Spaceland Anomaly - Insomnia Tunnel Camp
Spaceland Anomaly, this year's silver medallist freefly team, is hosting its second annual "Insomnia Tunnel Camp" this coming January. Together with tunnel champions Juliana and Fabian Raidel and Joao Tambor, Anomaly hopes to again bring freeflyers of all experience levels to the SkyVenture tunnel in Orlando for an intensive 3 night camp. The camps are designed to be a low cost alternative to more traditional camps, while maintaining a very individualized progression for each student.
As in last year's camp, the tunnel time is booked in the midnight to 6AM timeslots, which gives each student a total flying time of 2 hours over the 3 night camp. Not only does booking nights provide cooler temperatures for better air in the tunnel, but it also saves students the price of the daytime tunnel rates. After the first night's session (and many Red Bull cases), everyone adjusted to the graveyard shift schedule. Students slept their days away at the nearby Best Western while waiting for their 10PM warm up sessions at the tunnel.
The coaching is the camp's strongest point, and primary focus. Each of the 3 coaches work with the same 3-4 students each night. This gives them the opportunity to tailor individual progressions based on the skill level and preferences of each student. By remaining with their students through all their tunnel time, coaches can see improvement over the 3 nights and pace the learning appropriately. Many of last year's participants started out with an introductory lesson in RW skills, both for safety reasons and to remind them of how much we all have to learn on our bellies. From there, the progression moved to backflying to sitflying, and, for some, an introduction to head down flying in the tunnel.
At the end of the camp's 3rd night, students made their way to their respective hometowns with bags under their eys, smiles on their faces, and a lot more freefly skill than they came with. "It's kind of like being in another world, being in the tunnel at such odd hours, but the coaches are energetic and extremely experienced... I know I've improved 100%!" said returning student Jen Dembinski.
The next Anomaly Tunnel Camp is scheduled for January 15th - 17th, with available slots going fast. Contact [email protected] for more information.
Space Parachuting: Skydiving from the Edge
WASHINGTON -- Everybody knows it was Neil Armstrong that took that historic one small step. But now several parachutists are aiming to take giant leaps that could lead to a new form of extreme sport - spacediving. Technology and bravado are merging to create a new breed of high-altitude hopefuls - people ready to take the fall of a lifetime. The hope is to shatter a four decades old record by freefalling from the edge of space, break the speed of sound on the way down, and live to tell about it.
Vaulting into the void
In the 1950s, the U.S. Air Force took on the issue of hazards faced by flight crews bailing out from high-flying aircraft. As part of the research, Project Excelsior used a gondola-toting balloon to carry a pilot high into the stratosphere. From the end of 1959 into mid-1960, Captain Joseph Kittinger took three leaps of faith. He counted on himself, medical experts, protective gear, and a newly devised parachute system to ensure a safe and controlled descent to the ground.
On August 16, 1960, Kittinger jumped his last Excelsior jump, doing so from an air-thin height of 102,800 feet (31,334 meters). From that nearly 20 miles altitude, his tumble toward terra firma took some 4 minutes and 36 seconds. Exceeding the speed of sound during the fall, Kittinger used a small stabilizing chute before a larger, main parachute opened in the denser atmosphere.
Air Force Captain Joseph Kittinger, Jr. jumps from Excelsior III balloon gondola in 1960 test, freefalling toward Earth for over 4 minutes. CREDIT: U.S. AIR FORCE
He safely touched down in barren New Mexico desert, 13 minutes 45 seconds after he vaulted into the void.
The jump set records that still stand today, among them, the highest parachute jump, the longest freefall, and the fastest speed ever attained by a human through the atmosphere. Somewhat in contention is Kittinger's use of the small parachute for stabilization during his record-setting fall. Roger Eugene Andreyev, a Russian, is touted as holding the world's free fall record of 80,325 feet (24,483 meters), made on November 1, 1962.
Spring of our intent
Now take your own jump from the 1960s to 2001.
Several individuals are after the freefall record, on the prowl to raise millions of dollars in sponsorship funds to claim the milestone.
Rodd Millner, an Australian ex-commando is putting together the "Space Jump" project. Working with a film company, Millner's balloon ride and follow-on fall would be well documented. Taking two-and-a-half hours to balloon himself up to 130,000 feet (40,000 meters), and outfitted with the latest in survival gear, Millner would high step into the stratosphere.
Hot air balloon platforms, a team of skydivers, a Lear Jet, and other aircraft are to be airborne to record Milllner's dive into the record books.
"We have involved a special team of experts across a wide range of scientific and technological areas to ensure this project is successfully conducted with optimum safety and with spectacular visual effect," said Walt Missingham, project director of Space Jump, in a group press release from Sydney, Australia.
If all remains on track, Millner plans a liftoff in March 2002, ascending from just outside Alice Springs, in the center of Australia.
Realistic go-getter
Another freefaller is Michel Fournier, a retired French parachute regiment officer. He has made some 8,000 jumps, and is the French record holder for the longest fall, from an altitude of about 37,000 feet (12,000 meters).
"I love discovering and experimenting. I'm a realistic go-getter, a little stubborn at times, Fournier said.
Calling his effort the "Big Jump", Fournier has assembled a team of experts to assist in strategizing his stratospheric jump from 130,000 feet (40,000 meters). Within 30 seconds of departing his pressurized basket, Fournier hopes to break the sound barrier during his plummet. Equipped with a pressurized suit and special gloves, the diver expects to thwart frigid temperatures and ultraviolet radiation.
The fall itself is to last 6 minutes and 25 seconds. It will be the first big aeronautical exploit of the third millennium, Fournier explains.
Fournier points to Jean-Francois Clervoy, a European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut, as "godfather of the project". The tragic Challenger accident in 1986 and ESA's work on its own space plane, the Hermes, are singled out by the skydiver as early motivation for his working on the Big Jump.
First plans called for the Big Jump taking place in September 2000. The French liftoff site was in the Plaine of Crau. A website about the effort explains that Michel could not jump in France because of administrative reasons. His team is now scouting for another launching site somewhere else in the world.
Skydiving skills
The StratoQuest mission features world champion skydiver, Cheryl Stearns. She too seeks to break the Kittinger record by dropping to Earth from 130,000 feet (40,000 meters).
Stearns is no newcomer to breaking new ground in the air. A commercial airline captain on Boeing 737's, at 13,050 skydives and climbing, she has made the most jumps of any woman in the world, with some 30 world records under her helmet.
Carried by balloon to above 99 percent of the Earth's atmosphere, Stearns will wear a customized pressurized space suit. Her freefall velocity may exceed the speed of sound, heading toward Mach 1.3. Maintaining a head down position will get her through transonic, and supersonic speed regimes. But as she begins to enter heavier atmosphere, a dangerous transonic phase comes again. At this point, her skydiving skills are to be tested in order to maintain stability until parachute deployment.
The jump is tentatively set for over New Mexico, perhaps in April 2002.
Pushing the envelope
Where is all this sky jumping headed?
First of all, high-altitude skydiving is on the cutting edge, said Mark Norman, an instructor with Freefall Adventures in Williamstown, New Jersey. "Certainly, they are challenging themselves, that's for sure. They are definitely pushing the envelope without any shadow of a doubt," he told SPACE.com.
Prior to "hitting the silk", spacediver uses balloon-like device to slow down and protect against forces during initial atmospheric entry. Credit: Canadian Arrow
At Freefall Adventures, typical skydiving starts at around 13,500 feet (4,115 meters), Norman said, with a jumper paying $16.00 dollars for the aircraft ride. As one of the busiest centers in the world, the group handles upwards of 15,000 people a year, he said, all hankering for a minute's worth of freefall
Norman said that high-altitude skydivers must think safety first, with regards to oxygen and pressurization issues. "So it lends itself to a lot of difficulties and a lot of impracticalities that we don't necessarily need to deal with in the commercial, mainstream skydiving industry," he said.
Building a business on people swooping down from the edge of space doesn't seem too practical at the moment, Norman said.
Drop zone: Earth
But Geoff Sheerin, team leader of the X Prize entry, the suborbital, passenger-carrying Canadian Arrow, believes what is taking place is an early form of spacediving.
"A rocket can take a spacediver to any altitude desired in just minutes, resulting in less time exposed to the dangers of vacuum and cold," Sheerin said. "I think this will ultimately lead to suborbital vehicles being the transport of choice for spacediving. Anyone using a rocket for spacediving can demolish any balloon record ever made," he said.
To the general public, spacediving might seem impossible, Sheerin said, as most think everything coming back from space burns up on reentry.
"If you look at the lower energies involved for suborbital flight, compared to orbital speeds, you realize that material and technology of today can turn spacediving from a suicide jump into a very survivable extreme sport," Sheerin said.
Solo Parachutist Arrested After Stunt at NATO HQ
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A parachutist performed a solo aerial lap over NATO headquarters Wednesday to protest against United States policy on missile defense before landing in a nearby field, where he was arrested.
The German protester took to the air to beat tight security surrounding the alliance headquarters in Brussels where President Bush was meeting NATO leaders.
Trailing a "Stop Star Wars" banner, the activist from the Greenpeace environmental group flew over the NATO complex using a small motor-propelled parachute.
Greenpeace spokesman John Walters told Reuters the man was arrested when he landed.
Walters said 17 activists were earlier arrested after demonstrating against Bush's policies on arms and the environment at Melsbroek military airport near Brussels shortly before Bush flew in aboard his presidential jet, Air Force One.
Another 12 protesters were expected to be detained after they chained themselves to fencing near the airbase.
Some 300-400 demonstrators waved banners and blew whistles near NATO headquarters in a largely peaceful protest against Bush.
Opponents of plans for a missile defense shield fear it will effectively rip up the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty and spark a new arms race.
Skyventure Wind Tunnel for Montreal
14R1400. Sound like something out of a Swartzenegger movie? Its not exactly extraterrestrial, but as Simulators go, this one comes pretty close. Montreal businessman and investor, Alain Guerin, has embarked on a groundbreaking wind tunnel simulation project in Canada, involving a 1400-horsepower, energy efficient recirculing tunnel.
14R1400 is 14 ft in diameter, the first cylindrical flight chamber with four 350-horsepower fans.
The foundation for Skyventures' $6 million green wind tunnel, a below-ground 100 ft long plenum installation is to begin in September, followed by erecting the 70ft tall frame. The project is set for an April 2008 completion date.
56-year-old investor, Alain Guerin owns several businesses as well as an accounting firm and lectured as a professor at the University of Quebec. Unlike most Chartered Accountants, Alain has a penchant for adrenalin-based sports. In the infancy of his skydiving career he found hitches getting through his certification which lead to revolutionary ideas.
Alain says: "I needed a way to hone my skills in a safe, stress-free environment and every answer I found pointed to Skyventure."
The design is like 'freefall virtual reality', offering skills honing for skydivers on all levels of experience. Unlike previous designs, the wall-to-wall airflow reduces the danger of falling off the column of air.
Alain and his partner, Pierre Beaudoin have selected three locations in the greater Montreal are which will eventually be narrowed down. Skyventure Montreal will be constructed near a fully equipped shopping mall complex with movie theatres, restaurants etc.
"Our mission is to provide the Quebec market with the most advanced, efficient, safe, reliable, powerful and realistic skydiving simulator in the world. More specifically, to become the most sought after, fun, exhilarating experience for the local population, the tourism industry, corporate groups and skydiving enthusiasts." adds Guerin.
SkyVenture Colorado on Track
I'm sure by now you have heard the buzz in the Skydiving community about the newest SkyVenture wind tunnel being built in Lone Tree, Colorado. Well, the buzz is true; finally Colorado will have its very own indoor flight chamber. All of SkyVenture's latest technology wrapped in a single spectacular package and placed in the middle of The Entertainment District next to Park Meadows Mall located at 9230 Park Meadows Drive, in Lone Tree, Colorado.
SkyVenture Colorado tunnel has all the latest improvements in design. The first thing you'll notice is the building is a single fully contained facility. Behind the unique architecture you will find a massive amount of very sophisticated components making up what is referred to as a "re-circulating tunnel". This technology has many advantages. By re-circulating the air they can maintain a very comfortable 70 degrees in the tunnel even when it is snowing outside. By virtually eliminating all influence from outside wind gusts and channeling the air early on it gives the ultimate smooth as silk air. Combining extremely tight tolerances on aerodynamic design and 1200 hp they have created the finest, smoothest 160mph+ air available in the industry.
SkyVenture Colorado LLC is a private Colorado based company formed to own and operate the most technologically advance and realistic skydiving simulator in the world. A group of investors headed up by Norm Rosendale are not new to the world of entertainment. Norm was involved in the SkyCoaster amusement ride business and served on the Board for Sky Fun 1. He has flown hang gliders for over 25 years and owned and operated his own hang gliding business. Norm's mission is to create a comfortable atmosphere for the skydivers and non-skydivers to relax and interact with each other and share their dreams and experiences of flight. "If we all don't walk away with a smile on our face then we are not doing it right".
Construction is going very well for a late December early January opening. Please sign up for e-mail updates or buy now and make your reservations to be one of the first fliers at www.SkyVentureColorado.com
SkyVenture Colorado Ground Breaking
Lone Tree Colorado - Norm Rosendale, CEO of SkyVenture Colorado, during ground breaking ceremonies announced the opening of SkyVenture at Lone tree near the end of the year.
The facility design is a 1200 Hp. vertical wind tunnel for the entertainment and training of skydivers of all ages. The Colorado sky diving community has been waiting for construction and completion of the tunnel for approx. three years.
Mayor Jack O'Boyle, Mayor of Lone Tree, believes the addition of SkyVenture along with Brunswick bowling and miniature golf in the Entertainment District of Lone Tree will bolster the plan for district development
SkyVenture Colorado is looking forward to becoming a full fledge member of the skydiving community. For those divers wondering about the high altitude and the cold weather of Colorado, don't worry. The recirculating 1200 Hp will provide all the climate and wind necessary for excellent flying.
SkyVenture will employ both full and part time instructors along with support staff.
SkyVenture Arizona!
Today, Sky Venture announced its acquisition of TunnelCamp.com and the construction of Sky Venture Arizona. Alan Metni, former Arizona Airspeed member and owner of TunnelCamp.com, will join Sky Venture as its CEO. Sky Venture also made public its immediate expansion into new markets with tunnels slated for construction in Southern California, New Jersey, Chicago and Texas. Sky Venture recently begun franchise operations in Malaysia and is building a tunnel in the UK for its military. The company has the capacity and financial ability to build multiple units simultaneously.
Sky Venture Arizona - a second generation Vertical Wind Tunnel located just outside Phoenix - will be less than 20 minutes drive from Sky Harbor Airport and 45 minutes from Skydive Arizona. Site selection, financing and design are complete and the company has begun fabrication of the enormous steel superstructure and components. Sky Venture Arizona will reportedly be faster, smoother and quieter than previous Sky Venture tunnels and superior to any other known design. Sky Venture Arizona will produce 45% more horsepower than its Florida predecessor and will be optimized for the sport skydiving and military markets (as part of the expansion plan, the Florida tunnel will also undergo substantial upgrades). Sky Venture has filed for additional patents on many of the improvements.
Bill Kitchen is the inventor of the Sky Venture Vertical Wind Tunnel and the majority owner of Sky Venture. Kitchen built Sky Venture Florida as a working prototype in 1997. Its unique design employs multiple ducted fans situated above the air column to provide a flying experience almost identical to free fall. The device has not only proved the concept but has been operating profitably for the last three years. Recently, teams and individuals of all skill levels have flooded Sky Venture with business. As a result, Sky Venture Florida is now running over-capacity, often booked weeks or months in advance. The upsurge in demand has prompted the large expansion program announced by the company today. The company recently completed the engineering and plans for a recirculating tunnel to be used in colder climates.
Alan Metni is a former member and manager of the United States National Formation Skydiving Team, Arizona Airspeed, and the owner of TunnelCamp.com. TunnelCamp.com has both benefited from and contributed to Sky Venture's success. TunnelCamp.com has trained more than 350 skydivers of all experience levels at SkyVenture. Its popular training camps are generally sold out 45 to 60 days in advance. TunnelCamp.com has flown more than 900 hours at Sky Venture and is reportedly the largest single civilian purchaser of tunneltime in the world. TunnelCamp.com plans to offer training camps at Sky Venture Arizona and Sky Venture California in the latter part of 2002.
For further information, please contact Bill Kitchen ([email protected]) or Alan Metni ([email protected], 480-283-2603).
SkyVenture Arizona Open for Business
All the employees of SkyVenture Arizona are delighted to announce that the world’s largest indoor wind tunnel is now officially open for business! We believe the moment you enter the flight chamber for the first time you will agree that this fantastic facility was worth the wait!
Whether you come as an individual or part of a team, we know that this new tunnel will meet and exceed all of your expectations. With the totally round 14 foot diameter flight chamber, four quiet and powerful electric engines, and new airflow design, we are confident that you will find this new tunnel to be the best training aid available anywhere!
To mark our opening, for a limited time, we have special low hourly rates for you! Because we are a part of the Skydive Arizona family (www.Skydiveaz.com) we have the best coaching for every skydiving need. Our great group of newly trained tunnel instructors is always here to assist you as well as instructors from the Arizona Training Center. Members of Skydive Arizona's World Championship team, Arizona Airspeed, (www.Airspeed.org) will also be holding tunnel camps, skills camps, team and individual world class coaching as well! In addition, Airspeed will be holding weekly tunnel coaching sessions throughout the year (more on those in our next email).
Whether your goal is to become a better and safer skydiver, to have some fun, to compete, or to become a world champion, the wind tunnel at Skyventure Arizona is another great reason to come to the sun. Heck, now you don't even need that!
We look forward to flying with you, soon!
For more information please visit our web site, www.Skyventureaz.com, or call us at 1-888-BODYFLY or 520-466-4640.
SKYPRO: Amazing Mobile App for the Real Skydiver!
App stores are littered with an unprecedented number of apps, many of which are never downloaded, and for good reason. Skydiving apps, though, are few in number, with very few delivering quality content and tools for students and trained jumpers. Not anymore.
Yesterday SKYPRO, the first real skydiving app, debuted on the Apple App Store for download. And it doesn't disappoint.
The FREE download includes several features including a Basic Safety Requirements (BSR) brush up quiz/game, GPS/Map information for every USPA drop zone in the world with GPS functionality to get you there and back, Aerial views of every USPA drop zone, and critical documents to include the Free online version of the USPA SIM, and FAA regs.
The app includes several features that can be accessed through in-app purchases, to include:
1. Interactive USPA (A-D) License Practice Exams with 1000's of exam questions, aimed to make you a better skydiver. Use these to gain an edge and stay safer in the air by sharpening your skydiving skills.
2. Plug & Go calculators. This is the ultimate skydiving tool for quickly calculating Wing Loading, Time of Descent, Canopy Drift, and Freefall Drift.
The developers have announced that the Android version will soon follow this version. Exciting!
Finally, an app worth using at the drop zone!
By paulkaraffa, in News,
SkymonkeyOne Retires
On Friday, January 24th 2003, Sergeant First Class Charles W. Blue II stood at attention in front of his Commanding Officer for the last time. After 20 years of service to his country, SFC Chuck Blue, also know as Skymonkeyone in the skydiving community, retired from the U.S. Army.
As witness to the fact that there was a large crowd at Chuck's retirement ceremony, one could tell that he was a well respected member of his unit and among the people in Raeford and Ft. Bragg. Amongst the group watching the ceremony were his fellow soldiers, friends, skydiving buddies, past roommates, girlfriend Katie Sell and family members. Earlier in the week, Katie had phoned Chuck's father and step-mother to let them know about Chuck's retirement, but she wasn't sure they were going to be able to come. Five minutes before the ceremony was to begin, Buddy, the DZO of Skydive Opelika in Alabama, and Diane Blue walked through the doors, surprising everyone in the room but most of all Chuck.
During the ceremony, Chuck's Commanding Officer recited Chuck's military history and then he said many kind words about the type of soldier Chuck was. Finally, Chuck was presented with a medal, and a large framed collage documenting the different areas in which Chuck became proficient during his tenure in the Army. The ceremony ended with a long receiving line of everyone giving Chuck their well wishes and he gave every person a big hug in return. One could tell from the grin on Chuck's face that his retirement was a moment he was quite happy to be experiencing.
Once the ceremony was over, it was time to party in true Skymonkey fashion and it was declared that everyone was to "drink like Vikings!" The ceremony and party were both held at Aviator's Bar and Grill on the Raeford dropzone located at the P.K. Airpark in Raeford, N.C. A delicious buffet dinner was provided for all of the partygoers, including desserts made by Katie herself. There were many shots and toasts abound, all saluting the man of the evening making it a very celebratory time. To add to the festivities, the Bob Steele Band, a rock/blues band, performed for the remainder of the night. The band brought the house down with their smooth, rocking sound, and got the crowd to dance the night away helping the party continue well into the morning. All in all, it was a great way to honor an amazing soldier, skydiver and man.
SFC Blue enlisted in the army on 23 October 1981 on the delayed entry program. He then entered active duty on 2 August 1982 after graduating from Beauregard High School in Opelika, Alabama.
Upon completion of 11C basic training at Fort Benning, GA, then Private Blue was assigned to B Company, 3rd Battalion 36th Infantry, 3rd Armored Division in Ayres Kassern in Kirchgoens; the post generally referred to as "the rock".
After completing the Basic Airborne Course in September 1984, Spc4 Blue reported to the Special Forces Qualification Course. Then he went onto Company C 1st Special Warfare Training Bn where he completed the 18C Special Forces Engineer Course. Upon completion of the course, SFC Blue was assigned to B Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group where he spent the next 6 years.
In September 1991, SFC Blue volunteered for newly reformed 3rd Special Forces Group. SFC Blue was assigned to Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group where he spent the next seven years performing both the Junior and Senior Engineering duties.
In July 1998, SFC Blue was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Special Warfare Training Group S-3 where he served as the liaison for the BN's Company D in Fort Bragg and geographically displaced Company C. These companies conduct some of the highest risk training in the United States Military.
SFC Blue is a graduate of the 18C SFQC; the Operations and Intelligence Sergeant Course; the Combat Dive Qualification Course and Combat Dive Supervisor Course; the Military Freefall Parachutist Course and Military Freefall Jumpmaster Course; the Special Operations Training SWC pilot course in 1988; and the Anti-Terrorist Instructor Qualification Course.
His awards and decorations include the Expert Infantryman's Badge; the Master Parachutists badge; the Military Freefall Jumpmaster Badge; the Combat Diver Badge; the Guatemalan and Honduran Master Parachutist Badges; the German Shutzenshnur (gold award); and the Dominican Republic Military Academy Instructor Badge.
He also received the MSM, ARCOM with 2 OLC's; the AAM with 6 OLC's, two awards of the Humanitarian Service Medal for service in Cuba and Haiti; the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal; 7 awards of the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal; the Overseas Ribbon and the Army Service Ribbon.
SFC Blue retires to the life of a professional skydiver and hippy biker and he is now taking over the reigns as Manager of the Raeford Parachute Center School. He is accompanied by his girlfriend, Katie, his dog, Billy Bob, and his cat, Kitty.