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Reporting a skydiving (or any other technical sport) accident isn't an easy job, but making the effort to do it thoroughly can give your readers a better product that tops competing publications in this area. Why is improving coverage of this relatively rare event important? The reason is because turning out boilerplate or inaccurate coverage of these incidents angers many skydivers, who might then become ex-readers, and gives the non-jumping segment of your audience nothing special to take away from the story and thus doesn't reinforce your publication's brand. Accuracy, Not GeneralitiesBefore you think I'm suggesting that you write a full investigative report of any sport accident, let me say that I don't suggest any additional words in your reports. What I am suggesting is making those words count, with more solid information. Often the sentences that appear in skydiving accident coverage are misleading as to the true nature of the accident. For example, the explanation of "The parachute failed to open" that is so often used in such reports is not a simplification for an audience uneducated about skydiving; it's just plain wrong nearly all the time. It's comparable to saying of a single-vehicle accident, "The car failed to stay on the road," implying that the car is at fault rather than the driver. Such a statement implies that the skydiver did everything in his power, correctly, and still his/her equipment failed to function. However, this is exceedingly rare-occurring far less often than once per year. What is far more common is that a skydiver makes a mistake landing a perfectly good canopy (39% of the 35 U.S. skydiving deaths in 2002, the most common cause of death), collides with another skydiver in freefall or under his parachute (21% of the 2002 deaths), or fails to respond correctly to a survivable equipment malfunction (12% of the 2002 deaths). (Note: skydivers do carry reserve, or backup, parachutes; a malfunction of the main parachute does not automatically kill the skydiver.) We all like to think that we'll make all the right decisions when the chips are down, but the unfortunate truth is that nearly all skydiving deaths are caused by "pilot error"-a mistake on the part of the skydiver. This doesn't mean that we have to crucify this person who made the mistake, but we shouldn't imply that the equipment was at fault when it wasn't necessarily the main factor in the accident. Getting the ScoopReporting the specific cause of sport accidents gives more "meat" to your story, which both your skydiving and non-skydiving readers will appreciate. But how do you know what to write when you're not a skydiver and don't understand the topic you're supposed to report? Work with the experts-foremost of whom is that drop zone's safety and training adviser (S&TA). The S&TA is an individual appointed at almost every drop zone in the U.S., and abroad, by each Regional Director of the United States Parachute Association (USPA), regardless of whether or not the drop zone is a Group Member of USPA. This individual is tasked with many different safety and administrative-related duties at their appointed drop zone, one of which is investigating skydiving accidents and fatalities. Investigating incidents is one of the less enjoyable responsibilities of an S&TA. Other interview possibilities include the coroner (if the skydiver involved is deceased) and the rigger (person licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration to pack reserve parachutes, and usually knowledgeable about skydiving gear malfunctions) who inspected the gear--if applicable and if the S&TA directs you to talk to this person. A third possibility is the drop zone owner/manager if an S&TA is not available. The USPA is a good source of general skydiving information, but is not a good source of information on specific incidents. The local sheriff or a representative often becomes a media liaison by default, but unless this person is a skydiver working closely with the drop zone's S&TA, then working only with this person is not good. A sheriff with no skydiving experience is no better information source on a skydiving incident than a reporter with no skydiving experience, and will often garble information he or she is given simply through unfamiliarity with the topic. Ask the previously listed skydiving professionals to explain to you, in layman's terms, the cause of the accident so that you can accurately report it. They may not yet have all the answers, especially if certain equipment malfunctions are suspected, but if you are polite and interested rather than forceful about getting the story before an early deadline you will get a lot more cooperation. A good working relationship with the drop zone in question is ideal, because not only will this help you on this story, but you will also get a much better story for other drop zone events such as charity fundraisers (skydiving is interesting to your non-skydiving readers, and can sell publications when good events happen as well as accidents). Introducing more specifics to your report will be good for your readers, but more information requires more fact-checking. If possible, send a copy of the article to your source at the drop zone before publication. The source will likely jump (pardon the pun) at the chance to review the coverage for accuracy. Don't Make These MistakesSkydivers do not skydive because of a death wish. If that were the case, they'd only make one jump apiece. They most definitely are thrill seekers, but they are dedicated to skydiving safely, even while pushing the envelope, so they can continue to skydive. Portraying skydivers and skydiving as irresponsible, imminently dangerous, or suicidal is an inaccurate disservice. It is also inaccurate to imply that drop zone management is to blame for most skydiving deaths, because it is every skydivers' choice to exit the aircraft; once they have done so, the only person who can keep one safe is himself/herself. For the most part, blaming a drop zone for an experienced skydiver's death (nearly always skydiver error, as previously stated) is similar to blaming the highway system for a motorist's death. The system simply provides the place for the motorist to drive; the drop zone merely provides an aircraft and landing area for the skydiver to jump and land. What a skydiver does with those resources is his or her responsibility alone. Also, keep in mind that stating or implying that a drop zone is to blame for an incident could lead to a libel suit if there is no evidence to back up the accusation. While the following isn't technically a mistake, it is the author's firm belief that in most cases, the practice of including a roll call of any deaths that have previously occurred at a drop zone (or any other sports facility) with an accident article serves no good purpose. If all of these deaths were attributable to the management or equipment provided by the drop zone, then there is something going on that should be exposed. Without proof of such culpability, however, listing previous deaths generally just angers skydivers and creates the mistaken assumption by non-skydiving readers that there is something going on that should be stopped. Again, keep libel laws in mind. Jump Plane AccidentsThankfully even less common than skydiving fatalities, jump plane accidents present a different reporting challenge mainly because aviation accident investigation falls under the authority of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The local skydivers might or might not have an aviation and accident investigation background, and might or might not know the cause of the accident; they are not the people you should interview about aircraft incidents. Just because the accident involved a jump plane doesn't make it a skydiving accident. The pilot would be a good source if he survived, but NTSB is the final authority on aircraft accidents, and their reports tend to take some time to come out. They do send public affairs officers to the scene of aircraft accidents; these people are the ones you should talk to in this instance. Resources for journalists regarding aviation accidents can be found on their web site at www.ntsb.gov/events/journalist/default.htm. The end goal of this article is more informative, balanced, tasteful reporting of skydiving and other sport incidents in order to better serve readers and thereby the commercial publications they purchase. Thanks to Randy Connell, S&TA, S/L Instructor, AFF Instructor; Chris Schindler, ATP, CFII; and Jim Crouch, AFF/I, USPA Director of Safety and Training, for their contributions to this article. Resources: www.uspa.org www.ntsb.gov Christy West is a journalist and gold/silver skydiving medalist with over 1,800 jumps.

Riggers (and owners), please be sure that the Sky hook hardware is sewn to the white free bag bridle correctly on all sky hook equipped rigs shipped between October 12 and December 1, 2003. There is a drawing of the correct installation and set-up sewn right next to the Sky hook on every rig, and the Sky hook itself is labeled. However, if the Sky hook hardware were sewn on the bridle backwards during manufacture or subsequent repair, (with the pointed end of the hook facing the pilot chute, instead of the bag) then you would tow your reserve pilot chute if deployed in response to a main total malfunction. As the instructions state, this pilot chute in tow can be fixed by pulling the yellow RSL tab. Remember, this situation can only be caused by an installation error at the factory, or during a rigger repair of a damaged bridle. It cannot be caused by a packing error. A PSB (PSB#20031203) has been issued in regards to this issue. Download the Service Bulletin Relative Workshop Web Site Gear and Rigging Forum

Aerodyne is happy to announce that it secured FAA TSO C23d approval for its Icon harness-container system. Although we have already been displaying the Icon rig at various events in 2003 and have started to take orders some time ago, we are now able to launch the official introduction. It looks good Design, comfort and fit are of paramount importance. The design team of Aerodyne have worked hard to find the perfect mix of these elements. We have received a lot of good response to the Icon and we are confident it will help us to gain a place in the rig market. Safety firstThe Icon is a modern harness-container system that relies on many industry standards, but also includes new features such as the miniforce™ 3-ring system. This patented 3-ring system, designed by Aerodyne’s head of R&D; Michel Auvray, reduces the pull force required to cut-away the main canopy. With today’s smaller and elliptical main canopies, malfunctions often lead to rapid spins with higher loadings and many skydivers have been experiencing difficulties to cut away. The miniforce™ 3-ring system, coupled with “anti-twist” metal housings on the risers and a shaped sure-grip cut-away handle, considerably reduces the likelihood of cut-away problems. Other safety features of the Icon include: “Link-Stop” panels inside the main container to prevent the risers from wrapping around or catching on the corner of the reserve container; A line stow retention system on the reserve freebag to help control reserve deployments at high speeds, while not sacrificing low speed requirements; A solid platform in the reserve container to maximize the launch of the pilotchute with one of the strongest spring coils in the industry (23 kg). A base price that includes pretty much everythingIn its standard configuration the Icon offers all the popular items, such as a harness with articulation hip rings, all stainless steel hardware, choice of wide or narrow chest strap, a hand deployed pilotchute with “kill line” bridle and an aluminium hook knife. Each Icon rig is also equipped to receive a Cypres or similar type of AAD as well as a Stevens RSL system. Consequently it is very easy to retrofit an Icon rig with a RSL system, just by adding the actual lanyard. This greatly increases the second-hand value of the rig. Relatively few options are charged for additionally: They only concern the choice of a Hackey Sack or Freefly handle on the hand deployed pilotchute, a Stevens RSL lanyard or custom embroideries. A range of sizes and colors to customize your rig For the Icon Sport, not less than 5 different container sizes are available, while the harness is always made to measure. Customers can choose from a range of colors in Parapack and Cordura fabrics. Icon StudentFor instruction purposes the Icon comes also in a Student version with adjustable main lift web. The standard configuration of the Icon Student includes a BOC hand deployed pilotchute. To configure the Icon Student further for a specific method of instruction the available options include a direct bag with staticline, a BOC or hip located ripcord with spring pilotchute, as well as secondary AFF jumpmaster handles. Online ordering As is true for all Aerodyne products the Icon can be ordered either through one of our distributors or via our website www.aerodyne-int.com We offer an on line coloring program enabling customers to visualize their custom Icon before they confirm the order. Try an IconAerodyne representatives will demo the Icon harness-container system over the Christmas period. Meet us at one of the boogies in Ampuriabrava, Eloy, Capetown or Margate and we will be happy to show you the Icon. Naturally this will also be an occasion to test jump one of our main canopies. Aerodyne Research Corporation Submit a Review of the Icon Gear and Rigging Forum

In fact, she got up before she fell-way, way up-11,000 feet above ground level to be exact. And it was no accident when the 72-year-old grandmother jumped from a 1957 single engine plane, Saturday, Nov. 29. She was making her well-planned first sky dive strapped to her son-in-law, Jay Phillips, a skydiving instructor with the Opelika Skydiving Association. "It was so much fun," Doyle said. During a tandem skydive, the student parachutist is strapped to an experienced instructor parachutist. The student wears a special harness, which attaches to the instructor's harness at two shoulder attachment points and two waist attachment points. The instructor wears the harness and container, which houses the parachute. The two hook together in the plane prior to the jump and exit together in "tandem." The pair then falls through the sky at approximately 120 miles per hour and deploys the parachute at 4,000 feet above ground level. The two then fly the rectangular shaped parachute to a pre-designated landing area. A videographer flew alongside Doyle and Phillips. "Cherry made a picture perfect skydive, flight through the air under canopy and landing right beside the camera man," Phillips said. "I didn't have to do anything," Doyle said. "I didn't get to work the controls." Doyle said the most exciting part of the jump was the 45-second free fall. She remembers lots of wind and noise and the cold. "The wind almost takes your breath away," she said. "It's cold because you're up so high." Once the parachute opened, the rush was over. "Once the chute opens, you just float down, like sitting in a chair," Doyle said. At no point during the dive did Doyle close her eyes. "I wanted to see what was going on," she said. "It was not as frightening as I thought it would be. I've been more frightened at amusement parks. I won't say it wasn't scary, but it wasn't terrible." Her practical outlook aided her attitude. "Once you get out there's nowhere to go but down," she said. "They do it every day." Although Doyle had heart surgery six years ago, her biggest concern about the jump was breaking a bone- especially her hip. But Doyle knew she was in good hands with her son-in-law, especially after her daughter and Phillip's wife, Ellen Doyle Phillips, M.D., threatened him that if anything happened to her mother she'd kill him. Another of Doyle's daughters, Amy, and her husband, David Emerson, M.D., also made tandem dives with Phillips that day. Doyle said she didn't have the opportunity to skydive when she was younger, although she had seen it on television and thought it would be fun. She "guesses" it's the most risky thing she's ever done, and something her deceased husband would not have approved. Doyle is the widow of Dr. James Doyle of Eufaula. "He would have said, 'you're not going to do that,'" she said. "He was more cautious. He would have thought it was crazy." Doyle is far from being the oldest person on record to skydive, but with the newfound enthusiasm she has for the sport, a record could be in her future. "I definitely would consider doing it again," she said. "I would recommend it (skydiving) to any adult." Doyle's jump, as well as her attitude, impressed her son-in-law. "I've never met anyone quite like Cherry," Phillips said. "She is the most outgoing, determined, optimistic and cheerful person I know. I think very highly of her. I don't think she'll ever get old.

Skydivers will soon have a new way to improve their canopy flying skills. Members of the Performance Designs Factory Swoop Team and Skydive DeLand's Freedom of Flight Canopy School have joined together to create a new coaching project called Flight-1. The group will hold a series of canopy flight camps at Skydive DeLand beginning in February of 2004. The project is being lead by Shannon Pilcher, Ian Bobo, and Scott Miller. Pilcher and Bobo are members of the PD Factory Swoop Team, and Miller is the Freedom of Flight Canopy School's Course Director. PD Factory Team members Heath Richardson, Jay Moledzky, and Francisco Neri will also participate, along with Freedom of Flight coach Jimmy Tranter. Jumpers who attend Flight-1 Canopy Camps will make approximately fifteen jumps over three days, with classroom training and video debriefing sessions. Novice, intermediate, and advanced canopy pilots are all welcome to attend. The participants will be divided into groups based on their current skills, their experience levels, and the specific canopy skills they wish to develop. A separate coach will be assigned to each group. At the beginning of each camp the coaches will focus on developing "core" skills that form the foundation for the more advanced skills practiced later in the camp. The members of Flight-1 bring an impressive combination of skill and experience to the project. Heath Richardson won 1st place at six different PST and Red Bull swoop meets this year, and finished in the top five at four other competitions. Jay Moledzky finished in 2nd place at five different meets, and together with Richardson earned 1st place finishes at three team events. Ian Bobo won 3rd place in the Speed and Distance events at this year's IPC World Cup of Canopy Piloting in Perris Valley, and also finished 3rd overall at the meet. He finished in 1st place at the Red Bull Wings Qualifier at Skydive New England in July. Bobo also has extensive CRW experience, and was a participant in the 1994 World Record 47-Way Canopy Formation. Shannon Pilcher finished 2nd at the Red Bull swooping finals in Cleveland this past August, and won 3rd overall at this year's SkyQuest Fantasy Swoop in Florida. He still holds the official swooping distance record of 418 feet, set during a Pro Blade Tour competition at Perris Valley in 2002. Bobo and Pilcher are both accomplished Formation Skydiving coaches and competitors in addition to their achievements under canopy, and are experienced canopy coaches as well. Scott Miller opened the Canopy School at Skydive DeLand in 1999, and later joined with Jimmy Tranter and a group of DeLand's freefly coaches to form the Freedom of Flight School. The school has an impressive record of helping jumpers overcome problems with their canopy flying skills. In addition to running the school in DeLand, Miller has held over 25 canopy skills camps at other drop zones in the US and Europe during the last two years. He also spent five years working as PD's chief test jumper. The Flight-1 team is initially focusing on the first series of camps, and will continue their individual coaching and skydiving activities outside of Flight-1. However, they believe Flight-1 has tremendous potential to expand in the future. Flight-1 hopes to create an unparalleled coaching program that can meet the needs of canopy pilots across the entire range of skill and experience levels. They believe these camps will appeal to novice jumpers who are looking to develop good basic flying techniques, advanced jumpers who want to practice competition-level high performance landings, and anyone in between. For more information visit www.flight-1.com or phone Skydive DeLand at (386) 738-3539.

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.

Performance Designs has released safety information regarding control systems and related issues that may result in malfunctions. The text below is the conclusion from that paper. For a more detailed discussion go to the education section on the PD web site and click on the article "Control Systems Malfunctions Information Sheet". Research ConclusionSetting a canopy’s deployment brakes correctly, which includes the proper stowing of the excess steering line, is an important part of the packing process. Failing to do this correctly may cause a control system malfunction or other type of equipment malfunction. Every time you deploy a canopy you must make sure it is fully controllable, with no unusual friction, binding, or drag on the control system. You must perform this check at a high enough altitude to allow the use of proper emergency procedures if necessary. Many jumpers do not perform control checks on every jump, and some even wait to release their brakes until they reach a fairly low altitude. If you do not perform a full controllability check after opening, or if you wait to reach lower altitudes before releasing your brakes, you may not discover a control problem in time to respond correctly. If you need to let go of your toggles in flight after releasing the brakes, you should place them on the risers against the guide rings before releasing them from your hands. Letting go of the toggles suddenly while they are pulled away from the guide rings may allow the toggles or steering lines to entangle with part of the riser assembly or some other object. A misrouted steering line, entangled steering line, or any other type of problem involving the control system may severely limit your ability to control the canopy and should be considered a serious, life-threatening malfunction. As with any malfunction, you must follow proper emergency procedures if you experience this situation. Jumpers have been severely injured and killed while attempting to land canopies with malfunctioning control systems. Even if you are using a canopy size or wing loading that is considered “conservative,” you may be severely injured or killed if you attempt to land a canopy that you cannot fully control. You should understand how to properly use every component of your parachute system, and understand any instructions, manuals, or other information supplied by the manufacturer. If you have any questions about a particular component of your parachute system, seek the advice of a qualified rigger or contact the manufacturer. If you have any questions concerning canopy deployment, canopy control, or emergency procedures, ask a qualified instructor for assistance. Download the Information Sheet Performance Designs Education Section

Relative Workshop would like to thank everyone that entered the essay contest. We would like to congratulate the runner-ups for their entries; SSG Brian Heft, Maggie Downs, and Al King. A big congratulations goes out to Ben Liston for his winning essay and the recipient of the free Vector. Ben's essay is posted below. Why I Want to Jump a VectorI still own the first rig I ever bought: a Vector II. My friends and I refer to it as "Old Blue" and it has taken me through each license, to my first gold medal (Collegiate Nationals 1996), through countless video and coach jumps, and traveled with me around the world. When I was jumping in other countries, the language barrier was sometimes tough to get through, but gear checks were never a problem. I remember a moment in Italy when I sensed that the locals were a bit skeptical of me, but after I pulled out "Old Blue," the owner of the DZ nodded at my rig, went into the hanger, and emerged with his own Vector. In broken English, he turned me and said, "Okay, we jump." It turned out to be an incredible day of 8-way, pasta, and wine. This is just one of many times I’ve been glad to have a Vector. Whether I was jumping over the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, or filming my best friend’s first AFF jump, the rig has never let me down. As a rigger, I’ve always appreciated the craftsmanship, functionality, and clean lines of Vector rigs. I like that every feature of the rig is well designed and constructed with precision. For instance, the main pilot chute’s support tape is sewn at a 45-degree angle to mesh. Sure, it would be easier to sew it in line with the mesh, but the Relative Workshop sews it to minimize the stretch and increase the pilot chute’s efficiency. There is also simplicity and ingenuity in the reserve system. I don’t know why every manufacturer doesn’t use reserve pilot chutes that create drag regardless of the angle from which they are launched and springs strong enough to clear burbles and find clean air, but I’m glad The Relative Workshop does. Packing reserves into some containers is more like a wrestling match. With Vectors, the free-bag and pilot chute close into the container cleanly, exactly as they are going to leave it if they need to be used. Every time I pack up a Micron or M-Series for one of my customers, it’s hard to give it back. I want one of my own. Most importantly, Vector Microns are safe. I appreciate that Vector rigs are designed to be as snag free as possible, that the riser covers will stay closed in freefall, and that both the main and reserve containers stay closed until the handles are pulled. It’s also comforting to know that the cut-away system is made to the standards of the original inventor and that no creative liberties have been taken with this crucial aspect of the rig. From hard housing riser inserts to pin protection, the Vector Micron and M-Series are clearly the harness/container systems that all others are measured against. Yes, there are other manufactures out there, but in a sport that has a zero tolerance for error, I want the best. On top of all of this, I want to jump a rig made by a company that stands behind its products and provides great customer service. Every interaction I’ve had with The Relative Workshop has been outstanding. Whether during a visit to the factory or getting technical assistance over the phone, everyone at the company is professional, friendly, and knowledgeable. I’m at a point where I’m ready to take my skydiving to the next level and I know a Vector Micron can help get me there. The ergonomic harness will give me the mobility to perform my best in freefall and keep me comfortable under canopy, and the design innovations will keep me safe. I work in education and whether I’m training hard, or supplementing my "four-way fund" by doing video or coach jumps, I want a Vector on my back every time I get on the plane. Skydiving is changing, and while "Old Blue" needs a replacement, I won’t let it be anything but a Micron. The Relative Workshop makes the most dependable container in the world, so the question isn’t really "Why do I want to jump a Vector?" but rather "Why would I jump anything else?"

There's only so much real estate on or around your head for camera gear. The average Joe/Jane tandem camera person will fly a helmet with a 35 mm SLR and a miniDV video camera. Each camera can be mounted any number of ways, but the sum total of their weights is still enough to make your neck tired. The more advanced camera flyers involved in record jumps, night jumps, etc. are attaching more equipment in addition to the usual video and still cameras, such as lights and battery packs. Suddenly, the weight of the helmet goes from 5 or 6 pounds to 15 or 20 pounds. Aside from all the weight issues, there are the dozens of stories of snag incidents. The more junk you bolt to your melon, the more your chances increase for a line snag. It's pretty cool to see an expert camera flyer with a finely configured helmet, but it's still scary to see the number of potential snag hazards and the amount weight balanced on that camera flyer's neck. Enter the "lipstick" or "bullet" camera. The bullet camera is simply the imaging sensor of a standard video camera mounted inside a groovy little metal tube. It has a lens at one end and a cable at the other. Most of the models available are only 50 to 70 mm in length and roughly the diameter of a nickel. Nowadays, the picture quality is basically equivalent to any miniDV consumer camcorder on the market. Some models include the ability to change lenses, filters, and mounting hardware. First, a word on resolution and media (as in, recording media: tapes, DVD's, memory cards, etc.). We won't go into the bits and bytes or the exact specifics, just the general terms and numbers. (If you're a video expert, forgive the simplicity or lack of depth.) The standard format for video storage on today's small camcorders is "miniDV." The newer video recording technologies in camcorders are DVD disks and "microMV" tapes. DVD is great quality, but the jury is still out on whether a DVD camcorder will hold up well in freefall. The microMV tapes are tiny, to say the least, but microMV uses video compression to allow it to store an hour of video on a dinky little tape. The compression in microMV compromises the quality of the picture. The quality of microMV lies somewhere between miniDV and VHS. The miniDV standard stores frames of video at a resolution of 720 pixels by 480 lines. It, too, uses compression to store video, but doesn't sacrifice as much quality as microMV. miniDV is still a great choice overall for skydiving video. It's small and it provides great video quality. Television in the US and some other countries is based on a standard called, "NTSC." NTSC defines a television screen's resolution to have 525 lines from top to bottom (the number of pixels across isn't really an issue here). The closer your camera gets to saving 525 lines of resolution, the more your video will look like a professional or "broadcast" quality picture on an NTSC television. For more details on the standards that define different video formats, do some searching on Google.com. In order to replace your miniDV camcorder, you're going to want a bullet camera that at least matches the resolution and picture quality of your miniDV camera. There are several different resolutions available in bullet cameras. As of the writing of this article, 380 lines and 480 lines are typical. 380-line cameras contain 20% fewer lines of resolution than 480-line cameras. If the picture quality isn't that important to you, you might be interested in a 380-line model. This would be equivalent to a VHS, microMV, or maybe even a Hi8 recording. The ideal camera for the best quality is a camera capable of 480 lines of resolution (matching miniDV). The size of the little image sensor chip in the bullet camera also makes a difference in the clarity of the picture. Many lower resolution cameras use a quarter-inch chip. The better quality 480-line cameras use Sony's new third-inch chip, which is also happens to be capable of very low light and infrared (or "night vision") imaging. The bigger the image sensor, the more accurately it can differentiate between pixels in the picture that's coming through the lens. This equates to better contrast and color in the video. This is precisely why you see bigger lenses and imaging sections on professional cameras. A bigger imaging CCD is just like having more megapixels in the digital still camera world. There are a couple of tiny cameras available specifically for skydiving Ranging in price from $360 to $900 and up, each with their own selection of accessories. The "monkeyKamera," by monkeyKam, is based on Sony's ExView CCD chip and has an imaging resolution of 480 lines. It's the same chip technology found in late model Sony single-chip CCD camcorders. The monkeyKamera starts at $359, according to the web site. The other camera is the "SportsCam" from Mike Swain. The SportsCam is a "board" type mini camera that has a resolution of 380 lines of full color ("board camera" means that the circuitry and lens of the camera head are all mounted on a little circuit board in a little black box). The advertised price for the SportsCam is $899 and up. These tiny cameras weigh no more than 6 or 7 ounces and takes up very little space on your helmet. They add no noticeable weight in freefall. The camera "head" (the bullet or the little black box with the lens) provides a video signal to an RCA-type connector, which is connected to your camcorder's A/V input jack. An extension cable runs up from the camcorder to your helmet. The connector at the collar or base of the helmet allows the cable to break away in case your helmet is lost in action. Your camcorder is usually carried in a belly pouch and run in "VTR" or "VCR" mode. Camera kits typically include the hardware required to rig the camera head to most any helmet. Also included are a battery pack (batteries not included), connectors and cables, and even a pouch for your camcorder (check the manufacturer's web site for what is included in the base camera kit). Any "fanny" pack can be used for your camcorder, but check with the camera manufacturer for any custom built pouches they may offer. For instance, the "monkeyPak" from monkeyKam is a belly pouch that holds your camcorder, batteries, and switches for controlling the camcorder and bullet camera. The monkeyPak is specifically designed to make using your camcorder in a belly mount configuration easier. It gives easy access to the CamEye button and monkeyKamera power button, as well as a clear vinyl window that makes it easy to watch your camcorder's screen without having to remove it from the monkeyPak. The bullet camera requires its own power. Power is usually supplied by a battery pack. Most bullet camera battery packs use 8 AA batteries to provide 12 volts of power to the camera head. In tests, Duracell NiMH rechargeable batteries purchased at a local retail store were used to power the monkeyKamera and were found to last over 10 hours of continuous use! In an average skydive, the camera will probably only be turned on for a few minutes, so a fully charged pack of batteries should last for weeks and weeks, if not months. When flying a bullet camera, there's nothing new to learn, except for your procedures in the airplane. The CamEye is a great tool for controlling the camcorder without having to remove the camcorder from the belly pouch. An LED indicates the status of the camcorder (on, off, or recording). When you're waiting for the door to open, connect your helmet to the belly pouch cable, don the helmet, wake up your camcorder with the CamEye, turn on the bullet camera, wait for the door to open, then click the CamEye button to start recording and zip up your suit. If you wish, you can even rig the CamEye to the outside of your jumpsuit through a button hole (or grommet) OR you can even wear your belly pouch on the outside of your suit. In this author's humble opinion, it's wiser to wear the pouch on the inside of the suit. Less is more on the outside of your suit and around your rig's handles, when it comes to safety. Save your neck! Try a bullet camera and see how comfy freefall video can be. :) monkeyKam Web Site

Two 19-year-old men arrested in connection with the murder of skydiver Stephen Hilder have been released on police bail pending further inquiries. The men, understood to be Adrian Blair and David Mason, were taken into custody by Humberside Police on Wednesday. A force spokesman said both men, who were fellow cadets of Mr Hilder at the Royal Military College of Science, at Shrivenham, Wiltshire, have now been released from custody. Mr Hilder died on July 4 at Hibaldstow airfield, in North Lincolnshire when he fell 13,000ft to his death. Detective Superintendent Colin Andrews, who is leading the murder investigation, said: "We are in consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service and a file of evidence will be sent to them for consideration. "The investigation into Stephen's death does remain ongoing and officers are continuing inquiries. I'm still very keen to speak to people about Stephen's death and urge anyone who knows anything about the circumstances surrounding the events of Friday July 4 to contact me. "It is our belief that somebody out there knows exactly what happened to Stephen and that person must now come forward. I remain confident this case will be solved and the person or people responsible will be brought to justice." Mr Hilder, who was a veteran of dozens of parachute jumps, had been taking part in the National Championships of the British Collegiate Parachute Association when he died. He was part of the same team as Mr Blair and Mr Mason. Incidents Forum

New School Flight camps blend all the major disciplines into to one training session over a four day period. Freefly, Fundamental RW, Tunnel, and Canopy progression camps dedicated to producing a more complete skyjumper. The camp includes 20 videoed coach jumps at The Florida Skydiving Center, one hour of coached wind tunnel time, and 4 nights stay at the Best Western Hotel right across the street from Skyventure, Orlando. A free video is also included. "These camps are perfect for any level. We concentrate on getting better fast and having a lot of fun. We concentrate on flying every surface: belly, back sitfly, head down, and tracking. The camp is a really good way to improve any landing approach you do while working on the rest of the skyjumping game. I supply a one on one coaching atmosphere to make sure the student gets the most out of the camp, " says Medal Winning Head Coach Steven Blincoe. Skyventure has revamped their windtunnel to produce 150 mph wind speeds. Perfect for freeflying. The tunnel went through various other renovations to produce a smoother air colom. The cost of the camps are $2990 and require a deposit. Camps consistently fill up 6 weeks in advance. Feel free to contact Steven Blincoe with any questions, 530-412-2078, [email protected], or blincoe.org. Steven Blincoe has more than 3500 skydives and 150 hours of wind tunnel time. He has coached thousands of students world wide. He is the President and founder of The New School Flight University in Lake Wales Florida.

The SkyVenture wind tunnel in Orlando, Florida, has just finished adding bigger more efficient motors and a host of other improvements that make the world's best vertical wind tunnel even better. During a September 3-16 retrofit, the five 125-horsepower electric motors were replaced with 200 hp units, and the fixed-speed, variable-pitch fans replaced with a fixed-pitch, models mated to variable frequency drives. The result is both a faster and more quickly adjustable airspeed. "We're getting about 150 miles per hour now," says SkyVenture CEO Alan Metni. "This makes for an even more realistic training environment, especially for the freeflyers, and we can now change speed in two or three seconds - compared with ten to fifteen seconds before." A redesigned flight chamber and staging area adds to the tunnel's new efficiency. "The flight chamber staging area now has two doors instead of one," says Brannan Johnson, SkyVenture's director of marketing and product development who also oversees tunnelcamp.com. "Before, when one group came out, the next group had to wait to go inside. Now, there's an entrance door and an exit door, so that bottleneck is eliminated." Johnson says the motor and flight chamber changes, which will be standard on all future SkyVenture tunnels, will benefit both tunnel operators and users. "It will increase the ticketed customer capacity from 24 per hour to 28 per hour," Johnson says, "and jumpers buying time by the hour will get more usable time; they'll be able to get in and out faster, and ask for and get windspeed changes much faster, so they'll end up with more actual flight time per booked flight hour." Another major change is a complete rework of the flight chamber walls, designed to increase both customer and spectator pleasure. "The solid walls and small windows have been almost completely replaced with 9-foot high acrylic panels," says Johnson. "The whole thing is now open, so jumpers in training can watch their teammates more easily. In the Orlando tunnel, the other open sides make it easy for spectators inside the building to see the flight chamber; in the new tunnels, those sides will be visible to outside spectators and pass-by traffic." The final upgrade on the Orlando tunnel is a completely redesigned control room. Gone is the bulky, complicated analog panel, replaced by completely new software, two touch panels and a joystick. "One panel is for general tunnel control," says Johnson, "the other is for camera control during tunnel camps. The joystick is a one-axis unit for very simple control of tunnel wind speed." Metni say the Orlando upgrades raise SkyVenture's offerings to another level. "We've raised the bar again," he says. "This ensures that SkyVenture will not only be the fastest but also the most efficient in the world." Skyventure Web Site Tunnelcamp.com

In the early mornings when most people are still sleeping, one will find Nina and the rest of her teammates making the first load at 5:30 am. This occurs only after a good warm-up and stretching session. I asked Nina how it was she started skydiving. She told me that her family has a vacation home next to a drop zone in Switzerland and when she was a little girl she watched the skydivers. This was back in the day when people were still jumping round canopies. For Nina it was never a question if she actually wanted to skydive, it was matter of time and money. Name: Nina Kuebler Swiss National Team Position: Outside Center First jump: 5/14/91 Jump number: 5000+ Nina's skydiving career started after she completed Medical School in 1991 at the age of 29. Nina says that had she started skydiving earlier in her life it may have taken on a different direction, rather than becoming an orthopedic trauma surgeon. Being one of the few females in a profession dominated primarily by males, served to pave the way for Nina to participate in what is primarily a male dominated sport. It takes the same type of dedication, focus, courage and discipline to become one of the top female skydivers in the world, as it did in surgery. In 1999 Nina started her first year of serious 4way training. During that time she had the opportunity to meet and work with Dawn English and Joey Jones (Generation FX, World Cup Champions 4-way 1998) in Titusville. They served as mentors and were a great inspiration to her both in skydiving, and in her personal life. Nina offers the greatest thing she learned from them was that who she is as a person, was not defined by what she did in her academia career. Nina explains that the difference in Dawn and Joey's teachings was that she did not always understand the directions given by Joey. Dawn would explain the same thing in a different way, which enabled her to perform the movement correctly. Nina offers that perhaps it is because women process information differently than men. In comparison the same holds true in her many years of experience as a trainer of young surgeons. As one who skydives on a daily basis, Nina has the chance to see all kinds of skydivers. It has been her experience that women as a group have more difficulty landing their parachute than any other portion of their skydiving. Nina is quick to mention that this holds true for her as well, and she assumes this is because women fly their canopies with more conservativeness than their male counterparts. She states that many seem to accept the fact that women just are "naturally" unable to land properly. What she has noticed, for example, is that women inherently tend to look at the ground upon landing rather than looking to the horizon. Having given people that simple piece of advice has resulted in immediate improvement. Nina's career as a surgeon took a backseat to skydiving after competing at the world meet 1999 in Corowa. At which time Nina and her teammates decided to actively pursue fulltime skydiving. The team has been training for the most part at Skydive Arizona since October 2000. Team Endeavor is basically self-funded and all have sacrificed home, jobs, finances, and relationships with friends to pursue the skydiving dream. The past 2 years have been particularly successful as the team took on 2 young team members with jump numbers totaling 140 and 800 respectively. These 2 young jumpers had no 4-way experience but with 1,800 training jumps, in addition to the exemplary teachings of Dan Brodsky- Chenfeld, the team finished in first place at the SSL meet held at Lake Elsinore with an average of 20.33 in July 2003. Team Endeavor will participate in the Swiss Nationals slated for August 15-17th 2003, and the World Championship in Gap France Sept. 7-14th 2003. The team will return from the World Championships for a bit of rest and relaxation before taking on new students at Skydive Arizona, the tunnel in Perris Valley as well as Skyventure in Orlando. They will continue to train during this time in hopes of securing yet another gold medal for Switzerland. Nina lives in Eloy and enjoys a simple, uncomplicated life in the desert. She is in hopes of continuing to share her knowledge with others by taking a more active role in coaching individuals and teams.

Derek Vanboeschoten is a Senior Rigger, Tandem Master and AFF instructor with more than 3300 jumps. Derek also moderates the Gear & Rigging forum on Dropzone.com where he first posted this list of Gear Tips. It is republished here for your convenience. Use Performance Design's Slinks for the main and reserve canopies instead of Rapide links. Slinks are stronger, lower bulk, easier to install and remove, and won't damage the slider grommets. Clean cutaway cables every 30 days with Ace Pure Silicone Lubricant, sold at Ace Hardware stores, to keep cutaway pull forces low. Inspect cutaway cables every 30 days and replace nicked or kinked cutaway cables with a new cutaway handle/cables. Flex 3-rings every 30 days to prevent them from taking on a "set" and hanging up during a cutaway. Inspect Rapide links and bumpers or PD Slinks every 30 days. Always use slider bumpers with Rapide links to prevent damage to the slider grommets, "Lock-Tite" to keep the link from loosening, and nail polish to torque-stripe Rapide links. Use metal, capped, and tacked riser inserts for the excess cutaway cables, regardless of main size or type. They prevent difficult or impossible cutaway resulting from the channel "gripping" the cables or from line twists that include the excess cutaway cables. Replace the main closing loop early and often. Adjust main closing loop so that the closing pin is snug. Use a stainless steel washer thick enough that it won't bend when closing the container. Have Velcro replaced every 100-200 uses. Use a kill line pilot chute, regardless of the size/type of main canopy you have. Check the length of your main pilot chute kill line every 30 days. The kill line should have a little slack in it when the pilot chute is "cocked" and the bridle is under tension. If it doesn't, have it fixed. Replace a damaged or old kill line pilot chute with a new one. "Cock" a kill line PC after laying the cocooned canopy on the ground and just before putting the canopy in the deployment bag. Take the twists out of steering lines every jump or, at a minimum, after the last jump of the day. When setting the brakes, set them so that the steering line is to the inside (between the risers) and the excess is to the outside. This will put the excess to the bottom of the riser channels, helping to protect the excess steering line. Keep gear out of the sun as much as possible. Use Velcro-less toggles/risers. Velcro requires replacement every 100-200 uses, and Velcro damages the steering lines, risers and anything else it comes into contact with. Replace mini-risers every 500 jumps or less. Inspect them every 30 days for wear. While packing, check your line trim every 30 days or less. When new, all the "A" lines are the same length (on 'most' canopies, check with the manufacturer). Spectra shrinks from the heat from friction with the slider grommets, pulling the canopy out of trim. Pay special attention to steering/control lines. Replace line sets that are significantly worn or out of trim. Use the proper size rubber bands, 'Sky Bands', or 'Tube Stows' and do not double wrap them. Have your rig washed every 500 jumps or so, more if jumping in a sandy or salt-water environment. What to do After Landing Your Reserve:First, place the toggles back on the Velcro. This will prevent the hook half of the Velcro from damaging the lines. Second, daisy chain the lines. Use the slider to keep the daisy chain from unraveling. This will keep the lines neat and untangled. If you have an RSL, remove it from your main canopy and re-mate the Velcro to keep the hook Velcro from damaging your gear. Be very careful with the canopy. Get it out of the sunlight and into a large plastic garbage bag and then into your gear bag. Be careful when zipping the gear bag shut to not get any fabric caught in the zipper. As long as it is clean, put the reserve pilot chute and free-bag in the center of your rolled up reserve. This will protect the spring inside the reserve pilot chute from damage. Do not take the main canopy off of the risers to untangle it. It got tangled on the risers, it will come untangled on the risers. Taking the canopy off the risers, or worse, the lines off the links, will only make the job of re-assembling the main more difficult. Put the cut away cables and reserve ripcord back into their housings and the handles back in their pockets. This will prevent any dirt on the cables from getting on the reserve or the Velcro from damaging lines, the container, or the reserve. If you lost one, or both handles, order them and have them shipped to your rigger. Also, if the free-bag and reserve pilot chute was lost, order a new one and have it shipped to the rigger. Make sure when ordering handles or free-bag to order the correct size for your harness/container. In the gear bag, put a card with your name, address, phone number(s), and any special instructions, such as "install/replace soft links", "wash the container", "remove/install RSL", "I need the rig by this weekend", etc. If you have a Cypres, check your reserve packing data card to see when the scheduled maintenance and 2 year battery replacements are due. If the maintenance is due (4 and 8 years +/- 3 months (+/- 6 months for Cypres "2") from DOM), make arrangements with your rigger to ship the unit or have your rigger remove it and ship it yourself (your rigger will need the original Cypres box to ship it). If your batteries are due (two years since installation for the Cypres1), check with your rigger to see if they have new batteries or if they will need to be ordered. The batteries will have to be replaced if there is less than four months remaining in the two-year cycle, for a Cypres "1". Cypres2 batteries are replaced at the 4 and 8 year maintenance by the factory. Gear & Rigging Forum

Six Germans have been killed when two small aircraft collided in clear skies over the southern German state of Bavaria, police said. The crash involved a one-man glider and a Cessna plane with a pilot and four passengers who were planning to do tandem parachute jumps, a police spokesman said. The wreckage of the two aircraft landed in a corn field just outside the rural town of Lechsend, near Donauwoerth north of Munich. The Cessna was burning on the ground and extinguished by firefighters. "All we know at this point is that the two aircraft crashed into each other in mid-air," police spokesman Josef Bauer said. "The wreckage landed in a field just outside of the town. Luckily no one on the ground was hurt." The collision occurred shortly after 12:00 GMT. The victims, five men and one woman, were aged between 21 and 52. The plane was carrying four passengers, including the one woman, who were planning to do parachute jumps. Both aircraft, which were completely destroyed on impact with the ground, had taken off from nearby air fields. "We don't know at what altitude the accident happened," Mr Bauer said when asked about a local television news report saying the crash happened at an altitude of 1,200 metres. He said the skies were clear and visibility was unlimited on a warm summer afternoon. A Reuters photographer at the scene said wreckage was strewn several hundred metres across the field. Police said criminal investigators were at the scene and trying to determine the cause of the crash.

We are extremely happy to announce that Mr. Edward Anderson, better known as Bushman, is to join the Aerodyne group to become Chief of Operations (COO) of Aerodyne Research Inc, our subsidiary in Florida, USA. In this position Bushman will manage the North and South American sales operations and head the worldwide marketing team. Until recently Bushman was employed as Marketing Director by Performance Designs and has extensive experience in the parachute industry. He has represented Performance Designs for 14 years in various positions and has been based in many countries on various continents. Through his contacts with skydivers around the world he has built himself a strong reputation and won the respect of many business partners and will bring that with him to the Aerodyne Group "I am proud and excited to join Aerodyne and I feel this is an opportunity for me to take on new challenges and utilize the skills I have acquired over the years," said Bushman. "Aerodyne has great ambitions and I plan to contribute in every way I can to make them a reality." Originally from South Africa and holding a Swedish passport and US permanent residence, Bushman now joins an equally international team of long time parachute professionals. Aerodyne International is a newly formed group operating sales hubs in Europe, North America and South Africa, as well as 3 factories. Since the new Aerodyne went public at the PIA Symposium in last January, we managed to launch the Solo, Pilot, Vision and Amax 9-cell main canopies as well as the Smart reserve. Effective immediately, we are also taking orders for the Icon harness-container system. For more information about Aerodyne and our products please go to www.aerodyne-int.com

Russell Jackson from Preyor Pins recently launched a new closing pin necklace design especially for the Dropzone.com community. This small new company makes a beautiful line of quality skydiving jewelry. You can now order your Dropzone.com closing pin necklace straight off their web site. When you order the Dropzone.com piece, reference the coupon code "DZCOM" and it will give 4 dollars off the set price of $28.00 Russell says: When starting out on the first design and team lines, I wanted to be absolutely assured that they were the best quality and most unique beads from around the world, finest Greek leather, first quality components, .925 silver, best quality fresh water pearls, and of course authentic parachute parts. That each of the pieces has great wearability, were jump safe and durable. As my Mom says: "We are proud of our quality and innovation in the design and production of our jewelry." I wanted first and foremost that each of the pieces "represented", and that they conveyed the expressiveness that all skydivers do in the air and on the ground. that the individuality and commonality that we all share can be easily seen by all. My day job is an Executive Chef in San Francisco, so I live by the creed of "Service, first and foremost", that ultimately we are here for you. I believe in my Mom, I believe in my skydiving family and will always look out for your best interest and be there to serve your fasionata needs. "Represent" with Preyor Pins. Preyor Pins web site Dropzone.com piece

"Tuesday. I'm going to jump on Tuesday. If the weather holds, that is." Like a teenager, Arthur Stapler's voice cracks with excitement. "It's been a bad spring and early summer here," he chats on, "lots of rain and clouds. I would have done it sooner, but they had a record or something they wanted to get. So Tuesday I will do this. If the weather plays nice." View Rebel's Photo Gallery View Rebel's Video ~19MB!Arthur, known as "Rebel" for reasons which are perfectly clear once you know him, has Multiple Sclerosis . MS is a neurological auto-immune disease which attacks the brain, and disrupts the timely and smooth flow of the nerve ends by destroying the myelin sheath. Diagnosed on his 21st birthday, Rebel completed college, pledged a frat house (ask him about his egg story someday!), married, divorced, married again, and has had 2 separate careers, both as a VP of an automobile dealership and in textiles. Now, Rebel's MS has progressed to the point where he is completely reliant on a powered wheelchair. He still has, however, limited use of his right hand. He's used that hand to reach out and grab his dream of bodyflight. He's going skydiving. "Ever since I was a little boy, I wanted to fly. So I went hunting for a picture of skydiving to put onto my computer, to look at sometimes. Did a google search. Up popped Dropzone.com, and I was sucked in. Like a tornado, but good." He laughs. "All I originally wanted was a picture, and look what happened." Rebel researched dropzones, settling on CrossKeys in Williamstown, NJ. He called them, and talked to them about the possibility of him making a tandem skydive. Without announcing it to family or friends, he arranged possible dates and times, and coordinated with a few conspiring aides to assist him in finding the sky. As the day neared, he sent out invitations to family and friends. He was getting excited, he said, glued to the weather stations and planning. If it wasn't going to be Tuesday, it was going to be shortly thereafter. He was going to fly. His sister Marci said she thought he was crazy at first, and then, "why not? Why not?? I had no real questions about it, I didn't really think about it, I figured the details will come as we go. At first, I didn't even realize it was going to be tandem. I just knew if he wanted it, it was going to happen. That's Arthur. And that's wonderful." It was clear on Tuesday. Beautiful, blue, midsummer day. Rebel didn't tell anyone at his assisted care facility where he was going (they thought he was at the doctors). Rebel packed up and went out of state to CrossKeys. And pulling up at the dropzone was, he said, "interesting." Having never been to a dropzone, he was immediately aware of "the vibe", that feeling of barely suppressed excitement, of manageable exuberance. Amy, his little sister, was there. "My brother became my hero a few years ago, and continues to be so. This is just typical of him. He decides to do something, and then just goes and does it. He sees everything as a surmountable challenge for him. There's nothing he can't do when he decides to do it." Connecting with Tandem Instructor Range Luda, who has lots of experience in bringing physically challenged folk into the sky, Rebel knew he was going with a master. Nothing to stop him now, nothing at all. It was happening. And he felt great. Getting him into the jumpsuit was accomplished, and then Rebel says "I didn't know what to expect next. And man, I was surprised." A specially designed harness was brought out. It strapped the legs together, and immobilized the arms across chest, along with attachment points for the tandem master. "Well, now I know what bondage is. I was looking for ladies in high heels and leather, but they didn't show." He laughed. "I'm kinda glad they didn't, either." Trussed like the family Thanksgiving turkey, Arthur was on his way. Back into the wheelchair, and down the dropzone into the loading area. There sat the 208, waiting. Inviting him into the sky. Motors thrumming, loaded, ready to go. He was going to skydive. First out means last in, and so he got a door seat for his first jump. He recalls wondering if they would shut the door, but distinctly remembers not being nervous. Feeling the anticipation, sure, but not nervous. During the climb to altitude, sitting on the floor with his tandem master behind him, he feels the bindings regularly tighten on the harness, hears slight snicks as the attachments are fastened. He is attached, and ready to go. "Here I am, in a plane, going 2 1/2 miles into the sky, with a bunch of people I have never met, doing something most people never do, and I wasn't nervous. Not one bead of sweat appeared, not one flutter in my stomach. Everyone on that plane was laughing, cheering. I didn't know what to think, what to expect. I was there, though, and that was what mattered. I was going to skydive." Rebel's voice takes on a hint of concern, however. "After awhile, people got quiet, and then started moving around. I thought 'What? Did the engine die or something?' And then a red light went on. They opened the door. I could see the sky. It was huge. And then the light went green. Goggles were put onto my face. We scooched over to the door so my legs dangled over the edge. And then Range asked me if I was ready to skydive. I nodded." With a rocking motion, they slipped from the edge of the door, and out into the blue. Out into the world they flew, no thought, no fear. "We dropped out, and I looked down, and God's honest truth, I only realized I wasn't in the plane was when I saw Erik (the videographer) in front of me." Wonder creeps into his voice. It lowers almost to a whisper. "I'm there. In the sky." Awed. Amazed. And then he recalls thinking "What was everyone telling me about breathing for? I don't have any problem." "I remember feeling weightless," he says, "when I'm sitting in my chair, I'm 134 dead weight. When I was there, I was gliding. I felt weightless. I felt so comfortable, so intense. So peaceful." Merging into the sky, Rebel was free. As they soared and flew through the day, the videographer with them, Rebel knew of the overwhelming bigness of the sky in a way not known to most. "It was so huge, so beautiful, so peaceful", he recalls. "I was outside of the plane - I was in the sky, I was immersed, inside something, blended into something. I knew Range was there, I knew Erik was there, but I was alone. And I was free." Rebel does not remember the canopy opening very clearly. "Poof, soft, and then we could talk. All I could say was 'I want to go again' ". As they danced through the sky under a Strong tandem, Rebel was absorbing everything. "I remember thinking this is what the birds see. I see it like the birds do now. I've looked out of a plane window before, and that is nothing compared to what I saw. Nothing." "I had no concept of time. Forever and too short. I felt just wonderful. It was like a 7 minute orgasm," he laughs, "but free, weightless." Range took him through several spirals, and sliced through the day dancing especially for Rebel. And as they descended, Rebel was grinning. On final approach, Rebel saw his family and friends coming out towards his landing spot. And the landing was absolutely perfect. "It was like a kid playing jacks - soft, mellow, easy." It was over. Rebel recalls "it was like when you go on a rollercoaster, and can sit in the seat and just hand the guy another ticket to go 'round again. I was looking for the ticket guy, but he wasn't there." He received the log entry, his certificate, and bumperstickers. After getting out of his harness and jumpsuit, everyone went over and watched the video on the big screen. "They were giving me hugs," Rebel chuckles. "The President didn't get these hugs. The guy who jumped with the dog didn't get it. I got a lot of love from everyone." Jumpers on his load, other jumpers and dz'ers who were just there, all came over and high-fived him, shook his hand, or hugged him. He was surrounded with the vibe of skydivers; he was now, too, a skydiver. He doesn't know all these people, he says, but he doesn't have to. He felt the love. "I am carrying his pictures around," says his father Michael. "I'm like a Pop with Little League. Everyone has to see them. They show a man who is happy with his life right now, and has something to live for. Arthur is a risk taker but this is a different kind of risk. Not many people...would think of skydiving, but Arthur? Well, that's him. I am very proud." Amy, his little sister, said she was never nervous. "Arthur is my big brother. He does what he says he will. If it takes a bit longer, fine, whatever." Arthur's voice has a quietness, an almost factual insistence, a sureness to it. "What I did today was something which proved that people with disability or illness, whatever physical challenge, can do anything they really want to do. If they want to sit around and be pissed off, cry 'why me', so be it. I am not going to do that; I have never have done it. I have skied on quad skis, I have biked on a tricycle, I am maybe going to get to drive a race car. Now I fly, too. And I am going to do it again." His voice intensifies, if that's possible. "I have learned to make things accessible. I learned how to find answers. If I can't do it now, I'll figure a way to do it later...I learned to realize I could do a lot of things. This was something huge, something important, this skydive. And I did it." "Look, I think of "MS" as two letters. Mighty Special. I can offer people a lot of things. There is someone beyond the wheelchair, beyond the person who can't get up. I can offer many things. I can listen, I can give, I gotta lot of love inside me. MS is only 2 letters. There are 24 other letters left. And I'm busy using those, too." Arthur is still processing the jump, days later. I speak with him, and hear the ecstasy in his voice. "Hey. Tell me again. Why do you want to jump out of a plane?" "Because I can." Yes, Rebel, you can. Special thanks to the folks at CrossKeys: Range Luda - Tandem Instructor Paul Eriksmoen - videographer Lauren Demme- Manifest Jonathan Gordon (Jonno) - Pilot Glenn Bangs- Drop Zone Manager> For more information about Multiple Sclerosis, please go here: National Multiple Sclerosis Society

You just landed after throwing a double gainer from a cliff in Moab. Adrenaline surges through your system as you think of the amazing visuals you just saw. As you gather up your canopy, you pause to watch the next jumper exit. After a short delay, he tosses his pilot chute and the canopy deploys offheading. He takes evasive measures but the strikes the wall repeatedly. After finally getting the canopy turned away from the cliff, he lands hard on the talus and tumbles to a stop thirty feet below and doesn't move… Now the real adrenaline kicks in. What do you do? Download this Article IntroductionThe scenario above is a severe one, but all too possible. In the hazardous environment we know as BASE jumping, we often place ourselves in situations which may result in our injury or death. Due to the inherent risk involved with this activity, every time we jump there is a possibility that something will go wrong. Fortunately, the most common BASE injuries are relatively minor and having a basic knowledge of first aid can help dramatically. With immediate care you can reduce the lasting effects of many injuries, and the time it takes to recover. Another goal is to improve the comfort level of the injured. The scene of an accident is not the place to be thinking about learning lifesaving skills. Preparing yourself ahead of time will make you a more confident jumper and knowing your partners have the same skills will go a long way if you yourself happen to be the one needing help. For the purposes of this paper, I have tried to explain thing in layman's terms wherever possible and assume that you have taken a basic CPR course. (Call the American Red Cross or go to www.redcross.org.) 3 Assessment This is where you size up the situation and the extent of the jumpers injuries. This is a process you will use for serious injuries. Your basic assessment should take about one minute. Not slow enough to waste valuable time, but not so fast that you miss important signs. Your minute will be divided into two phases: the Primary survey or ABC' s (15 seconds), and the Secondary survey (45 seconds). Primary: Establishing the severity of the situation. Make the scene as safe as possible. Move anything that may be a risk to you or the injured and get hysterical people out of the area. Send someone for help. Airway. Make the jumper has an airway. If they can talk to you, they have an airway. If not, check yourself. Use the head tilt/chin lift or a jaw thrust. (These techniques can be learned in a basic CPR course.) Breathing. Are they breathing? Put your ear to their mouth/nose area and look for the chest to rise and fall. If no breathing, revert to your CPR training. Circulation. Do they have a pulse? If not, start CPR. Is there profuse bleeding? Deformity. Are there obvious injuries? Expose. Weather conditions permitting, remove the clothes of the jumper (cut preferably) and cover with blankets as needed. Hypothermia is a possibility now and you need to be aware that the jumper may go into shock.Secondary: Eyes, ears, nose, and mouth:a.Eyes; in sunlight, cover the eyes then uncover them and see if the pupils react. At night use a light to check. b.Ears; is there any fluid coming out? Don't try to stop drainage. c.Nose; any bleeding? d.Mouth; look for blood or broken teeth. Teeth can be a choking hazard so remove loose, broken pieces. Neck: Can you see any obvious deformities? Chest: Can you see any section of the chest that moves opposite the rest when the patient breathes? (Broken ribs) Is there any tenderness? Abdomen: Is there any tenderness or does the abdomen seem more rigid than normal? (Internal bleeding) Are they trying to keep you from touching them? Pelvis: Any tenderness? Can you feel bones rubbing or grinding? Someone with a broken pelvis will sometimes feel like they're, "falling apart." Arms: Do you see any obvious fractures? Can you feel any bones grinding? Can you feel a pulse in the wrist? Check circulation by pressing on the fingernails and seeing how fast they get red underneath. Try this on yourself for a comparison. Can they feel you touching their hands? Can they move their arms? Have them squeeze both of your hands at the same time and feel if one side is weak. Legs: Do you see any obvious fractures? Can you feel bones grinding? Can you feel a pulse behind the ankle? (Check behind the big ball on the inside of the ankle.) Check the nail beds. Can they feel your touch? Can they wiggle their toes?By now, you should have an overall impression of how severe the jumpers' injuries might be. Now you can plan the best course of action for the rescue efforts. Redo this assessment every 3-5 minutes until EMS personnel take over. Be sure to report these findings to EMS personnel as it will provide useful information to them.For a quick set of field vital signs: Check the pulse and count beats per minute. Approximate blood pressure can be obtained without a stethoscope or BP cuff. A cool trick: If you can feel a wrist pulse, the systolic pressure is about 80. If you can feel a pulse on the inside of the arm where the bicep and tricep meet, it's about 70. If you can only feel it in the neck, it's about 60. Check breaths per minute.This may not mean much to you but if you can provide EMS workers with a sheet of vital signs detailing every five minutes in the past half hour, it can increase your friends' odds of surviving. This is because it shows the "trend" of vital signs and can give valuable clues about the condition of the jumper. ShockShock can have several different causes but the likely causes in our situations would be trauma to the nervous system, or loss of blood. Shock occurs when tissues and vital organs are not getting enough oxygen from the bloodstream. Symptoms of shock include: Pale, cool, clammy skin Restlessness Nausea/vomiting Rapid breathing Drop in blood pressureThe first step in treating shock is to stop blood loss. Then, cover the jumper with a blanket. As long as injuries don't prevent you from doing so, elevate the feet about 8-10 inches over the heart. They may get thirsty but try not to give anything to eat or drink. If there may be a long delay until help arrives, you can give small amounts of water at room temperature. Even if a jumper doesn't display symptoms of shock, treat for shock anyway. They might not be in shock yet. BleedingThere are three types of bleeding: capillary, veinous, and arterial. Capillary bleeding is the oozing blood you see when you skin your knee. It is minor and not life threatening. Veinous bleeding is blood from a vein. It is dark red and flows out of the wound. Arterial bleeding is pretty obvious since there will usually be an arc of bright red blood spurting out of the body. Arteries carry lots of blood and arterial blood loss can be immediately life threatening. Stop the bleeding: Apply pressure directly over the wound. If you have a clean dressing, use it. If you don't have something sterile, use what you have. A shirt or towel will work. If the wound gets dirty, we can treat it with antibiotics later. If direct pressure fails to stop the bleeding, combine direct pressure with elevating the wound over the heart. If the bleeding still hasn't stopped, apply direct pressure to a pressure point. There are eleven pressure points on each side of the body. If all else has failed, use a tourniquet. The decision to use a tourniquet is a serious one. This will completely stop the blood supply to the extremity involved and may result in that limb being amputated. Use it in a life or death situation. To apply a tourniquet:a.Wrap a band around the limb. Preferably, use something flat and at least one finger wide. A strap from a stashbag will work. b.Tie it in a knot around the limb. c.Lay a stick or similar object directly on the knot and tie another knot over it. d.Twist the stick to tighten the band. Twist it until the bleeding stops. e.Tie the stick in position. Record what time you applied the tourniquet and once it's on, DO NOT remove it. Femur FracturesThe femur is the long bone between your hip and knee. Alongside your femur, lies the femoral artery. The femoral is one of the largest arteries in your body and cutting it can result in bleeding to death very rapidly. For this reason, proper attention to femur fractures is extremely important. Fortunately, the femur is a serious chunk of bone so it takes a lot of force to fracture it.If you suspect that the jumper has a femur fracture, you must not let them attempt to walk on it! After the thigh is injured, the muscles will spasm. If the femur isn't there to support the muscle, the sharp bone ends can cut muscle tissue, nerves, and the femoral artery. The way to prevent this is to apply traction in the long axis of the bone. The easiest method of applying traction is to use a traction splint. (The Kendrick traction splint™ is a very BASE friendly item to have. It costs about $100 and folds into a pouch that will fit inside a hip pouch or cargo pocket. If you were sitting there with a femur fracture I could offer you one for a couple thousand dollars and you'd accept.) To apply traction, pull straight on the ankle. Imagine trying to stretch the leg and make it longer. You will need to keep constant traction until an actual traction splint is available. It is very important that you never let up the tension or else serious damage may result. If the shoe comes off, the resulting rebound will be excruciating and bad things will happen. For this reason, remove the shoe on the broken leg. The jumper won't be walking anyway. SplintingSplinting is not really a science. When a bone breaks, the ends are usually very sharp. When these sharp edges move around, you can damage muscle tissue, nerves, and blood vessels. In order to prevent this, you splint the affected bone to immobilize it. Sometimes, you use whatever is available. There are two classifications of fractures, closed fractures and open fractures. Closed fractures include any fracture where the bone does not break the skin. In such instances, proper treatment includes immobilizing the fracture and seeking medical attention. Open fractures occur when a bone breaks through the skin. Signs of a fracture include: A bone end sticking out of the body, A grinding feeling at the site of the suspected fracture, Deformity of the limb, Loss of ability to move the limb, Loss of pulse or sensation, Muscle spasms.Your first step in treating a possible fracture is to stop and take a deep breath. Few fractures are life threatening unless they are mishandled. If there's no apparent life threatening injury, the best approach is a slow methodical one. Cut away clothing from the area and control any bleeding. If you find an open fracture, treat it like any other wound. Generally, you don't want to attempt to straighten out a broken limb. Don't try to realign the bones yourself. There are exceptions to this. If the limb has no pulse or is losing color, you may need to reduce the angle of the fracture to restore circulation. If you need to transport the jumper over rough terrain, a limb sticking out to the side will make things difficult. In these situations, not splinting would be more dangerous. IF YOU DECIDE TO ADJUST A FRACTURE, keep in mind that the sharp end can do major damage to the surrounding tissues so limit movement as much as possible. Also, have someone hold the jumpers arms so you don't catch a right hook. The goal in splinting is to immobilize the bone that is broken. You should try to immobilize the joint above and below the fracture. Find something to use as a splint. Most sites where we jump are in wooded areas so there is usually a variety of sticks and branches to choose from. If possible, pad the splinting materials with a towel or shirt to take up the space between the limb and the splint. This will also improve the comfort of the jumper. Use your imagination and you can usually come up with a splint for most fractures. Forearms can be fractured when you try to catch yourself during a less-than-graceful landing. Fractured forearms should be splinted with a natural curl of the fingers. Place a roll of gauze, or something similar in the palm of the hand. This will go a long way to improve comfort. If you suspect fractured ribs, you can pad the chest and gently wrap it. Placing the arm on the affected side into a sling helps. Try so calm the jumper and have them sit down until help arrives. Limit movement since a fractured rib can puncture a lung. If you suspect a skull fracture, DO NOT place pressure on the head. Monitor level of consciousness and do not give morphine! Joint injuriesDamaging joints is a constant threat to BASE jumpers. Ankles are the most frequently injured joints skydiving, BASE jumping, and most sports. There's a saying that goes, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." This applies to us because it is pretty easy to reduce the number of ankle injuries. Wearing an ankle brace is an easy and effective measure to prevent hurting your ankles in a sketchy landing. They're available at any sporting goods store. A simple low-grade sprain can keep you grounded for a weekend. A serious sprain can keep you from jumping for a year or longer. If you break a bone, it will usually heal stronger than it was before you fractured it. Ligaments, tendons, and other soft tissues may never completely recover from injuries. Ask anyone who's been jumping for a few years. If a jumper injures a joint in the field to the point that it will not bear bodyweight, you should treat it as a fracture until an x-ray can prove otherwise. Splint it and proceed to the nearest hospital for evaluation. All Sprains can be treated with the acronym, R.I.C.E. Rest: stay off the affected joint and give it time to heal. Ice: apply ice, cold packs or frozen vegetables to the joint. Peas work well because they will conform to the shape of the joint. Just don't eat them after several freeze/thaw cycles. Compress: wrap the joint firmly but not too tight. An ACE wrap can is ideal. If your fingers or toes turn purple, it's too tight. If you squeeze your nail-beds, the color should return immediately. If not, re-wrap more loosely. Elevate: Kick back and have a cold one. Try to keep the injured joint at about heart level.This regimen can be supplemented by taking Motrin (ibuprofen) or Aleve (naprosyn). Follow dosing directions on the package. Both are anti-inflammatories and will help with the pain. If this treatment isn't working, it might be a good time to see a doctor. SummaryThis paper is by no means, a complete set of first aid information for the BASE jumper. In addition to reading this paper, I highly recommend enrolling in a CPR class, a basic first aid course, and an EMT Basic course. Most junior colleges offer an EMT course and CPR is usually included. These classes will show you how to approach an injury and decide on the most appropriate course of action. First aid is a skill-set we hope to never need. The harsh reality of our sport is that there will be more injuries, and there will be more fatalities. Hopefully someday BASE jumpers will stop being injured and killed. Until that day comes, we all need to know what to do when accidents happen. ---Dexterbase Download this article

Capewell Components LLC has received (3) reports from (3) customers of (4) ripcord pins that broke. All (4) pins were reported to have broken under very low force. All (4) pins are reported to have broken on the blade section of the pin, approximately 1/8” (3 mm) from the shoulder of the pin. Two of these ripcord pins that broke were supplied by Capewell as a completed ripcord assembly. Two of the ripcord pins that broke were supplied as pins to Capewell customers who then assembled the full ripcord. The (4) ripcord pins that broke were delivered to Capewell customers in the first half of 2002. Capewell has an on-going investigation to determine root cause. No root cause(s) has been determined to date. Affected Ripcord Pins are: MS70107 (angled), PS70107 (angled), 61C4304 (angled); 55A6480 (terminal) A defective pin could cause your parachute system to malfunction. Please download the complete service bulletin below which describes two MANDATORY tests. Either TEST 1 or TEST 2 must be performed prior to the next uyse of your system. Download Service Bulletin (pdf) Gear and Rigging Forum

Federal Aviation Regulations covering skydiving operations within the United States were updated two years ago. One of the key changes allows the use of otherwise unapproved equipment by foreign parachutists. The new rule has received very little official explanation, and has created confusion among foreign jumpers and United States drop zones. Some drop zones treat the equipment of foreign visitors with open arms and an "anything goes" policy, while other drop zones strictly apply the relevant federal regulation (105.49). United States drop zones and visiting jumpers should understand what Federal Aviation Regulations actually require with regard to foreign equipment, and should be prepared to comply with those requirements. USPA has published a paper that outlines the specific regulation covering equipment use by visiting jumpers, and the complete regulation is readily available in the USPA SIM, and in Federal Aviation Administration publications. Based on the USPA report, and original research, it appears that in order for a foreign jumper to use unapproved equipment in the United States the following FAA standards apply: The equipment must be owned by the foreign jumper. The jumper can NOT be a citizen of the United States, or a resident alien. A dual citizen (example: Canadian/US) must comply with the United States standards. Either the reserve or container must be UNAPPROVED. If both components are TSO'd and can be used in the United States by a United States citizen, then United States standards apply. So, a French citizen jumping a Javelin and a PD reserve in the United States must comply with all United States regulations, including a 120 day repack by an FAA rigger, with a seal applied to the reserve. If the reserve OR the harness/container is NOT approved for use in the United States AND the equipment is approved for use in the jumpers home country, it can be used by the foreign jumper/owner in the United States under his home country rules. Understanding The Regulation: FAR 105.43 requires that a reserve parachute and the harness/container must be approved by the FAA (TSO'd), and that the reserve must have been packed within 120 days by an FAA certificated rigger. This part governs parachute systems that are approved (reserve and harness/container). FAR 105.49 allows a foreign parachutist to use his own unapproved foreign parachute system if it is packed "in accordance with the foreign parachutist's civil aviation authority…" and if the foreign parachutist is the owner of that equipment. This part applies only to foreign parachutists, and only to unapproved equipment. FAR 105.3 defines a foreign parachutist as "a parachutist who is neither a U.S. citizen or a resident alien and is participating in parachute operations within the United States using parachute equipment not manufactured in the United States." FAR 105.3 defines an approved parachute as "a parachute manufactured under a type certificate or a Technical Standard Order (C-23 series), or a personnel-carrying US military parachute…" The key term to understand is "unapproved foreign parachute system" The regulation that allows a foreign parachutist to use unapproved foreign equipment (105.49) is based on exemptions that had been granted under a previous version of part 105. The change to allow this use without an exemption was proposed and published in the Federal Register on April 13, 1999. In the preamble to the proposal the FAA stated the following: "The FAA proposes to permit foreign parachutists to conduct jumps in the U.S. using their own equipment provided that they use single-harness, dual-parachute systems which contain a non-Technical Standard Order (TSO) reserve parachute or a non-TSO'd harness and container…" The FAA repeated this position in the section-by-section discussion of the proposed changes under 105.49, saying" This proposed section addresses equipment and packing requirements for foreign parachutists. Only single-harness, dual-parachute systems which contain a non Technical Standard Order (TSO) reserve parachute or non-TSO'd harness and container would be allowed to be used in the United States…" The FAA received several comments about the proposed rule, but incorporated the original proposal into law with only limited changes to the specific labeling of the regulation. The final rule was published in The Federal Register on May 9, 2001, and became effective on July 9, 2001. Thus, the stated intent of the FAA is to exempt systems from 105.43 that are owned by a foreign jumper and are at least partially unapproved, but to require the 120 day inspection and repack by an FAA certificated rigger if the equipment is entirely approved for use in the United States. There is some confusion in the language between the country of manufacture, and approval (TSO), but it appears that the intent of the FAA is to require the standard 120 repack by a rigger if BOTH the harness/container and reserve are approved under the TSO process, regardless of where they were actually manufactured. Making Sense of The Regulation: The FAA appears to be saying that if BOTH the reserve parachute and the harness/container are approved in the United States, then the FAA has knowledge of the equipment and believes packing should comply with 105.43. If either the reserve or harness/container is NOT approved, then the FAA does not know enough about the equipment to form an opinion about maintenance or packing, and thus the FAA defers to the jumpers home county civil aviation authority, as listed in 105.49. What it Means: Foreign jumpers visiting the United States with a reserve and harness/container approved for use in The United States (TSO'd) should be prepared to comply with United States packing requirements, including the 120 day repack by an FAA certificated rigger. Drop zones should adhere to the foreign jumpers home country rules only if either the reserve OR harness/container is unapproved by the FAA, and the drop zone has a solid understanding of the rules issued by the foreign jumpers civil aviation authority. Many drop zones are not familiar with FAR 105.49, and very few drop zones have direct knowledge of the civil aviation authority requirements of other countries. Visiting jumpers can assist drop zone owners by having copies of their home country requirements written in, or translated to English. The drop zone is responsible for making sure unapproved equipment is in compliance with the civil aviation authority of the jumpers home country under 105.49(a)(3), so foreign jumpers should be prepared to explain their local regulations and show at least this level of compliance. All skydivers and drop zones should understand that a violation of Federal Aviation Regulations can be levied against the jumper, the pilot, the drop zone, or just about any other entity involved in the parachute operation. Information Resources: FAR Part 105 http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/cfrhtml_00/Title_14/14cfr105_00.html USPA Skydivers Information Manual with all relevant Federal Aviation Regulations and USPA policies: http://www.uspa.org/publications/manuals.pdf/SIM.2003.pdf Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Federal register): http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=1999_register&docid;=99-8753-filed Final Rule with Comments (Federal Register): http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2001_register&docid;=01-11726-filed USPA White Paper on Foreign Parachutes Tom Buchanan is a Sr Rigger, S&TA at The Ranch Parachute Club and author of the book JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy.

The death of a skydiver whose parachute failed to open over an airfield in North Lincolnshire is now being treated as murder. Stephen Hilder, who was 20, fell 13,000 feet to his death while he was taking part in a jump, at Hilbaldstow Airfield, on Friday. Detective Superintendent Colin Andrews, who is leading the investigation, said parts of Mr Hilder's kit had been tampered with, so neither his main parachute nor his reserve could open. He said "It is an absolute fact that both parachutes were deliberately tampered with and on the basis of that we have to strongly suspect that murder was the motive." Cords cut Mr Hilder, an officer cadet who had completed more than 200 parachute jumps, was found dead in a cornfield. His family, from Hereford, paid tribute to a "wonderful son and brother." Humberside Police carried out forensic tests on the parachute pack used by Mr Hilder and say the cord which deployed the main chute and the strapping to the reserve chute had been cut. DS Andrews said: "We are entirely satisfied that Stephen's parachute was deliberately tampered with and what we need to find out is who did that and for what reason." He said Mr Hilder was an experienced skydiver who was safety conscious. Video footage "It is a tragic waste of a young man with a bright and promising future and it is a particularly horrendous way to die," he said. The parachute equipment had been checked on Wednesday - the day the jump had originally been due to take place - and "stored in good working order". Mr Andrews said the parachute was kept in a store that was locked overnight but was left open in the day. Police say a fancy dress party was held at Hiblestow Airfield on the evening of 3 July which was attended by a number of people, including Mr Hilder. Many of the people who attended took video footage and photographs of the party and police are appealing for them to get in contact. They are also examining video footage of the actual fall which was filmed by people at the site.Mr Hilder was one of eight people who took part in the jump but no one else was injured. 'Wonderful son' The airfield has re-started parachute jumping and security has been reviewed. Meanwhile, a skydiving expert said it would be relatively easy to sabotage a parachute jump. Dave Hickling, chief instructor with the British Parachute School based at Langar Airfield near Nottingham, said: "You don't need a lot of knowledge to cut things. "Once you have been on a basic parachute course and you have seen how the parachute deploys, you would have enough knowledge." In a statement Mr Hilder's family said: "He was a wonderful son and brother, whose place in his very close-knit family will never be filled." skydiving had "quickly become a total passion" for him after he took it up at Bristol University, they said. He continued skydiving when he transferred to the Royal Military College of Science at Shrivenham, Oxfordshire, last year, where he helped revitalise the college's skydiving club. Multiple injuries "He made over 200 jumps in the UK, France and South Africa, including freefall and formation diving and his absolute love for the sport never faded," they said. Mr Hilder was born in Hereford and went to school there before studying for his A-levels at Welbeck College. The statement continued: "Throughout his time with the Army he kept his love of theatre and music. "He was a talented percussionist and amateur actor, who loved reading and listening to rock music. "Steve had a tremendous sense of humour and made friends wherever he went." A post mortem found Mr Hilder died of multiple injuries.

OTTAWA, Ill. -- Skydiving center owner Roger Nelson, whose Skydive Chicago had been criticized for a high number of fatalities in recent years, has died in a parachute accident. Nelson, 48, was parachuting Saturday with Todd Fey, 43, of Fargo, N.D., when Fey bumped into into Nelson's parachute, causing it to collapse, investigators said. Nelson then fell about 50 feet, said Sgt. Gregory Jacobson of the LaSalle County Sheriff's police. The sheriff's Office said Nelson was taken to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria and pronounced dead early Saturday evening. Fey was being treated at Ottawa Community Hospital, where a hospital spokeswoman would not disclose his condition early Sunday. Nelson's death was the 14th at Skydive Chicago since the facility opened in 1993. It is one of the nation's largest skydiving operations with about 75,000 jumps a year. "Skydiving is a very unforgiving sport if something goes wrong," said LaSalle County Coroner Jody Bernard. "That could happen to anyone, even if they had a lot of experience. Obviously I've been out there a number of times, and I have not seen any blatant disregard for safety." Nonetheless, 11 of the deaths at Skydive Chicago, including Nelson's, have occurred in the past five years, making its fatality rate in some recent years as much as eight times the national average, which the U.S. Parachute Association estimates as 1 in 111,000 jumps. Those numbers spurred LaSalle County State's Attorney Joe Hettel to investigate Skydive Chicago in 2001, but he concluded there was nothing he could do. "If someone wants to jump out of an airplane, there's not much we can do about it," Hettel said last year. Nelson said at the time of Hettel's investigation that the ten jumpers who had died since 1998 were all using their own parachutes and "pushing the envelope" in their behavior. Nelson said reckless skydivers, not Skydive Chicago or its instructors, that led to the accidents. "I'm doing everything I can," he said. "This whole place is careful, to where we're not tolerating any unsafe behavior." Nelson was captain of the U.S. Olympic skydiving team in 1982, and served as a director of the U.S. Parachute Association. On June 16 there was a memorial skydiving jump and service for Nelson who's family members have said they plan to keep SkyDive Chicago open.

JEANNETTE, Pa. June 16 — A Father's Day skydiving trip turned tragic when a small plane crashed shortly after takeoff, killing four of the five people aboard. Witnesses told authorities they heard the Cessna 205's engine sputter and cut out before the crash about 1:15 p.m. Sunday at Greensburg-Jeannette Regional Airport. The aircraft apparently clipped four trees when it crashed about 100 feet from the runway, said Ron Supancic, chief of the Claridge Volunteer Fire Department. The plane is registered to Charles E. Bryant, of Greensburg, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Arlene Salac said. Bryant, 61, was among the dead, Westmoreland County Coroner Kenneth A. Bacha said. The coroner's office did not immediately identify the pilot, a 52-year-old Pittsburgh man. The other victims were David Ray, 49, of Seward, and Terry Blanish, 52, of West Newton. "My world has fallen apart," said Marla Goodlin, 48, who was to marry Blanish next summer in Switzerland. Blanish had 15 years of skydiving experience and was approaching 2,000 jumps, she said. Blanish, the father of three children, planned to spend Father's Day skydiving before meeting Goodlin for a boating trip, Goodlin said. Bryant's son, Rodney, 37, said his father, who retired as a machinist about a year and a half ago, had 30 years of skydiving experience and had made more than 3,000 jumps.Charles Bryant had operated Chuck Bryant's Skydive Bouquet in Greensburg for about 10 years and had the plane for about the same amount of time, his son said. The plane, built in 1963 and designed for up to five passengers, had taken a skydiving flight earlier in the day and was on its second flight when it crashed, authorities said. "That airplane was one of the best-maintained jump planes in the sport," Rodney Bryant said. The pilot was experienced and had made skydiving flights with his father before, he said. An autopsy was to be performed on the pilot, as were toxicology tests required by the National Transportation Safety Board, he said. The lone survivor, who had apparently been thrown from the plane, was found 10 to 15 feet from the wreckage. The extent of his injuries was not known Sunday night. The cause of the crash is under investigation. The National Transportation Safety Board sent an investigator to the airport in Jeannette, about 20 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

The entire staff at Perris Valley Skydiving is excited to announce that Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld is joining the Conatser Family as a partner in the operation of Perris Valley Skydiving. Dan brings with him nearly 25 years experience in the sport and industry of skydiving. Starting the end of June, we will see Dan more and more often as he relocates his family to their new home in Southern California and quickly transitions to the full time scene. Best known for his unparalleled accomplishments in competitive formation skydiving, Dan BC is a founding member of the Arizona Airspeed team. He has earned 7 World and 19 National Championships in every formation skydiving discipline. Dan was also one of the organizers of the Go Fast 300-way, the current World Record for Largest Freefall Formation and has received numerous other skydiving honors. Dan BC's experience in the skydiving industry goes far beyond his competitive accomplishments and 18,000+ jumps. He has worked as an AFF Instructor and Evaluator, Tandem Master, Senior Rigger and Pilot. He has owned and managed drop zones, run schools and organized boogies and competitions. He also served as an S&TA; for the United States Parachute Association. Dan has appeared on national and local television numerous times representing our sport. As one of the sport's premiere skydiving coaches, he has shared his wealth of knowledge around the world and helped develop the training programs used by tunnelcamp.com. and at Arizona Airspeed events. Dan is very excited about this new direction in his long and illustrious career. The opportunity to become a part of what is already one of the most successful drop zones in the world, with the addition of a SkyVenture Wind Tunnel, is the kind of challenge he could not pass up. Dan is joined on his return to Perris Valley by wife Kristi and his two children Chloe (8) and Landen (4). Please join us in welcoming Dan and his entire family to the Perris Valley team!