ohio. James was like a little brother to me. Even before his very first jump seven years earlier, we had decided that someday we were going to win the national and world championships together. This was our chance, a dream come true. Troy Widgery was next on my list. Troy was a young entrepreneur and good friend whom I had coached when he was on the University of Colorado Skydiving Team. At the collegiate national championships a year earlier, I had told James and Troy that somehow, someday, I was going to get them both on my team.Richard Stuart had been the camera flyer on my previous team, the Fource. But like me, Richard still just hadn’t had enough of team training and competition. To fill the one remaining position, I held tryouts. Tom Falzone outperformed the rest and completed the team lineup. Perris Airmoves was born. We were five months into our training and had made about 350 practice jumps. Everything was going better than I had ever imagined, and I have quite an imagination. We were improving at an unheard-of pace and had already gone head-to-head with some of the top teams in the country. The U.S. Nationals gold medal was in our sights. And then . . . The crust on my eyelashes glued them shut. Using the muscles in my forehead, I finally pried them open a crack. A faint white light was all I could see, like I was inside of a cloud. It was silent. Where was I waking up? Was I waking up? Was I dead? I had no idea what was happening, how I got here, or what was going on. But I did have one absolutely vivid image in my head, a crystal clear picture of something that seemed to have happened just moments before waking up. It wasn’t a dream. It was as real as any real-world experience I had ever had. I could remember the entire thing, every action, every word, and every thought. It went like this: I was in free fall. Almost as if I had just appeared there. I love free fall, and finding myself there at that moment seemed natural. I was at home, at peace, part of the infinite sky. But after a few seconds I noticed that this wasn’t normal free fall. It was quieter. The wind wasn’t blowing as fast. I wasn’t descending. A gentle breeze was suspending me. It was okay, it was fine. I was floating, flying, but it wasn’t right. What was I doing there? I wasn’t afraid. I felt safe, but confused. I looked up and saw James flying down to me just as if we were on a skydive together and he was “swooping” me. His expression was that silly, playful smile he so often had in free fall. He was obviously not confused at all. He knew exactly where he was and what he was doing there. He flew down and stopped in front of me. Still with a smile on his face, he asked, “Danny, what are you doing here?” I answered, “I don’t know.” James said, “You’re not supposed to be here, you have to get back down there.” I began to get a grasp of the situation. I asked him, “Are you coming with me?” His expression changed to one with a hint of sadness. He said, “No, I can’t.” I tried to persuade him to change his mind, “C’mon, James, we were just getting started. You gotta come with me.” James raised his voice, interrupting me. “I can’t!” It was obvious that the decision was final. It seemed as if it wasn’t his decision. He continued with a gentle smile. “I can’t, but it’s okay. There are more places to go, more things to do, more fun to have. Tell my mom it’s okay. Tell her I’m okay.” For a few seconds we just looked at each other as I accepted this for the reality it was. He changed his tone and spoke with some authority as he gave me an order. “Now,” he said, “you need to get back down there. You need to go get control of the situation.” I unquestioningly accepted this as well, still not knowing what the situation was that he was referring to. James stuck out his hand palm down, the way we always did when practicing our “team count,” our “ready, set, go” cadence we would use to synchronize our exit timing. A couple of minutes before exiting the plane on a training jump, we would always huddle up and practice this count. The purpose was as much to get psyched up for the jump as to rehearse the cadence. I put my hand on top of his. He put his other hand on top of mine. I put my other hand on top of his. We looked each other in the eyes. Both of us with gentle smiles of love and confidence and sadness. James started the count. “Ready.” I joined in as we finished it together. “Set. Go.” As was our routine, we clapped and then popped our hands together, locking them in a long, strong, brotherly grasp. James had one more thing to say, and he said it with absolute certainty, “I’ll see you later.” It was clearly not a “good-bye.” I had no doubt that we would see each other again. Before I had even thought about an answer, the words “I know” came out of my mouth. Slowly I started to descend. As I did, James began to fade from my grip. The wind picked up as I was now falling through it, no longer suspended by it. Everything went black. As I woke, James’s words, “Get control of the situation,” still rang clearly in my mind. If only I knew what the situation was. I knew I wasn’t dead. I squinted, trying to see more clearly. The white light slowly brightened. A few small red and green lights came into view. As if coming from a distance, faint electrical beeping sounds began to reverberate from the silence. My vision started to sharpen. I could see I was surrounded with lights, gauges, hoses, and wires running in every direction. The glowing white light wasn’t the heavens. It was the bedsheets and ceiling paint of an ICU hospital room. I stared straight up from flat on my back, the position I found myself in. What’s the situation? I thought that James and I must have been in some kind of accident together. James was gone and I wasn’t. I tried to pick my head up to look around the room. My head wouldn’t move. I tried to turn my head to look to the side; it wouldn’t move. Oh my God, I thought. I can’t move my head. I’m paralyzed. It can’t be true. Don’t let it be true. This can’t be the situation. I was filled with a sense of fear far greater than anything I had ever experienced before. I felt myself starting to give up and caught myself. Don’t panic, don’t panic. I closed my eyes, took a breath, and tried to calm down. It’s got to be something else, there has to be more. I told myself not to come to any conclusions too soon, to pause and re-evaluate the situation. I started again. I opened my eyes. I could see a little more clearly now, and there was no doubt I was definitely in a hospital bed complete with all the bells, whistles, buzzers, and instruments. I tried to move my head again. It wouldn’t budge. “Stay cool, stay cool. Try something else,” I told myself. I tried to move my toes. I thought I felt something, but I couldn’t lift my head to see them to confirm. I remembered hearing about people who were paralyzed but had ghost movements when it felt as though they could move even though they couldn’t. “Stay cool, Dan, stay cool. Look for options. Try something else.” I had to talk myself through it every step of the way.I tried to wiggle my fingers. It felt like they moved. I tried to move my hands. I could swear they worked. Did they move? I couldn’t turn my head to see my hands but nearly stretched my eyes out of their sockets trying to look down to verify that my hands were actually moving. Peering past the horizon of the bedsheet, there were no hands in sight. I tried to lift my hands higher. They felt so heavy. Were they moving, or was it my imagination wishing them to move? Slowly, I saw the bedsheet rise. Like the sun rising in the morning, slow but certain. I brought my hands all the way up right in front of my face, trying to prove to myself that it wasn’t a hallucination. I stretched out my fingers, clenched my fists, and then stretched them out again. I put my hands together to see if my right hand could feel my left and my left hand feel my right. They worked. Yes! What an incredible relief. My arms and hands weren’t paralyzed. Okay, so far so good, back to my legs. I tried again to move my toes and lift my feet. They were too far away to see and too heavy to lift. I gathered all the strength I had, as if I was trying to bench-press four hundred pounds, and focused it on my knees. Ever so slowly, the bedsheet started to lift. Slowly my knees came up high enough that I could see they were moving. I wasn’t paralyzed, not at all. Get Dan's Book from Amazon.comI still didn’t know what the situation was, but no matter what, it wasn’t as bad as I had feared. I felt a sudden relief, and though I had never been a person who prayed very often, without even thinking I found myself thanking God forlessening my burden. Why couldn’t I move my head, though? I reached up with both my newly working hands to feel my head. As I did, I came in contact with two metal rods. As I explored further I realized my head was in a cage. I couldn’t move my head not because I wasn’t capable but because it was being held still by a halo brace. My neck must be broken. But for a person who moments earlier thought he was completely paralyzed, a broken neck seemed like the common cold. The experience of thinking I was paralyzed from head to toe was truly a gift. It would forever put things in perspective for me. I decided at that moment that I would never complain about my injuries, no matter what they were. But what had happened? I asked the doctor, but he skirted the question and instead filled me in on my condition. In addition to breaking my neck, I had a collapsed lung, cracked skull, a severe concussion, and crushed insides causing other internal injuries. It’s hard to believe, but none of this really fazed me. It was still much better news than I had feared. I asked him again, “What happened?” He acted like he didn’t hear me. The doctor was concerned about the nerve and brain damage but seemed confident that I would ultimately be able to walk out of the hospital and lead a relatively normal life, as long as my normal life didn’t include any contact sports or rigorous activity at all. I would certainly never skydive again. A little while later, Kristi, my girlfriend, came in. I asked her what had happened, but she dodged the question. I kept asking her, pushing her; I had to know. Finally she said, “It’s bad, Dan, it’s so bad.” That was the first time it occurred to me that if James and I were in an accident of some kind, it was likely that the other members of Airmoves were in the same accident. I asked her again what had happened. “It’s so bad” was all she could say. I pushed her relentlessly. Finally, she told me. There was a plane crash. A plane crash? I hadn’t even considered a plane crash. I realized what that could mean and tried to prepare for the worst, that my entire team may be gone. The sudden emotional barrage that hit me was overwhelming. I was starting to lose control and caught myself. I closed my eyes, took a breath, and calmed myself down. I later learned that Kristi had been by my side since the crash. She and my friends and family did not know how, if and when I woke up, they would tell me that James was gone. I asked her, “How’s my team?” She tried to speak, but still, the only words she could muster were, “It’s bad, Dan, it’s so bad.” I needed an answer. I said, “I know James is gone. How is the rest of the team?” She froze in disbelief. She looked at me, staring deeply into my eyes, and asked, “How do you know that?” I answered directly, “He told me.” She continued to stare at me, wondering how that was possible. Almost relieved that I already knew about James, Kristi told me that, compared to me, my other teammates were fine. Troy and Tom were banged up and had broken a few bones. Troy had to have surgery on his hip. But all things considered, they were basically okay. Richard had missed the plane. His camera helmet broke just minutes before we boarded, and he had asked another cameraman to take his place while he went to fix it. In the thousands of training jumps Richard and I had together, I could never remember him missing a jump. Kristi was quiet. There was more. We were flying in the Twin Otter, which carries twenty-two people. It was worse than I thought, way worse. For some reason, I had assumed that Airmoves had been alone in a single-engine Cessna. Of the twenty-two people on board, sixteen had died in the crash. Most of them my friends, including Dave Clarke, the cameraman who took Richard’s place. The emotional bombardment continued as Kristi told me who we lost. The names included members of Tomscat, a team from Holland that I was coaching, the pilots, instructors, and camera flyers who worked at the skydiving school, and students who were there for their first jump, in what was supposed to have been an experience of a lifetime for them. Kristi was right: It was bad. So, so bad. Because I was just learning about this, I had assumed that it had all just happened. As I was absorbing this information, I was hit with another shocker. The crash had occurred over a month ago. I had been in a coma for nearly six weeks. How could that be? I picked up my arms and held them in front of my face. They looked skeletal. I had lost forty pounds. I touched my face and discovered a beard. It was true. What hell the families and friends must have been going through over the last month while I had the luxury of being unconscious. What sorrow and grief they must have been experiencing. I felt so badly for them, and guilty that I wasn’t there to be with them through this difficult time. It immediately occurred to me that I had to be strong. It may have been new to me, but they had been dealing with it for over a month. I was experiencing this grief for the first time, but I would have to do so on my own. I didn’t want to drag my friends and family back through it all again. If only they knew what I knew. If only James had been able to share with each of them what he shared with me. I knew that our friends were gone, but that they were okay. I knew they had more places to go, more things to do, and more fun to have. I knew we hadn’t said good-bye, only, “See you later.” I wanted to share this with everyone, but I also knew that they would think I was nuts and that the brain damage I had suffered was more severe than they thought. I kept it to myself, except for telling one person. As James had requested, I called his mother, my dear friend Rita, from my hospital bed and passed his message on to her. “You need to go get control of the situation.” What exactly did James mean? I thought about that a lot. I believe he was alerting me to the fact that I was about to wake up in a different world than the one before the crash. I would be arriving in the middle of a situation that was overrun by sadness, fear, helplessness, and defeat. I believe he was warning me that many people were going to try to define the situation for me and tell me what my limitations were. He was telling me not to be a victim, not to let anyone but me decide my fate and that I didn’t have to let go of my dreams. There was more to “life” than what we experience in this physical world. He was telling me it was all okay. James was reminding me that prior to the crash, I had taken control of my life. I had found an activity that I loved, pushed myself to be the best I could possibly be at it, and set my sights on becoming the best in the world. I had shown the courage to follow my dreams and the faith in the world to believe that the few things that were out of my control would work out as they should. This attitude toward life had never steered me wrong in the past. And it wouldn’t then. I believed him. I trusted him. And I decided. FOLLOWING YOUR DREAMSHuman beings are born dreamers. Through dreams we explore our limitless imaginations and consider the true possibilities of things we perceive to be impossible. Most great human achievements began as someone’s impossible dream, a crazy fantasy. It was the dreamers of their day who imagined electricity, flying machines, walking on the moon, running a four-minute mile, or instantly communicating on a cell phone or the Internet. All of these were considered impossible right up until the moment they actually happened. Soon after, they were thought of as everyday occurrences. Our dreams provide us a stage from which we can fantasize about things that don’t seem feasible within the constraints of our physical realities. They encourage us to question our often false perceptions of the limits of those realities. Through our dreams we are open to exploring all possibilities. Without our dreams, we too often surrender to our established limitations and underestimate our true potential. Dreaming is an essential part of what it means to be human. The same way we are born hungry and need to eat to grow, our minds and souls crave inspiration and need our imaginations to show us all what we are truly capable of being and doing. It is human nature to want to expand our capabilities. As long as we can imagine reaching the next level in our chosen field, most of us will instinctively want, and choose, to do so. Once babies have crawled, they want to walk. As soon as they walk, they want to run. Once they can run, they want to jump. We are rarely satisfied with where we are while we can still imagine, and believe, that we can do more. Few things have the power to motivate and inspire us to reach for our full potential the way our dreams do. Successful people from every walk of life—be they athletes, musicians, soldiers, doctors, policemen, firefighters, entrepreneurs, or entertainers (just to name a few)—usually agree on one thing. As children, long before they ever achieved success in their field, they dreamt and fantasized about becoming great at what they did. It wasn’t money or fame that inspired them as children. It was the pure love and purpose for the activity itself. Most of them can hardly remember a time when they weren’t insanely passionate about it. Every dreamer is not successful. But every successful person is a dreamer. As children, we all had dreams like these. But in our early years, most of us were discouraged from believing that we could actually live our dreams and achieve our highest ambitions. We were more often pushed by family, friends, and society in general to take a more secure route, keep our expectations low, and avoid failure and disappointment. We were guided by advisors to go after goals they thought we had the best chance of accomplishing, ones that didn’t demand too much effort from us. As opposed to looking at things from aperspective of abundance, we chose to see things from a minimalist perspective. Minimal desire leads to minimal goals, requiring minimal effort. Since we would be aiming so low, the likelihood for success was high so there was minimal chance for disappointment. But is the definition of success aiming to be half of what we are capable of being in a field that we tolerate but certainly aren’t passionate about? I don’t think so. And fortunately for me, my family didn’t think so either. Like it? Read the rest: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1616084464/dropzonecomhttp://www.danbrodsky-chenfeld.com/