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Icarus Canopies are releasing 3 new products for the summer season. These designs incorporate new plan form shaping techniques that Icarus designers have been working on for the past 18 months. 7 years ago, Icarus designers pioneered a new plan form shape with the EXTreme FX. The Icarus Safire, Omega and EXTreme VX followed incorporating similar shaping techniques. The Icarus Crossfire expanded on that principle integrating additional surface shaping. These designs incorporated many innovations including full surface shaping, constant cell proportions, and lowered wing tips. All engineered to reduce drag, increase lift (at high and low speeds), increase rigidity and create even cell pressurization eliminating the perceived benefit of airlocks. These shaping techniques took parachutes beyond standard ram air designs and created true wing shapes with increased performance at both ends of the spectrum. A bi-product of this increased performance and control range was an increased toggle stroke making the toggle control range longer and flare point deeper than other designs at the time. While this longer control range was labeled a disadvantage by some rivals at the time, many have released competing designs with similar characteristics due to the increased efficiency these more precise wings create. With similar parachutes entering the market, our design team has been engineering plan form shapes which integrate the benefits of these designs plus further increasing the parachutes efficiency by incorporating precise and immediate toggle and riser control. Our 2002 products incorporate varying shaping techniques depending on the specific target audience of each design resulting from this program. Upon completion of this program these 3 designs have been undergoing market evaluation over the past few months. Specifically we have been comparing them with other products in the same target markets to ensure supremacy when compared with competing products. Now confident that we have once again solidly achieved this goal, we are releasing 3 exciting new designs. The Icarus Omni is the latest innovation in 7 cell canopy design. 7 cell canopies such as the Icarus Omega, PD Spectre or Aerodyne Triathlon gained popularity because of their ease of use and gentle characteristics. The disadvantage with 7 cells is their reduced lift making it difficult to get back from long spots and inferior flare characteristic when compared with 9 cell designs. While this is often no issue for beginners or at lighter wing loadings many seasoned skydivers also prefer the ease of use that comes with 7 cell canopies and are prepared to sacrifice lift and glide for this benefit. The Omni answers these issues offering the largest range of flight currently available on an all purpose 7 cell canopy. The Icarus Omni is a 7-Cell, Semi and lightly elliptical, Zero Porosity canopy. It has been designed as an all purpose canopy with soft on-heading openings, predictable flight characteristics, light toggle and riser pressure and with the added advantage of an increased glide ratio and greater flare power when compared with other 7 cell designs. The result, a 7 cell with an increase operating range, usable for all facets of modern skydiving. At lighter wing loading (below .9 PSF) it is a good transition or first canopy or for someone who likes to take it easy. At heavier wing loading (up to 1.5 PSF) it will have noticeable performance while maintaining soft openings and better landings than other 7 cell designs. We recommend it for wing loading from .75 PSF to 1.5 PSF. 4 years ago we released the Icarus Safire. A revolutionary canopy, being the first all purpose 9 cell canopy to include a lightly & truly elliptical platform shape offering superior openings and flight characteristics compared to competing mid-performance range 9 cell designs at the time. We new that the superior characteristics of this design, such as a lightly & truly elliptical platform shape combined with constant cell proportioning would not be ignored by other canopy manufacturers. This style of design would become the benchmark for mid-range performance canopies and other manufacturers would build similar designs as we have recently seen. The Safire 2, like the original Safire is a truly elliptical canopy with a light shaping incorporating a constant cell aspect ratio which consistently controls the airfoil shape across the canopy, maintaining increased rigidity and reducing drag. The Safire 2 is an enhanced version of the original Safire incorporating new trim and plan form shaping techniques. Its openings are arguably the sweetest of any canopy in its class. So much so that you'd swear it was a 7 cell opening above your head. We have also integrated an even greater glide ratio, more nimble and very predicable flight characteristics, responsive flight controls both on toggles and risers, a shorter recovery arc to maintain a higher level of safety for mid-range jumpers and a powerful flare. The Safire 2 is designed to fly best at wing loading of .75 to 1.6. At the lower end, the Safire flies forgivingly and is an ideal transitional canopy. At the higher loading, it is a fast-moving smooth-handling ride that outperforms other canopies in its class. 2 years ago we revolutionized what was possible with a 9 cell (non-cross braced) canopy. The Icarus Crossfire is categorically a step up in performance from any other 9 cell in the world. Its swoop capability almost rivals cross-braced canopies such as the EXTreme FX and Velocity while maintaining many other more desirable flight characteristics. Our target audience with the Crossfire has always been the many Stiletto pilots wanting the next step in canopy evolution. PD did a great job with the Stiletto and it remained un-rivaled for years. However, design concepts and construction techniques improve and we were able to release the Crossfire, a canopy aspiring to this market with increased performance characteristics, a longer recovery arc, an incredible swoop distance and with openings that are unparalleled. With our latest design innovations we are able to take the Crossfire performance even further. The Crossfire 2 has the same impressive opening and swoop capabilities with some of the most responsive toggle and riser turns of any canopy in the market. It has a light riser pressure and an incredible recovery arc. The Crossfire 2 is a highly elliptical, constant cell aspect ratio, closed nose, fully and surface shaped inflatable wing capable of unrivaled performance. It will out perform any non cross-braced 9 cell available; Openings, toggle turns, riser turns, dives, swoop distance and flare -period! Recommended wing loadings are 1.4 - 2.2. Icarus Guarantee:Icarus is the only company in the market to offer an unconditional 31 day satisfaction guarantee. Icarus guarantees that our products perform as advertised with superior characteristics to competing products. If for any reason a customer is not entirely satisfied we will replace the product or refund the customer, no questions asked. Refer www.icaruscanopies.com for details. Full details of these products will be available on Icarus Canopies website www.icaruscanopies.com from 10 May 2002. For additional information contact: Simon Mundell [email protected] (630) 562-2735 Photos: Crossfire2, Omni – Steve Utter Safire2 – Mike Sanders

The first controlled dock between a canopy pilot and a skydiver in freefall is a fact! In the skies of DeLand, Florida, around four o'clock in the afternoon on April 17th, Jari Kuosma, wearing a Skyflyer wingsuit, did a controlled dock on the ankle of Vladi Pesa who was flying his Performance Designs Velocity 84. Kuosma is the president of BirdMan, Inc. and has 2100 jumps in total, 1100 of those are wingsuit jumps. Pesa has 8,000 jumps and is an experienced canopy swoop competitor, AFF JM, tandem master, and a BirdMan instructor. Videographer Todd Sutherland, flying his Skyflyer along side of Kuosma, was there to capture the magic moment. Pesa wore a weight bag of 30 pounds; his wingloading was 3.5 to 1. His canopy risers were specially designed for this project in order to increase the speed and vertical decent of his Velocity. This was Pesa's and Kuosma's 17th attempt trying to close the gap between canopy and wingsuit. "We flew in close formation - within inches away from one another - during the last six attempts," said Kuosma, "but I had a hard time closing that final gap since I was at the edge of my Skyflyer's performance envelope." "This flight was the physically hardest of all," said Kuosma. "Unfortunately Vladi's canopy turned 180 degrees on deployment, which made him travel at a high rate of speed in the opposite direction of what we had planned. Todd and I almost lost our faith, Vladi seemed to be miles away and there was no way he was able to see us on the horizon. Just prior to break off, though, we saw each other and I just went for it." On this attempt I tried a new angle of attack. In past jumps, I had been flying above Vladi's canopy, just off the edge of his wing and arching to come down to his ankle. This time I still flew parallel to and above his canopy, but further away horizontally; I got to his ankle by doing a vertical side slide," Kuosma says. Break off was planned at 5000 feet to give Jari time to safely deploy and Vladi the chance to unlock his risers and prepare for an intense landing. "The weirdest part was looking at Jari breaking off and deploying his parachute right next to me while I was already under canopy," said Pesa. "How are the landings you wonder? - FAST !!" A Larsen & Brusgaard ProTrack recorded Jari's average vertical speed at 35mph. The two estimate their forward speed at 60-70mph. The two are planning to do more attempts in the next few days in order to get better video and still footage to show the world. It is not an easy task to capture such a unique stunt on film. "Southerland is doing a great job staying with us though," says Kuosma. Kuosma and Pesa warn jumpers to not attempt this stunt without consulting them. You can contact Kuosma at the BirdMan office, (386) 785-0800 or Pesa at (386) 801-6295. Wing Suit Discussion Forum BirdMan, Inc. Web Site

ELLINGTON -- Marylou Laughlin wiped tears from her eyes as she walked off the field next to Ellington Airport, her parachute in tow. Moments earlier, she was one of 39 skydivers to form a flower-like formation thousands of feet above. The formation set a state skydiving record - all in the name of Robert "Bobo" Bonadies, an instructor who died in a parachuting accident May 6. Bonadies died helping a student pull her parachute rip cord; he never had time to pull his own, police and skydivers said. "This is the first time I cried since the fatality," said Laughlin, of Granby, who is the United States Parachutist Association regional director and a member of Connecticut Parachutists Inc. "It was like Bobo was really with us," she said. Wednesday was the first of a two-day skydiving event that Bonadies, president of the Connecticut group, helped plan. Bonadies, 47, of Vernon, wanted to get more than three dozen skydivers airborne to complete the formation. The club's goal was 56 skydivers, a far cry from the 28 who failed to properly complete a formation in an impromptu jump eight years ago. Rather than dampen their passion, Bonadies' death motivated the skydivers to carry on. Called "Bobo's Big Dream," the event continues today, as skydivers attempt to form multiple formations within jumps. More than 50 skydivers traveled from as far as Philadelphia for the first day of jumping. They ranged from 67-year-old Howard Burling of Bristol to Paula Philbrook of Pepperell, Mass., who brought her 4-year-old son and mother to watch. But success wasn't easy to achieve. Menacing rain clouds kept skydivers on the ground until the afternoon. Then, as the sun broke through the clouds, revealing blue patches, the skydivers got ready for the first jump. First, they practiced on the ground ("dirt diving"). Hunched over like dads playing monster, they extended their arms, moved toward each other to form loops and broke away. They rehearsed jumping out of the plane on wooden platforms. Then came the real thing. Thirty-nine parachutists, plus three with video cameras, piled into three planes. On the first jump, the formation was almost completed, save for a few jumpers who were unable to latch onto a loop. The second time, 40 jumpers were too far apart to create any kind of pattern, save the central ring. The third time was the charm. Thirty-nine skydivers fell into formation like clockwork, forming four rings outside a central ring. Three of the outer rings, or "rooms," had a jumper in the middle. The fourth room was empty, in a salute to Bonadies. By one count, the skydivers held on to each other for 11 seconds. That's out of a 50-second descent from 13,500 feet at about 120 mph. Their landings were staggered, punctuated by fluttering parachutes. Spectators cheered as skydivers whooshed across the grass below and hugged one another. "Hey, don't forget, guys, that wasn't 39, it was 40, and it was for Bobo," said Roger Ponce de Leon of Hamden, who helped plan the formations. ~ The Hartford Courant

FORT BRAGG -- An Army pilot so skilled he could fly eight types of aircraft was remembered today by fellow members of the Golden Knights parachute exhibition team. Chief Warrant Officer Lowell Timmons, 45, died last week when the UV-20 single-engine turboprop he was flying near Tucson, Ariz., collided with a civilian skydiving plane. No one else was killed. About 300 people attended the service today at the main chapel at Fort Bragg, home of the Golden Knights and the Army's 18th Airborne Corps. At the front of the gathering, Timmons' dog tags and flight helmet hung on the butt of a M-16 rifle mounted vertically. On the floor beside it the rifle was a pair of empty jump boots. The display was backed by crossed United States and Golden Knights flags. The demonstration team's commanding officer, Lt. Col. David Liwang, said while some Americans find it difficult to learn to drive a stick-shift automobile, Timmons was proficient flying everything from helicopters to cargo planes. His 6,000 hours of flight experience was equivalent to flying nonstop for nearly nine months, Liwang said. "It's been my honor and my pleasure to serve with him," Maj. Trey Kelly, commander of the parachute team's pilots and crew members, said before stepping back from the podium and saluting. Chief Warrant Officer Ken Breeden, a fellow pilot, knew Timmons when they served together in Korea before joining the Golden Knights. Breeden said Timmons had a knack for instantly earning the respect of fellow fliers and parachute troops. Timmons was due for a promotion within a few months to become the aviator in charge of polishing the training of the team's instructor pilots, said Sgt. 1st Class Ken Kassens, a Golden Knights spokesman. The Army's Aviation Safety Center and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of last week's fatal crash. Four Golden Knights had made a practice jump shortly before the collision with a Cessna 182 carrying four civilian skydivers. The four civilians aboard the Cessna jumped afterward. Timmons, a 16-year veteran born in Fort Wayne, Ind., had served in Somalia, Turkey, Hungary, Bosnia, Germany and Korea. He is survived by his wife, Teresa, three daughters and three brothers. His funeral will be held Saturday at Richmond Hill, Ga., near Savannah.

Moments after a jury cleared him of any wrongdoing in the death of a skydiver, Michael Hawkes stood on the front steps of the Foley Federal Building and pointed skyward at the Air Force Thunderbirds as they performed maneuvers. "Hey! They're celebrating our win," Hawkes yelled over to fellow defendant Joe Herbst. "That's pretty good." On Friday a Clark County civil jury ruled that Hawkes, the owner of Skydive Las Vegas, was not responsible for the May 1998 death of Vic Pappadato, an Emmy-award winning videographer and skydiver. They also found that Herbst, a former teacher who jumped that day with Pappadato, did not contribute to Pappadato's death. In fact, they awarded Herbst $1, saying Pappadato caused the midair collision that led to his death and seriously injured Herbst. The four-week trial was held in the Foley Federal Building to provide extra space. The parents and brother of Vic Pappadato had claimed that Hawkes had a history of violating safety rules and on the afternoon of May 10, 1998, allowed a group to dive even though some of them had been partying the previous evening. The family's attorney said those mistakes led to Pappadato's death. Hawkes and Herbst's attorneys told jurors that Pappadato deviated from a pre-arranged plan, and his mistakes led to his death. They also pointed out that Pappadato had signed a waiver releasing Skydive Las Vegas from any liability. "It's been a long four weeks since the trial began and a long four years since the accident," Hawkes said. "I'm just very happy the waiver stood out and was upheld. Everyone who jumps out of airplanes knows it is potentially dangerous. "There's been a lot of pain and suffering on both sides. I'm very sorry for the Pappadatos' loss, but this lawsuit should never have happened." In a written statement, Vince Pappadato, Vic's brother wrote: "We accept the jury's verdict, although we do not necessarily agree with the outcome. Sometimes the truth cannot always be proven. "This is just another bump in the road for us, and Vic Pappadato will never be forgotten for the champion he was in the sport that he loved so much, for the son and brother that he is, and for the man he became that everyone loved and misses dearly." Vince Pappadato said his family also wished for peace for the Herbst family. Herbst, who suffered internal injuries and broken bones in the accident, said he regretted having to file his counter-claim against Pappadato's estate. He said he went ahead with the lawsuit to clear his name. "I have no animosity toward the Pappadato family, that's why I only asked for a dollar," Herbst said. Herbst, who has made 1,000 dives since the accident, said the accident happened as the result of a few bad decisions made over a nine-second period. "Who hasn't made bad decisions?" Herbst said. "I had forgiven Vic before I hit the ground." ~ LAS VEGAS SUN

DELAND -- Skydive DeLand, the city airport's most prominent business, is under scrutiny by local factions of pilots and aviation businesses here who say the company gets preferential treatment from the city. Skydive DeLand has operated out of the tiny airport for 20 years, slowly building the city's worldwide reputation as a skydiving mecca. Its local lore has also grown, as a place with loud planes and reckless pilots that not only attracts thousands of skydivers from all over Europe and South America, but also lets them stay in campers, tents -- even a teepee -- on airport property. In recent months, people have complained about the "unsightliness" of the campground, and more than 100 people signed a petition asking the city to investigate the "dangerous" flying practices of Skydive DeLand's pilots. The complaints surfaced as city officials are trying to map out the airport's future and decide if it will remain a small, mom-and-pop operation or grow to accommodate corporate jets for the city's adjacent industrial park. "I think right now Skydive DeLand feels a little persecuted," said City Commissioner Charles Paiva, who is also a pilot who uses the airport. "People's perceptions are that [Skydive DeLand] does what they want to do and isn't very regulated. I think there needs to be some leeway given to a very good tenant that brings a lot of jobs and a lot of money. I don't want anyone to think we're giving anyone special treatment." Company drops plansLast week, Skydive DeLand dropped its plans to build a second RV park near its hangars and other buildings, which house a bar, a restaurant, a shop and indoor training classrooms. Owner Bob Hallett said the city was insisting on too many restrictions -- such as an audit by the city's code enforcement office every six months to make sure people weren't using the campground as a permanent home -- to make the RV park worthwhile. "It was not in our political or financial interest to continue the project," Hallett said. "What other RV parks have that type of restriction?" Under Skydive DeLand's lease with the city, the business is allowed to sublease the 18 spots in its existing RV park. It receives about $150 a month from each of those tenants. Some of those tenants have kept trailers on the property for years, but they are out-of-towners who use it as a skydiving headquarters rather than a permanent home, said Skydive DeLand manager Mike Johnston. Johnston told city commissioners last week that he doesn't understand what is prompting the complaints. "These complaints have surfaced recently and we're not doing anything different," he said. Johnston said his pilots are not reckless and, in fact, follow standard skydive flight procedures accepted nationally. FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the agency is investigating the complaints about the pilots. Neil Brady, a private pilot who has used the airport for 18 years, is part of the faction that has complained about Skydive DeLand. "This airport has grown tremendously in the last 18 years," he said. "There's a lot of flying activity here, and they simply cannot fly the way they did 18 years ago because it's not safe. Their airplane is no better than mine or a student pilot's or anyone else's out here." Brady said he is also pleased the company decided not to build a second RV park because he considers the existing one an eyesore. That RV park and campground are part of what has made it a successful draw for competitive and recreational skydivers all over the world, Johnston said. Word of mouth across Europe and South America, say those who come here, is that Skydive DeLand is the place to train. 'Biggest skydive center'"It's known as the biggest skydive center in the world, really," said Simon Staalnacke, 26, of Norway. He arrived in town about two weeks ago with two buddies from Sweden and Norway. On a recent morning, the three sat outside the large teepee they've been sleeping in, lounging on an old couch that they say they inherited from the last people who stayed in the teepee. "The atmosphere is so nice here," Staalnacke said as his friend, Stefan Diahlkrist, strummed a guitar and sang Swedish songs. "Everybody is so fun and laid-back." Staalnacke and Diahlkrist are typical of the foreign tourists Skydive DeLand attracts. From DeLand, they intend to make their way to another extreme sport -- snowboarding in Colorado. Their teepee was one of seven tents set up in the yard next to the company's restaurant and bar, which boasts of a large number of imported beers to make their patrons feel at home. National skydiving teams from Switzerland, Sweden and Italy are training at the facility now, but are renting homes in DeLand rather than camping. "Florida is the mecca of skydiving in the world, and this has always been the No. 1 place in Florida," said Kurt Gaebel, who moved to DeLand from Germany to make a career as a skydiving coach. Along with new residents and tourists, several skydiving equipment manufacturers have set up shop in DeLand near the airport. The city estimates Skydive DeLand's economic impact on the city to be near $30 million, said Assistant City Manager Michael Pleus. Hallett, the company's owner, said he isn't surprised some airport users are getting restless from the growth, and says he also wants to keep the airport small. "I really don't blame them," he said. "They really want the airport to go back to the days when it was just them and their buddies. We don't like to see the change either." ~Orlando Sentinel

For most skydivers, the reality of human flight is a dream come true. This May, a group of skydivers in Illinois will seek to make someone else's dream come true while remembering a few friends who have died living theirs. Team Funnel is a loose organization of skydivers dedicated to the belief that no one should have to jump alone. With an emphasis on safety and inclusion, the more than eighty members across the world achieve their mission by seeking out low-timers and visitors at their home drop zones and organizing skydives and educational and social events to spread the joy and camaraderie of skydiving. In the Fall of 2001, Team Funnel lost three members to skydiving accidents. In honor of these members, and in honor of all passed skydivers, Team Funnel will hold the first annual Team Funnel Memorial Boogie on Saturday, May 25, 2002, at Skydive Chicago, in Ottawa, Illinois. By remembering their fellow skydivers with a charity event, Team Funnel hopes to not only support the Make-A-Wish foundation, but also bring skydivers together in a relaxed, non-competitive atmosphere. Team Funnel co-founder Bill Homer summarizes the mission by saying, "even though we have lost some close friends, we want to remember them in a hopeful way. They lived their dreams, and we must continue to live ours, and pass the joy it gives us on to others." The primary goal of the event is to make one child's dream come true, through the resources of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Funds will be raised through three activities: A raffle, offering prizes such as merchandise from all the major manufacturers in the industry, coach jumps with some of the nation's leading freeflyers, gift certificates from Ottawa area merchants, and massages, video, rigging, and other services. Raffle tickets will be sold in advance and at the door for $5.00 each, or 5 for $20.00. A silent auction featuring bigger-ticket items such as the chance to skydive naked with beautiful women. There will be a $10.00 charge for unlimited bidding in the auction. A sunset barbecue on the docks of the Skydive Chicago swoop pond, with tickets going for $10.00, $5.00 for children under 8 years old. 100 percent of the proceeds from this event will be donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Held concurrently with Skydive Chicago's Memorial Day Boogie, the weekend will also include organized loads for all kinds of flyers, induction of new members into Team Funnel, and discounted skydives for registered participants in the Skydive Chicago Boogie. For more information about the event or Team Funnel, visit www.TeamFunnel.com and follow the link to "TF Memorial Boogie." To make a donation or purchase raffle tickets in advance, please email [email protected]. For directions or more information on the Skydive Chicago Memorial Day Boogie, please visit www.skydivechicago.com.

SEBASTIAN -- Skydive Sebastian officials say they will now consider a city proposal to move their landing zone after initially objecting to the move. Jim Iannaccone, a representative of Skydive Sebastian, said the organization initially objected to the airport master plan, which requires the move, "because they hadn't had an opportunity to examine or discuss the viability of the northwest corner as a landing area." Iannaccone said Skydive Sebastian is now willing to look at the city's offer. "In light of the city's recent offer, Skydive is willing to look at and discuss the city's plans in the hope of finding a mutually beneficial solution," he said.In a letter to the city council last week, City Manager Terrence Moore said the city will reserve land adjacent to the northwestern landing zones if Skydive Sebastian decides to move its operation to the northwestern area of the airport. Recently, the Sebastian city council voted to pass the airport master plan, which requires the moving of Skydive's landing zone to the northwestern part of the airport. It was a move Skydive Sebastian officials initially objected to because they said it would inconvenience skydivers by making them travel 1,500 feet back to the main facility after a jump. Skydive officials said the move would turn away potential skydivers and hurt Skydive Sebastian's business. Skydive Sebastian officials also said it is important to have a landing zone adjacent to the skydive facilities to ensure Skydive Sebastian's survival. The current drop zone is adjacent to the Skydive Sebastian facilities. Jason Milewski, Sebastian Municipal Airport manager, said the northwest section of the airport has been deemed the safest spot by the Federal Aviation Administration for skydivers to land. Milewski added it would be safer because skydivers won't be landing near the east-west runway when the runway is reopened. City officials argue that leaving the drop zone where it is now would endanger skydivers because airplanes would be taking off and landing nearby. ~ FLORIDA TODAY

The Monkey Claw Freefly Team and Freefly School had a busy 2001 season and it preparing for an even busier 2002 season. The Monkey Claw Freefly Team is based at Skydive Cross Keys, in Williamstown, New Jersey. The Team consists of Glen "Stuey" Newman, Tim Miller, Adam Rosen, Heath Richardson and Bert Navarette. They train at their home DZ and run a school where they instruct freefly students of all levels. On a regular basis they load organize freeflyers of all skill levels at Cross Keys. The 2001 season included their Annual Monkey Jams over the Memorial Day and Labor Day holiday weekends. At these events freeflyers travel from across the globe to participate in big ways, tracking dives, tube dives as well as some one on one coaching with Monkey Claw. Every night there is plenty to entertain the hundreds of skydivers registered for the event. There is free food, free beer and fun activities that are always kept a secret until the last moment. Last year someone lit himself on fire (this year it was on purpose), there was a bungee racetrack and a psycho swing. All of the other amenities at Cross Keys are available as well, the Long Delay Café, the Tiki Bar, the swimming pool and the Booze Cruise. Away from Cross Keys the Team traveled to many events and DZ's for coaching and load organizing. Some of the places included Lost Prairie, Quincy, Skydive Delmarva and Chicagoland. Chicagoland will also be the home of the first Monkey Claw Satellite School run by Brandon Park with visits from the rest of the team throughout the summer. New for this season Skydive Cross Keys has its own fleet of aircraft's for all jumpers. At Cross Keys you have your choice of jumping from a Caravan, Skyvan, Super Otter, Biplane, Helicopter and of course a Cessna. Square 3 is located right on the DZ for all of you equipment needs. There are hot showers, bathrooms and plenty of camping areas on the premises. The Long Delay Café keeps jumpers fed throughout the day and the beach, Tiki Bar and Swimming pool are located right next to the landing area. The Team just returned from the 2nd Freefall Festival in Puerto Rico where they were coaching and load organizing throughout the boogie. Over 200 skydivers from around the world attended the event and records were broken for number of registrants, loads flown and skydives made. For the upcoming season the calendar is still being put together. Of course there will be the annual Memorial Day and Labor Day Monkey Jams and the theme for the first Jam has already been chosen. The team will be traveling to Chicagoland as well as Lost Prairie for the Voodoo Rendezvous. There are a lot of other events that are still being finalized at the moment. If you want to learn more about Monkey Claw you can visit their website at www.monkeyclaw.com. At the site you can find photos, videos, a list of events and you can contact the members for more information. Adam Rosens Monkey Claw GalleryAll photos by: Adam Rosen

These quality swivel clamps were machined precisely to hold a ring sight in place. Most machine shop clamps are made to hold gauges, etc. and can't take the high torque that your sight goes through with random bumps and knocks. This clamp has a semi circle binding ring (see the arrow above) that ensures maximum holding power. The aluminum post is slightly longer than most hardware store posts, and milled to exact dimensions for precise fit. This design is NEW! We have improved the design to replace the old knurled thumbwheel with a low profile Allen screw. This makes the clamp less likely to snag a line during an unstable deployment. The clamp comes with an Allen wrench for your toolkit. Pricing is as follows: Mounting kit (Clamp and Post) $30 + shipping. Clamp without the post is $25 + shipping. Call Brent Finley at 480-855-7779. Send Check or Money Order to Brent Finley, 3102 S. Marigold Place, Chandler, AZ 85248 www.brentfinley.net Brent's Galleries

Troy Widgery, founder of Go Fast, stands atop the company Range Rover in front of their building at 1935 W. 12th Ave. in Denver. Maybe that's why Denver native Troy Widgery, a skydiver, has poured all his energy and money into Go Fast energy drink. He's trying to pry his way into a $275 million industry dominated by Red Bull of Austria and U.S. beverage giants Anheuser-Busch and Hansen's. So far, sales are up for the caffeine and herb-packed beverage, which was launched in November. Go Fast is sold in liquor stores, bars and shops around the state, including The Church, Sacre Bleu, Java Creek and Mondo Vino in Denver. This year, Go Fast Beverage Co. expects to go a lot faster. National Distributing Co. today will begin pushing Go Fast to its 7,500 accounts statewide. Other distributing deals are in the works, said Widgery, whose latest passion is kiteboarding, a hybrid of surfing and parasailing. "When you were a little kid and wanted to get lifted by your kite, that's kind of what happens," he said, describing the new sport he learned in Hawaii and Mexico. But Widgery is spending more time these days on a forklift in Go Fast's warehouse. The company is ramping up marketing, and he's out rounding up new capital for growth. In 1996, Widgery started Go Fast Sports, a clothing company that sells mostly to motorcycle, bike and surf specialty stores. The 35-year-old Cherry Creek High grad also owns Sky Systems Inc., a 14-year-old company that designs helmets for skydiving and other extreme sports like water-ski jumping. Sky Systems makes a patented product called Tube Stoe - essentially a rubber band that's used to pack a parachute. Sales from Tube Stoe helped Widgery fund Go Fast Sports, which has since grown about 300 percent a year, he said. "Because of our involvement with extreme sports, last year we saw the market potential for an energy drink and we wanted one that was better than the current drinks out there," Widgery said. "A lot of energy drinks give you a kick that makes you sort of jittery and you drop off quickly. Ours is smoother and more sustained. Ours has the least amount of sugar." Most "true" energy drinks include stimulants caffeine and ginseng and the amino acid taurine, Widgery said. Go Fast also contains guarana and ginko. Some stimulate the mind and others the body. Some industry watchers question whether energy drinks, which sell for $2 a can, are just a fad. Can they pose health risks? The nutritional research is inconclusive, but some critics fear the greatest detriment is mixing energy drinks and alcohol because the stimulants can fool a person into thinking they're sober enough to drive. Widgery said a number of nutritional experts and chemists formulated Go Fast. Regas Christou, owner of The Church, hasn't had problems with the drink and said that Red Bull and Go Fast sales are strong. "A lot more people are drinking more of the energy drinks," Christou said. "Every single egg is in the basket," Widgery said. "I believe in it. The energy market is here to stay." Energy drinks have been sold in Europe for more than a decade, Widgery noted. In the United States, sales skyrocketed to $275 million last year compared with $130 million in 2000, according to Beverage Marketing Corp. Widgery expects fallout in the energy drink category because he said only a handful of the so-called drinks actually have ingredients to get your heart and mind racing. Go Fast is in discussions with an Oklahoma-based bicycle parts distributor, which is interested in selling the drink to its 7,000 bike store customers nationwide. Widgery met earlier this week with a New York nutritional ingredients supplier who wants to take the product to China. For all his confidence in Go Fast, Widgery's voice is even-keeled when he talks about growth. "We want to make the brand grow properly, and not just oversaturate the market," he said, noting the target energy-drink consumers are young and discriminating - those who seek what's on the fringe, not mainstream grocery products. "The brand has to maintain its soul," Widgery said. "You have to appeal to the "go fast' type of person." ~ Denver Post

The family of a famous skydiving videographer blames a Las Vegas company and another skydiver for his death, the family's attorney said in opening statements Thursday in the jury trial of a lawsuit. In the suit against Michael Hawkes, his company -- Skydive Las Vegas -- and local teacher and skydiver Joseph Herbst, the parents and brother of Vic Pappadato claim that Hawkes has a long history of violating safety rules and on the afternoon of May 10, 1998, allowed a group to dive even though some of them had been partying the previous evening. The family's attorney said those mistakes led to Pappadato's death. The plaintiffs' attorney, Frank Sabaitis, told jurors that Vic Pappadato, 33, agreed to videotape the dive for a friend, who was celebrating a birthday. Pappadato had more than 5,000 jumps to his credit. The group was supposed to jump from the plane, form a circle and then move away from each other as Pappadato taped the event, Sabaitis said. At least one of the members lacked the skills necessary to move into the circle and struck Pappadato, the attorney said. Pappadato continued the taping, but when it came time for him to deploy his parachute at 4,000 feet he could not. When Pappadato was forced to deploy his chute seconds later to avoid hitting a skydiver below him who was opening his own chute, the lines of Pappadato's chute became entangled, Sabaitis said. Before he could straighten the lines or deploy his alternate parachute Pappadato was struck by Herbst, Sabaitis said. He then fell to his death. Sabaitis said that although two of the divers later said they either smelled alcohol or had attended a party the night before, the others joined ranks and blamed Pappadato for the tragedy. Pappadato's video of the jump will show the other jumpers were at fault, Sabaitis said. "He was a compulsive safety nerd," Sabaitis said. "He was obsessive, and yet the defense is that Vic Pappadato made all of the mistakes that day." Greg Miles, who represents Hawkes, said many of the Pappadatos' witnesses are disgruntled former employees of Hawkes', and that his client had no reason to suspect anyone was intoxicated that day, he said. Herbst's attorney, Imanuel Arin, said the evidence will clearly show Pappadato deviated from the plan during the jump. Herbst was below Pappadato when Pappadato struck him, and the "low man always has the right of way." Jurors this week also are scheduled to hear a countersuit filed by Herbst against Pappadato. ~ LAS VEGAS SUN

John DeRosalia recently helped Sebastian XL place fourth at the 2001 World Air Games in Spain. Peak performance in sport is about achieving personal bests in competition, when it really matters. What you do in training is irrelevant, it is how you perform at the Olympics or World Meet which will put your name in history. Often mental toughness can make the difference at this elite level where technical ability is similar. A skydiver himself, John is the only licensed psychotherapist in the sport dedicated to working with peak performance. He also has a successful private practice in New York, where he works with athletes, musicians, writers, and business professionals. Why is there a need for peak performance training? For most people, old and faulty belief systems interfere with our ability to achieve peak performance. These systems damage, limit and narrow our belief in ourselves and our abilities. They rob us of the joy we used to feel about making our dreams come true. They tell us, 'Don't bother trying. You'll never get there anyway. It's just a waste of time.' What's the secret to believing in ourselves? Think of a child at play. Children don't 'try' to learn or succeed. They just learn and succeed. They're not playing at being firemen. They ARE firemen! Adults find it more difficult to dream and think positively and joyfully about our goals. We've lost the courage to dream because, over the years many of us find that our enthusiasm for life somehow vanishes. That's when it's time to fearlessly look inward. We all have a passion for something. Sometimes it just takes a while to uncover or rediscover it. How do we get in touch with that passion? I begin by helping people reconnect to what they love to do and why. Only then are they able to achieve a level of personal excellence. Once they discover a goal they're passionate about, we design a realistic plan to achieve it. Hypnotherapy is one of the tools I use because it puts people in alpha and theta brainwave states; highly receptive levels of consciousness where suggestibility is at its maximum. Working in these states of consciousness enables me to access dynamic and creative centres in the brain that are generally unavailable during a normal waking state. Powerful, positive suggestions can be programmed into the unconscious that greatly stimulate the ability to learn, improve and even perfect technical skills, as well as increase confidence and self-esteem. Why is picturing success important and how is it done? In order to be successful, you need to have a clear picture of what your goal looks like. You also need to be very certain about why you want to accomplish this. To be able to picture success requires learning and practicing some mental skills such as visualization and imagery which can help you experience and benefit from achieving the goal even before it occurs." Ultimately, peak performance isn't just about technical excellence. It's about the purpose behind the whole experience-your deepest motivation. Remember that success comes in many forms. Realising a goal you've set - even if that goal is just to enjoy yourself - is success. What should a skydiver do when negative thoughts interrupt their mindset? Positive images are a good place to begin. If you're having negative thoughts in the plane, you can 'change the channel' by replacing the negative thoughts with positive or neutral ones. Think about anything else; a great skydive, the band you saw last night or an exciting movie. A technique I sometimes use is to pretend I'm a great skydiver (I get a clear picture in my mind of my favourite skydiving hero) and then I ask myself, 'What would he be thinking now? How would he be acting now?' Then I act and think as he would. Pretending you're someone else can produce amazing results because you wind up doing things that you couldn't normally do. You temporarily forget your limitations and then they're not limits any more. Why is mental training important? Mental training helps to ensure that, at least for the duration of that skydive, negative thoughts won't return. If you've practiced, you can learn to get rid of self-doubt the first time it invades your mind. This isn't to say that those thoughts don't warrant your time and energy at a later point. It's important not to ignore your feelings. But for the time being, you need to concentrate on the task at hand. The point is to have a number of mental techniques at your disposal. Carpenters don't walk around with just a hammer in their tool box. When negativity invades, and it does for everyone at some point, you need to be well prepared. What other tools are useful? Try looking at a situation from a different perspective. I have my own way of looking at things. So do you. Most of us believe that ours is the only one. But you can make a mediocre experience into a great one just by thinking about it in a different way. We move towards what we see - and if you see a mediocre skydive, that's probably what you're going to create. That's why you hear smart people say, 'Don't practice mistakes.' It's not a good idea to watch a video over and over, focusing on the errors. If you make a skydive with ten mistakes and one good point, take a quick look at the mistakes, learn what you can from them, but then delete them from your mind and magnify the good point. Fix it in your head. You're not changing the reality. You're just being selective about the reality you're choosing to hold onto. What's the most powerful peak performance tool? My 'miracle tool' is a Personal Vision Statement; a written description of the goal, its time-frame, the steps you'll take to achieve it, and a list of reasons that make it important to you. Writing this out can be time-consuming but it's worth the effort. Most people have thoughts, ideas and dreams of what they'd like to do. But thinking about something is only the first level. Putting your thoughts into words is a second, much more powerful level. A recent study revealed that over 90% of Olympic gold medal winners had their goals down in writing. The third level is taking action in the direction of your goals. The idea is to begin living your dreams and not just thinking about them. Thought, word, and deed are cornerstones in every major philosophy and religion throughout time. The idea in peak performance is to reach for the highest thought. Mental Training for Skydiving and LifeWhy is this tool so powerful? It forces you to answer the question, 'Why am I here?' That's the hardest question for most of us to answer, which is why it's usually the one we're afraid to ask. What keeps each of us moving toward what we want to achieve is our level of passion. If you desire peak performance in any area, you first have to access the passion behind it - the passion that created the goal to begin with - and then you have to constantly draw on that passion as fuel, especially when the going gets tough. If you want to run a certain time in a marathon or achieve a level of excellence in skydiving - or whatever it is you aspire to - you have to face the fact that there will be days when you don't want to train. But if you hold fast to your highest thought, which ultimately turns out to be your deepest and most compelling motivation, then you can continue through the difficult times. And then anything becomes possible. John was talking to Margaret Winchell Miller ([email protected]) Contact John DeRosalia at [email protected] for his book, Mental Training for Skydiving and Life, and performance enhancement tapes

The 'Diamond .3' wide-angle video camera lens is now available. The lenses are handmade in Japan. The Diamond .3 wide-angle lens gives a video camera a 110-degree field of view with very little barrel distortion. The lens is NOT a fish-eye. The lens has no vignette (black corners in the field of view). The lens is perfect for freeflying, flat flying inside video, relative work and AFF coaching (from the instructor's angle), CRW, canopy swooping, BASE jumping or anything that an inside, wide-angle view is desired. Capture up-close shots with a crystal clear, non-distorted view. The size of the lens is very low profile. The diameter is 44mm (1 ¾ inch.) and the length is 8mm (5/16inch). The small size has many benefits. It puts less stress and wear on the camera's frame and standard lens. It minimizes vibrations and camera shake since it is more than ¼ the size of other lenses. The chance of a riser strike on your camera's lens is decreased, as well as contact with any other object. It is available in two different thread sizes, 30mm (pc-1, 3, 5, 9, etc.) and 37mm (pc-7, 10, 100, 110, etc). In most Sony camcorders, no adapter ring is needed. The retail price of the lens is $200 US. Summer Sale Price of $175 (plus s/h) For more information, contact Max Cohn at: [email protected], or at 201.538.4652, or visit http://generationfreefly.com/diamond.3/ for more pictures and information.

I've always considered myself to be an average recreational skydiver. Although I've been throwing myself out of airplanes for twelve years now for various reasons I've never been able to afford to jump as hard as is needed to be really good at this. A year ago while I was lying around recovering from back surgery I decided that 2002 is my year; this is the year that I'm going to go from being average to being one of the best female big way RW jumpers in the world. I'm going to be a world record holder! My employers, Kate Cooper and Tony Domenico, are the dive organizers and two of the principals in Jump For The Cause. They were responsible for organizing the current Women's World Record skydive, a 118 way which was achieved in September, 1999 at Perris Valley Skydiving in California. The 1999 event was also a benefit for breast cancer research, raising almost a half million dollars for the Susan B. Komen Foundation. I was involved in fundraising for the '99 event, but my skydiving skills were not up to the level required to be a part of such a big dive. JFTC is doing it again in 2002 and this time it's going to be bigger and better. Plans are to not just break the old records (both skydiving and fundraising) but to shatter them! The dive will be a 141-way, and the fundraising goal is to raise over one million dollars in donations. The beneficiary this time is the City of Hope, a hospital just outside Los Angeles, California. JFTC's focus is again breast cancer as this form of cancer hits far too many women, including several survivors who were on the '99 dives and will be a part of the '02 dives also. The City of Hope treats patients suffering from all forms of cancer without regard to the patient's ability to pay. Coming back from 15 months stuck on the ground due to a back injury to being a part of the next women's world record skydive in only ten months is a huge goal. Getting there is going to require not only a lot of jumps, but also a large financial, mental, physical and emotional commitment. Over the next months I'm going to keep you up to date on my progress toward this goal through monthly "dispatches" as I go about chasing that world record. Getting back in the air slowly so I would not re-injure myself was important to me. Since jumping safely is one of my primary goals I sold my old gear and upsized both my main and reserve. Once I had my new rig complete it was time to start jumping again. I did one solo on January 5th just to see how it felt. That jump went well, and it felt so good to be back home in freefall that I did another the next day. The following weekend it was time to do an RW jump and see how the back held up. Saturday the 12th I showed up at the Perris DZ and hooked up with RW organizer Mark Brown. He had a 9 way group already on a twenty minute call so I joined them to make it a 10 way. We dirt dived a few points, geared up and got on the Otter. I was diving out of the plane right behind the base, which was a great test for the back. Very happy with my flying on that dive; even though we never built the first point I was in my slot and flying pretty well. My back muscles were a bit sore after that dive so for the second dive of the day I did another freefly solo and worked on my sit. Kate and Tony were organizing some larger dives for the Jack Off To Perris boogie the next weekend. They were asking for a full day commitment from those who wanted to join them; this meant five RW dives in one day. While I was unsure of my physical ability to make five hard RW jumps I committed to doing it for one day anyway. Showing up at the dz at 8 am on a chilly Saturday morning was the first challenge! Thanks to a pot of coffee and thermal underwear I managed to get there a few minutes early. A group of 26 jumpers met up in the Bombshelter for the briefing. Looking around I saw jumpers with a wide range of experience, from 200-ish jumps on up to several who were part of the world record skydive done in Thailand in 1999. After a briefing from Kate and Tony emphasizing safety we adjourned to the creeper pad to dirt dive the first load. Much more time is spent on dirt diving a larger formation load than on any freefly or smaller belly fly jump. First the organizer places the jumpers in their slots, then everyone shifts around for the second point, then back to the first. After running through the dive several times the organizers put it in the plane, with half or less of the jumpers directed to the trail plane and the rest to the lead plane. After a few run-throughs of the entire dive, from exit to breakoff, it's usually just about time to load the plane. Everyone runs off to grab their gear and meet up in the loading area for another dirt dive or two in full gear. This is the time you focus on memorizing your keys - the four to six different things that will let you know you're in the right quadrant, docking on the right person and setting your body up at the correct angles - and being sure that you know what you need to do to make the second point happen. The sun was starting to do it's job as we loaded the planes for the first load but my feet were still semi-numb despite the two pairs of socks I had on. I'd be floating the trail plane on the first jump so I was one of the last to climb on the Otter. We were a happy little group; manifest had given us the plane to ourselves so we had a comfortable and fast ride to altitude. The ability to predetermine what the fall rate will be on a larger dive and to "dress for success" accordingly, whether by using different suits or by adding or subtracting lead, is a primary skill for the big way jumper. I'd just purchased a slightly looser RW suit, this one with booties, as a replacement for my aging, skin-tight Pit Special (bootie-less) and was wearing it for the first dive of the day. As I approached my slot I was fighting to stay down with the formation; it took me several tries to get into my slot and make the smooth soft dock that was my personal goal for that dive. Unfortunately for me, I didn't realize what my problem was right away. We landed from the first one and I dropped my gear off with the packers. Hiring a packer is highly recommended when you're doing a big way camp; often there is barely enough time between landing and the video debrief to get packed up. Using a packer gives you time to hit the bathroom, grab a bite to eat or just to relax for a few minutes instead of rushing to pack and make the debrief. I found it well worth the $5 each pack job cost me. The second dive was going to be a repeat of the first so the dirt dive went much quicker. I didn't "dress for success"; instead I did the second dive in the same baggier suit because it allowed me to wear a sweatshirt to combat the cold. This was a mistake, as I learned when I was once again fighting to fall fast enough and still make a smooth controlled dock. For the third jump I debated between adding a weight vest or switching to my other, tighter suit. I decided to go with the other suit since I'd done enough jumps in it to be comfortable flying it; I've done so few jumps with weights that I am not yet confident in my flying skills wearing them. This turned out to be a good decision; although the third jump went to shit around me I was in my slot, falling fast, and had achieved my personal goals for that dive of a clean approach and a smooth and soft dock. The fourth jump was a repeat of the third, both in my flying and the fact that the other side of the formation was having all kinds of problems. For the last jump of the day Kate and Tony gathered three more really good jumpers to make it a 29 way, and they invited freeflier Brandon Park to play around and under us. For this dive I got to exit as a floater from the SkyVan. Floating the Van meant that I'd be exiting just ahead of the base; my job was to hang off the rope handle mounted on the wall of the inside of the Van and leave on the "G" of "Go." What a fun exit! The visuals of watching the base and then the divers leaving the tail is one of those things a whuffo will just never understand. The first point was to be much like the first two dives; a six way star with 5 and 6 way loops built off of them. We built that to 28 with one jumper going low and unable to get back up to join the formation. Kate keyed the second point anyway and we broke to a three way donut surrounded by "whackers" - the completed formation would look much like the business end of a weedwhacker. Even thought only one of the three whackers completed it was a fantastic jump for me - my whacker was complete and it was so cool to see Brandon carving around and under us! Even better for me… that was my 799th skydive. I was surprised to find that even after doing five hard and fast RW dives on Saturday I was not as sore as I'd expected to be that night or the next morning. I was strongly tempted to join the group for five more on Sunday, but I had to reserve Sunday for my son David's first skydive, an AFF Level I; this would be one skydive that I did not want to miss! My 800th jump was another freefly solo, bombing out the door just prior to David, his instructors and cameraman. I landed in the student landing area and met up with him as soon as he landed. A new skydiver had been born! The next day at work I again thanked Kate for letting me play on the great skydives we did on Saturday. I was very pleased when she told me that I'd done pretty well; as long as I continue jumping and getting really current I'd likely have a slot on the record dives come October. Going from where I'm at today to being a world record holder involves a huge financial, emotional, physical and mental commitment for me. The financial area is a big one for me, as I'm a single parent who prefers the mental and emotional satisfaction I get from my job instead of the larger paycheck I might be able to get working elsewhere. I've started my fundraising efforts. US$2250 is a lot of money to raise and I'm not able to donate the entire amount out of my own pocket. Several of the active posters in the Forums here on Dropzone.com have already started me on my way - a big thanks to all of them for your early belief in me and your support of Jump For The Cause. Along with my co-worker and fellow JFTC participant Linda Hardesty, I'm having small pink ribbon decals made up by a local vendor; these will be used as thank you gifts for those donating and will also be available whereever I am for a small donation. My federal tax refund arrived! Other than a portion set aside for some very needed car repairs, the majority of this year's refund will be going toward skydives, coaching and the deposit required of all of the dive participants. The application for my FAI sporting license has been faxed to NAA and my license should be in the mail. This license is required of every participant on an aviation sport world record attempt. A copy of the FAI license and a card showing membership in USPA or an equivalent non-US aero club, both showing expiration dates after the dates of the record dives, must be submitted to JFTC to assure a jumpers participation in the dives. Why am I doing all of this when my slot on the dives is not yet assured? That's where the mental part of my commitment comes in. Dr. John Rosalia, in his book "Mental Training for Skydiving and Life" says to achieve any goal you must first "begin thinking, living and acting as if you already have what you are striving for." Securing my slot on the dives is one of the smaller goals I've set for myself along the way to reaching my ultimate goal of being a world record holder. Working on this theory, the day the money showed up in my checking account I handed dive organizer Kate Cooper a check for $225 to cover the deposit for the WWR event. By beginning my fundraising, spending the money and taking care of the neccessary paperwork now, I'm living and acting as if I already have my slot on the record dives; in my mind it's already a done deal. Should some unforeseen circumstance keep me from reaching my goals, all moneys I've collected will be applied to the fundraising goals of other women who have their slots but are having problems raising the needed funds. Stay tuned for the next steps along the way to becoming a world record holder… Donate to JFTC though Lisa using PayPal and the email address: [email protected] Dropzone.com is an official sponsor of Jump for the Cause Lisa Briggs (skybytch) is a moderator in the Dropzone.com Forums

Cup a load of this, girls! Forget the Wonderbra, here comes the no-blunder bra. Gorgeous TV presenter Gabrielle Richens shows off her curves in a futuristic creation which promises to keep a firm grip on ample bosoms at very high speeds. Designer Louise Cain, a keen skydiver, came up with the idea after seeing what effect the extreme sport had on well-endowed girls' assets. The G-Force resistant bra uses shock-absorbing springs and hydraulics in its high-tech cups to prevent bounce. It will also leave breasts the pairfect shape at any angle - even upside down. Louise - who unveiled her prototype in London recently - said: "Skydiving does the most unflattering things to your chest. When I was pregnant my breasts ballooned to a double F but I still did a lot of sports. It left me wishing for something that would keep them under control. "I also have a couple of large-breasted friends and one said after a night out clubbing, she was so painful from all the jumping around." The 36-year-old, of Catford, south London, took inspiration from hit PlayStation 2 game WipEout, an anti-gravity racing simulation, and aimed to create a bra that responded to movement but also looked good. She added: "Every way you move, the springs and hydraulics work together to readjust and keep the bra's shape. We've had very positive feedback from those who have worn it. They couldn't believe it at first." Sexy Gabrielle, 26, who presented Channel 5's Desert Forges and modelled for Asda, agreed. She even hailed it as the bust thing to happen for women since push-up bras. The stunner said: "It feels fantastic and is incredibly comfortable. It gives great cleavage and is the type of bra you can where for sport because it keeps everything well contained. "Push-up bras are actually quite uncomfortable and this is definitely an improvement." Louise is now looking for support from lingerie manufacturers to get her sexy number out in front of shoppers. Two versions are planned, one for clubbing and one for sport. But she hopes it will also prove a winner with female astronauts as it promises a firm round breast in any atmospheric pressure. And if Gabrielle's planets are anything to go by, it's sure to send sales rocketing. ~ The Sun

WILSON -- Marni Evans literally "dropped in" for her 90th birthday party Saturday afternoon, jumping from an airplane cruising over her farm at 12,000 feet. She said she wanted to show her friends that age is just a state of mind, even when you're nearing the century mark. More than 100 well-wishers waiting in a pasture at Springhill Plantation craned their heads upward as a dot in the sky slowly became recognizable as the form of Evans and skydiving instructor Tom Tharp dangling from a red-and-white tandem parachute. Scott Smith of Jackson and Keith Nielson of Lafayette, who followed Evans and Tharp from the plane, landed first, drawing "oohs" and "aahs" from the crowd for their flawless touchdowns. A few seconds later, applause rippled around the pasture as the guests watched Evans and Tharp float to the ground. The crowd rushed forward to capture on film and videotape the big smile lighting Evans' face while she wriggled out of her jumpsuit and gear. "It went flawlessly. It was a super day and a super crew. I'm proud of all of them, especially my mom," said son Kirwin Ross, as he aimed his camera at the group. "It's going to be like stepping on a pillow," Smith had predicted before the skydivers took off from the landing strip at Jackson. Except for Evans losing her balance when Tharp bumped into her, Smith's prediction was on the money. Still, more than one person waiting in the audience was apprehensive. "Some people were hoping it would rain so she wouldn't get hurt," guest Henry Chase said. But the weather couldn't have been better. Before climbing into the Cessna 210, Evans wisecracked with pilot Tom Allain of Baton Rouge and the others almost nonstop, but grew serious for a moment to explain the purpose of her adventure. "The whole objective of this is to let these young people know that you don't have to get old just because you've been here a long time," Evans said. "Stay active ... stay alive as long as you live," she said. Evans is the oldest student Tharp has tutored in the sport of skydiving. "I've jumped with an 84 (-year-old), so this is my record," he said during the flight preparations. "She doesn't have to worry; this is my second jump," he joked. As she donned her jumpsuit and harness, Evans told the group the jump would be a first, but not for wearing a parachute. She explained that she had strapped a parachute on all the time while learning to fly in her younger days. Evans' exploits were a theme among the guests as they watched the plane make lazy circles in the sky to gain altitude. They spoke of her athletic prowess, her earning many awards in Senior Olympics competitions, her volunteering to lead exercise classes at a nursing home and her arriving at her 80th birthday party in a helicopter. Arriving for the party, Ann Reiley Jones held a sheet of paper in her hand. "We were asked not to bring gifts, but I wanted to do something, so I wrote down 90 adjectives to describe Marni," Jones said. "It wasn't hard. I thought of 10 more on the way over here."

ALOR STAR: Braving strong winds and limited landing space, 25 skydivers from six countries jumped off the Alor Star Tower here yesterday. They leapt off the tower’s open deck at 105m and were on the ground within 18 seconds. It was the first time that some of them had jumped from such a low level, which added to the challenge. Retired army special forces captain Mohd Norizan Mohd Yunus, 42, said they had to release their parachutes within two seconds. He said a person needed to complete at least 200 normal parachute jumps before becoming a BASE jumper. BASE is the acronym for buildings, antennas, spans and earth – the four types of platforms from where skydivers execute their jumps. “We were in the air for between 13 and 18 seconds only,” said Norizan, who had done 1,233 normal parachute jumps in the last 19 years. Yesterday was his fifth BASE jump. Canadian Linda Pouffard, 26, who was the only woman skydiver, said she could feel her heart beat in every jump she made in the last five years. Policeman Eric Simpson, 40, from the United States, said the low level, strong winds and limited landing space made the jump more challenging. The event was held in conjunction with the Sultan of Kedah’s birthday celebrations and was Menara Alor Star’s inaugural international jump. The skydivers from Australia, Canada, England, Sweden the United States and Malaysia will also participate in the Kuala Lumpur Tower International Jump 2002 on Sunday where they will leap from a height of 300m

Laurie Steel and co-author A.T. Clinger are working on a skydiving book and are looking for support from the skydiving community. We are looking to represent the sport in a way that has yet to be explored, and give both other skydivers as well as non-jumpers a view of our world. What we ask from personnel at your drop zone is that they pick out their two favorite or most memorable logbook entries (whether new or old ones), and have them photocopied and sent to us. We would like to make a collection of these pages, as well as a one-page biographical section for each contributor and a quote to be placed under each person's entry. Intermixed with the bios and logbook entries will of course be the requisite cool skydiving pictures that we all love so much! In short, those of you who would contribute to this project will have the privilege of being immortalized in a book about our sport. This project isn't expected to make much in the way of revenue, so all we can offer is the chance for recognition for being one of the few that has experienced the ultimate freedom of human flight. Drop zone personnel are asked to forward this letter to all of your skydivers, both famous (as well as infamous) and low-timers to get total representation of our sport from all angles. We all deserve to be famous for something--why not for something we all love? Interested parties may e-mail the authors at the following addresses for more specific info: [email protected] or [email protected] Those who are interested may send photocopies of their logbook entries, as well as any photos they wish to be included to either of the following Addresses: Book Info 6549 34th terrace north St. Petersburg Florida 33710 OR Book Info 902 Northwood Dr. A-8 Murray, Kentucky 42071 **When Logbook entries are received, we will send a biographical info form for contributors to fill out** **Photos will not be returned, so please make re-prints of your originals** Logbook entries may also be faxed to the following #: 727-347-4329 Blue Skies! A.T. Clinger and Laurie Steel

Sylvester Armand St. Cyr passed away in his sleep earlier this month. It was a peaceful transition for a very productive, prolific member of the cast of the human stage and arena. Sylvester St. Cyr joined the Christian Skydivers Association in October 1994, number 215. He was a retired teacher, actor/writer, a member of POPS, SOS and jumped at Perris Valley, California. He had made over 1,000 skydives. Sylvester was a spokesman and recruiter for the CSA at POPS and SOS meets throughout the country and in Canada and Australia. In May 2001 he organized the First International CSA Freefall Fellowship at Perris Valley. Sport parachuting was not the only adventure that Sylvester knew. A paratrooper in the US ARMY in the early 1950's, he was also a two-time boxing champion and coach of the championship team while on duty in Korea. Following his stint in the military he became an undercover narcotics officer for the New Orleans Police Department. As a New Orleans patrolman, he was the victim of kidnapping and attempted murder. He escaped by defying the perpetrator's orders to run a police road block with his cruiser and instead aimed it at a tree and jumped just prior to the vehicle's impact. His adventures in undercover work and the characters he met provided the background material for his book, The Saint and Sinners. Sylvester was also an authority on New Orleans style jazz musicians. His father, Johnnie St. Cyr played in Louis Armstrong's band and with many other popular musicians. He grew up in the music business and learned it first hand. His acting career spanned movies, television and most notably the stage. Sylvester appeared in at least fifty stage productions including "Guys and Dolls," "The Philadelphia Story," "A Raisin in the Sun," and "A Soldier's Play." In addition, he also performed stunt work. In his later years, Sylvester, nicknamed L'Ange Noir or The Black Angel, teamed up with his long time friend Paul H. LaCroix to perform skydiving exhibitions, especially for high schools. LaCroix and St. Cyr, both from New Orleans, had known each other since 1947. LaCroix piloted their airplane, a Cessna 172. Often accompanied by Bob Pruitt, they claimed to be the only Black Skydiving Team in America. Sylvester lost his pilot and old friend this past summer when LaCroix also passed away. St. Cyr often filled the counselor role in his earlier work as a teacher. He was always concerned with the lack of direction in some of the young men that he met. "They think that the only way to make it is professional sports," he once said. Sylvester wanted to demonstrate that the sky's the limit for opportunities and furthermore, pro sports is open only for a few. L'Ange Noir has flown into eternity to join his beloved Jesus Christ. We will miss him but pray that his example will remain a strong vision to those that gather at the drop zones and venues around the country where he left his smile, his love and his encouragement. This is a Eulogy for Sylvester "Saint" St. Cyr by Ron Schott, CSA1 of the Christian Skydivers Association. Sylvester Armand St. Cyr West Covina, California 29 May 31 - 3 Jan 02 by Ron Schott, CSA1

Almost exactly 20 years ago, Charles Bruce was crouched in the belly of a Hercules C-130 flying low over the south Atlantic, contemplating one of the most treacherous parachute jumps of his life. It was not merely that he was planning to leap into the surging southern ocean; even in perfect conditions the jump, which required pulling the ripcord at a mere 200 metres, was "a real bottle job". There was no guarantee the chutes would open before he and the rest of his British Special Air Service (SAS) squadron, of which he had been a member for one week, hit the water. The slipstream, he knew, was often so volatile on exit that people could flip over and lose their balance, and the low altitude would give them no time to recover. Despite being "the new boy", Bruce was by far the most experienced skydiver, having made several thousand jumps compared with the hundred or so of his colleagues, so his opinion was sought on the viability of the jump. "I don't believe in practising something you can only f--- up once," he said to grim nods. They decided to go for it. Last Tuesday, Bruce, known as Nish to his SAS colleagues and everyone else, made his last jump. He and his girlfriend had been in Spain taking part in a skydiving display, and were returning to Northamptonshire after a brief refuelling stop in France. Judith Haig, Nish's partner and an experienced skydiver, was flying their jointly owned plane. Nish was in the passenger seat. Exactly what happened next is unclear; even Haig may never be able to account accurately for her passenger's actions. But somewhere over Oxfordshire the plane got into difficulty, and Haig asked for permission to make an emergency landing, due to severe icing on the wings of the plane. Sixteen kilometres from the base she radioed again. Nish had apparently slid his seat right back and undone his seatbelt. Haig reached over to grab him, a source in the investigation said, but he pushed open the door of the aircraft without warning and tipped himself out headfirst, his weight pulling him beyond her desperate, screaming grasp. What leads a man like Nish Bruce, handsome, successful, well respected and well loved, to step into a winter sky and drop himself into oblivion? Bruce's elderly mother told reporters that she did not believe he had been depressed, but friends are not so sure, and if it does indeed prove that Nish took his own life, those who knew him cannot claim to be entirely surprised. Charles "Nish" Bruce was no stranger to demons. A former soldier in the SAS and member of the Red Devils parachute display team, he had seen sights, he later said, that "most people would not believe". "In the Falklands I saw dead men so deformed that their own mothers wouldn't recognise them - boys of 18 who had tried to slit their own throats because they had been so badly burned." In 1994 he had a complete breakdown, attempting to kill his then girlfriend. Bruce was born in 1956 into a comfortable, middle-class family. His father and grandfather were both military men, and growing up he was instilled with awe for military endeavour. He joined the Parachute Regiment at 17, and a year later, in Northern Ireland, saw his first dead body. A year after that he married, his son Jason following in 1978. In 1981 he joined the SAS, but while he made it through the gruelling training course that supposedly proved he could withstand extreme trauma, he found the process dehumanising. Seven years later he was discharged for "not being a team player". In 1994 the bubbling anxieties finally, violently, surfaced. After the breakdown, he would separate his life into "the time before I went mad" and everything else. In 1998 he wrote Freefall, a startling book about his military service and his breakdown, told with excoriating honesty. It is clear that his experiences in the special forces were never going to lead to an easy life after discharge. "We shouldn't be surprised by what happens when men experience what these men have experienced," says Bruce's friend and literary agent, Mark Lucas. "They are trained to survive in a landscape in which the dividing line between life and death is extremely thin." Bruce's 1998 autobiography now looks like vivid evidence of what some had already begun to call the curse of the SAS. In several of the pictures, Bruce is accompanied by a close friend, Frank Collins, another former special forces soldier. Now both men are dead; just as the book was being published Collins had gassed himself in his car, a well-thumbed copy of War and Peace at his feet. It is easy to conclude that Bruce, who was deeply affected by Collins's death, was a victim of the same post-career anticlimax. Certainly he was a thrill-seeker, climbing Everest after his discharge and becoming a professional skydiver. At the time of his breakdown he was training with the Russian space agency for an attempt to break the world altitude freefall record, leaping from 32 kilometres up on the very edge of space. Lucas believes the extremes to which he pushed his mind and body during the training may have contributed to his collapse, but says in Bruce's case it is too simplistic to conclude the SAS was inevitably to blame. Perhaps, the much-loved ancient pull of the sky to Bruce's troubled head became, at his end, just too much to resist. "Nothing else comes close to those first few seconds after leaving the plane," he wrote in his biography, "because once you take that last step there is no going back. A racing driver or a skier or a climber can pull over and stop, have a rest, but with parachuting, once you cross that threshold, you have to see it through." - Esther Addley in London for The Guardian

A Mandatory Service Bulletin, SB-1221, has been issued and posted on the Precision Aerodynamics website. SB-1221 affects original configuration Raven Dash-M reserve canopies and P-124 Emergency parachute canopies that were produced before April 12, 1999. SB-1221 does not affect any canopies in the original Raven series, Super Raven series, Micro Raven series, or Raven Dash-M canopies produced after April 12, 1999. SB-1221 requires installation of one additional bartack at each of the 'A line' and 'B line' attachment points, for a total of 16 additional bartacks on the line attachment loops. The Raven Dash-M and P-124 series of reserve parachutes were tested within a range of 300-360 lbs at 180 knots and developed opening forces in the range of 2168 to 3660 lbs as measured in accordance with Aerospace Standard 8015A, the drop test standard for parachutes certified under FAA TSO C-23d. Since the introduction of the Dash-M Series in 1996, we have seen hundreds of documented saves throughout a wide variety of emergency situations. Reserve parachutes are generally designed, rigged, and packed to open more quickly than main parachutes, but until recently we had never seen canopy damage when used within the Maximum Operating Limitations of Weight and Speed. Within the past 30 days, we have witnessed 2 separate occasions wherein the integrity of the line attachment system of 2 different Dash-M canopies has been compromised during normal use by persons who are documented as having been within the Maximum Operating Limitations of Weight and Speed. In both cases, the jumpers reported exceptionally hard opening shocks resulting in canopy damage and hard landings. Damage to the referenced canopies was consistent with canopies having been tested to destruction when dropped beyond the limits of Maximum Operating Limitations of both Weight and Speed, while at the same time tumbling or otherwise presenting a non-symmetrical loading scenario to the deployment sequence. Exceptionally hard opening shocks generated by the subject canopies have prompted this Service Bulletin. Forces generated during opening shock resulted in a cataclysmic compromise of the line attachment system, with collateral damage extending upward generating torn canopy fabric and downward generating broken lines. The initial point of failure appeared to be similar in both cases, beginning in the region of the off-center A line attachment point. Subsequently, transient loading migrated outward and rearward affecting the integrity of some of the adjacent line attachment loops.The failure mode was in the destruction of the .75 x T-III MIL T-5038 line attachment loop tape, manifested by pulling the attachment loop tape away from the canopy but leaving the associated stitching intact (image 2). Compliance with this Service Bulletin enhances the line attachment structure of the original Dash-M and P-124 configuration and subsequent test data indicate that it increases the line attachment integrity by more than 100%. For compliance details, please download a copy of SB-1221 from the Precision Aerodynamics website at http://www.aerodynamics.com Precision Aerodynamics Download SB-1221 from Dropzone.com

New Zealand - A 46-year-old skydiver died yesterday afternoon after crashing while completing a manoeuvre close to landing at an airfield near Hastings. The name of the man was not available, but he was understood to be one of a small visiting group. The crash happened towards the eastern end of the Bridge Pa Aerodrome runway, 10km west of Hastings. St John Ambulance operations manager Barry Howell said two crews went to the airfield just before midday and treated the man briefly, but he died soon afterwards. Hastings police Acting Senior Sergeant Greg Brown said early investigations indicated the man's parachute had opened properly and was operating normally. But the skydiver accelerated close to the ground and made a heavy landing, possibly as the result of an error. Police took statements from witnesses and were trying to contact the man's next of kin.

As skydivers, we like to tend to think that we know a little more about life than the average Joe Blow Whuffo. We like to think that we see something that others don’t, and never will, without experiencing the incredible rush of crossing the threshold of an airplane door at 12,000 feet, entering into the unfamiliar world of freefall. Sometimes, knowing how we and what we do can be regarded as insane by a good portion of the world, we can use that knowledge to gain a sort of perspective on the world that was never available to us before we took that first step. Some of us told our families that they were just going to have to live with the fact that we skydive. Well, I guess most all of us told them that in one way or another. Regardless of how it was worded and how positive they were about the whole notion, though, I have heard one thing echoed throughout the industry and the families who support us; what makes the fear bearable is the knowledge that what their loved one is doing means the world to him or her, and that is what matters. As our friend, Taya Weiss, leaves for South Africa for a year, it is this same attitude that many have expressed; we are all sad to see her leave us, but at the same time, are so pleased that she will be following her heart in taking this enormous step for her life. Taya is a 24 year old skydiver from Northern California, who, in the past year and a half that she has been jumping, has generally been found at Bay Area Skydiving in Byron, or Skydance Skydiving in Davis (with at least one reported sighting at the Chicks Rock! Boogie in Elsinore). After graduating from high school at the age of 16, she attended Harvard, where she acquired a bachelor’s degree in Social Theory. She is a highly intelligent, caring, inspirational individual, who has a lot to offer the world and its citizens. It is Taya’s passion for helping others which has lead her to make the decision to spend next year in South Africa, working with a human rights organization called Visions in Action (www.visionsinaction.org). Everything that Taya has is going into this endeavor. As a friend, and someone who thinks she is an awesome person, I offered to help her in raising the money necessary to survive through this yearlong volunteer position by sponsoring a raffle in her name. Basically, we have nearly 20 prizes totaling over $2500 in possible value, from some great sponsors. There is anything from a free pair of freefly pants from Firefly, to free copies of Good Stuff, both the VHS and new DVD versions, discounts off of helmets, ½ off a new Reflex II container, and much more. I would encourage you to check out the website below for more information, and to send off a quick e-mail to wish her well. The days are counting down to her departure at the end of December, and any and all moral support is greatly appreciated. So, If you want to have a chance to win cool prizes cheap, throw a couple of dollars in an envelope and send it off. Not only will you have a chance to win, you will be supporting a fellow skydiver in making a difference in the world. For more information, check out the website: http://tayatoafrica.topcities.com You will see options to participate through paypal and through US Mail. The paypal account is [email protected] (also the address for any questions relating to the raffle). Please visit the website for the snail mail address. You can email Taya at: [email protected] Blue Skies! "Skydiving is an expression of freedom, courage, and individuality, a physical and visceral celebration of life at its most intense and beautiful. At the very least, it will be the best adrenaline rush you've ever had." – Taya Weiss