i99: March 2018

Cover Photo | by David Cherry

Carmen Villamil, Joanna Jestice, Amanda Santiago, Stephanie Frey exits during the SIS of ArOZona boogie at Skydive Arizona.

Featured Photo | by Guru Khalsa

Alvaro Jurado spreads the ashes of his beloved dog Güero during Skydive Cuautla’s New Year’s Beach Boogie in Puerto Escondido, Mexico. Alvaro found Güero on the streets of Mexico all torn up and brought him home to a better life.

The FlyBy

• Take It DZ | Nadene Beyerbach, Adventure Creative
• Reader question: What book has most impacted your jumping?

Madison Ice Jumps: A Photo Essay | by Leah Crubel Photography

In February, Seven Hills Skydivers hosted ice jumps onto Lake Mendota in Madison, WI. The Edgewater hotel provided space to the jumpers for repacking. Seven jumpers made 7 loads from Wisconsin Aviation’s Cessna 182. The club plans to host again next year and is welcoming other qualified skydivers to participate.

Hyper Custom Wingsuits | by Sam Hardy, Phoenix Fly

In order to produce this artwork, full-sized wingsuit panels were printed to foam boards for the bead artists at Menchaca Studios to work on. Over the next few months, the artists in Mexico worked to painstakingly fill the panels in beads for each individual exterior panel of the wingsuit. That’s right, you heard it: every single panel of Vicente’s suit is unique. The back leg wing alone consists of over 140,000 beads. Madness!

PsychoFiesta-Pack | by Jeff Dawson

Bored skydivers on a weather hold. These are conditions that strike terror in the hearts of safety types all over the world. There is something about the mind of a skydiver that makes the thought, “The weather is inclement, perhaps I shall read some Plato,” much less likely than, “Let’s do something else that has the potential of death!” This is exactly how this project got started.

Centerfold | by Denis Zhuravkov

A CReW formation during the Freeze Your Buns Boogie at Florida Skydiving Center, Lake Wales, Florida.

To Err Is Human | by Mara Schmid

Often when an incident happens, at the end of the day it’s attributed to “human error.” But what IS human error? Is someone cutting away a perfectly good canopy the same type of mistake as turning to final way too low to the ground? Is someone going to rears on a BASE canopy when they want more glide the same kind of human error as misrouting a bridle?

To Err Is Human

The Nylon Ninjas: Jimmy Scarpelli | By Hollie-Blue Allum, Performance Designs

At the end of the day we’re a team having fun, making parachutes for our friends.

The Nylon Ninjas: Jimmy Scarpelli

A Letter to Future Entrepreneurs | James La Barrie +Dropzone Marketing+}

Dear future entrepreneur, … 1. You Don’t Have to Know Everything.
Had I known everything that was ahead of me, I may never have started. An ounce of naiveté and a shade of ignorance are two ingredients that I’m grateful for. “Not knowing any better” propelled me forward with a full head of steam. I couldn’t be deterred.

Slippery Road – New Dive Pool
Suggestions +Turning Points+ | Kurt Gaebel, NSL

FAI/IPC used to be an outdoor organization, responsible for aeronautical sports like people jumping from planes. They changed their minds after wind tunnels began to grow like mushrooms and some of them hosted great indoor competitions. I don’t really understand yet how the Federation AERONAUTIQUE Internationale (FAI) or its International PARACHUTING Commission (IPC) feel responsible for indoor competition. USPA (United States PARACHUTE Association) has made it very clear that they don’t feel responsible for or connected to the indoor world. I leave the answer to that question to the reader.

However, it is as it is: FAI/IPC now sanction indoor world meets and world cups and they are controlling the rules and dive pools. The road becomes slippery when the new FAI/IPC indoor involvement has an impact on the outdoor world—and it now has, as the reasoning for the suggested dive pool changes are proving. The dive pool for outdoor competition is now being affected by indoor concerns.

Jumpin’ with Buddysattva | The Fuckin’ Pilot

So why would I be writing an article about just another average jumper? Because there’s absolutely nothing average about Perry Colburn.

Please Help Me | Melanie Curtis

I actually felt far more fear in my body on the ride home thinking about it than I did in the experience itself. Upon feeling that fear come up with the thoughts I was exploring, knowing I was no longer in any literal danger, I consciously engaged my other mental and emotional skills to direct my thoughts to a productive and values-driven place and the feelings that come with those thoughts too. This is the power of mindset and how we can use it to take control of our emotional state in times we feel like we might lose it unnecessarily if we let ourselves. There are times when releasing our emotions is the exact best thing to do and there are other times when this practice serves us more. Continue to look and you’ll learn which situations are which for yourselves.

STAY OFF SOCIAL MEDIA WHEN PEOPLE DIE |
SkyGod

So, let’s try this again: DON’T BE A DICK. Don’t post about someone dying, even in a vague fashion, until you know the name has been released and the family notified.

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