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$27 Million Settlement in Skydiving Plane Crash

A Jackson County judge on Thursday approved a $27.5 million settlement for families of the pilot and five sky divers killed in a Grain Valley plane crash. Engine manufacturer Teledyne Continental Motors of Mobile, Ala., is to divide the money equally among the six families. The company admitted no fault in the settlement.
Circuit Judge J.D. Williamson approved the settlement after hearing from members of four families. Lawyers said it will become final soon after members of the other two families testify. The checks are to be paid by May 11.
Lawyers said the $27.5 million was among the nation's largest pretrial settlements in the crash of a small plane.
Plaintiff attorney Gary C. Robb said a separate contractual agreement with the company, involving engine overhaul manuals, was more important to his clients than the money. Teledyne pledged to revise the manuals.
"From the beginning our clients wanted to remedy the engine problem," Robb said. "They have succeeded."
The company denies any engine problem.
Robb, who represented the four families at the Thursday hearing, said the March 21, 1998, crash happened because badly designed oil transfer tubes failed and starved the engine of oil.
Smoke and flames billowed from the Cessna engine as the pilot tried to land at Grain Valley Airport. The plane clipped a tree, cart-wheeled to the ground and burst into flames. All aboard died.
Robb said his review of the company records found 14 other cases of engine failure caused by such oil tube failures. The records only go back to the mid-1980s, though the company made engines with the faulty tubes from 1945 to 1995, Robb said. The engines went into small planes made by many different companies, Robb said.
"Who knows how many other engine failures and deaths resulted because of this," Robb said after the hearing.
Robert W. Cotter, attorney for the company, disagreed with Robb. He said the oil tubes did not cause engine failures. He admitted no liability.
Separate from the legal settlement, the four families received letters from Cotter Thursday. In them, the company pledged to change its printed and Web site overhaul manuals to tell mechanics and owners to inspect the oil transfer tubes.
Cotter said he would not comment on letters that were separate from the settlement. Robb said the pledge is part of a legally binding contract.
Members of the four families said they never would have agreed to the settlement without the letters.
Judi Rudder of Oskaloosa, Kan., widow of sky diver Marion Rudder, said the families quickly agreed on two things - a required warning and an even split of any settlement.

"Our whole mission on this was to keep people safe," she said. "We knew together we could make a bigger difference, and we wanted to be fair."
Brad Buckley of Independence, the son of sky diver Kenney Buckley, said he lost a father and did not want others to lose loved ones.
Other members of the Greater Kansas City Skydiving Club who died were Eric Rueff, John Schuman and Julie Douglass. The pilot, David Snyder, also died in the crash. The Snyder and Douglass families are to appear at later hearings to finalize the settlement.
Belinda Schuman of Lawrence, widow of John Schuman, said the families want to make it clear that a plane crash - not a skydiving accident - killed their loved ones.
Her husband loved skydiving and had made 2,300 jumps, she said. "We got married on the anniversary day of his first jump; he said he'd always remember that date."
Another defendant, Jewell Aircraft Inc. of Holly Springs, Miss., settled the case previously for $1 million, which also was equally divided among the six families. The company, which admitted no wrongdoing, did an engine overhaul on the Cessna 10 years ago.
Robb said he probably would drop the case against several other defendants that include Whuffo III, the owner of the plane; Freeflight Aviation Inc., an aircraft maintenance company; and White Industries, a company that sold the engine.
His investigation, Robb said, also answered the key question of why the sky divers did not jump out of the plane.
When the pilot first radioed at 3,000 feet that he heard an engine noise, he called off the jump and started to land, Robb said, but by the time the engine burst into flames it was too low for anyone to jump.
Judi Rudder said the question of why no one jumped had troubled her.
"They just didn't know it was going to be that bad," she said. "They thought they could get down safely."

By admin, in News, March 16, 2001

World Championships in Freestyle Swooping Coming This August

FAI Swoop Freestyle World Championships 2017 will be the first ever World Championships in the urban parachuting discipline, freestyle swooping, and it will take place in the heart of Denmark's capital, Copenhagen, August 25 and 26 2017 - making this the premiere of a whole new urban world championship settings: Taking world class air sport to the people in the middle of great cities.
18 of the best canopy piloting athletes in the world will battle it out for the first ever world championship title in the freestyle discipline over two phenomenal days of high octane parachuting athleticism in the centre of Copenhagen. Over 100.000 spectators will be watching the event live with millions watching online and behind the screens worldwide.
The event format is the idea of two Danish entrepreneurs and in only three years, the event has grown massively and has revolutionised the sport.

Swooping is the new darling of parachuting and the freestyle discipline is the most spectator friendly and adrenaline seeking within human flight.The high-impact, adrenalin-fuelled discipline of Freestyle Canopy Piloting is known as Swooping, and involves parachutists flying at high-speed across a ‘Swooping Pond’ to score points based on style and execution.
Canopy pilots jump out of a plane or helicopter in 1,500 m/5,000 feet altitude, release the canopy straight away and start to navigate towards the surface immediately. To gain great speed, they make a series of turns before reaching ground level, and right before they make contact with the surface, they straighten out and with speeds up to 150 km/90 miles per hour, they do their freestyle trick on the water surface before landing on a platform on the water right in front of the spectators.
From local pilot project to official world championships
With the world championship stamp from the The World Air Sports Federation, FAI, the Danish organizers have gone from an idea and a pilot project to an official world championship in only three years.
"In the space of three years we have gone from an idea and pilot project with 10,000 spectators to an internationally recognised platform with hundreds of thousands now following live and behind screens across the globe. We have taken the sport on a journey, with the athletes now seeing themselves in a professional light and professional settings in the heart of major cities whereas they before were used to competing in small airports without spectators or media coverage. We have managed to bring the environment and talent together in a major project within the city and now with official recognition and the World Championship we are a step closer to realising our dream of a World Series," George Blythe, CEO of A. Sports, the organisers of the FAI Swoop Freestyle World Championships says.
International federation: We could not have a better venue than Copenhagen
"Freestyle Swooping really is one of the most exciting and dynamic air sports to watch. So it is very exciting, and my genuine pleasure, to welcome the athletes to the very first FAI Swoop Freestyle World Championships in Copenhagen. There couldn’t be a better venue than in the heart of this great city. It really is unique, and will help bring this rapidly growing sport to thousands of spectators both in the city and through the media. I would like to wish all the competitors, organisers, and volunteers a fun, safe and fair competition. I am looking forward to following this amazing event," FAI President Frits Brink said.
"The FAI Swoop Freestyle World Championships adds another dimension to our work with sporting events. Here we are talking about an event that has been developed in Denmark and now has been appointed official world championships. That fact is a cadeau to the organisers and the partners behind," says Lars Lundov, CEO, Sport Event Denmark which partners the event.
FACTS:
FAI Swoop Freestyle World Championships 2017
Training and Swoop Night Lights Friday August 25, Qualifying and Finals Saturday August 26 2017.
Location: Peblinge Lake, Queen Louise's Bridge, central Copenhagen.
18 parachute pilots from 12 countries.
It's the first swoop freestyle world championships ever in freestyle swooping (canopy piloting).

Website
Facebook page
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By admin, in News, July 12, 2017

The Journey of an AFF Student - Part 5

This article follows a previous article of an AFF journal submitted by John McDarby. We hope sharing this series of articles detailing the experience of his journey may be able to provide some insight into those looking to do their AFF course, while also entertaining those who have been through the process.
AFF5 – Saturday 8th August
What an awesome jump!!
Got down to the DZ for 8am and was straight onto the manifest - I got on load 2 for 9am – what a start to a Saturday!
Delighted with myself.
Got given the same instructor with whom I did my AFF4 repeat with.

We did the dirt dive and walk through a couple of times and he just kept telling me to relax and I'd nail it.

I was very cool on the climb - no nerves really - just the tingles of anticipation.
Door opened and we were second out - I was much faster getting stable than previously.
Once stable, I performed my first 360 - then awaited the go ahead for the second in the other direction.

Upon completion, he gave me thumbs up and for the first time ever, I give out a big smile AND gave him back two thumbs up! That’s how cool and calm and together I was. It’s actually starting to make a bit of sense to me now. Has this clicked?

This was by a mile, the best jump so far – brilliant fun

Though, I made a total disaster of the landing - haha.
Winds picked up then and due to get stronger all day - the whole place was on a weather hold, so I stayed and talked to a few people for a couple of hours and left them to it at 2pm.
Class!
AFF6 & AFF7 Qualification – Friday 14th August
Finally, we got there in the end!
Had a day in lieu to take from work, the sun came out and the club was open - all the stars aligned.
It was nice and quiet down there with me being the only AFF student - about 90% tandems and about 5 or 6 fun jumpers - and 1 SL student.
Did my brief for AFF6 and nailed it - really pumped up for spinning out of control and regaining stability - it’s the first time that I had to prove to myself, that I could get it back - delighted with that.

Then a bit of tracking. I've never really done the tracking properly before so this was a bit unnerving to be honest - but it worked ok - better than on AFF7 actually, where I didn’t do it very well at all.

Winds were quite strong, which helped with my very first stand up landing! I actually jumped up after the stand up and let out a yelp, I was so chuffed with it.
I then had about 45mins until AFF7 came around - this was my first time doing 2 jumps in a day – a big deal for me.
Quick briefing, head first exit and a backflip - bit of tracking and a couple of turns - “keep it simple” was the key of this one. Simple? Head first and a backflip?? Sweet Lord!
I’d never done a head first exit and had no idea how to do it “pretend you’re diving into a pool – don’t over think it” simple advice and worked a treat – it was really cool and it’s now my exit of choice.

Stability was very quick – bit of turn and it was fixed, then onto the back flip and just chill for the rest of it.

Watching the videos I can see I’m not using enough legs and I’m backsliding, but hey, I’m still on AFF here!
Made a complete mess of the landing pattern though - was too high on entry and then ended up way downwind and wasn’t making progress back - was pretty much sinking straight, over a tree line - I could see I wasn't making any forward motion so at about 300ft I made the decision to pull out and headed down wind towards a big hay field, turned back into the wind and brought it down, mellow enough landing on my butt (boy am I getting used to that), but it was my first ever out so I was really concentrating on PLF and bales of hay more so than a stand up.
Got back to the hanger and the CCI said he was watching and that I made the right decision as regards giving up and landing out, but gave me a ticking off for being in that situation in the first place - fair enough, I shouldn’t have been there, I just got it wrong.

Whatever anyway, I got down safe and had the walk of shame back to the hanger - I was obviously the talk of the place for the two minutes as about 15 people (tandems and fun folk) all applauding and laughing at me Haha - not for the first or last time either
Then as I was laying out my rig for packing, congratulations for me graduating AFF came out over the Tannoy and I got a round of applause from everyone.

I felt a hundred miles high and my chest was out – I’d done it
Epilogue and Next Steps
I took up snowboarding 15 years ago because “that looks like fun” and I have never missed a season since
Having travelled across Canada, the USA and Europe in search of powder and memories
Perhaps this new sport can introduce me to warm, sunny, summertime places that I never normally get to see. Everywhere I go is cold and white. It would be nice to wear shorts and flip flops on a holiday for once.
AFF and jumping from planes has definitely been my second greatest achievement in life, after quitting smoking.
It really has been a journey for me - I've learned a lot more about what I'm made of - what goes on in both my head and in my heart.
I don't want to sound like a hippy, but this has been an enlightening journey so far.
A skydiver I met on a forum mailed me this upon my AFF qualification:
“I think you will find (as I have) that skydiving is neither difficult nor is it easy. Looking back on the training and the jumps, I think it's safe to state that every nerve in the body is challenged and tested. Much like the game of golf, skydiving does not define character so much as it reveals what is already there.“
“So, I think you had a lot going for you in the first place. You just did not know it and now you've found it. “
I’ve never had such lovely words said to me by essentially, a complete stranger whom I know by a web forum alias and first name only.
Since completing AFF, I’ve gone on to continue with the consolidation jumps and if I were a betting man, I’d stick 10 bucks on me going on to complete my A licence.
What does skydiving hold for me? I have no idea. I really don’t. I guess I’ll keep going, one jump at a time.
The skydiving community are a very friendly and welcoming community and there has been no end of advice and assistance at all times from every angle.
Whatever I do and however far I go, I must pay that back

By admin, in News, January 7, 2016

Go Fast energy drink bolts out of gate

Troy Widgery, founder of Go Fast, stands atop the company Range Rover in front of their building at 1935 W. 12th Ave. in Denver. Maybe that's why Denver native Troy Widgery, a skydiver, has poured all his energy and money into Go Fast energy drink. He's trying to pry his way into a $275 million industry dominated by Red Bull of Austria and U.S. beverage giants Anheuser-Busch and Hansen's.

So far, sales are up for the caffeine and herb-packed beverage, which was launched in November. Go Fast is sold in liquor stores, bars and shops around the state, including The Church, Sacre Bleu, Java Creek and Mondo Vino in Denver.
This year, Go Fast Beverage Co. expects to go a lot faster.
National Distributing Co. today will begin pushing Go Fast to its 7,500 accounts statewide.
Other distributing deals are in the works, said Widgery, whose latest passion is kiteboarding, a hybrid of surfing and parasailing.
"When you were a little kid and wanted to get lifted by your kite, that's kind of what happens," he said, describing the new sport he learned in Hawaii and Mexico.
But Widgery is spending more time these days on a forklift in Go Fast's warehouse. The company is ramping up marketing, and he's out rounding up new capital for growth.
In 1996, Widgery started Go Fast Sports, a clothing company that sells mostly to motorcycle, bike and surf specialty stores.
The 35-year-old Cherry Creek High grad also owns Sky Systems Inc., a 14-year-old company that designs helmets for skydiving and other extreme sports like water-ski jumping.
Sky Systems makes a patented product called Tube Stoe - essentially a rubber band that's used to pack a parachute. Sales from Tube Stoe helped Widgery fund Go Fast Sports, which has since grown about 300 percent a year, he said.
"Because of our involvement with extreme sports, last year we saw the market potential for an energy drink and we wanted one that was better than the current drinks out there," Widgery said. "A lot of energy drinks give you a kick that makes you sort of jittery and you drop off quickly. Ours is smoother and more sustained. Ours has the least amount of sugar."
Most "true" energy drinks include stimulants caffeine and ginseng and the amino acid taurine, Widgery said. Go Fast also contains guarana and ginko. Some stimulate the mind and others the body.
Some industry watchers question whether energy drinks, which sell for $2 a can, are just a fad.
Can they pose health risks?
The nutritional research is inconclusive, but some critics fear the greatest detriment is mixing energy drinks and alcohol because the stimulants can fool a person into thinking they're sober enough to drive.
Widgery said a number of nutritional experts and chemists formulated Go Fast.
Regas Christou, owner of The Church, hasn't had problems with the drink and said that Red Bull and Go Fast sales are strong.
"A lot more people are drinking more of the energy drinks," Christou said.
"Every single egg is in the basket," Widgery said. "I believe in it. The energy market is here to stay."
Energy drinks have been sold in Europe for more than a decade, Widgery noted. In the United States, sales skyrocketed to $275 million last year compared with $130 million in 2000, according to Beverage Marketing Corp.
Widgery expects fallout in the energy drink category because he said only a handful of the so-called drinks actually have ingredients to get your heart and mind racing.
Go Fast is in discussions with an Oklahoma-based bicycle parts distributor, which is interested in selling the drink to its 7,000 bike store customers nationwide.
Widgery met earlier this week with a New York nutritional ingredients supplier who wants to take the product to China.
For all his confidence in Go Fast, Widgery's voice is even-keeled when he talks about growth.
"We want to make the brand grow properly, and not just oversaturate the market," he said, noting the target energy-drink consumers are young and discriminating - those who seek what's on the fringe, not mainstream grocery products.
"The brand has to maintain its soul," Widgery said. "You have to appeal to the "go fast' type of person."
~ Denver Post

By admin, in News, February 28, 2002

The Journey of an AFF Student - Part 4

This article follows a previous article of an AFF journal submitted by John McDarby. We hope sharing this series of articles detailing the experience of his journey may be able to provide some insight into those looking to do their AFF course, while also entertaining those who have been through the process.
AFF4 – Saturday 13th June
Well, that was quite the weekend of ups and downs.
Failed AFF4 on Saturday (they don’t call it failing as its all learning each time) so repeated it on Sunday and got through, just about!
Saturday was an odd one - my first proper experience of loss of altitude awareness - total loss.

I'm down to one instructor now instead of two - we had a perfect exit but then entered into a spin (not a crazy one) which the instructor corrected - as it happened, I was oblivious to it - how? I don’t know, because it looked quite hectic on the video afterwards. My log book entry from the instructor states “John was a little over whelmed on this one”
That is the understatement of the year, I feel.
So by the time we were all steady and my instructor came around to the front, we'd lost most of the freefall time - but I didn’t cop it – the dive plan was, once we were steady, he’d come round the front and we’d kick off from there – but by the time we were stable and set, it was too late – for some reason, I seemed to have had that point as my trigger to start work, rather than watching the alti all the way.
So, I checked my alti now and we were at 5500ft - deployment height - I nearly had a heart attack - normally I’d have seen 9, 8, 7 etc on the way and I’d be well aware that 6 was coming, lock in, 5500ft deploy - this was the first time I missed ALL of that - I deployed just after 5500ft and had a super canopy down - I cursed for the first minute or two after deployment as I knew I’d failed, utterly - I didn’t do one single task for the jump - it was referred to afterwards as a "brain fart" where the brain just shuts down with the overload of tasks to do - there was never any danger as such as I copped it on time and everything was fine - but my instructor said he was giving me another two seconds before he dumped me out himself if I hadn’t done so.
On the ground as I gathered up my canopy and walked over to my instructor, the two of us just started laughing "Johnny, what the hell just happened there - what were you doing?"

I had no idea - I just phased out – I can't fathom it - but I was told it happens to everyone at some stage, it’s just a case of when - it’s one of the reasons students have to deploy so high - it gives that margin for precisely what just happened - we deploy at 5500ft whereas experienced divers deploy at 3000ft or so - that gives them another 12 seconds of freefall - so there was never a danger on my jump - it was just a case of "Johnny, get your head in gear"
There was the opportunity to go again later and rectify it but I really wanted to sit down with a beer and think about what had happened and why.
I needed to analyse it and make sure it didn’t happen again.
One of the things I came up with was that my previous "jump" was the tunnel - and that was two minutes at a time - perhaps my brain thought I had that amount of time rather than 45 seconds – I’m not sure - it doesn’t explain the total freeze and lack of one single task being completed, however.
So I went back the next day to jump again - I couldn’t let that go until next weekend as it would have gotten bigger in my head all week.
Wonderful jump - loved it and passed it...
AFF4 Repeat – Sunday 14th June
I got a different instructor whom I'd never met before - a really nice chap who trains the army jumpers - I told him what had happened and that I didn’t care in the slightest if I passed today or not - all I wanted was to jump and "get back on the horse" and be totally in the zone with my alti – that’s all I wanted.
He was good with that but at the same time "let’s plan on passing the jump and doing everything we're supposed to do, right"
So we dived it on the ground, all was good, climbed, perfect exit, a little longer than I would have hoped to get stable but we got there.Then he let go and came around the front, face to face and off we went with our tasks - just a couple of 90 degree turns.
I have never seen me check my alti so many times! He said I was fixated with it and that I need to find the middle ground between Saturday and Sundays jumps - but boy did I know what height I was at the entire jump.
I thought I’d failed it to be honest as I didn’t do a 100% right turn but he told me in the debrief that I was good to pass as once I was stable, I was rock solid and the turns were perfect - but I didn’t think so once I'd deployed - but honestly, I didn’t care - I had a super canopy down - couple of spirals again and got myself into the landing pattern real nice - came down a bit fast but not heavy - skidded onto my butt as usual - I can live with that!
I met up with the usual lads back in the hanger and had about 15mins before debrief - got a cuppa and moaned about how I'd failed it yet again - but that I was just happy to have jumped after the fiasco of the day before - then I was called for debrief and he said it up front immediately that I'd passed - I nearly fainted - and then he proceeded to go through the video and explain why - and he was right I feel, he could have failed me too but it would probably have been a bit mean - either way, I do the same jump again for AFF5 but this time with full 360 degree turns – I’m fine with that.
My goal for today was just to jump again and be altitude aware - I got that AND I passed, so it was a double bonus and I’m delighted with it.
I was very comfortable going up in the plane - no willies at all - and I was sitting on the floor again as we were first out - it’s a different position and takes getting used to - when the door opens, you're kneeling right beside it looking down 13,000ft - you truly have to block it out.
And as you're first out and the plane is making its pass, you can't hang around as the people behind you also need to get out close to the DZ.
So there really is no hanging about - door opens, assume the position, exit - it all takes about 5-8 seconds - You cannot question it - just do it.
Which is good too, as it doesn’t leave time for the brain to start thinking “why am I doing this?"
I'm now really starting to enjoy the canopy - both rides this weekend were great fun - I think my brain said "feck it, you've failed both jumps, just enjoy the ride down" which I really did - nothing too exciting but a couple of spirals and really working out the landing with the wind directions etc.
What a view when the door opens eh?
You can see my red runners right beside the door - I had a quick peek down but then looked away - it doesn’t help looking down at that – he he.
You can see the number of times I’m checking my altimeter - like a watch on my left hand.
I was all over it this time.
And you can see, once I got stable, I was very stable - it was just getting there.
And then I put in a decent left turn - I had time to turn back but I just locked in on the alti and left it at that.
Loved under the canopy again this time - a real mellow buzz - so much more relaxed than I have been.
I actually look quite relaxed during the freefall there too.
Part 5 will be published shortly, keep an eye out on the dropzone.com homepage to follow John's journey through AFF

By admin, in News, December 29, 2015

Skyventure Wind Tunnel for Montreal

By admin, in News, May 28, 2007

Andrey Veselov - Featured Photographer

By Deleted, in News, January 31, 2014

Girl Gear Blues? Problem Solved (and Then Some)

Aeronautrixx Literally Has Your Back
Life in the sky just keeps getting better for the 13% of us who fly under the influence of two X chromosomes. The latest development? Aeronautrixx -- a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, founded by skydiver//adventurist Karen Woolem. The org’s goal, as Karen puts it, is “providing education, guidance, sponsorship and resources to help women pursue their aeronautical dreams in a fun and safe manner.” Those are lofty goals, indeed, but Karen -- who is as well-organized as she is dynamic -- isn’t the type to shoot low.
To understand where Aeronautrixx is coming from, of course, you first have to understand a little bit about its founder. Karen started jumping 28 years ago, led by the example of her skydiver father. She was 15, and they’d make the long trek down to Skydive Paso Robles from the Monterey Bay Area because Paso was the only driveable DZ that would let such a young pup jump. She made a few less than 100 jumps in that first phase and stopped jumping in 1993, when her rig was grounded.

“The question was,” she remembers, “Do I buy new gear, or do I go to college?’
Objectively speaking, it wasn’t really a question. Karen was the first in her family to go to college, and she wanted to place her focus there. As it turns out, a full 15 years passed before she got back into the sport, though she made a few feints in that direction. Finally, in 2009, she got recurrent -- at Hollister, where her dad learned to skydive back in 1988 -- and she’s been jumping ever since. Mostly, Karen describes herself as an RW kinda chick. (Fun fact: When I talk to her, she has just returned from skydiving over the Egyptian pyramids.)
Aeronautrixx, interestingly enough, was born of that other major step forward in female-focused skydiving: the Women’s Skydiving Leadership Network. Back in 2016 (when the WSLN was first officially formed), Karen was selected for the first WSLN leadership symposium. She spent a week at Raeford with the event, soaking up the skills, the vibes and the connections. As part of that program, Karen designed a logo for a WSLN t-shirt. The image was strong, feminine, colorful and balls-out bold. She loved it.
While a different logo was selected for that original purpose, Karen couldn’t help but realize that she’d created the logo for an effort that was gathering steam in her own imagination. Specifically, she was pondering a personal challenge she’d faced as a female, coming back into the sport: Finding a used container that fit both her and the canopy size she was comfortable with. She’d found it damned near impossible.

“Finding a used container that fit me was no problem,” she mueses, “but they were all made for sub-100s; for super-swoopers. When I first came back, was under a 170. I ended up having to rent for what seemed like forever. It was so expensive.”
She realized that there was a solution -- and that she could catalyze it.
“I knew there were plenty of people out there that have gear to donate,” she adds, “And I thought -- hey! -- if I set up a non-profit, it can be a win-win. People can donate gear that fits smaller people jumping larger canopies -- or any gear they have gathering dust in a closet. Then I can give those guys a tax write-off and get that gear out to women who need it. Now [the recipient is] paying $25 a jump instead of $50 and can take her time to either wait for a long delivery on custom gear or piece together a used setup that fits.”
“It’s so expensive getting started in this sport,” Karen adds. “Aeronautrixx aims to make the potential financial burden less of a deterrent for women.”
So far, it’s a home run. Aeronautrixx just got a complete setup donated and matched it with a woman who just graduated AFF. Boom.
It’s not just containers, either. Karen has partnered up with a craftsman who completely refurbishes and repaints helmets with airplane-grade paint, and those helmets have been gracing the sky in larger numbers with each passing season. In addition to that, Karen is currently working on getting a few complete demo systems co-sponsored with manufacturers.

Of course, it’s not just gear that makes a skydiver — so Aeronautrixx covers the skills bases, too. These days, Karen is a WSLN mobile mentor, dually based at Skydive Sebastian (near her current home) and Skydive California (near her west-coast roots). For the past three years, she’s been using Aeronautrixx as a platform to host female-focused skills camps and boogies on both coasts. In October, there’s the Unicorn Boogie at Skydive California; in April, there’s the Mermaid Boogie at Skydive Sebastian; this February (coming right up!) there’s going to be a gold-lamé-festooned disco party at Z-hills.
The boogies’ shared core value? Bring women together -- from all over -- and encourage growth and fun in equal measure. The response so far has been phenomenal.
“I try to get an all-female roster of organizers,” Karen adds, “to show the newer jumpers that it’s not only men that are leading the pack. And I always try to bring in non-local organizers to give the ladies the chance to jump with other females in the sport that they might not get a chance to jump with.”

The formula is certainly working. At the first Mermaid Boogie, Karen was standing in a packed hangar. Stopping in the middle and looking around, she suddenly realized something amusing.
“I looked around and it occurred to me, there were no men. We’re turning the Otter with all chicks.” They turned 22 loads that day.
At the end of the day, Karen insists that Aeronautrixx is about inclusion. Men are welcomed at Aeronautrixx events -- even issued cheeky “man cards” -- and the sea of costume onesies now includes a fair number of male humans. That’s not at all surprising, considering the unequivocal language of the Aeronautrixx mission statement: “We believe that women can be just as, if not more, badass as our male counterparts.” Well-put and well-proven, no?
----
To donate to Aeronautrixx (or get involved with an event or two), visit the org’s website or Facebook page:
https://aeronautrixx.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pg/aeronautrixx/

By nettenette, in News, April 11, 2019

Swoop Freestyle FAI World Championship Program

When Copenhagen hosts parachuting's inaugural Swoop Freestyle FAI World Championship August 25th & 26th, not only will it set the scene for the best athletes in the world but turn one of the oldest and most historic European capitals into an urban sports festival.
Combining world class sport with DJ's, live music, street food, air shows and various activities for all ages, will create a great festival feel around the World Championships. It is expected that over 200,000 spectators will visit the event at Peblinge Lake, downtown Copenhagen during the two event days. It will be possible to try tandem jumping over the city, bungee jumping, virtual reality parachuting and running across the lake in Fun Ballz.
"We want to create a festival feel around a world class sport by offering a host of activities and giving the audience a full Swoop Freestyle event experience. With different activations and touch points, the spectators will get opportunities to connect with the sport in an engaging way. We believe that by mixing world class sport with, great activities, music and street food, it will set the scene for future events in major cities where a broad activation is key," says George Blythe, CEO of A. Sports, the organizer of the Swoop Freestyle FAI World Championships.
Adrenaline packed sports festival in the heart of major cities
By taking the sport of parachuting, which is usually performed in small air fields, and bringing it into major cities, it gives the host city and local partners a great opportunity to work with potential clients and businesses.

Highlights from the 2016 CPH Invitational
"With the help from one of our partners, all spectators can download an app and send out their own live feed experience with a chance to be featured in different videos with other spectators both on the big screen at the venue and at the live feed going out to millions around the world," George Blythe adds and points out the mission for Swoop Freestyle: To build a world championship series in major cities worldwide such as Formula 1.

"The Swoop Freestyle FAI World Championship 2017 will not only be the first ever World Championship in urban parachuting in the heart of Copenhagen – it will also form the basis of a genuine festive celebration combining sport and spectators with a festival of side activities embracing the championship – an approach which is typically Danish," says Lars Lundov, CEO, Sport Event Denmark, the national sporting event organization that partners the event.
THE ATHLETES:
18 pilots from 10 different countries and with a total of 150,000 jumps between them:
#1 Curt Bartholomew, 31 years old, USA, 8000 jumps
#2 Nick Batsch, 35 years old, USA, 8500 jumps
#3 Claudio Cagnasso, 28 years old, Venezuela, 6500 jumps
#4 Ian Bobo, 46 years old, USA, 20000 jumps
#5 Cornelia Mihai, 32 years old, UAE, 10000 jumps
#6 Pablo Hernandez, 31 years old, Spain, 15000 jumps
#7 David Ludvik Junior, 38 years old, USA, 16000 jumps
#8 Marco Fürst, 26 years old, Austria, 4000 jumps
#9 Tom Baker, 27 years old, USA, 7000 jumps
#10 Chris Stewart, 28 years old, New Zealand, 7000 jumps
#11 Aurel Marquet, 34 years old, France, 2900 jumps
#12 Ulisse Idra, 27 years old, Italy, 7000 jumps
#13 Jeannie Bartholomew, 36 years old, USA, 4000 jumps
#14 Max Manow, 28 years old, Germany, 5000 jumps
#15 Mario Fattoruso, 30 years old, Italy, 6000 jumps
#16 Christian Webber, 30 years old, Denmark, 3400 jumps
#17 Abdulbari Qubaisi, 29 years old, UAE, 6300 jumps
#18 Travis Mills, 35 years old, USA, 13500 jumps PROGRAM - FAI Swoop Freestyle World Championship 2017:
Friday August 25th - Swoop Training and Swoop Night Lights
3.00-3.30pm (15.00-15.30): Highlights from 2016 on big screen
4.00-6.00pm (16.00-18.00): Swoop Training - Round 1 and 2
6.00-6.15pm (18.00-18.15): Fly Boards show
6.15-9.00pm (18.15-21.00): Swoop Sessions, live music
9.15-9.45pm (21.15-21.45) - Swoop Night Lights (airshow with night jumps, lighted suits and pyro) Saturday August 26th - Swoop Qualifying of Swoop Finals
12.00-12.30pm: Swoop Sessions, live music
12.30-12.45pm: Fly Boards show
1.00-3.00pm (13.00-15.00): Swoop Qualifying, Round 1 and 2
3.30-3.45pm (15.30-15.45): Show with wingsuits, BASE and Acro paragliding
4.00-6.00pm (16.00-18.00): Swoop Finals, Round 1 and 2 + medal ceremony. Who will be the first world champion?
6.15-9.00pm (18.15-21.00): Swoop Sessions live music, and meet'n'greet with the athletes Other activities both days:
Tandem jumps over Copenhagen (For booking link and prices - click here)
Water blob (rental)
Floading couches (rental)
Fun ballz (rental)
Virtual Reality parachuting (rental)
Bungeejump (rental) FAI Swoop Freestyle World Championships 2017
Training and Swoop Night Lights Friday August 25, Qualifying and Finals Saturday August 26 2017.
Location: Peblinge Lake, Queen Louise's Bridge, central Copenhagen.
18 parachute pilots from 10 countries.
It's the first swoop freestyle world championships ever in freestyle swooping (canopy piloting), sanctioned under the FAI, Fédération Aéronautique Internationale Website and social media:
Website: http://www.swoopfreestyle.com
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/swoopfreestyle/
Instagram: instagram.com/swoopfreestyle
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1888604534750053/

By admin, in News, August 4, 2017

Carl Nespoli - The Unknown Stuntman

Carl Nespoli may not be a name that you associate with skydiving stunts (yet), but he has participated in some of the best known skydiving and aerial stunts ever performed. Carl is often the unknown skydiver in front of the camera or in control of the team that's working in the background to ensure the safety of the likes of Troy Hartman and others. Dropzone.com spoke to Carl after he recently participated in a plane-to-plane jump organized by his friend and mentor, Joe Jennings. Keep your ear to the ground, Dropzone.com believes we'll be hearing a lot more from Carl in the future.

Age: 37

Jumps: 1,000

First Jump: 1986

Rig: Javelin J5

Canopy: Spectre 170

Cypress: Yes

Residence: California

Born: Brooklyn, NY

USPA License: D

Home DZ: Perris

Favorite Discipline: Sky Surfing

Reserve Rides:7

Married/Girlfriend: Single

Web Site:
http://www.aerialstuntman.com
Dropzone.com: So Carl, I never realized all the stuff you've been in until I looked over your homepage. What did you do with Charlies Angels??

Carl: I was the aerial stunt crew assistant to Joe Jennings. I assisted in Joe's camera work, assisted riggers, and ground control.
Dropzone.com: Dropzone.com was one of the first to report on this plane-to-plane jump you did with Joe Jennings. Tell us about that stunt and what you had to do with it.

Carl: I was in the porter which was acting as the recovery for the target aircraft with the jumpers. We had come up with an automatic drogue deployment system which wasn't always guaranteed to work. So I had to be the official drogue man and take it out and make sure it didn't catch on any of the catch points. Prior to exiting I had to turn on 5 pov clamshells to capture the divers coming into the aircraft.
I had to take it out backwards hold on to it's bag and make sure the static line was fully out before letting go of the bag. I had remarkable video of both the skydivers and the bag deployment.
Dropzone.com: So the plane was going straight down when you exited?
Carl: No actually the plane was flying correctly when I exit then he would cut the engine and feather the prop.
Dropzone.com: Did they have a cut away system?
Carl: Yes, at about 4,500 feet the pilot would use a 3 ring cutaway process similar to that of a cutaway system on a rig. Then start the engine and land safely.
Dropzone.com: I noticed you helped with Senseless Acts, we are also interviewing Troy Hartman - do you have anything to say about Troy after working with him?
Carl: Absolutely, troy was the first person that put me out on my skyboard. To get the opportunity to work with him was pretty incredible. Rob Harris was obviously the main person who first inspired me but troy was the one that got me on my first skyboard. So to work with him was definitely a privilege and an honor. My duty on Senseless Acts was to oversee Troy's safety. Troy had to look good memorize lines, carry up different povs, battery packs, etc.. I made sure his board bindings were on tight, and things were safe. During the different stunts he was doing I would just simply isolate him 5 minutes before going up and just go over a couple of safety measures and bail out options.
On the burning canopy stunt Troy had to go up with 2 povs a burn suit a motorcycle helmet, knives, a flare gun holster, so many things. There were actually a few things I had to veto. There was a 3rd POV that was optioned and I had to relocate his cutaway handle to actually stick it out more because of visibility concerns due to the helmet he had on. They also wanted to put a flare gun on his wrist which I had to veto as well.
Dropzone.com: How's work going? You working on anything new right now?
Carl: I am bidding on a job, waiting for an answer. There is a Leno spot coming up at the end of the month where they will be jumping into NBC Studios. There will be ground to air communication, Jay will have communications to Troy Hartman - he will be playing like a human video game. This was originally set for November but due to presidential elections and Olympics the communication systems weren't available. I don't know if it is finalized yet, but that is the last I heard.
Dropzone.com:We've been having an ongoing discussion on dropzone.com about having to avoid certain living things when coming in for landings. Have you ever had a problem with animals during any of your parachute jumps?
Carl: I've had obstacles but they weren't living. Shrubbery and such. That's why I jump a Spectre, it's more of a technical canopy.
Dropzone.com: Do you have any skydiving role models or inspiration?
Carl: Rob Harris, Patrick, and Joe Jennings, definitely. I had about 6 jumps and saw the video. My first jump was in 86 but started back in 94 it was towards the beginning of the new year and gave it up for a few months, then started just before November and after that Rob passed away and I saw Joe's work. I was instantly inspired and started to pursue Joe. 2 years later he finally gave me the opportunity to meet him. My first project with him was IMAX where I was jumping with Joe Jennings.
Dropzone.com: What is the worst injury you have had from skydiving?
Carl: I had double canopy out, had my main entangled in my reserve and landed backwards in a fetal position. I actually walked away and got back on the aircraft - that was jump 26. I was in a high spin had a slider hang-up, grabbed both handles, pulled my reserve, it was pilot inexperience and pilot error.
Dropzone.com: What do you like least about the sport?
Carl: The fact that it is perceived as a dangerous sport. That people don't really know much about the sport.
Dropzone.com: What is the coolest non skydiving thing you've done?
Carl: I hate to be corny, but became an uncle to my nieces and nephews.
Dropzone.com: How do you go about getting selected for movies? Do you advertise yourself, have an agent, or what?
Carl: All of the above. I advertise, I'm with an agency, and I go on auditions very similar to what actors go on.
Dropzone.com: ESPN Recently axed skysurfing from their X-Games because sponsors didn't feel like it had an "automatic consumer base" what do you think about that?
Carl: I am very very curious to see once the public gets wind of this how their reaction is going to be.
Dropzone.com: What do you think can be done in the skydiving community to make it a more accepted sport?
Carl: Show more of the accomplishments in skydiving and less of the accidents, glorifying the negative part of the sport. It is human curiosity to want to see the accidents at the auto race and see athletes get injured but I think that is the media that just capitalizes too much on how dangerous skydiving can be. I attribute the confidence I have from skydiving to help me conquer other things in life.
Dropzone.com: If you could take anyone in the world skydiving with you, who would it be and why?
Carl: I'd like to take my mother, I'd like to show her and have her experience what I experience and have her worry less for me and actually be more happy and see what I am crazy over. She has a hard time with the sport.
Dropzone.com: If you could wave a magic wand and change something about the sport of skydiving what would it be?
Carl: The egos that skydivers of one discipline have towards skydivers of another discipline. For instance how the freeflyers treat the people doing RW and such.
Dropzone.com: Finally, what is something not many people know about you?
Carl: I have never forgotten the people that had inspired me, Rob & Patrick specifically because they are no longer with us. Any so called fame I achieve or recognition, I put it in perspective; those are they guys that are responsible for any type of recognition that I receive.

By admin, in News, May 29, 2001

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