Photo by Gustavo Cabana | USPA #80952

Will Penny (bottom) leads a jump during the Euro Fly4Life Camp at USPA Foreign Affiliate Skydive Algarve in Portimão, Portugal.

“Cool Swoop, Hot Sun”
Digital illustration

Ismael Iribar | B-45880
Tallahassee, Florida

gravitystudiollc@gmail.com

Thank you very much for the wonderful and informative article and interview of Dr. Anna Hicks by Annette O’Neil (“Thin Air—Busting Lingering Myths About Hypoxia,” May 2019 Parachutist). It is indeed very important to inform our fellow skydivers about the risks of hypoxia.

I had worn an open-face helmet with goggles for many years, but after starting to wear glasses, I decided to get a full-face helmet that could accommodate them. I used this helmet on skydives and in the tunnel for more than a year before I had any problems.

I would jump from the low parts of our roof with a shaky umbrella or quartered-up bedsheet, neither of which worked. I always crashed with a thud. But the seed was planted, and it wouldn’t be long before I’d try it for real.

Jeremy Dubansky is a fun-loving guy who has become a large presence in the Midwestern skydiving scene. He travels extensively to events, has a genuine love of his sky family and helps out jumpers in any way he can.

Can jump-plane safety be improved? Yes, absolutely. The goal should always be zero accidents. USPA has already shown the NTSB that we are ready to implement sensible actions that improve safety.

In order to help save highly endangered rhinos, Red Bull sent its athlete Jeff Provenzano to Limpopo, South Africa, to help the Eco Defense Group (EDGE) raise awareness of its efforts in the area.

It’s true what they say: Everything is bigger in Texas. On Memorial Day weekend, a group of 45 jumpers converged on Skydive Spaceland–Houston in Rosharon, Texas, with the intent of setting a state record for largest head-up formation skydive. Sara Curtis, Steve Curtis, Matt Fry and Konstantin Petrijcuk organized the attempts.

The dynamic duo—Julie Kleinwort and Amanda Kubik—organized the annual Sisters in Skydiving event at Chicagoland Skydiving Center in Rochelle, Illinois, June 7-9.

Organizers Matthew Fry and Melissa Nelson Lowe recently scheduled attempts to set the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale World Record for Largest Two-Point Head-Down Formation Skydive for June 25-28, 2020, at Skydive Chicago in Ottawa, Illinois.

In “Wings and Things” in the June issue, Greg Marcinkowski, D-31253, received his 96-Hour Freefall Badge.

Jumpers say goodbye to their friend Vern McGarry, D-7054, during his ash dive at Skydive Perris in California.

Skydive Elsinore in California held its annual Poker Run—the only competition that brings together skydiving, poker playing and tequila drinking—on June 16.

At Skydive Phoenix in Maricopa, Arizona, Mark Sunman, D-24493, celebrates the 20th anniversary of his first jump by getting current after eight years out of the sport.

Now that summer is well underway, there’s a good chance that many jumpers are reaching milestones in their skydiving careers. USPA issues two types of awards so jumpers can commemorate these milestones: achievement awards (for number of jumps and time of freefall) and performance awards (for canopy formation performance).

Ryan Bolohan carves it up at Skydive Georgia in Cedartown.

Taryn Mikel, B-48432, and Bob Haas, C-46715, make a jump to celebrate their engagement at Wisconsin Skydiving Center in Jefferson, where they met shortly after completing their AFF courses.

Jade Papke and Zach Sabel share in the stoke of an awesome skydive during the CarolinaFest Boogie at Skydive Carolina in Chester, South Carolina.

North Central Regional Director and AFF Instructor Examiner Michael Wadkins geeks the camera while evaluating instructor candidates Connor McCauley and Constantin Mircea Moisei during an AFF rating course at Skydive Twin Cities in Baldwin, Wisconsin.

Jumping with a video camera has many challenges, many of which are not obvious to those who decide to start jumping with one. The danger of an entanglement between the camera and parachute equipment is just one in a long list of hazards to consider.

Brought to you by Sharon Har-Noy Pilcher of Modern Skydiving Concepts at Skydive DeLand in Florida. Photo by Gustavo Cabana. More information about MSC’s courses and seminars is available on the group’s Facebook page.

It’s a good idea to inspect your rig carefully at least once before each jump. If you pack for yourself, you need to inspect the critical parts of your rig each time.

In the early 1990s, a skydiver reported that an automatic activation device saved his life. This jumper experienced a main parachute malfunction and pulled his cutaway handle but never pulled his reserve ripcord.

At the P3 Spring Fling at Skydive Perris in California, jumpers build one of the intricate big-way formations that are the hallmarks of the event.

Jumpers fly head down during West Plains Skydiving’s Memorial Weekend Boogie.

The Fly Warriors (Raph Coudray, Luis Adolfo Lopez-Mendez and David Nimmo) get in a 3-way at USPA Foreign Affiliate Skydive Empuriabrava in Spain.

May 24-27, 88 elite formation skydivers from more than a dozen countries and a team of five in-air videographers (Niklas Daniel, George Katsoulis, John Lyman, Jim Stengell and David Wybenga) came together at Skydive Arizona in Eloy to participate in the 23rd annual Arizona Challenge and celebrate the 25th anniversary of world-renowned formation skydiving team Arizona Airspeed.