i113: May 2019

Featured Photo | Michael “Chico” Tomaselli
CReW jump during the Spring Fling Boogie held at Skydive Sebastian, Florida.

The FlyBy

• Take it DZ Adventure Creative
• D’OH! We moved Arizona to Puerto Rico in our March issue. The i111: March 2019 cover photo by David Cherry was taken at the Puerto Rican Freefall Festival by XTreme Divers West, not at Skydive Arizona’s SIS 2019 Boogie.
• Dear Expert
• UPT Closing Loops: A Primer By Pablo “Pablito” Perazzoli

Photo Interview: Melissa Nelson Lowe | by Zach Lewis

Just like how we visualize our skydives, I started visualizing how to deal with conflict with people I don’t like and people that piss me off. I started visualizing answers and solutions to the situations. Not that I’m challenging anyone, but it takes a bit more to piss me off these days.

A Call to My Fellow Skydivers: Has USPA Lost Its Way? | by Mark Newton

To my fellow skydivers I say, “Vote for directors who will keep USPA on track or it very well could become the enemy of the sport we love, instead of its guardian and protector.”

Centerfold | by Mark Norman
Greg Shelton flies past some buildings in the Dubai Marina in the United Arab Emirates.

Unsung Heroes of the DZ
Download Unsung Heroes of the DZ printable cards

It’s time to thank the people around the drop zone who make it our home. The people who do the little things no
one thinks much about but make all the difference.

We invite you to notice and thank them, the unsung heroes of the DZ. Cut out these cards and pass them out. Ideas: Turn them into badges that can be worn by the hero. Have them available for sale at the bar or snack shack, and the hero can redeem it for a thank-you beer.

If you hand these out, be sure to send us your heroes’ names so we can all give a big Them! *

Turning Points: Next French Mission: Impossible | by Kurt Gaebel, NSL

OK, good luck, Mathieu. I think it is brave, creative and it has a chance. However, I still think that it is a mission: impossible.

It’s Time | by Melanie Curtis

Skydiving? Public speaking? What stage do you want to rock?

Digital Doubts | by the Fuckin’ Pilot

The magazines—Parachutist back in the day, Skydiving Magazine during its time, the cool as hell European versions I can’t understand and of course the GLORIOUS Blue Skies Mag—give us something tactile and visceral that no mouse
or iPhone can possibly give.

Dear SkyGod

Hey, whatever, the dude probably wants to get laid. SkyGod respects that.

But when the article turns to skydiving deaths, ignores the insanely safe nature of both skydiving and wingsuiting, and makes it seem like wingsuiting is the most dangerous shit since Ebola … that pisses SkyGod off. It’s bad for drop zones, it’s bad for the sport in general and it’s super disrespectful to those who died in the pursuit of their passion.