Updated the 10th of each month.

On the Cover: Photographer Bryan Scott captured this shot of a 15-way canopy formation during a recent CF world record tryout camp at Skydive City in Zephyrhills, Florida.

Capital Commentary
by Chris Needels, USPA Executive Director

Even if you haven’t been stuck for hours on a runway or haven’t had your airline flight canceled after arriving at the airport, we’ve all heard about these all-too-common problems. There’s plenty of blame to go around—weather, overbooked flights or an antiquated air traffic control (ATC) system. While there’s not much anyone can do about the weather, Congress and the current administration are committed to doing something about the other two, particularly the overburdened and outdated ATC . . .

MORE.

Safety Check
Bundling Up

The summer season is now fading away—and so are the high temperatures, at least north of the Mason-Dixon line. Fall is here, frost is on the pumpkins, and you’ve probably noticed it’s getting colder in freefall. Jumpers who just started skydiving this past summer will soon be facing Old Man Winter in a whole new way—freefalling through sub-zero temperatures at 120 mph or more . . .

MORE.

New Video to Promote Skydiving
A video aimed at recruiting new skydivers will be distributed at no cost to hundreds of skydiving centers early next year. The Parachute Industry Association (PIA) has commissioned award-winning cinematographer Joe Jennings to produce the video, which will be distributed to the more than 220 USPA group member drop zones and also be available worldwide from PIA.

Schmucker said funding for the project comes from proceeds from PIA’s 2007 international symposium. The event, held last February in Reno, Nevada, attracted more than 1,000 participants from 22 countries. A record 116 exhibitors displayed civilian and military parachute equipment, as well as related supplies and services. More information can be found at www.pia.com and www.skydive.tv.

New Bite and Tongue Switches Available
Conceptus Remote Switches now offers easy-connecting bite and tongue switches compatible with models of Canon digital cameras, including many of the company’s popular EOS series cameras. According to Conceptus, no adapting or rewiring is required to accommodate most Canon digital cameras, as the connector end goes directly into the camera. More information, including a list of product dealers, can be found at www.conceptusinc.com.

Caterpillar Club Still Recognizing Bail-Out Survivors
The Irvin Parachute Company was long ago absorbed by the Canada-based aerospace company Airborne Systems Group. The organization still administers the Caterpillar Club, which awards a membership card and gold caterpillar pin to anyone who saves his own life by using a parachute during a forced bail-out. (Interestingly, if you take off with the intent of making a parachute jump but then are forced to jump because of something such as a mid-air collision, you do not qualify.)

To apply, individuals must provide documentation of their bail-out (i.e. logbook entry, official report, newspaper clipping) and a letter of request. There is no cost for an initial award issue. Those who qualify may e-mail facilitator Eileen Carlton.

New Camera Lens Available
Royal Lens announced the release of its Platinum 0.2x camcorder lens. The fish-eye lens provides a 180-degree field of view and measures only 44 mm (1.76 inches) in diameter and 12 mm (.48 inches) in length. According to the company, the lens is an excellent option for jumpers wishing to film subjects up close, such as with handcam tandems, while shooting inside video of formation skydiving or freefly jumps, or while swooping or flying in canopy formation, among others. Retail price of the product is $249.99. More information can be found at www.royal-lens.com.

Old USPA Address No Longer Valid
Now that USPA has been in its new building in Fredericksburg, Virginia, for 16 months, the organization’s forwarding request with the U.S. Postal Service has expired. Any applications or correspondence mailed to the old address in Alexandria, Virginia, are now being returned to sender rather than forwarded to USPA in Fredericksburg. Jumpers must now use USPA’s new address with any mail correspondence: USPA, 5401 Southpoint Centre Blvd., Fredericksburg, VA 22407.

RAM Airborne Volunteers Jump in Air Show
Remote Area Medical (RAM) and some of its RAM Airborne volunteers dropped cargo bales and jumped in front of crowds at the annual Scott County air show, Wings Over the Big South Fork, in Oneida, Tennessee, September 15. Twelve jumpers boarded the vintage DC-3 twice that afternoon, releasing cargo bundles at 300 feet above the landing zone for the spectators to view and then exiting at 5,500 feet to cap the demonstration.

Skydivers interested in joining the unique volunteer corps may visit www.ramusa.org and www.airdropassist.org for more information.

Skydivergirls.com Breaks into the Mobile Phone World
Now millions of viewers on the Verizon VCAST Network are able to watch and learn about skydiving. According to a press release from Skydivergirls.com, the Skydivergirls broadcast is the first skydiving show to be available on cell phones. The release also stated that on VCAST’s Veoh channel, the program is the number-one watched show.