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Found 523 results

  1. DECATUR, Texas (AP) - A single-engine plane carrying 21 skydivers and a pilot flew into turbulence and crashed shortly after takeoff from an airfield east of Decatur on Saturday, injuring five people but killing no one, the pilot and a Department of Public Safety official said. Pilot Tom Bishop, 58, said the takeoff was normal until the 1956 Dehavilland reached about 300 feet. He said a wing was caught by a "dust devil," a whirlwind that normally travels along the ground like a small tornado and becomes visible because of the dust it sucks into the air. "It just got under my left wing and rolled the plane to the right. I counter-acted with the rudder and aileron in the opposite direction, but there wasn't enough altitude to recover," said Bishop. The pilot said he had flown for 45 years - 30 for Delta Air Lines. Bishop said he planned to climb to 14,000 feet, the altitude from which the skydivers would jump. One of the skydivers was in the cockpit with him and was unconscious after impact, Bishop said. "We got everyone else out. I didn't know what was wrong with him, just that he wasn't breathing, and I began giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Then I noticed his seat belt seemed to be cutting off his air, and when I released that, he immediately took a breath," said Bishop, who suffered a broken rib. Bishop and his wife, Jean, own Skydive Texas which is based at Bishop Airport, a private airfield east of Decatur, about 40 miles north of Fort Worth. She was not aboard the plane. "It was traumatic. But I was expecting to see a lot worse," said Danny Timmons, a jumpmaster who was in the hangar at the private field from which the plane took off. Timmons said he heard the crash at about 12:30 p.m. and ran three-quarters of a mile through mud, losing both shoes, to find most of the skydivers already out of the plane. Timmons said if anyone had been flying but Bishop, who flew competition aerobatics for 10 years, "I believe there would be dead people. He brought it down in the safest manner he could." Timmons said most of those on the plane were experienced skydivers who jump each weekend. He said injuries were mostly broken legs and ribs. Texas DPS spokeswoman Tela Mange said the injured were taken to hospitals by helicopter. One person was listed in serious condition, three were stable and one was fair, she said. "My heart just fell," said Renee Thrasher, a Bishop family friend who drove to the crash site. "They're wonderful family friends. Jean has been there when I've needed anything. The whole family has." Marty Deiss, who lives less than a mile from the field, said she had seen many skydiving trips taking off and landing. "I would have no problem flying with them," she said.
  2. Westminster man who smashed window trying to parachute off hotel has landed an acquittal. Harry Caylor found a thrill to match jumping off downtown buildings -- in a first-floor courtroom of Denver District Court on Wednesday. A four-woman, two-man jury had just acquitted the 31-year-old Westminster man of reckless endangerment. "I'm about to have an aneurysm," Caylor joked, noting that the feeling was similar to what he goes through in as a BASE jumper. "Racing pulse. Pounding heart. Sweaty palms," Caylor said before hugging his friends and lawyer. Prosecutors had charged Caylor in a botched Oct. 2 parachute jump that ended with his smashing through a window on the 21st floor of Embassy Suites. They contended that glass fragments would have rained down upon a hotel concierge on 19th Street if she had not stopped to pick up a pen beneath a canopy. But Caylor's lawyer Gage Fellows argued that it was just an accident and that the concierge, or doorkeeper, was not in harm's way. Fellows also emphasized the precautions Caylor took before jumping. He also pointed out that there is no law in Denver against BASE jumping, which stands for Building, Antenna, Span and Earth. Those arguments proved persuasive, said jury forewoman Larissa Hernandez-Ottinger. "We felt he took a lot of precautions," she said. "He planned this out carefully. "Something did go wrong, which is bad. But because of all the precautions he took, no one was injured." Juror Cecilia Sambrano said she agreed that the concierge did not appear to have been in danger. And several jurors said they believe the city ought to have a law against BASE jumping off public buildings. But since no such law exists, they saw their verdict as a separate issue. Hernandez-Ottinger said the jury might have convicted Caylor if he had been charged with trespass. Prosecutors did not file that charge, in part, because a door leading to the roof had been left unlocked, said Lynn Kimbrough, a spokeswoman for the Denver district attorney's office. "I'm still sorry I did it, and I'm definitely guilty of breaking their glass," said Caylor, adding he had offered to reimburse the hotel. But he was elated with the verdict. "We're going to name a cliff in Moab, Utah, after Judge Doris Burd," the trial judge, he said. "And we'll name a cliff for every one of the jurors."
  3. A Jackson County judge on Thursday approved a $27.5 million settlement for families of the pilot and five sky divers killed in a Grain Valley plane crash. Engine manufacturer Teledyne Continental Motors of Mobile, Ala., is to divide the money equally among the six families. The company admitted no fault in the settlement. Circuit Judge J.D. Williamson approved the settlement after hearing from members of four families. Lawyers said it will become final soon after members of the other two families testify. The checks are to be paid by May 11. Lawyers said the $27.5 million was among the nation's largest pretrial settlements in the crash of a small plane. Plaintiff attorney Gary C. Robb said a separate contractual agreement with the company, involving engine overhaul manuals, was more important to his clients than the money. Teledyne pledged to revise the manuals. "From the beginning our clients wanted to remedy the engine problem," Robb said. "They have succeeded." The company denies any engine problem. Robb, who represented the four families at the Thursday hearing, said the March 21, 1998, crash happened because badly designed oil transfer tubes failed and starved the engine of oil. Smoke and flames billowed from the Cessna engine as the pilot tried to land at Grain Valley Airport. The plane clipped a tree, cart-wheeled to the ground and burst into flames. All aboard died. Robb said his review of the company records found 14 other cases of engine failure caused by such oil tube failures. The records only go back to the mid-1980s, though the company made engines with the faulty tubes from 1945 to 1995, Robb said. The engines went into small planes made by many different companies, Robb said. "Who knows how many other engine failures and deaths resulted because of this," Robb said after the hearing. Robert W. Cotter, attorney for the company, disagreed with Robb. He said the oil tubes did not cause engine failures. He admitted no liability. Separate from the legal settlement, the four families received letters from Cotter Thursday. In them, the company pledged to change its printed and Web site overhaul manuals to tell mechanics and owners to inspect the oil transfer tubes. Cotter said he would not comment on letters that were separate from the settlement. Robb said the pledge is part of a legally binding contract. Members of the four families said they never would have agreed to the settlement without the letters. Judi Rudder of Oskaloosa, Kan., widow of sky diver Marion Rudder, said the families quickly agreed on two things - a required warning and an even split of any settlement. "Our whole mission on this was to keep people safe," she said. "We knew together we could make a bigger difference, and we wanted to be fair." Brad Buckley of Independence, the son of sky diver Kenney Buckley, said he lost a father and did not want others to lose loved ones. Other members of the Greater Kansas City Skydiving Club who died were Eric Rueff, John Schuman and Julie Douglass. The pilot, David Snyder, also died in the crash. The Snyder and Douglass families are to appear at later hearings to finalize the settlement. Belinda Schuman of Lawrence, widow of John Schuman, said the families want to make it clear that a plane crash - not a skydiving accident - killed their loved ones. Her husband loved skydiving and had made 2,300 jumps, she said. "We got married on the anniversary day of his first jump; he said he'd always remember that date." Another defendant, Jewell Aircraft Inc. of Holly Springs, Miss., settled the case previously for $1 million, which also was equally divided among the six families. The company, which admitted no wrongdoing, did an engine overhaul on the Cessna 10 years ago. Robb said he probably would drop the case against several other defendants that include Whuffo III, the owner of the plane; Freeflight Aviation Inc., an aircraft maintenance company; and White Industries, a company that sold the engine. His investigation, Robb said, also answered the key question of why the sky divers did not jump out of the plane. When the pilot first radioed at 3,000 feet that he heard an engine noise, he called off the jump and started to land, Robb said, but by the time the engine burst into flames it was too low for anyone to jump. Judi Rudder said the question of why no one jumped had troubled her. "They just didn't know it was going to be that bad," she said. "They thought they could get down safely."
  4. admin

    Dana Bowman Brings Hope

    ALEDO - For 20 students in Stacie Ragle's fourth-grade class at Stuard Elementary School, helicopter pilot Dana Bowman's visit Friday was an exciting learning experience. For one student, 10-year-old Kylie Houx, the visit was a chance to prepare for the fact that on May 8 her feet will be amputated. Bowman, a former Army Golden Knights parachutist who lost parts of his legs in a skydiving accident seven years ago, flew to the school in a Bell 206 Jetranger III to show Kylie and her classmates that losing an extremity does not necessarily mean losing ability. "It's not about disabilities. It's about abilities," the retired Army sergeant said.Kylie was born with a medical condition that retards bone growth in her lower legs. As she grows, her feet lean inward, causing her to walk increasingly on her instep. The problem becomes more severe over time, and although surgeries and medical devices have given her some relief, the best option clearly is replacing her feet with prostheses, said her father, Frank Houx, a 45-year-old car salesman. Bowman, who lives in Weatherford, was injured Feb. 6, 1994, as he practiced with fellow Golden Knights parachutist Jose Aguillon over Yuma, Ariz. The two collided at a combined speed of about 300 miles per hour while rehearsing a maneuver in free fall. An automatic device opened Bowman's parachute when they collided. Aguillon was killed. Bowman's left leg was amputated below the knee, his right leg above the knee. Since the accident, he has jumped with the Golden Knights, has earned a bachelor's degree in aeronautics from the University of North Dakota, and has become a certified helicopter instructor. He also skis, on snow and water, and scuba dives. Through the Dana Bowman Limb Bank Foundation, a nonprofit organization he heads, Bowman makes speaking appearances nationwide. He distributes information about himself and his foundation through a Web page, www.danabowman.com. Bowman told the students that he overcame the mental and physical pain of his injuries and loss and lives a full life. He uses modern prostheses of steel and titanium. His brain has allowed him to pick himself up and to do anything he wants, he said. "I've still got my mind, right?" he told the students. Turning to Kylie, he encouraged her about the pending surgery. "You are going to be able to do whatever you want to do," he said. After the talk, Kylie and her parents went up for a few minutes in the helicopter. Kylie, small, blond and shy, said she learned much from Bowman's speech but didn't quite feel like talking much about the day. During the helicopter ride, she talked away, her father said. "She was just rattling away on the headsets." Joanie Houx, 47, said the visit helped her daughter. "Kids get scared about this," she said. "When they see something like this, it makes everybody more comfortable." For more info go to Dana's web site
  5. Jim Slaton is widely recognized as one of the most accomplished canopy pilots in the world. Dropzone.com spoke to him and asked him about his involvement in the newly formed Para-Performance Pro Tour. We also wanted to know more about the Evolution Canopy Control School and used the opportunity to ask him about his thoughts on the wing loading and how small he thinks canopies will shrink. Here's what he told us and some more. Tell us about your involvement in the Para-Performance Pro Tour? I am the Para-Performance Pro Tour event director. Who are the drivers behind this new initiative and how did it all come together? Tell us a bit about the history. After several years of observation, it was clear that the evolution of the high performance canopy pilot was out growing our available competition circuit. I listened to what the competitor wanted and required. Almost every Pro competitor motivated me to build a tour in one-way or the other. What are the goals of the Para-Performance Pro Tour? What would you like to see happen in the next year, two years? The goals of the Para-Pro Tour are simple: "Provide intense, challenging swooping competitions in the safest manner possible for the evolution of high performance canopy flight". We have set goals and we plan to see them through. For example, none of the competitions or judging on the tour will be open for interpretation. Canopy pilots on tour will be ranked and competition records will be recorded. What do you consider to be the biggest challenges and obstacles on the road to success? What is success in the context of the tour? Three words: Participation, Education & Motivation Tell me a bit about the Evolution Canopy Control School. Elsinore Evolution offers professional canopy instruction tailored for today's modern skydiver. The school offers beginner, intermediate & advanced coaching. The school is the next step in the evolution of controlled canopy flight. Who's involved? How did you guys come on the idea? Elsinore Evolution is made up of Icarus Canopies factory team (Luigi Cani, J.C. Colclasure, Clint Clawson, Jim Slaton, Wyat Drews). The idea of creating a canopy control school is not new. In fact, professional skydivers have been onto the idea since the early 1990s and probably before. With the rising popularity of high performance parachutes and it's extreme canopy competitions, it's a good time to offer a structured alternative to learning the old fashion way. Any takers? Do you find that people are interested in formal canopy flight training? We have had a lot of students taking advantage of this program. Most of the students are learning the basics and several others are preparing for their first canopy competition. Who and how are you teaching? Who are you targeting - experienced swoopers who want to become great or will you take me too? The Flight training program starts with basic aerodynamics and then moves on to design parameters, flight environment, psychological approach, flight training & high performance flight training. The student starts the course based on his or her experience, learning objectives, and goals, etc. The school offers training for all levels of canopy pilots. How did you get into high performance canopy competitions? I started competing in competitions through a canopy manufacture. Parachute testing and just fooling around with my friends. What do you see as your greatest achievement in skydiving? That's a hard question. I guess I have enjoyed providing an additional opportunity for the skydiving community. I've enjoyed organizing canopy competitions for my friends and fellow skydivers. Besides swooping, what's your favorite skydiving discipline? I would have to say freeflying. I was part of the "Orbit Punks" freefly team and operated a freefly school before dedicating all my time to canopy swooping. What's your favorite canopy and wing load combination? ICARUS EXTREME CANOPIES. I enjoy flying at several different wing loadings. I can't tell you what my favorite wing loading is but I will say I feel the most efficient at around 2.3..... or is it 2.6? With your team mate Luis Cani flying a 46 sq Ft canopy and talking about trying something smaller, how small do you think we could go? Luigi & me spend a lot of time experimenting with wing loadings and airfoil types. I have seen Luigi load himself up with weights and fly the VX46 at over a 4.7 wing loading! However, Luigi is one of the best canopy pilots in the world and has one of the best testing grounds as well. There comes a point with aerodynamics that you start sacrificing one type of performance for another. When you reach a high enough wing loading for your airfoil type, you begin sacrificing lift for speed. The smaller the wing and the higher the wing loading, the more airspeed you need to create lift. All pilots need lift for a safe and productive landing. This is why parachutes flown at very high wing loadings don't always out swoop their competition and don't always land pretty. Overloaded canopies are not always efficient and are very tricky to land. However, just because they are not efficient doesn't mean they can't be landed safely. Technological advancements in canopy designs have open new doors for pilots flying at higher wing loadings with smaller wings. Future designs will make this opportunity even more epic! I feel Luigi Cani could successfully land an Icarus Extreme down to 28 sq feet! This is a bold statement, but I know he can and probably will. Keep in mind Luigi makes over 1000 jumps each year and trains daily in high performance canopy landings. He has some of the best aerodynamic engineers in the world behind him and is backed with the support of some of the biggest canopy manufactures in the business. What would you consider to be low, high, medium and extreme wing loading? Low 1.2-Med 1.6- High 1.9........Extreme loading are 2.0 and above What advice would you give someone just starting with swooping who plans to become good at it? Take advice, choose wisely who you listen to, train hard, stay current, be patient, make a plan, stick to the plan, explore all aspects of your current canopy before you move on, practice high speed approaches and new maneuvers over water, wear a helmet, don't panic, think ahead, make a smooth approach, make smooth inputs to the canopy, pay attention to what your canopy is doing, don't force it & BREATH! Thinking about the high number of people hurting and killing themselves under perfectly good canopies, what do you think is the most common mistake that can prevent a lot of these accidents from happening? A pilot needs to understand some basic aerodynamics. The pilot needs to know why canopies act the way they do when they do. If you understand the performance envelope of your canopy and it's limitations, you can better understand what to ask of it or what not to ask of it. To make things worse, the wind is never constant, turbulence is always waiting, density altitude is changing and the pilot has to deal with this all at the same time during his final approach. As a wise man once said, "Never initiate a turn you won't be able to complete before you hit the ground" About Jim Slaton Age: 30 Hometown: Amarillo, TX Home Drop Zone: Skydive Elsinore, Ca Year of First jump: 1990 Championships: 2000 Pro Blade World Freefall Champion, Para-Performance Games 3rd place-accuracy record holder-Distance record holder (321 feet!), PSST Caribbean Challenge 3rd place, 2000 Summer Jam Canopy Challenge Champion, Pro Blade Houston 4th place, ect Total Jumps: 3000 or so How many cutaways do you have? 20 (I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not) What gear do you jump? Icarus Canopies, Precision reserves, Infinity rigs, Cypress (waterproof housing) Pro Track/Pro Dytter, Jump Shack custom pilot chutes, Firefly jumpsuits, Bonehead helmets, Gatorz eyewear What canopies do you own or fly? Icarus Extreme VX 60,65,69,70,84 How did you become interested in skydiving? Through the military Who have been your skydiving role models? J.C. Colclasure, Rob Harris, and that older guy that always jumped with his dog at Quincy! What do you like most about this sport? Skydiving allows us the opportunity to explore the limits of human flight. What do you like least about this sport? Politics If you had to quit skydiving tomorrow, what would you want to do instead? Become an astronaut Tell us something most people don't know about you. I spent 10 years on active duty in the Army Airborne Ranger Regiment. In addition, I lived in Germany and spent four years as a parachute test jumper for a European company. Anything else people should know about Jim Slaton? I think I have said enough already, Peace!!!!
  6. After more than a year of testing, the engineers at Sun Path Products Inc, are proud to release the Javelin "Odyssey" harness/container system. In keeping with the tried, tested, and proven reliability of the world-famous Javelin, the Javelin "Odyssey" takes comfort, strength, performance, and fashion, to a new level. The "Odyssey" will be tested under the FAA TSO category C 23 (d), meaning that it will be drop tested to weights in excess of 300 lbs. The new rig features longer riser covers, eliminating any exposure of the main or reserve risers, but not hindering the opening characteristics of the canopy. New "anti-twist" technology main risers, incorporating plastic riser tube inserts, are featured on this container. The tubes are of a composition that meets, or exceeds, the test conditions required by the FAA TSO. The advantage of plastic tubes is that they can be "crushed" in a car door/trunk, and continue to function. The new "Odyssey" will also feature the Oetiker clamps, which clamp the release and reserve housings in place, thus eliminating the need for hand tacks. The "Odyssey" will touch you where no other rig can with its new "cut-in" backpad (the lateral straps exit the backpad closer to the center of the main container, instead of at the corners). This feature of the Javelin "Odyssey" allows for the lateral strap to contour around the lower back, keeping the container snug against the jumper. The jumper and Javelin "Odyssey" move as one. High-speed free flyer, competitive formation skydiver, or weekend warrior, the Javelin "Odyssey" stays snugly in place. The Javelin "Odyssey" features a new quilted-look, extra comfortable backpad, affording unsurpassed luxury while sitting in the plane or waiting for your load. New legstrap geometry is currently under evaluation and will become available as soon as testing is complete. The Javelin "Odyssey" also features split leg straps as standard. By splitting the webbing, and making the leg strap wider, the weight of the suspended jumper is dispersed through a larger area, providing exceptional comfort under canopy. The Javelin "Odyssey" will be available in new "space-age" durable fashion fabrics, previously unavailable to the general public. These new fabrics have been tested for over a year, before officially debuting on the 2001 Javelin "Odyssey". These new "space-age" fabrics include a leather-look fabric, available in black, navy, green, and brown. The colorful "houndstooth", a checkerboard pattern, is available in a variety of colors. Also new to the market, is our "Diamondback" fabric, which is a ribbed parapack fabric, where the ribs are in the shape of diamonds. The "Diamondback" is available in six different colors. We will have a limited supply of a funky "hologram" plastic fabric, which will be available for the pop-top and midflaps. Promotional material, and fabric samples, will be available in the near future. The Javelin "Odyssey" offers exceptional safety, performance, comfort, and fashion, from a company that has proven itself an industry leader in skydiving harness and container manufacture over the last decade. The Javelin "Odyssey" will premier at the PIA Symposium, and will beavailable for order after January 27. The retail price of the Javelin "Odyssey" will be $1650 and include all of the above mentioned features. For more info, contact a Sun Path representative.
  7. Fifty-three skydivers have leapt off the world's fourth tallest communications building, the broadcasting tower in Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur. Hundreds of people watched the jumps off the observation deck of the 421m tower to celebrate Kuala Lumpur's City Day. It is the second time in recent weeks Malaysia has allowed skydivers to parachute off buildings - a sport that has proved controversial in other countries. Base-jumping - or parachuting from buildings, bridges and cliffs - is considered more dangerous than conventional skydiving from planes and at least 39 people have died since 1980. It runs foul of trespassing laws in most countries, where governments and property owners fear lawsuits if there is an accident, and many jumps are now carried out in secret. However, Malaysia has welcomed the sport, which some say could be promoted as a tourist attraction. On New Year's Eve, 15 jumpers leapt off Kuala Lumpur's Petronas Twin Towers, the world's tallest buildings. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad expressed delight at the feat which was watched by 100,000 people. The company which set up the event hopes to stage an extreme jumping world championship in Malaysia in August. Freefall Those taking part in the latest leap included skydivers from America, Australia, Malaysia, Sweden, Canada, Britain, Iceland, Norway, New Zealand and Switzerland. Each parachutist was expected to make 10 jumps from the 300m mark on the tower during the six-hour event. The skydivers freefell for about three seconds before opening their parachutes. "It's a treat to be here," said British jumper Nikolas Hartshorne. "Malaysia has done something that America won't do." "Getting a building elsewhere is very hard," added American Avery Badenhop. "But here, people seem to realise we should be free. It's our life, it's our fate." Malaysian officials say they recognise the perils of base jumping and all 53 parachutists signed insurance waivers. Rozitah Idris, marketing manager for the broadcasting tower, said he believed the sport would help draw tourists to Malaysia.
  8. MCHENRY -- Tandem skydiving may come to the Garrett County Airport if the Pittsburgh Skydiving Center Inc. meets four requirements set by the Garrett County Commissioners on Tuesday. Saying an agreement should be no more restrictive nor more liberal than others operating out of the airport, the commissioners agreed with the recommendation of the Garrett County Airport Commission. Director of General Services Gary Mullich presented an official request from the Pittsburgh Skydiving Center in December for a formal lease agreement with the airport by Jan. 31. The commissioners approved the request but did not agree to a waiver of liability insurance. The county does not have any building space to lease to the center, and area for land lease would need to be added to the Airport Layout Plan and approved by the Federal Aviation Administration. Electricity and water are not provided to land lease tenants; they provide their own. "You would have to have a good reason to deny anyone the use of the airport," Mullich said, since it receives federal funds. The skydiving center would have to give the county a hold-harmless agreement and would have to have an agreement with the county if it uses the airport as a base of operation. Don Bick of the skydiving club, which operates out of Connellsville (Pa.) Airport, met with members of the advisory group in December. He would like a standard three- or five-year lease, beginning May 1, with an option to renew. The group is interested in leasing appropriate building space or installing a mobile office. The county requires $1 million general liability coverage. The skydiving group has $1 million in premise or "slip and fall" insurance, and $50,000 in third-party insurance for all licensed skydivers through the United States Parachute Association, but says it cannot get general liability coverage, Mullich said. Bob Railey, a local pilot, said the group seemed to have a pretty smooth operation at Connellsville. He said it might be possible for them to just use a trailer as an office on weekends. He felt it would be an attractive business for the county and could not see any airplane operations vs. skydiving issues that would hinder either activity. Ken Wishnick, president of the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce, said the skydiving club had joined the chamber and asked if any staff members wanted to jump. "A few are actually considering it," said Wishnick. "I would love to do this myself," said Deb Clatterbuck of the chamber. "You would be jumping with a jump master," she said, stressing safety must be first. The addition of the skydiving, Clatterbuck said, "would be an inclusion of another adventure sport and of course, the increased amusement tax received off that." Also the number of take-offs and landings at the airport would help make it eligible for an increased runway. "Dick assured us the jump would not interfere with any planes coming in, and would not take up much room at the airport," said Caroline Hill, co-manager of the Garrett County Airport. "He said they were quite busy up in Connellsville. They haven't had any problems, but there are a lot of questions to be answered. "Some local people have supported him and I think there is an interest," she said. She is worried some about parking problems because of the participants and curiosity-seekers the event would draw.
  9. DELAND -- A skydiver plummeted to her death Wednesday evening near U.S. 92, and investigators worked well into the night trying to determine exactly what happened during the final moments of her fall. Chantal Bonitto, 31, of New York City, was pronounced dead at the scene, an EVAC spokesman said. Her body was discovered shortly after 5:30 p.m. in a wooded area along U.S. 92, directly behind the Flo Met office building at 810 Flight Line Blvd. Bonitto was vacationing in the area and was taking part in jumps offered by Skydive DeLand, according to the DeLand Police Department. She was no stranger to skydiving, having completed at least 100 jumps, said DeLand Police Lt. Paul Proctor. "It's still too early to tell what happened," Proctor said Wednesday night. "At 100 jumps, it would seem to be they know what they're doing to a certain degree." Proctor said people who witnessed Bonitto's fall offered conflicting stories as to whether the woman's parachute opened. "That's where some of the stories differ," he said. Some eyewitnesses reported they did not see a parachute open. Others, Proctor said, reported seeing Bonitto perform a "cut-away," detaching herself from the primary parachute in an effort to deploy a back-up canopy. Proctor said local investigators, along with the Federal Aviation Administration, will investigate the incident. He said more witnesses would be interviewed, including the pilot of the plane from which Bonitto jumped. Bonitto was married, and her husband was at the scene Wednesday night. His name was not immediately available. Proctor said he did not know if Bonitto's husband was a skydiver. Skydiving injuries and fatal accidents occur sporadically in DeLand, Proctor said, due in part to the sheer volume of participants. Skydive DeLand officials have previously said they average nearly 85,000 jumps per year. "There are just a huge number of skydivers in the area," Proctor said. Two skydivers were reported injured in April, one of them critically. In April 1999, a French skydiver died after her parachute malfunctioned and failed to open properly. The 55-year-old woman was an experienced skydiver with more than 500 jumps. 2000 News-Journal Corp.
  10. For the past three US Nationals, the Wild Humans have topped their competition in the canopy relative work event of 4-way rotation. Known in the past as rogues and the back street gang of the CRW community, this reformed team is marking up a new chapter and serious side to their history. Sort of. "This is the first Nationals we didn't have a cutaway," says Stu Wyatt. "(In the past), we hardly ever practiced. We were known for coming and getting our practice at competitions. We always had the attention of everyone, because we were learning while we were on video." The history of this team starts as far back as 1979. Stu Wyatt's older brother, Doug, started skydiving shortly after Stu, and because they had "a bad reputation for wanting to learn too fast," people veered away from jumping with them. That left each other. So, the two brothers spent a lot of time doing stacks and free fall together. Around 1981, Jeff Wagner asked the two brothers if they wanted to build a canopy formation team, with Bill Storms as their fourth. The team, Wild Humans, was born. Wagner organized one of their first experiences together. Wagner wanted his NCCS, an 8-stack award. It was to be performed at night, under the full moon out at Stapleton. Stu, who up to that point had no more than a 3-stack experience, closed the top as number 9, and Wagner got his award. "I was jazzed," says Stu. "I didn't get the NCCS (due to technical fumbling), but we got broke in pretty good.". The team started competing and training for the Nationals. They got third place that year. They also entered the Nationals with one different team member, but they were just going to learn and have fun. After about three competitions, the team faded. Scott Chew, wanting a new chapter on the Wild Humans, approached the Wyatt brothers three years ago about reforming. Scott wanted them all to commit to a certain amount of training jumps. Joined by Joe Berning, the same four have won the gold at the '98, '99 and '00 Nationals. They also had the opportunity to go to the World Championships in Finland, where they placed fourth overall, but were proud to give the top-ranked Italians a run for their money on the first round. Doug notes, "We're way more serious. Used to be completely for fun." In that vein, they put in about 100 training jumps a year at their home drop zone in Colorado. They also had Scott, a certified rigger, redesign their deployment procedure with a pull-out pilot chute system. Doug says, "We lost a lot of points in Finland over a pilot chute in tow. Our (new) method allows us to pull the pin by putting the pilot chute handle inside, up against the apex where the bridle meets." Another feature also flattens their pilot chutes after their canopies open. "Even though our parachutes are so little (126 PD Lightnings), we can't have that little pilot chute up there; it will affect our landings," notes Doug. "Our wing loading is 1.7. And these canopies aren't designed to land well from the get-go." So, these US Nationals proved to be their test run, and it was their best to date. Their throwaway round was 16 points, five points better than their competition's best. They will be attending next year's World Meet in Spain. "To be in contention, we need to get 200 practice jumps in between now and then. The big boys in the world get 500-600 practice jumps," says Stu. "We're looking for sponsorship. There's only so much T-shirts can do for you." But one thing the Wild Humans have always excelled at is public relations. In Finland, "while we were doing formation, we were the only team that landed together, and it excited the fans. They were rooting for the USA, even over their own teams," says Doug. Their name and attitude definitely precedes them. And their tattoos. The temporary gnarly, tooth canopy tattoos seem to be stuck on anybody within their reach. "It's a good ice-breaker with people; we talk to them, and it's a little more personable. Then, we try to sell them a T-shirt," laughs Stu. But for the World Meet, "we plan on keeping the same game plan. If we're consistent, we can do it," says Stu. "This is the first time we've put up consistent scores all the way along. But even in those 17's, we had some problems. We want to work out those glitches." However, it was their very own Scott Chew who was awarded a very special honor, the Overall Canopy Relative Work Medal, for scoring the best in all three CRW events. "Usually, it goes to a team, but these guys let me ditch them," Scott laughs. He joined Clean Leap in 8-way speed, and his Wild Human teammates says it was due to no less than Scott's presence that Clean Leap won their gold. Scott has 6,000 jumps, the most of his team, and has accomplished such bold maneuvers as building a 2-stack off of the River Gorge Bridge. The other three have about 3,000 jumps apiece. "It's amazing you can still be an athlete over 40 in CRW. Some of these old boys have been around a long time and they're good flyers. It's kind of ageless to some degree," says Stu. There's a history of jumping with the Wyatt brothers, and Stu has a T-shirt that lists all of the people that have competed with them. Stu says, "We have two rules. First, there's no such thing as rules. Second, you can't change the rules." So, what came first--their name or their behavior? Stu answers, "We considered ourselves 'wild humans' before we even got into skydiving." But these bad boys turned somewhat good are getting up to world-class levels. They're a little more serious, but not losing any of the fun. All four got a permanent version of their team tattoo this past summer. "It shows one's commitment to some degree," says Doug. A lifetime, noting the permanency of real tattoos, to which he responds, "Naw. We won't stay together a lifetime. But it'll bring back good memories." "Yeah, we'll be legends in our own minds," Stu jokes.
  11. admin

    Airspeed Soars

    Not in the 25 years of skydiving formation competition has a team won both the 4-way and 8-way events in the same year; Arizona Airspeed dared the odds in 1999. The latest 52-minute Airspeed video, released by Solid Entertainment, produced and directed by Jonathan Griggs, is one of the best skydiving stories on the market. It's engrossing, touching and best of all, sheds a positive light on the sport. And at only $30, it sold out at Square One in its first week and is already being restocked. The journey started for filmmaker Griggs back in February 1999, after he had written a movie script based loosely on the Airspeed story during the time the French were dominating the competition circuit. In order to promote the script, he contacted people within skydiving, which turned up a mutual friend of his and Airspeed's. Griggs traveled to Eloy, Arizona to talk to Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld, one of Airspeed's members, about the project. "I was blown away by how Airspeed operated, how committed they were to the sport and thought they had an amazing group dynamic. I hadn't seen that in life, let alone skydiving," says Grigg. "Their story for that year had to be told." He returned to New York and began to research both the production logistics that would be involved as well as the markets. "I was turned down by everybody," Griggs grimly notes. But because time was short, he decided to go out-on-a-limb and started financing the project with his own credit cards. One of the most important concepts of this documentary for Griggs was to design "a mainstream program that a whuffo could enjoy watching." He wanted the audience to have an emotional attachment to the characters. He wanted to portray skydivers, not as adrenaline junkies or crazies who get killed for their recklessness, but as solid, thoughtful individuals who have a passion for life--and skydiving. "If a whuffo can identify, then you have your hook. Then, they will stay and watch." So taking a minimal-size documentary crew back to Eloy in June of '99, Griggs started filming the groundwork of the piece. For two weeks, he interviewed the 4-way Airspeed team, the people surrounding them and followed their daily training routine. He spent a lot of time around them, so they got used to his presence and to build up trust. Originally, Griggs did not intend to follow the team to the Nationals, held that year in Sebastian, Florida. He thought the presentation of two competitions, the Nationals and the World meet, would be redundant, in addition to the fact that whether Airspeed won or lost at the Nationals would be irrelevant to the World meet and their standings there. For these reasons, he only took himself to film the event. He was wrong on two accounts. First, Griggs shot some of his most amazing footage in Florida. No less than two world records took place at that year's Nationals and a hurricane to boot. Second, this Nationals' segment added a lot to the whole middle section of the story. These championships introduced both the 4-way and 8-way dynamics of the team, and no longer could Griggs keep them separated. They operated as a whole. The outcome of these Nationals also influenced the team's feelings very much at the World event. So, the tape wraps out at Corowa, Australia at the World Skydiving Championships with Airspeed, also known as Team USA, representing the United States in both the 4-way and 8-way competitions. They are going after the gold in both, which would be a first-time achievement. The results both at the Nationals and at the World meet may be well known to the inner skydiving world, but to newcomers and outsiders, it's unpredictable. Makes for one fascinating story. The video is beautifully shot, despite the raw footage only being on Beta SP and mini-DV. They filmed using only natural light, and it hasn't even been color corrected. John Castello was Grigg's cameraperson in Arizona, Jack Scott in Australia, and Griggs himself tackled that duty in Florida without any prior experience whatsoever. Combined with several freefall videographers' work, the visuals are captivating. The editing is especially notable. At no time is one full formation skydive played all the way through--this is a good thing. Instead, the story builds tension and compassion by cutting away to Airspeed's challengers and entourage. For non-skydivers, formation skydiving, though well explained in the video, can get monotonous to watch. Grigg's intentions of keeping us immersed in the feelings of the piece works very well. While Griggs was shooting in Florida, he received no less than three written offers from the Discovery channel to come into his production efforts. Now, it was his time to turn them down, as he wanted to maintain creative control and tell the story his way. As a result, we are rewarded with one fine masterpiece. Solid Entertainment, a distributor from California, is currently shopping Airspeed for the television market. Griggs also has a meeting with the BBC later this month. Griggs seized the opportunity of a weather day here at the Nationals 2000 to premiere his work to rave reviews. For Griggs, the past 18-month journey was never about the money. To him, the compliments and watching people's faces makes the trip priceless. When someone comes up to him and tells him that they now have a video that they can show their folks that shows and proves why they love skydiving so much, to Griggs, that's the biggest compliment he's gotten.
  12. "Judging was only a little bit better than last year's (Nationals). Only because it couldn't be worse." Ted Wagner at the U.S. National Skydiving Championships 2000. Many competitors and judges simply do not understand each other. They certainly don't agree on some of the scores that end getting posted. And maybe too often, judges miss making accurate calls, which ultimately determine some teams standing worldwide. This situation is not new to just skydiving; it's prevalent in many other sports. But observing the outcome of this year's Nationals and the numerous busts that the judges missed in their multiple viewings brings up the questions on how judges are trained and how they address their work task. In talking with Ted and Tim Wagner, both who have designed and revolutionized the sport with their scoring system, Omniskore, and Rob Work, who was a judge at this year's Nationals, they all agree that certain modifications would not only help everyone, but are desperately needed. All three are also former competitors and Golden Knights, so they're very aware of the views from both sides of the fence. Fifteen years ago, skydiving did not have full-time teams. Now, there are many, but there are still no full-time judges. Judging has not kept pace with the evolution of the sport. At the Nationals, the judges get paid a mere stipend of $40 a day. Tim suggests that maybe if they got paid $100 a day plus all expenses, the demand for the position would be greater. "Make it competitive. Sign up 15 judges, put them through boot camp before the Nationals and whoever pushes the buttons the best, put them in the meet," Tim says. He feels that teams that are already paying tens of thousands of dollars will be more than cooperative in paying more in entry fees just to get a higher caliber of judging. It is these very judges, who score their performance at the Nationals for example, who determine if they get to go to the World meet. This is not taken lightly by either side; however, competitors have more to lose from a false ruling or inconsistencies. The judges also need to practice more throughout the year. The Wagner brothers designed a piece of software a couple of years ago that mimics a judging panel, called the Omnitrainer. People can play the skydive on their VCR and practice pressing the buttons. More important is "knowing the dive pool inside and out like the chief judge needs to know the rules," says Ted Wagner. This is a valid reason why competitors make better judges and need to get more involved in the other side. Judges miss grips placed on the wrong leg or a jumper turned a 180 degrees in the opposite direction all the time. Tim brings up the theory of "perceptual judging vs. analytical judging." He compares it to reading a book. When one looks at a word in a book, one knows what it means as a whole and also knows instantly if it is misspelled. One is not dissecting its parts, or letters. Judging needs to more like that. More instinctual, instantaneous and less analytical. Rob Work defends the other side by saying that when he got into the judging room, he found it to be "an eye-opening experience." He notes, "They are doing their job better than I expected." Rob says that competitors don't understand all the elements going on inside the judging room and should experience it for themselves, if only once. Skydivers need to see how many things judges are actually looking for at the same time and the details that go into preparing a judging round. The judges can't talk to each other or shake their heads if a blatant bust occurs, and they only know a team by its number, not by its standing. Overall, it's hard, hard work. The judging volume at this year's Nationals of "47 skydives in a hour for 10 hours straight" does make it challenging, and human error does creep into the picture. With two panels of five judges, "hopefully, the majority catches (the bust)." Tim Wagner is putting together a Judge 2000 Training Tape. He did another video like this with the '98 Nationals. He compiles 40 to 50 of the more challenging skydives from the Nationals on a tape and proceeds to analyze every jump with a 30-40 page manual. He points out what the judges should look at and how they should judge, often comparing the results to how they were judged. He does have "the advantage of being at home, alone, with his VCR, without the pressure they're feeling here." But his goal is to supply judges with a competent tape and a full summer season in 2001 to practice. "The biggest obstacle is the concept of pushing the point button until they see a penalty," says Tim. "They should hover over the penalty button until they see a point, and that should be the modern concept." He continues, "You're not doing you're job if you don't have a lot of red marks. With fast teams like Maubeuge, you have to be on your toes. You have to be really fast." Because as Rob Works notes from his coaching and competitor background, it is a well known practice to try to "blind them with speed. The judges get into a button pushing mode and are not going to see it." "Judges are afraid to offend," says Ted, and Tim adds, "A really good judge is not there to make friends." But they need to know their job really well. So instead of taking a defensive stance when they're confronted by glaring, demanding competitors, judges can come back with a confident and informed response, "Show me your tape, and I’ll discuss in it what I saw or what I didn't see."
  13. There's good reason why DeLand Tunnel Rage was overwhelmingly voted by 90% of the people present at the U.S. Skydiving Nationals 2000 as Best New Team: They simply blew away their competition in the 4-way Intermediate category to take the gold. They also have a secret: They have less than 100 team jumps together. But by training consistently at SkyVenture, located in Orlando, Florida, these newcomers prove to be an excellent case study of how wind tunnel training can affect overall performance. It was only February of this year that Kyle Starck, captain, Thomas Hughes, Glenn Mendez and Eliana Rodrigueze even formed their team. Three of them--Starck, Hughes and Rodriguez--are SkyVenture employees, but as Mendez describes it, "Training in the wind tunnel is the great equalizer." Take a cross-section of their own individual skydiving histories, and by no means, do these jumpers post large numbers of skydives in their logbooks any one year. Try a modest couple hundred, if that. Hughes, the youngest in the group at age 19, started AFF in February of 1999, only a year and a half before this very competition. But he started working at the wind tunnel the same time he began AFF. He now has 240 jumps. Rodriguez, the only female on the team, has been skydiving for about four and a half years and has about 600 jumps. She's been at SkyVenture for over two years. Mendez is in his 7th year and counting upwards from 685 now. His father was a jumper back in the late '60s, but went on hiatus until his boy started jumping. Mendez's father came out of retirement to video all of Tunnel Rage's practice skydives all the way up to the Nationals, at which point the team hooked up with cameraman Wyat Dreues from Elsinore for the actual meet. Only Starck has cracked the 1000-mark. Both of his parents are skydivers, and he grew up around it. He "allegedly" did his first tandem at age 7 with his father, started packing at 11 and began AFF at 16. He did a bit of RW when he started, but turned into a freefly junkie very quickly. He estimates 1000 of his 1500 jumps are freeflying. But again, he also works at the tunnel. Their only competition experience as a team came from three meets within the Florida Skydiving League. But they noted, they performed "not so well." On the other hand, the received second in one, and on another, they lost over 12 points due to video busts. They used the competitions more as a training ground, and they agreed they still had a lot to work out. Says Starck, "All the practice jumps before this (Nationals) were pretty rough. We weren't feeling very comfortable with things. We took a big chunk of time and went into the tunnel and worked out a lot of the problems we had." Rodriguez adds, "We all have great individual skills, and we had to put it together. It was hard to synchronize at first, we tried to go too fast. We had to get the timing right." So for a full month and a half between the last FSL meet and Nationals, they didn't skydive at all--they went into the tunnel instead. "We did nothing as a 2-way, nothing individually, everything as a 4-way," says Mendez. They consulted each other for feedback. As a result, "We turned a 15 1/2 average as opposed to a 10 average," continues Mendez. In just six weeks, folks They call the solid column of air at SkyVenture, "a phenomenal training environment." And they are excellent proof of their theory and team name. The only thing they were concerned about was their exits at the Nationals. But that obviously worked out. So, Starck got a wonderful 22nd birthday present with their win on Sunday, October 1st, and now Mendez's mother has to go up with Starck on her first tandem, per their agreement if they won. Hughes says, "All those people who think we have an unfair advantage, we don't. Buy some time in the tunnel, and you'll see."
  14. The first time I met him was at the Ranch's bonfire pit, the night before this year's Pond Swooping Nationals. Standing there was a slim, young man with an open, friendly smile and warm eyes, whose speech has such a liberal use of the word "y'all," that I knew it was safe to assume that he wasn't from the area. He introduced himself simply as Chris. It wasn't until well into our conversation that I realized that this was Chris Talbert of the Golden Knights, the U.S. Army Parachute Team. Being a fledgling jumper myself, I wanted to be in awe of this man and his accomplishments. Chris, however, is far too down to Earth to allow that. We spent quite some time talking that evening. Actually, I think it would be safer to say that I spent most the time interrogating him, but he answered all my questions with Southern charm and style. Later I found myself wishing I could have taped that conversation, to share it with others like myself who are just starting out. When I realized this past Saturday night that Chris was sitting just two seats away from me at our local hang out, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to say hello. By the end of the evening, he had graciously agreed to let me interview him on the record. Given how tight Chris' schedule is, and that on this trip he would only be at the Ranch for one more very busy day of coaching our 8-way team, we decided to conduct this interview via email. Name: Christopher Michael Talbert Age: 29 Home Town: Monrovia, Maryland Marital Status: Single Children: One Goddaughter, that's all Year of First Jump: 1993 Number of Jumps to Date: 3800 US Army Rank: Staff Sergeant Currently Stationed at: U.S. Army Parachute Team, "The Golden Knights," Ft Bragg, NC Licenses and Ratings: National Judge Awards and Medals: 12 HR Badge, cant find it, don't know the number! What made you first decide to join the Army? Seemed like the thing to do at the time, the same reason I have done a lot of things in my life! That, and I knew I didn't want to go to college, and was too shy to tell the recruiter to take a hike. If you weren't a Golden Knight, what would your duties be? Bradley Fighting Vehicle Systems Maintenance manager. That's Army talk for being a tank mechanic. What was it that first sparked your interest in skydiving; in trying out for the Golden Knights? I was in a leadership course that everyone in the Army needs to get promoted to Sergeant. I met a guy named Matt Hustead who was on one of the demonstration teams. He got me into skydiving and later on convinced me, along with a few other people, to go to tryouts for the Knights. Did you do static line or AFF? Where? If the training method were your choice, which one; why? I did AFF, it seemed like the easier way to go. And at that time there were 2 parachute clubs on Ft Bragg. Both of them got helicopter support on the weekends from the aviation units. (free jumps from Hueys and Blackhawks) $420 to get your a license, provided you didn't have to redo any jumps. How cool is that? Of course I didn't know it would take me nearly 20 jumps to graduate levels 1-7! A lot of jumpers run into opposition from family and friends when they first start skydiving. Did you? Not outwardly. I am sure my mom wasn't crazy about me skydiving but she has always strongly supported me in anything I wanted to do. The first time she saw me jump, I had my first malfunction, at jump 87. That was enough for her to see that day, but she has never even hinted that she wanted me to quit. When you first started skydiving, did it all come 'naturally' to you, or was there any area that you had some trouble with and needed to work harder at? When I first stared skydiving I was 6'1" 165 pounds soaking wet with rocks in my pockets. The only thing that came natural to me was eating and being a skinny geek! Everything else it seemed like I had to really work to figure out. RW has come more natural then anything else, but I still feel like a rookie and have a lot to learn. Accuracy is a big part of GK tryouts, and that was very hard for me to figure out. I finally got it, but it is the aspect of skydiving I have to think about the most to get it right. What "mistake" did you ever make that you learned the most from? Too many to list I think. One collective thing I have learned from all of them is you have to be able to laugh at yourself, because everyone else is gonna too. How many different teams does the Army currently have? There is one Army parachute team, with four different teams within the Golden Knights. Two demonstration teams, named the Black and Gold teams. The two demo teams travel in excess of 200 days per year, performing at airshows, civic events and military functions. They are the ones most people think of if you mention the Golden Knights. Then there are two competitions teams: the RW, or 8-way team, and the Style and Accuracy team. Both of whom train on a regular basis at the PK airpark in Raeford, NC. Traveling mostly for competitions, but also for a few training camps during the year. What's involved in trying out for the team? Its like pledging a fraternity and going through basic training at the same time. It's a high stress environment, yet there are very few hard standards. Jumping skills are totally secondary to attitude, ability and willingness to learn. And to how much of a team player you are. It's usually 6 to 8 jumps a day, 6 days a week, for 6 weeks. Most of the people cut are for attitude, or lack of experience. The latter are usually urged to try again, if they keep jumping and gain some experience. How often do slots on the team become available? Slots on the competition teams usually come available after a World Meet, which is every odd numbered year for formation skydiving. Slots on the demo teams come available every year, and that's what the people in tryouts are being looked at for. Slots on the demo team. It is possible to go straight to a competition team. Someone has to make it thru GK tryouts first, then if there are comp. team tryouts that year, they are welcome to attend. How many applications are received; how many are accepted? It varies from year to year, there are far fewer skydivers in the Army then most people think. Roughly 55 to 65 applications are submitted, about a third of those are usually accepted (that's just the trend, not a hard stat.) and about a third of those who are invited to tryout make the team. Usually ends up being 7 to 10 of the applications submitted that actually make it. What do the Knights look for in the candidates; how do they choose? See the question about what's involved in tryouts, combine the two if you want. Teamwork, attitude, willing to learn, humility, (yes the GK's actually have some humility!) and a good attitude in the face of adversity. Tell us about your tryout and how it felt to be chosen. One of the hardest things I did in my life. I had to talk myself out of quitting at 4:30 every morning when I was getting out of bed. When it was over I said, "Damn right I made it!" The people who make the team truly earn it, and when you do, you know you deserve it. How many competitions do you enter each year? As many as the Army can afford. Our budget usually allows for 3 Americas Cups, the US Nationals, and the World Meet, or World Cup, which ever is being held that year. How much time do you spend on the road each year? About four and a half months collectively, five weeks of which is all in one shot, from mid January to mid March, when all the GK's go to Arizona for winter training. What is an average day/week like for you and the team? Meet at the dz somewhere between 5:30 and 6:30, depending on the time of year, do physical training for an hour or so, (running, pushups, sit ups, etc. Play soccer a lot as well.) Then start jumping around 8 or 8:30. Make 8 to 12 jumps, debrief and go home. Wind tunnels are becoming a very popular training tool for many individual and team jumpers. How do you feel about the use of them? Are they a good substitute for actual freefall time? How do the commercial wind tunnels compare to the one the Knights use? I think wind tunnels are great, if you keep it in perspective. They are NOT a good substitute for jumping, but they are great for teaching individual body position, piece turns and developing smoothness and speed. The only wind tunnel I have been to (other than the one at Ft Bragg) is the one in Orlando. With two people in it, it seems comparable to the one here in NC. The one at Ft Bragg can support as many people as you can fit in the column, which is about 12 feet wide. 4 people fit well and can get a lot out of it. When you do have a day off, what do you do to relax and unwind? What's a day off? Just kidding. I play a lot of golf, spend time with my Goddaughter when I can. A little woodworking as well. How much longer will you be on the team; in the Army? My time on the team is a bit uncertain, depends on how things go with the US Nationals at the end of September. Then the World Meet. I have 9 years till I can retire from the Army though. Do you plan to continue competing even after your time with the Knights ends? I hope so. There are a lot of people out there I would like to do a team with someday. What plans do you have for once you leave the Army? Ask me in 8 and a half years. Recently you spent your days off coaching the Fantasy Flyers, the Ranch's 8-way team. What do you get out of coaching? What methods do you use, have you found to be most effective? I get a lot out of coaching, mostly just pure fun. I talk a LOT, just ask my teammates. Now someone is going to fly me to another DZ for the weekend and EXPECT me to talk?! How cool is that? I also like to share my knowledge. I have been lucky in skydiving in regard to the people who taught me. Its just my way of doing the same for someone else. Most teams are really eager to learn, and want to know exactly how we (the Knights) do things. I have learned you keep it simple, and try to make very few physical changes. Instead, just change where someone's focus is, or what they are thinking about. Most people, by the time they are on a team know how to move from point a to point b, so I try not to change a whole lot of physical stuff. It's hard to relearn something after so many jumps. On top of all that, I have this golf habit that I have to pay for somehow! As a Knight you obviously do a lot of RW. When you're doing fun jumps, do you try any of the other disciplines? Recently I was accused of being scared to try anything other than RW. I actually freefly as much as I can. That isn't very often, but I do enjoy it. I just point my head at the ground and smile! That and flying my canopy. I am not a great canopy pilot, but do have a blast with it. With the growing popularity of Freefly and Skysurfing, and with all the media interest that's being generated by competitions like the Space Games and the XGames, is the Army likely to start fielding teams for these events? Do you think they should or should not? Come on, this is the government. The fighter that was just introduced last year was first designed in like '87? I don't see a freefly or skysurf team in the near future, but I do think it would be a great idea. Above and beyond all else, we are about public relations, recruiting, and competing for the Army. Those are the 3 missions we have to keep up front, along with safety. How many millions of people would get a chance to see something about the Army they never knew, or thought of, if we participated in the X-Games, or Space Games? What kind of rig do you jump when you're competing with the team; what do you jump for your personal rig? Javelin TJN, Stiletto 120 and a PD 113 reserve, and CYPRES of course. That's my team gear and my personal gear. Obviously you've jumped at dropzones all over the world. Are there any that you would consider a particular favorite? Every drop zone I have ever jumped at I enjoyed. Hell, I was skydiving and hanging out with skydivers. I couldn't say a favorite though. I tried and can't even narrow it down to four. My home DZ is Raeford, NC. I guess I would actually say that's my favorite. That's where it all started for me, and that's where I have the most friends. Is there any one jump in the thousands you've made that really stands out for you as being especially memorable? Three that are equal. Flying the American flag into Olympic Stadium in Atlanta in 1996, for the opening ceremonies of the Paralympics. Flying the American flag into the dedication of the George Bush Memorial Library in College Station, Texas, in 1997. Round 10 of 8-way at the 1999 National Championships. If you could build a team made up of any skydivers in the world, past or present, who would you include? I waited till the end to answer this. Its more difficult than you realize. I have always looked at myself as a little fish, lucky enough to not get eaten in a huge pond. There are several people I would love to compete with. Anyone from the GK's that I have been teammates with gets a standing invitation. Also any past GK's from the 11 straight World Meets they won. AFTER them, any seven (this is MY team, it's gonna be an 8-way team) of the '98-'99 AIRSPEED world champions that would be willing to jump with me. The four members of Deland PD Blue, formerly Deland Genisis, along with John Hoover (my current piece partner on the 8-way team), Solly Williams, and Gary Smith from the '97 South African 4-way team. Or any 7 of Perris Passion 8. Hell, all 8 of them. I can shoot some killer video! Why? Because AIRSPEED is a great organization. I have learned a lot from them and I would like to try training under their mind set sometime. The PD guys and Gary and Solly? I have stood on the outside watching those guys work so well together, they have great team dynamics. And Hoover would KILL me if I didn't offer him that last slot! (this is MY team) And Passion 8? If you have to ask, you're either a wuffo, or have never seen Passion 8! Who are some of your influences, mentors and idols? So many, I don't think I could list them all. My family is my biggest influence. They don't get half of the love and support from me that I get from them; yet they never say a word and just keep on cheering for me. My mentors? If they been on the Golden Knights 8-way team in the past 7 years, they could probably be on this list. Charlie Brown, Eric Hienshiemer, Vern Miller, Trevor McCarthy, Carey Mills, John Hoover, Kurt Isenbarger, Paul Rafferety, Joe Trinko, Craig Girard, Rob Work, Paul Raspino, J.K. Davis. Get the picture? More than anyone though, a guy at Raeford named Kenny Lovett. I think I would have quit a long time ago if it were not for him. Outside of my family, Vince Lombardi is my biggest idol. He is the original tough guy. Ever read his speech about what it takes to be number one? Is there any area of skydiving as a whole that you see as needing more attention, anything that concerns you? Well safety is always an issue. I get spoiled jumping with the same 8 people all the time. It's very reassuring. People between 20 and 500 jumps are my biggest concern. Freeflyers, bellyflyers, whatever. We need to make sure they are getting worthwhile help in their progression. Not just in flying skills, but SPOTTING (How many current jumpers, less than 5 years in the sport KNOW they can spot an aircraft?) canopy skills, and recognizing the old/bold skydiver theory. What advice would you give to low-time jumpers and those still on student status? When in doubt, ask the person YOU trust most, your instructor, S&TA;, DZO, whoever. Remember, just because you started skydiving today, or this week or this year, doesn't mean you were born then too. If it doesn't seem right, ASK! A long walk is better than a short crawl. And now -- just to see if you've actually read this far down -- What's your favorite color, food, quote and swear word? Favorite color? Black and gold....DUH! ...Favorite quote? "You just have to believe," Kurt Isenbarger at the '99 Nationals. Favorite food? My teammates can tell you I am a bitch to my sweet tooth, has to be ice cream or Cinnabon. Favorite swear word? I don't cuss. Just ask my teammates!
  15. Squadron Leader Harry Ward, AFC, parachutist, was born on June 1, 1903. He died on July 24 aged 97 IN THE heyday of the travelling air circuses of the 1930s, the former RAF parachutist Harry Ward toured the world, from Ireland to India, astonishing crowds with his death-defying "birdman" leaps from rickety biplanes. In his winged costume - which imparted a measure of control over the freefall - Ward was an early forerunner of today's skydivers. Ward's costumes were different from those of his fellow birdmen in one important respect. Far too many of those daredevil parachutists stunned the crowds by making a lasting impression on the ground when their chutes became entangled in fanciful clothing. Ward incorporated a release mechanism into his rig, to enable him to jettison his wings before he pulled the ripcord, so reducing the risk of snagging his parachute. In this way he lived to rejoin the RAF at the outbreak of the Second World War and serve as a parachute instructor. Henry Wilfred Ward was born in Hackney six months before the Wright brothers first flew. His first passion was painting and he studied at Bradford School of Art from 1919 to 1921. But he was one of seven children and there was no money to support a struggling artist, so he joined the fledgeling RAF and trained as a carpenter-rigger. He later went to the parachute section at Northolt as a packer, and became a parachutist himself when the commanding officer challenged him to jump with a chute he had just packed. He made his first descent from the wing of a Vickers Vimy biplane bomber. When the RAF's crack parachutist, Corporal Arthur East, was killed making a jump, Ward took his place in the RAF's demonstration team. (During the First World War parachutes had been discouraged on the assumption that flying without them "makes the chaps try harder".) But when the parachute ceased to be a novelty, the demonstration team was disbanded, and with the RAF in decline as the Twenties wore on Ward left the Service in 1929. On the strength of an RAF driving licence he became a London bus driver, and when the bus company formed its own flying club he volunteered to make a parachute jump at the opening ceremony. He was soon earning more from display jumping than from bus driving, so he left his job for the life of the travelling air circus. In the days long before steering toggles he attained a high degree of manoeuvring expertise with a simple 24ft canopy. With the circuses becoming less popular as the decade moved towards its close, Ward worked briefly as a mechanic for Imperial Airways before becoming a civilian instructor at the RAF's apprentice school at Cosford. He rejoined the RAF at the outbreak of the war and was soon helping to set up a parachute training school, to produce airborne forces. The first aircraft were Whitley bombers, with a hole in the floor in place of the ventral gun turret, through which the parachutists had to jump.Ward produced a prototype helmet, from strips of foam rubber purloined from his landlord's sofa, to afford the troops some protection against the hazards of dropping through the narrow slit. He also helped to prove the feasibility of using barrage balloons for parachutists' initial training. He was awarded the Air Force Cross in 1942 and posted to the staff of the Army's 1st Airborne Division. He finished the war as a squadron leader at the headquarters of 38 Group at Netheravon. A civilian again in 1945, he managed officers' clubs in Greece and Germany. Returning to England in 1951, he ran a succession of hotels and pubs in Yorkshire. He was twice married. His second wife predeceased him, but he is survived by two sons.
  16. When you're engineering a blueprint to construct a world skydiving record, you have to start with a solid foundation. Roger Nelson, at Skydive Chicago, was building the 300-Way World Record attempt on Chicago native, Norge Roi. The objective of Skydive Chicago's endeavor to break its own world record was simple. Position twelve aircraft in formation at 21,000' above the ground. Have 300 skydivers jump out of the airplanes. Then, they will fly their bodies and dock on each other to form a pattern of concentric circles as big as a football field. Last, at predetermined altitudes, they will let go of each other, make a 180° turn, place their arms in a delta-wing position, and speed away from each other, deploy their canopies, and land. They have 70 seconds to create the formation while they're dropping through the sky at about 120 mph. Norge isn't just a team player, he's a team builder.It sounds scary, doesn't it. Yet, this effort wasn't about fear. It was about discipline, concentration, and team work. That's why Roger Nelson chose Norge Roi to be in slot "001"- the Captain of "Da Base". Norge isn't just a team player, he's a team builder. Many of the other 299 skydivers who participated in the World Record Camp arrived with thousands of jumps in their logbooks on August 12 to start building the formation. They were committed to making 24 jumps. But Norge's 6 to 15 person Base Team had been practicing all summer. One member drove six hours to practice each weekend. Another drove four hours. The Base Team had launched nearly 200 times, and successfully completed Da Base 97 % of those times. As a union carpenter, Norge understands the value of a cornerstone. Da Base was the cornerstone of the 300-Way. When asked what his duties as Base Captain were, Norge explains, "I was responsible for launching Base on heading, at the right speed, with nice, set back-up plans." Da Base grew from 6 to 15 and then to 60 on the record. But, Norge's responsibility didn't end there. He signaled the entire 300-Way skydiving formation when it was time to stop flying and start deploying their canopies. Break-off altitude for this formation was 6,500'. The team member opposite Norge wore his chest-mounted altimeter upside down, so that Norge can read it without turning his head. Conversation is impossible in freefall. Nevertheless, Da Base Six: Norge, George Wright, Duane Klinefelt, Christa Cross, Robert Lawton, Doug Durosia, and Mark Folkman communicated. "We had eye signals and head gestures-- we were very intimate with each other. My guys were spotting for me, all around me, watching for me." At 6,500', Norge threw out his pilot chute, a piece of fabric that in seconds catches the air, and deploys his main canopy. His pilot chute was the first signal that the dive was over. On video, when Norge's canopy deploys, he appears to be rocketing straight up from the center of the formation. In reality, the formation continued to fall while he was suspended above them. This is unusual because, at the end of a skydive, most skydivers turn and track away from the formation, for collision avoidance, before they deploy. When asked, as the centerpiece of the 300-Way, what he saw, Norge replies, "It was a beautiful thing. It was a trip. I've probably been extracted from 2,000 formations. I watch it every time. It almost looks like I'm taking off from it. It's a beautiful thing, the huge circular platform of colorful human bodies." "It's a beautiful thing. It's a romantic thing. Especially the sunset load." Only a very few people in the entire world have seen what Norge saw under canopy high above the formation. He adds, with wonder, "The deployment sequence looked like a fireworks explosion-- people were tracking away, then their canopies opened." Norge nods and repeats, "It's a beautiful thing." Norge's aesthetic appreciation may, at first, seem in-congruent. He's an imposing figure in his bright yellow jumpsuit, solid at 6' and 225 pounds. Rugged, with an easy grin that makes him seem much younger than his 45 years, his tone shifts. "I could see everything from up there, and I go into a defensive mode. I look for cutaways, wraps. Because I'm at 6,500', I could spot canopies on the other side of the river. As soon as I landed, I reported them to manifest so the divers could be picked up. I identified my guys by their parachutes. I wanted to know that they were OK. " As he continues, Norge softens again. "I was up so high -- I could see the twelve planes lined up on the horizon for the traffic pattern." And again he adds, with sincerity, "It's a beautiful thing. It's a romantic thing. Especially the sunset load." He explains, "I set up. I land. Then I reported on who's here. Who wasn't. Then, I went to the captain's meeting for the debriefing." Norge was also the Base Captain on the July 26, 1998, 246-Way World Record at Skydive Chicago. He has made nearly 3,000 jumps since he began in 1985. Why does he do it? Why does he keep skydiving? He gazes off into the distance while answering, "We're magic people... There's something in our composition... We have a high artistic value... Everybody here has a life wish... The camaraderie inspires me... We experience things that most people never experience... It's a special life... I really feel blessed... Not many people get to do this... Especially at this level... These are some of the best skydivers in the world." Roger Nelson was trying to create another world record, and he put a Chicago carpenter in charge of building the foundation. The efforts to break the record concluded on Sunday, August 20th. For more information about the record attempt, visit www.skydivechicago.com. Marcelaine Wininger is an instrument-rated commercial pilot, flight instructor, Grand Rapids FSDO Safety Counselor, and a skydiver. Her free-lance writing has appeared in McCall's, The AAA magazine, and Michigan Living, The International Journal for the Fantastic in the Arts, Teaching Theater, Michigan Education Association Voice, English Journal, Midwest Poetry Review, Superiorland, UP Catholic, Above the Bridge , Marquette Monthly and many newspapers. For three years she was a national-level American Red Cross Disaster Public Affairs Officer. In addition, she's an English teacher of at-risk high school students at Houghton High School in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
  17. Nicole Cadiz wanted one more sky dive before the day's end, but she never expected it to be her last. The 26-year-old woman died Saturday evening after winds ripped off her harness during a 13,500-foot free fall at the Parachute Center in Acampo, just north of Lodi, according to the San Joaquin County Coroner's Office. Cadiz, an experienced parachutist with more than 1,000 jumps under her belt, had executed eight leaps earlier in the day. Then, on her ninth just before 7:40 p.m., high-velocity winds snatched her harness and chute off her back. Parachute Center owner Bill Dause said Cadiz then attempted, but failed, to get back into her harness, and she plummeted to the ground. Paramedics found her in a neighboring vineyard. Her new husband, Anthony, was one of seven others making the jump with Cadiz. Dause attributed the accident to an unclipped chest strap -- which he could not explain -- and Cadiz's upside-down position in midair. "Skydiving is a high-risk act, but with the equipment we have, it's got to be a combination of things that go wrong for that to happen," he said. "It wasn't just that the chest strap was undone, but also her position in the air." The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration investigates parachuting accidents, but representatives from the agencies could not be reached Sunday. Cadiz, an Acampo resident, worked as a manicurist in Lodi, though friends said her real passion was sky diving every weekend at the Parachute Center, where she first learned the sport seven years ago and became adept enough to work as a sky videographer. "She loved sky diving, she was always here," said a 21-year-old friend who was one of seven others with Cadiz on her fatal jump. "She was well-liked by everyone here. Her whole life was this drop zone." "It's just devastating, we're all devastated by this," added Jan Davis, who was editing a parachuting videotape on Sunday. The last parachuting death in the Sacramento region occurred at the Parachute Center last October when a 23-year-old Orangevale man committed suicide, said coroner's Deputy Al Ortiz. Nationwide, 32 of the 3.25 million parachute jumps made in 1997 resulted in fatalities, according to the U.S. Parachute Association, an Alexandria, Va.-based group that sets safety and training guidelines for the sport. Some at the Parachute Center were visibly shaken Sunday, but they still moved about the hangarlike building, packing their parachutes and watching others descend from the sky. Dause said parachutists understand their sport's inherent dangers and know that tragedies like Cadiz's can happen. Still, their love of the sport compels them to continue. "Everybody's sad," he said between flights. "But we've just got to bite our tongues and keep going." To see more of the Sacramento Bee, or to subscribe, go to http://www.sacbee.com © 2000 Sacramento Bee.
  18. Man dies, another injured after collision DAYTON TOWNSHIP -- The death of a Missoula, Mont., skydiver and the serious injury of another Sunday ended Skydive Chicago's attempt to break the world record for the number of skydivers in a free-fall formation. Paul L. Adams, 54, died during a mid-air collision with Kenneth Reed, 22, of Holts Summit, Mo., during an 10:30 a.m. jump, the 22nd jump record attempt. Reed was taken to Community Hospital of Ottawa, and was later airlifted to OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria, where he remains in critical condition this morning. Sunday was the last day for the skydivers to break the record -- they had been attempting since Aug. 13, and had scheduled 24 jumps. The accident is being investigated by the La Salle County Sheriff's Department and the La Salle County Coroner's Office. "Unfortunately, on this jump, people from two different waves somehow crossed," said Roger Nelson, Skydive Chicago program director and jump participant. "We've had no problem on the other jumps." The decision was made after the accident to stop the world record attempt. The skydivers began to open their parachutes at about 7,500 feet, according to Nelson. Chutes are opened in "waves," meaning skydivers from the outer, middle, and inner rings of the flower-shaped formation open at different times and altitudes to avoid collisions. Adams opened his parachute first, and immediately struck Reed, Nelson said. Reed's parachute opened, and their passengers floated to the ground. Both divers were equipped with devices to automatically open the parachutes at a preset altitude. Adams was reported missing shortly after the jump. Each skydiver is required to check in immediately with a captain after landing to maintain accountability in the record attempt. The collision was spotted by another diver, who reported it to a ground medic. Adams' body was located by a spotter plane carrying Nelson, who jumped from the plane and landed near Adams' body in a cornfield off the runway. Nelson began yelling during the descent that he found Adams, said Sheriff Thomas Templeton. Nelson separated from his parachute and ran toward Adams. Adams was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:24 p.m., said La Salle County Coroner Jody Bernard. An autopsy is scheduled for later today. Bernard did not know if Adams was killed in the collision, but said at a minimum he was knocked unconscious. Reed was located before Adams. He was found in a soybean field about 350 yards west of East 19th Road, Templeton said. The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the accident, Nelson said, and examine the equipment used by the skydivers. Nelson said that the equipment Adams used is in perfect working condition, and that the accident wasn't anybody's fault. The death marks the seventh since Skydive Chicago moved to its present location in 1993. ................... Victim `had passion for skydiving' Paul Adams planned to take Amber Taylor and her roommate -- who rented the basement of his Missoula, Mont., home -- skydiving with him when he returned from the world-record attempt in Ottawa. "He talked about (skydiving) a lot. He was always trying to get us to go," Taylor said. When they agreed, "he was all excited to take us when he got back." She learned Sunday he had been killed in an accident that morning, and it looks like she and her roommate won't be making that jump for a while. "It's not because of the accident, really," Taylor said. "It's because he's not here. He was an amazing guy. He treated us awesome." Adams, 54, had given Taylor a $70 watch when she graduated from the University of Montana this spring, and he bought his tenants a new refrigerator for their apartment, she said. Before he left for Illinois, he was in the yard, excitedly showing the women a diagram of the formation planned for the world-record attempt. He told them he was a little nervous, Taylor said. Adams' ex-wife, Brenda Elvey of Missoula, said skydiving was a natural part of life while they were married, and the two have maintained a friendly relationship since their 1992 divorce. They have two adult children, Beth and Steven. Elvey estimated Adams had been skydiving for more than 30 years. When the couple would move to a new town, the first thing he would do is search out the nearest place to skydive, she said. "He really loved it. He had a sense of adventure. He had a passion for skydiving, and that probably grew the more he did it. "He had had a couple small injuries before, broken bones in his foot and different things like that, but that never seemed to bother him or set him back, or make him not want to do it. He really enjoyed a lot of things -- scuba diving, hunting -- but skydiving was his biggest passion. "I think he was very responsible; he wasn't foolhardy. I think he was very much safety first," she said. "I think he was a Christian man. He liked skydiving, traveling and he enjoyed his kids." Mick Fauske, who worked with Adams at Montana Rail Link, said Adams was "thrilled" to be asked to join the record attempt, and proud he was one of the oldest people participating. The two men hunted together, but Adams had never persuaded Fauske to jump. "I'm not much of a heights person, but he enjoyed it," Fauske said. " (He liked) the thrill of it, the idea of flying. I know it was his favorite sport." Adams had been a railroad engineer for more than 30 years -- for Burlington Northern and Union Pacific before Montana Rail Link formed in 1987 -- and both Elvey and Fauske praised his railroading abilities. Elvey said, "I know he could run an engine by how the seat felt. He was a good engineer." "He was a really good guy," Fauske said. "He took care of his family. He was a good railroader; he was a good skydiver." "He'll be missed," Taylor said. "We're all still in shock here." © The Daily Times http://www.ottawadailytimes.com/odtnews/news4.htm
  19. Harness Container was a Telesis 2, Main was a Navigator 280, Reserve a PD253R Training background: Deceased was trained by a highly experienced USPA AFF and military instructor. The training was a military exercise done strictly in accordance with USPA guidelines. Deceased had made 5 prior jumps, with good to excellent performance on all jumps, with the exception of a tendency to dip right side low on deployment. This was his second jump of the day. His training records reflected corrective training on body position at pull time. Description of incident: The AFF Level 6 jump went as planned, with excellent performance by the deceased. He waved and pulled at 4500' as planned. His body position at pull time was right side low due to knee dropped. Deployment appeared to progress normally to the jumpmaster. The jumpmaster did not see full canopy deployment. Deceased was next seen at approximately 2500' with a main/reserve entanglement. He was seen trying to clear the entanglement until impact. Post jump inspection found that the cutaway handle and reserve ripcords had been pulled. The kink in the reserve ripcord cable caused by RSL activation eliminated the possibility that the deceased had pulled the handles in the wrong order. The reserve bridle was found entangled with the right main line group. The main canopy was twisted in such a way that it appeared to have hung up on the left (RSL) side. Final inspection of the equipment revealed that the slider bumper on the right rear riser may have snagged the reserve static line, causing the dual deployment. Pulling the cutaway handle may have taken away this jumper's only chance of survival. To put the jump in the most likely order of events: Deceased deployed right side low. Right rear riser slider bumper snagged RSL during deployment. Main deployed normally. Reserve partially deployed. Deceased saw main and reserve out, with malfunctioning reserve. Deceased pulled cutaway handle and reserve ripcord. The resulting entanglement was not surviveable. This sequence of events is considered the most likely scenario based on the available information. It should be noted that in this, as is the case of all fatality reports, the person with the most information is unfortunately, unable to provide his or her input. Conclusions: It must be stressed that the pull priorities of : Pull Pull at the correct altitude Pull at the correct altitude with stability still apply. Stability at pull time great improves the probability of one good fully functional parachute. Sacrificing altitude for stability still is not a viable alternative. Even in an unstable body position at deployment time, the chances of a good parachute are very high. A review of different 2 canopies out scenarios, and practicing procedures in a suspended harness, or even a conversation with a very knowledgeable Instructor to review your current philosophy on different 2 canopies out scenarios may be enough to save your life.
  20. More than 500 years after Leonardo da Vinci sketched his design, a Briton has proved that the renaissance genius was indeed the inventor of the first working parachute. Adrian Nicholas, a 38-year-old skydiver from London, fulfilled his life's ambition to prove the aerodynamics experts wrong when he used a parachute based on Da Vinci's design to float almost one and a half miles down from a hot air balloon. Ignoring warnings that it would never work, he built the 187lb contraption of wooden poles, canvas and ropes from a simple sketch that Da Vinci had scribbled in a notebook in 1485. And at 7am on Monday, over the Mpumalanga province of South Africa, Mr Nicholas proved in a 7,000ft descent that the design could indeed be looked upon as a prototype for the modern parachute. Yesterday he said: "It took one of the greatest minds who ever lived to design it, but it took 500 years to find a man with a brain small enough to actually go and fly it. "All the experts agreed it wouldn't work - it would tip over or fall apart or spin around and make you sick - but Leonardo was right all along. It's just that no one else has ever bothered trying to build it before." Mr Nicholas, who holds the world record for the longest free fall at just under five minutes, was strapped into a harness attached by four thick ropes to a 70ft square frame of nine pine poles covered in canvas. He was then hoisted by a hot air balloon to 10,000ft above ground level. The balloon dropped altitude for a few seconds, to enable the parachute to fill with air, and the harness was released, allowing the parachute to float free. Surrounded by two helicopters and two parachutists, Mr Nicholas fell for five minutes as a black box recorder measured the 7,000ft descent, before he cut himself free and released a conventional parachute. The Da Vinci model, which has more in common with sail technology than with the modern-day parachute, made such a smooth and slow descent that the two accompanying parachutists had to brake twice to stay level with it. It had none of the sudden plunges and swinging associated with modern parachutes. After being cut free, the contraption floated to the ground with only minor damage on impact. Mr Nicholas, a former broadcaster who has made 6,500 skydives, said: "The whole experience was incredibly moving, like one of those great English boy's own adventures. I had a feeling of gentle elation and celebration. It was like floating under a balloon. "I was able to stare out at the river below, with the wind rattling through my ears. As I landed, I thanked Leonardo for a wonderful ride." The contraption, which has seen two aborted attempts to fly over Salisbury plain in Wiltshire earlier this year, was built by Katarina Ollikainen, Mr Nicholas's Swedish girlfriend. Following Da Vinci's design for a four-sided pyramid covered in linen and measuring 24ft square at the base, Ms Ollikainen used only tools and materials that would have been available in the 15th century, apart from some thick balloon tapes to stop the canvas tearing. Although there was little demand for parachutes in the 15th century - and it was the Frenchman Louis-Sebastien Lenormand who was always credited with the first parachute jump after he leapt from a tree with the help of two parasols - Da Vinci gave specific instructions for his design. He wrote beside his sketch: "If a man is provided with a length of gummed linen cloth, with a length of 12 yards on each side and 12 yards high, he can jump from any great height whatsoever without any injury." Leonardo's inventions By Helen Morris Aereoplane Numerous machines using bird-like wings which could be flapped by a man using his arms and legs - although most were too heavy to get off the ground using manpower alone. Encompassed retractable landing gear and crash safety systems using shock absorbers Helicopter Prototype featured a rotating airscrew or propeller powered by a wound-up spring Armoured car/tank Powered by four soldiers sitting inside. Problems included its thin wheels and large weight, which would make it hard to move Diving Several different suits, most with a diver breathing air from the surface through long hoses. One imagined a crush-proof air chamber on the diver's chest to allow free swimming without any link to the surface Robot First humanoid robot drawn in about 1495, and designed to sit up, wave its arms and move its head via a flexible neck while moving its jaw Machine gun His innovations to create rapid fire led to the Gatling gun and the machine gun To see more of the Guardian Unlimited network of sites go to http://www.guardian.co.uk
  21. Panama City Beach Florida PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. Minnesota National Guardsman killed in skydiving mishap: A Minnesota Air National Guard technical sergeant was killed after landing improperly during a skydiving jump. Benjamin A. Freeman, 31, died Tuesday after jumping from an airplane 3,000 feet high near Eagle Air Sports, a small airport near Panama City Beach. Jennifer Collins, a spokeswoman for the Bay County Sheriff's Office, said human error appeared to have been the cause of the accident. "The parachute deployed normally and he was doing some simple maneuvers," she said. "There was nothing odd with the plane or the equipment. He was an experienced jumper." Freeman, a full-time guardsman, was stationed at nearby Tyndall Air Force Base, where he was part of an alert detachment of the Minnesota Guard's 148th Fighter Wing, said Maj. Don Arias, a spokesman for the 1st Air Force at Tyndall. Ground crew members such as Freeman are on permanent status at Tyndall while pilots rotate from Minnesota. Freeman had recently moved here from Tulsa, Okla., where he had been with the Oklahoma Air National Guard, Arias said. His wife and child were at the airport at the time of the accident. The Air Force Office of Special Investigation and Bay County Sheriff's deputies were still investigating. Chico Hot Springs Montana A Great Falls skydiver who did a trick turn to pick up speed as he was coming in for a landing at Chico Hot Springs Saturday died of multiple injuries after hitting the ground. Philip Moore, 39, and an experienced jumper, suffered multiple traumatic injuries when he landed hard in a field near the horse barn about 2:30 p.m., said Park County Coroner Al Jenkins. Moore was participating in an annual Chico jump meet. He died aboard a Life-Flight helicopter taking him to St. Vincent Hospital in Billings. "This is a terrible tragedy at a really positive and high-energy event, and everybody is just sick," said Colin Davis, Chico's general manager. The accident happened as Moore was coming in for a landing, said sky diver Chris Trujillo of Casper, Wyo., who witnessed Moore's jump. "Everything looked normal until the last few seconds," Trujillo said. Moore was coming down under a full canopy, and as he made his final approach, he did a hook turn. A hook turn allows a sky diver to get a little more speed and sets him up for a fast approach on landing. "He didn't recover from the hook turn fast enough," Trujillo said. "There may have been turbulence in the air." He described the winds as "light to moderate, well within the safety range" for sky diving. He speculated that circular winds may have complicated Moore's landing. "It's one of those fluke things that just happened," he said. "We've made thousands of skydives here." After Moore's hard landing, two doctors, who happened to be driving by the resort, gave Moore CPR and attempted to stabilize him until emergency medical technicians arrived from Emigrant and Livingston. The Life-Flight helicopter was called. At least 60 sky divers from throughout the nation were attending the annual event. Sky divers stopped jumping for a while after the accident, but resumed about 5 p.m., Davis said. Plans are to continue the meet Sunday. An investigation is under way by the coroner and Park County sheriff's deputies. Jenkins said he is awaiting the results of autopsy toxicology.
  22. An airplane crash that killed a pilot and five skydivers in Grain Valley in 1998 probably was caused by preflight errors that led to a loss of oil and to rod failures in the engine, according to investigators' final report. A report released over the weekend by the National Transportation Safety Board concluded that the pilot, David G. Snyder of Independence, inadequately prepared the single-engine plane before the flight. No safety board spokesman could be reached for comment on Sunday. Leaking oil apparently led to overheating and engine failure, the report said. The oil filler tube was missing and screws were either missing or loose. Connecting rods in two of the plane's six cylinders were found unattached to the crankshaft. Shortly into the flight, which originated at Independence Memorial Airport, Snyder told air traffic controllers he was canceling skydiving operations. Witnesses reported seeing white and black smoke and hearing a banging sound from the plane. The 1979 model Cessna 206 crashed and burned at the East Kansas City Airport in Grain Valley on March 21, 1998. Skydiving passengers who were killed were Marion C. Rudder, 47, of Oskaloosa, Kan.; John H. Schuman, 47, of Lawrence; Kenneth L. Buckley, 50, of Independence; Paul Eric Rueff, 32, of Kansas City, Kan.; and Julie L. Douglass, 24, of Kansas City. Snyder, 55, was the registered owner of the plane. He obtained his commercial pilot certificate in 1971 and was rated to fly by visual flight rules, which he was doing on the day of the crash. Snyder was flying for the Greater Kansas City Skydiving Club, which was based at the Independence airport. The club does not have a listed telephone number, and its officers could not be reached Sunday. Chris Hall, president of a separate operation in Lee's Summit called Skydive Kansas City Inc., said he frequently gets calls from people trying to locate the former Independence outfit. The safety board's finding of probable cause differs with a theory propounded by Kansas City lawyer Gary C. Robb, who represents the families of four of the dead skydivers in a lawsuit against the engine manufacturer, Teledyne Industries Inc. Robb contends there were metallurgical faults in the engine's connecting rods. Robb could not be reached Sunday, and the status of the lawsuit could not immediately be determined. Robert Cotter, a local lawyer representing Teledyne, has said the crash was a result of maintenance problems. Federal Aviation Administration records show that a certified mechanic had declared the aircraft and its engine airworthy four months before the crash. Work was done on the plane's cylinders and rings one month before the crash, and work was done on the oil pump one week before the crash. A second certified mechanic declared it airworthy at that time. Investigators looking at the wreckage found that the engine and the left side of the fuselage, including the wing and strut, were covered with oil film. A metal oil filler tube, the piece to which the oil cap connects, was missing and the screws that would have connected it were not found. In addition, five of six screws connecting the rocker-arm cover to cylinder number 6 were missing, and the sixth one was loose. Holes were found on the left crankcase near cylinders 2 and 6, the two in which the connecting rods were unattached. "The engine's internal components suffered damage typical of oil loss and heat distress," the safety board report states. The fatal flight took off with a full load of passengers shortly after 5:30 p.m. on a Saturday. Snyder made contact as "Skydive Six" with air traffic controllers and apparently left his radio microphone on, or it was stuck in the on position. About eight minutes after Snyder indicated he was going to climb to 11,000 feet above sea level, the controller reported hearing, "What the hell was that?" In his last transmission Snyder announced, without explanation, that he was canceling the jump. Radar indicates the highest altitude the plane achieved was 5,200 feet above sea level or roughly 4,400 feet above the ground. Witnesses eight miles northeast of the Grain Valley airport reported seeing white and black smoke trailing from the plane. A witness two miles north of the airport reported hearing a banging sound. At the airport witnesses saw flames from the engine licking the windshield. The plane clipped some trees just south of the airport. Its right wing struck the ground, and the craft cartwheeled and burned. Buckley, Rueff, Rudder and Schuman all were experienced skydivers. Douglass was to make her first jump. Ron Sharp, who was president of the Greater Kansas City Skydiving Club, said a few days after the crash that the Cessna 206 had been in the air several times already that day. At one point the engine became flooded and the plane was allowed to sit awhile. Later, after the battery was recharged, another pilot took it up for a test flight, Sharp said. Then Snyder took off with his passengers. "It sounded good," Sharp said at the time. "It sounded perfect."
  23. HANSEN -- His friends warned him not to jump. It was too dark. The wind wasn't right. The water was too high. But 29-year-old Roger Butler, an experienced BASE jumper who once parachuted from the Stratosphere hotel tower in Las Vegas, apparently died Sunday after jumping from the Hansen Bridge and disappearing in the water. "All of them tried to talk him out of it, but he had to do it," said Cpl. Daron Brown of the Twin Falls County Sheriff's Office. "The guy was experienced, but he made a bad choice." With the help of a brand-new underwater camera, search and rescue teams from Jerome and Twin Falls counties continued searching the frigid Snake River Monday for signs of Butler and his parachute, but the search was called off as sundown neared. Water flow at the Minidoka Dam was stopped late Monday to lower the water level and aid searchers when they continue this morning. The counties don't know the cost of the search. Butler, who had made more than 600 BASE jumps, spent Sunday with three friends parachuting from the Perrine Bridge, a popular spot for BASE jumpers because it is legal to jump there. BASE stands for building, antenna, span and earth. In October 1999, this same group had parachuted with a woman the day before she broke her back in a jumping accident at the Perrine Bridge, said Nancy Howell, spokeswoman for the Twin Falls County Sheriff's Office. The group was headed back to Ogden, Utah, Sunday before stopping at the Hansen Bridge, where jumping also is legal. With his friends videotaping, Butler jumped from the west side of the bridge and glided toward the water without a hitch, but he ran into trouble after hitting the river, Howell said. It wasn't immediately clear what happened, but shortly after landing in the water Butler and his chute disappeared below the surface. Neither has been seen since, she said. Butler was not wearing a life jacket, and he was jumping into a highly inaccessible area of the Snake River Canyon, Brown said. "BASE jumping is like whitewater rafting," he said. "It's a self-saving sport. You can't expect to jump off a bridge and have someone come and save you." Butler's taste for daring jumps was passed down from his father, a parachuter for 30 years, said Paul Butler, an uncle who drove to Twin Falls after the accident. Roger Butler watched his father nearly die in a 1998 parachuting accident that almost cost the older Butler his leg. But a year later father and son were parachuting together again during a Fourth of July celebration, Paul Butler said. "He just loved to do this," Paul Butler said of his nephew. "He loved to fly."