0

Events

    Skydive Arizona Halloween Boogie 2014

    Photo by Hypoxic Imagine a skydiving vacation over Halloween in Arizona... free registration, discounted jumps, paintball wars dressed in costumes, an off-the-hook costume party, organizers leading your jumps from Arizona Airspeed, Arizona Arsenal and the Arizona Training Center, and jumps from all different kinds of fast airplanes - skyvans, otters and a DC3... Does that sound good? Well, nearly 300 registered participants lived that imagination at Skydive Arizona's Halloween Carnival from October 31st - November 2nd, and if you weren't here - you missed out!
    Skydive Arizona went all out setting up the desert landscape with scrapped vehicles, planes, hay bales and an awesome sound system to set the stage for the Apocalyptic Zombie Paintball Wars! Over 100 jumpers partook in the first annual games winning jumps and tunnel time.

    Photo by Hypoxic Rigging Innovations put up this year's grand prize of a free Curve Container for the costume party. Skyventure donated several certificates for tunnel time, Skydive Arizona donated several jump tickets High But Dry Balloons donated 2 free balloon jumps and the Bent Prop threw in a few gift certificates as well. And that was enough motivation to get people to dress up in clever, bizarre, and detailed costumes.
    A 5-panel judge calculated their scores and awarded these 3 homemade costumes top 3:
    1st Place - Wookie/Big Foot (Casey Vanhyhuys)

    2nd Place - Pixar Lamp (William Cain)

    3rd Place - Magic Carpet Ride (Tomer Falach)
    Other categories winning prizes were Sexiest Male/Female, Best Group, Best Presentation, Best Product Placement and Most Disturbing.

    Photo by Niklas Daniel In conjunction to the Carnival, Sara Curtis and Ryan Risberg led a group to prepare for the Head-Up World Record Attempts coming up this November 20-23. Helping them out flying camera were Sam Baker and Nick Blacksher. The success of the camp was building 22 out of a 29-way.
    Don't miss out on next year's Halloween Carnival! Mark your calendars now, I dare you!

    Photo by Niklas Daniel

    Photo by Niklas Daniel

    Photo by Niklas Daniel

    Photo by Sam Schwan

    Photo by Sam Schwan

    Photo by Niklas Daniel

    Photo by Niklas Daniel

    By admin, in Events,

    Skydive Arizona - Christmas / New Years Boogie 2013 Review

    The Christmas New Year's Boogie at Skydive Arizona ran from December 21st to January 1st. The drop zone pulled out all the stops to make sure there was something for absolutely everyone at this year's boogie. The registration fee was only $35 and jump tickets were discounted to $21 for the duration of the event. The boogie fleet included Skydive Arizona's Otters, Skyvans, and the DC3. Burner's Skydive Arizona hot air balloon (High But Dry Balloons) was also available for jumps most mornings and afternoons. The weather was nearly perfect for most of the boogie with afternoon highs frequently reaching the 70s.



    Load organizers from the Arizona Training Center, Arizona Airspeed, and Arizona Arsenal were on hand for the full event for belly flyers and free flyers, and Sean "Monkey" Horton was available to organize wing suits. The drop zone also hosted numerous skydiving events for those who wanted more structure to their jumping days. These events included an AXIS Flight School B-License Canopy course complete with water training; Women's FS Sequentials with Brianne Thompson (AXIS Flight School) and Sara Curtis (Arizona Arsenal); two 4-Way Days and two Big Way Days with Arizona Airspeed; and a Hybrid Day, a Tracking/Angle Flying Day, a Head Down Formation Day, and an Upright Formation Day with Arizona Arsenal.





    The fun continued every night after sunset with free boogie beer for all registered jumpers. To help cut down on drinking and driving, Skydive Arizona offered a free shuttle service for boogie participants every night from Christmas to New Year. Evening seminars were offered some evenings including Canopy Flight with AXIS Flight School, Intro to 4-Way FS with Arizona Airspeed, Big-Way Flying with Arizona Airspeed, Tracking/Angle Flying with Arizona Arsenal, and Basics of Free Fly with Arizona Arsenal. The boogie also offered free appetizers on Christmas Eve at the Bent Prop, a Christmas movie night (National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation), a Hypnotist show, a Skyvan Tailgate party (to celebrate the arrival of Skydive Arizona's new Skyvans number six and number seven), an 80s Dance Party, a bonfire and hot dog roast (an annual Skydive Arizona tradition), and a wish lantern release. The biggest hits for evening entertainment were definitely Casino Night and the New Year's Eve Party. The top prize for Casino Night was a trip to Lost Prairie 2014 or the Skydive Arizona Christmas New Year's Boogie 2014 won by Jesse Williams. Other prizes included SkyVenture Arizona tunnel time, Skydive Arizona jump tickets, Bent Prop gift certificates, a Phantom X helmet from Square 2, a balloon jump from High but Dry Balloons, massages from Toltec Wellness Center, and lots of other prizes from Rigging Innovations, Cypress, Bev Suits, Vigil, UPT Vector, and Icarus Canopies. The New Year's Eve Party included free champagne and a balloon drop at midnight. Select balloons contained even more awesome prizes from the sponsers/vendors already mentioned.









    Overall, a great boogie. Everyone had a chance to relax and have fun but also work on developing their skills in their chosen disciplines. Thanks to all the Skydive Arizona staff for their hard work that made this event run smoothly. And of course thanks so much to the 500 skydivers who came out to play!

    By admin, in Events,

    Sky Camp Halloween Party

    Halloween is the one day each year when you can be whoever you want, think of an alternative self and have fun of being someone else - if just for a while and when mixed with skydiving, you have something really extraordinary, transforming into a flying demon.

    In many places around the world the skydiving season is just about to end, and in turn we can look back and summarize past few months. For DZ owners, you can review how your business did. Packers; how are your hands, knees and fingers going? If you are a skydiver - have you accomplished all goals set in the beginning of the season (or have you set the goals in a first place). Was this season safe? What have you learned?

    Thinking about that serious issues can wait though. Have fun. Squeeze this season like a lemon. Let it go for a while. Enjoy life.
    Sky Camp in Poland recently hosted their Halloween event, and it looks to have been an amazing party to close out the 2015 season!



    Photos by KonwentPhotography for Sky Camp DZ in Poland.

    By admin, in Events,

    Second Annual Chicks Rock Boogie

    Last year, it all began with a great idea and it finished off as a completely successful event for all who participated. It was decided then that the Chicks Rock Boogie would remain on the books and continue to be hosted annually by Skydive Elsinore. The Chicks Rock Boogie, which takes place at Skydive Elsinore’s scenic dropzone in Southern California, is an event designed to have something for everyone – even the guys!
    Girls of all skill levels and disciplines are welcome to come fly together, participate in the festivities, and have some good ‘ol girly fun! Freeflyers to R-Dubbers, beginners to advanced, even first-time jumpers are invited to come out to do tandems.
    There will be four Load Organizers on the scene to help encourage the girls to join different types of loads. Two chicks will be organizing the freeflyers and two chicks will be organizing RW loads, all of whom will be putting dives of various skill levels together throughout the weekend. Last years’ Boogie concluded with numerous successful big-ways, as well as a noticeable improvement in all of the girls’ flying by the end of the event. The first-timers can experience the true spirit of skydiving and will be encouraged to see how women play such a major role in the skydiving community. Not to mention how much fun we always have! Hopefully, many will return and become members of our skydiving family as well.
    Elsinore’s First Annual Chicks Rock Boogie would not have been as great of a success without the support of our many sponsors and the ability for us to get the word out about the event. Last year, thanks to our sponsors, the hard work of our support team, and some publicity, women ended up coming from all over the country to join the fun and show their support. This year, the Second Annual Skydiving Chicks Rock Boogie has already started to grab the attention of our sponsors, our staff, and future participants, so it is now time to announce what is in the works for this October.
    Once again, there will be a special “girls only” package deal offered with an option to pre-register for additional savings. The package will consist of ten jump tickets, a long sleeve tee shirt adorning the Chicks Rock Boogie logo, lunch for two days at Elsinore’s Snack Shack, a Boogie Bag filled with cool stuff, a personal Boogie Identification Badge, free beer after sunset, and all of the festivities over the weekend are included as well. The package costs only $200 for pre-registrants. There will be a $25 boogie registration charge for those who sign up after September 12, 2002. First time tandems can pre-register and buy a package for only $180, which includes all of the goodies from the regular package, but replaces the 10 jump tickets with a tandem ticket instead. The $25 registration will also apply to tandems who sign up after September 12, 2002. Because the tee shirts were such a big hit last year, even with the guys, they will also be on sale at Ground Zero Paraphernalia, Elsinore’s on site gear store, for all to purchase as souvenirs. I still fly in mine all the time!
    Saturday evening’s festivities will be open to all who decide to come and join the fun. There will be dinner tickets on sale during the day on Saturday for those who wish to stick around Elsinore for dinner and festivities. Skydive Elsinore’s very own Chris Fiala will be our designated DJ for the night, spinning tunes once the sun goes down. Also, and back by popular demand, is our spectacular night demonstration, performed by a select group of our finest high performance canopy pilots. The night demo will take place at Elsinore’s swoop pond, appropriately named “The Abyss” (you’ll just have to see why for yourself). This awesome performance will mark the beginning of an evening filled with good music, dancing, a huge bonfire, and great vibes.
    On Sunday, we will hold our raffle and give away loads of sponsored prizes. Last years’ raffle included a mixture of everything, including T-shirts, Elsinore jump tickets, Pro Tracks, Jumpsuits, half off canopies, and a grand prize of half off a custom Infinity Container. Be sure to check back for updates regarding this years’ raffle. I am currently working on getting together the list of sponsors and prizes and I am sure that after the success of last years’ Chicks Rock Boogie, this year will bring out even more sponsors and cooler prizes.
    So stay tuned and keep a look out for more news about Skydive Elsinore’s Second Annual Chicks Rock Boogie coming this October 12 and 13, 2002. The tremendous success of last years’ event has the DZ crawling with enthusiasm to make this years’ even better!
    For details and information about the upcoming event, contact Skydive Elsinore at (909) 245-9939, check out their website at www.skydiveelsinore.com, or contact me directly at [email protected].
    For those interested in being a sponsor of Skydive Elsinore’s Second Annual Skydiving Chicks Rock Boogie, being hosted this October 12 & 13, 2002, please contact me at [email protected] for details.
    Photos by: Wyat Drewes (From the 1st Annual Skydiving Chicks Rock Boogie)

    By admin, in Events,

    Sandstorm Scrambles Results

    New Zealand’s Mason Holden and Flying Finn Toni Sulankivi blew away the best of the UAE’s indoor skydivers to win the Dynamic 2-Way category in the annual SandStorm Scrambles event at Inflight Dubai.
    Despite never having competed together – the duo only met for the first time on the night of the competition – Holden and Sulankivi combined superbly for a five round score of 411 points. It was enough to win the 13-team category by 8.8 points from Shayni Couch and Ivan Semenyaka in second place (419.8) with Omar Mohammad and Thomas Worboys coming home in third with a score of 421.1.
    Staged in inflight Dubai’s 5.03m x 20.73m indoor tunnel, the two-category event saw competitors combined into two and four-flyer teams by Inflight Dubai’s Team Skynamic in order to represent a spread of ability.
    And while many combinations, including Holden and Sulankivi’s ‘Little and Large’ team, had little or no experience together, the entrants agreed that the format provided some excellent competition.
    “I hadn’t even met Toni until the draw was made just before we took to the tunnel together,” said Holden, who hails from Wellington in New Zealand and is an instructor at Skydive Dubai. “But that’s what makes the Scrambles competition so much fun. You don’t know who you will be paired with, which makes the five flying routines very challenging.”
    For Sulankivi – who shared the AED8,000 first prize with Holden - it was the perfect end to a long day of skydiving, both indoor and outdoor.
    “I live in Abu Dhabi so I was up at 5am to come up to Dubai to go skydiving during the day, before competing in the tunnel in the evening,” said the Finnish flyer, who works in Government IT in the UAE capital.
    “It’s a very special event and the unpredictable nature and the camaraderie between the teams make it so good. You know most of the guys and girls by sight but to compete as a pair with someone you have never met before is a real challenge.”
    For Holden there was double success – the Kiwi also claimed second place in the 4-Way Dynamic competition after joining forces with fellow-flyers Mo Mudassir, Jamie Arnold and Emma Merritt in the ‘Bench Pressers’ team.
    Victory, and the AED16,000 winners’ cheque in the five-team 4-Way Dynamic category, went to the ‘Employee of the Month’ team of Dani Roman, Thomas Worboys, Brad Merritt and Mishka Lucaci on 423.8 points, 12.1 points ahead of ‘Bench Pressers (435.9). Third place went to the ‘Randy Ryanopolis’ team of Ryan Dudderidge, Pablo Rua, Omar Mohammed and Ivan Semenyaka on 444.5 points.

    Both competitions featured a non-scoring warm-up round, four unique dynamic speed rounds and a mystery final round with the five scores of each round added together to determine the final placing. The next event in the SandStorm Scrambles series will be the Formation Skydiving competition, which will take place at Inflight Dubai on April 22. Competitors have until April 20 to enter at www.inflightdubaisandstorm.com.
    SandStorm Scrambles Results 2-Way Dynamic
    1. Little & Large – Holden/Sulankivi (411.0)

    2. Share-A-Van – Couch/Semenyaka (419.8)

    3. Shut Up Omar – Mohammed/Worboys (421.1)
    SandStorm Scrambles Results 4-Way Dynamic
    1. Employee of the Month – Roman/Worboys/Merritt/Lucaci (423.8)

    2. Bench Pressers – Holden/Mudassir/Arnold/Merritt (435.9)

    3. Randy Ryanopolis – Dudderidge/Rua/Mohammed/Semenyaka (444.5)

    By admin, in Events,

    Report From Baltic Boogie 2015

    Baltic Boogie takes place every year in July in Poland, on peninsula Hel. Only few days a year skydivers can gather in this specific place to benefit from spectacular views and awesome jumps over Baltic Sea.



    The temporary dropzone is located just in the middle of the narrow piece of land. The landing area is really tiny, wind conditions are often demanding - after all paradise for surfers equates to a lot of waiting for skydivers, which is why there is a jump limit (100 or higher, depending on current conditions) and only licensed skydivers are allowed to jump.
    However, despite these limitations, the place really is awesome for jumping. Blue to the left, blue to the right and blue above! For some skydivers even one single jump over Jastarnia is worth showing up for. For this year the organizers put a limit of 80 slots, which was booked within 3 weeks from registration opening. Skydivers from 7 countries invaded the northern part of Poland and - more important - the sky above it. Germany, Switzerland, Australia, Sweden, Netherlands, France, UK and Spain.




    Performance Designs brought demo canopies, Gregor van den Eynden (Sonic Flywear) and Jared Harris (Flyspot windtunnel) were taking care of load organizing, so when it actually was possible to jump, plane was going up and down all day long, right up until sunset.
    "If only the weather was more skydive-friendly I would be very happy" - says Sebastian Dratwa, boogie organizer - "But we’ve put a lot of work to prepare everything and the time when we were jumping was amazing. Thanks everyone for coming and see you next year!"
    All pictures have been gathered and prepared by Kuba Konwent, but it's a common work of many skydivers: Kuba Konwent, Carlos (Artur Karwowski), Jared Harris, Sebastian Dratwa, Grzegorz Ciesielski and Marta Molinska.

    By admin, in Events,

    Red Bull Aces Wingsuit Race 2014

    Andy Farrington of the United States won the world’s first Red Bull Aces Wingsuit 4 Cross Race in the skies over the central Californian town of Oakdale on Thursday, flying at speeds of up to 135 miles per hour (217 km per hour) and beating three other rivals in the final down a slalom course in the premiere of the new sport. In the high-speed, high-altitude race through four stationary gates that started with a leap from the back hatch of a sky van airplane at 7,000 feet and descended to the finish line at 3,500 feet, Noah Bahnson (USA) took second and Julian Boulle (South Africa) was third in a field of 52 of the world’s best Wingsuit racers from 16 countries.

    “This is just amazing, cutting edge and really the start of a revolution,” said Farrington, a professional sky diver who did stunt work in the film “Transformer 3” of his historic victory in the new sport that is attempting to make Wingsuit flying safer with the start and finish at higher and safer altitudes. “This is racing and this is the way to hold a competition. You are racing the people right next to you, at the same time and on the same, set course – just like in any other sport. Just like in ski racing, it’s cut and dry. You either make the gate or you don’t. You either finished ahead of the other guy or you didn’t. And you’re doing it all thousands of feet in the air.”

    The race format is in essence ski cross in the sky with four Wingsuit racers flying against each other at a time in a test of skill and courage as they navigated the slalom course. From the start at 7,000 feet, the racers descended at accelerating speeds to the first of four gates (at 6,500 feet) and then to the subsequent gates and the finish line (at 3,500 feet). The racers then pulled their parachutes at a safe altitude of about 3,000 feet. Farrington set a course record of 40:16 seconds in the final.

    American Katie Hansen was the best of five women in the race that does not differentiate between male and female and made it into the top 32.
    Results Red Bull Aces:

    1. Andy Farrington (USA)

    2. Noah Bahnson (USA)

    3. Julian Boulle (RSA)

    4. Jhonny Florez (COL)

    5. David Covel (USA)

    6. Sebastian Alvarez (CHL)

    7. Jason Moledzki (CAN)

    8. Charley Kurlinkus (USA)
    Photographers: Joerg Mitter, Balazs Gardi

    By admin, in Events,

    Puerto Escondido New Years Boogie

    Event organizer, Monika Peligro Davalos, dropzone manager, Hector Montaño and the entire staff at Skydive Cuautla outdid themselves hosting another amazing New Year’s Boogie in Mexico! 110 registered skydivers invaded the shores of Puerto Escondido for their 20th Annual New Year’s Boogie. The eleven-day boogie from December 26th – January 7th, brought skydivers from all over Mexico, Austria, USA, Holand, Brazil, Canada, Australia, Peru, France, Spain, Uruguay and Argentina. Organizers were: Fernando Gallegos from Peru, Jose Alejandro “Negro” Novoa from Mexico, Jess Harper from Canada, and Melissa (Nelson) Lowe from the US.
    Monika Peligro Davalos organized several group dinners, as well as the annual, infamous lagaoon party, and white party that included launching lanterns, a banquet at Hotel Arcoiris with a DJ who spun away pop American music to latin salsa.
    Puerto Escondido is a remote paradise located on the west coast, far south in Mexico. Not only does Puerto Escondido still feel like Mexico, the drop zone is a paradise itself with flushing toilets, bunkhouses, a café, and a shaded packing area. The drop zone is also beautifully landscaped that adds to the essence of Mexican paradise.
    From the organized sunset tracking to the early bird 17,000’ jumps to the Mexican hospitality, this has been one boogie to remember.

    Skydive Cuautla is located an hour from Mexico City and hosts two annual boogies and more information can be found at www.SkydiveCuautla.com




    By admin, in Events,

    Polish 100-Way National Record

    Some jumps are supposed to be a part of skydiving history, and this jump was one of them, with 100 polish skydivers creating a white-red formation.
    This week was the hottest in the year at 38 C degrees. The day consisted of 4 skyvans and 1 cessna waiting with engines on, FS suits, helmets, rigs and full sun over beautiful Klatovy airfield. 100 skydivers did their best to focus on the job - which took 8 tries before it was successfully completed. On the 9th load the formation was built, kept strong and everyone from the ground could see the white-red flag in the sky.








    This would never happen without dedication, discipline, self-control and only one goal in mind. And it all came together with the dedication of skydivers, organizers, dropzone staff, cameramen, load organizers, manifest, packers and sponsors.
    This way Poland is the 8th country in the world to successfully complete a 100-way national FS record (only Polish citizens)!
    Congratulations to all those involved.
    It is also worth mentioning that on Monday there was another record beaten: that of the 34-way of Polish women's FS formation. Girl power at its best! Congrats, ladies!
    Organizers:

    Dariusz “Dafi” Filipowski

    Jarosław “Widget” Shot

    Maciej “Heniek” Węgrzecki
    Camerateam:

    Jarosław “Widget” Shot

    Jacek “Grabarz” Grabowski

    Sebastian Lewandowski
    Load Organizers:

    Dariusz “Dafi” Filipowski

    Marek Nowakowski

    Sebastian Dratwa
    Safety Officer:

    Maciej “Mahoo” Machowicz
    FAI judges:

    Grzegorz Świerad

    Maciej Antkowiak

    Mariusz Puchała

    By admin, in Events,

    Para Gear Photo Submissions For Catalog 82

    Para Gear is interested in photographic submissions that you may have for the 2019 - 2020 Para Gear Catalog #82. 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.
    http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.290693934285998.71336.290673160954742&type=3 or http://www.dropzone.com/photos/zArchive/Article_Photos/Para_Gear_Covers/index.html
    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.


    Front cover of catalog 81

    Back cover of catalog 81
    The following are preferences. However what we prefer and what we get, or choose, are not always the same. If however we came down to a choice between two photos of equal quality, we would opt for the one that met more of our preferences. We typically prefer that the photo be brighter. In the past we have used sunset photos and even a night jump photo, although by and large most of the photos are daytime. We like the subject of the image to have contrast with the background. Subjects that are wearing brighter more colorful clothing usually stand out more. We prefer to have the people in the photo wearing equipment since that is what we sell. Headgear, goggles, jumpsuits, altimeters, audible altimeters, and gloves are all good. We also prefer to see skydivers wearing head and foot protection.
    We do not print any BASE jumping nor any Tandem photographs. No submissions of these will be accepted. We are not interested an any photos of individual or groups of skydivers standing on the ground.


    Front cover 2016

    Back cover 2016

    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. Digital format is preferred. In the event of a final cover choice, we prefer to be sent the original digital image or 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 $500.00 each for both the front and back covers we choose. Our current deadline for catalog cover submissions is November 16th 2018. Sending sample pictures by e-mail to [email protected], If you are sending sample digital pictures please note that they do not need to be in a very large format. If we like the sample picture we will then ask you to send the higher quality original. Please feel free to contact me directly with any questions.

    By admin, in Events,

0