On February 24, Sun Path Products and Rigging Innovations announced the planned merger of their business operations under the Sun Path Products brand.

Learfield IMG College, a brand-management firm, hosts an annual evening to recognize success within the company with awards known as “the Clydes” (named for founder Clyde Learfield).

Troubador Publishers recently released “Body-Flight Basics,” an encyclopedic book that breaks down the mechanics of skydiving and wind tunnel flying.

In January, AXIS Flight School announced the release of a new app following three years of development in partnership with Good Goblin Games.

USPA Foreign Affiliate Skydive Empuriabrava in Spain, one of Europe’s largest drop zones, is now offsetting its carbon dioxide footprint by supporting certified climate-protection projects.

James Rick Highsmith, D-5863, recently published “In Search of Christmas,” an illustrated children’s book   that touches on Highsmith’s love of skydiving.

In December, Advanced Aerospace Designs, manufacturer of the Vigil automatic activation device, issued reminders to Vigil owners about battery replacement.

In December, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (the governing body for world air sports) announced that it appointed Markus Haggeney as acting secretary general following the departure of Secretary General Susanne Schödel.

The European Skydiving Symposium is inviting the skydiving community to attend its conference for skydivers, instructors and gear specialists at the Mazurkas Conference Center and Hotel near Warsaw, Poland March 5-7.

In early December, the British Parachute Association unveiled its new identity—British Skydiving—and introduced a new logo and website.

The Women’s Skydiving Network, an international network of more than 3,000 female skydivers, recently announced the launch of the WSN Pro team, an all-female skydiving demonstration team founded by professional skydivers Amy Chmelecki and Melanie Curtis.

On October 23, Advanced Aerospace Designs issued reminders of approaching deadlines for compliance with its last two service bulletins.

Mile High Hub recently released a worldwide skydiving event calendar for jumpers looking for the next boogie, competition or specialty event.

After 42 years, Strong Enterprises moved to a much newer and more ergonomic facility about seven miles northeast of its previous location. Effective October 1, the new address is 6448 Pinecastle Blvd., Suite 104, Orlando, FL 32809. Phone numbers and email addresses remain the same.

On July 26, the International Skydiving Museum & Hall of Fame announced that it intends to break ground on its museum building within 18 months.

Cookie Helmets recently announced the release of its G4 helmet, which passed impact and snag-resistance testing to Skydiving and Wind Tunnel Helmet Standard XP S 72-600.

On June 14, Sigma—the company that provides electronic membership cards and credential verification to USPA members—announced that it has changed its name to Merit.

In September 2009, 181 women set the Féderátion Aéronautique Internationale World Record for Largest Women’s Formation Skydive at Skydive Perris in California.

USPA Executive Director Emeritus Norman Heaton, D-565, recently published “My First 1,000 Jumps—The Evolution of a Skydiver and the Organization That Became His Life,” a nearly 800-page, coffee-table-sized memoir that gives a comprehensive account of the events surrounding the world of skydiving, the Parachute Club of America (USPA’s predecessor organization) and USPA from 1961-1975.

Red Bull is hosting the fifth edition of its Illume Image Quest photo competition—which incorporates all manner of imagery, including skydiving and BASE jumping—and is accepting submissions now through July 31.

The Performance Designs Factory Team began 15 years ago as a 4-way formation skydiving project composed primarily of PD employees. It later became a high-performance canopy piloting team. For 2019, PD is expanding the team to include classic accuracy.

The International Skydiving Museum & Hall of Fame is honoring the Canopy Formation World Record Team with its Path of Excellence Award.

United Parachute Technologies and Sun Path Products are joining forces to co-sponsor the development, training and sale of the Mutant supine harness, which is geared toward highly experienced canopy pilots. This is the first time the direct competitors have worked together to this extent in the sport market.

Firebird, maker of the EVO harness-and-container system, has issued a product service bulletin after a pillow-reserve-ripcord cable separated from the reserve pin during assembly on a newly delivered EVO. Although Firebird says it is confident that this is an isolated incident, the company has taken additional steps to ensure the safety of its users.

Skydiver James Bauer recently introduced Pack Monkey, a tool to help jumpers put their canopies in deployments bags easily. The tool is designed to help those who have slippery canopies, small hands or just want to pack more quickly. Pack Monkey is designed for canopy sizes from 120 to 250 square feet but can also work on larger or smaller canopies. A video of how the product works and ordering information are available at packmonkeydesigns.com. It retails for $35.

The British Parachute Association recently appointed Angel Fernandez to the new staff position of communications manager. Fernandez, who began skydiving in 2017, has more than 20 years of communications and marketing experience in a variety of industries.

Operation Wings of Freedom—an organization to help veterans battle post-traumatic stress disorder through skydiving—launched in January. The group hopes to help eight veterans achieve their A licenses in 2019. Wings of Freedom believes that skydiving can help veterans since it helps build a bond through shared experience, is highly intense and helps to develop powerful skill sets through the sport’s extreme demands.

Fluid Wings began taking orders for its newest wing, the Echo, on February 14. The company produces the canopy, which it aims at intermediate jumpers who are looking for more performance than a basic entry-level wing, in 107-, 120-, 135-, 150- and 170-square-foot models.

On March 8, skydiver and award-winning TV and film composer Kim Planert released his first solo album, “SKYLIGHT: Notes From a Logbook,” featuring the Budapest Scoring Orchestra and vocals by established artists such as Keeley Bumford, Lisbeth Scott and Waterson.

Editors Doug Garr, Michael Kearns, Tim Long and Jan Works recently released “More Skydivers’ Stories: Close Calls and Epic Feats Above Planet Earth,” the sequel to “NSTIWTIWGD” (“No, S***, There I Was, Thought I Was Gonna Die”), a 2015 compendium of scary jump stories written primarily by old-school jumpers and compiled by Long.