Mike McGowan, D-5709, got this shot at the 1986 Turkey Meet in Zephyrhills, FL.  McGowan headed a team of a dozen freefall photographers who provided air-to-air video coverage; their tapes were used to judge all four events.  More information and final results of the meet appear in this month's At Presstime section.

The ranks of skydivers have always included celebrities: professional football players, TV actresses, state politicians.  But this month's cover shows someone of far greater stature touching down with Bill Booth after his first jump: Ron Reagan, the President's son.  Details of Ron's jumps for the "Good Morning America" TV show are on page 17; the cover photo was taken by Michael Takash, a shooter for the News-Journal newspaper in Daytona Beach, FL.

This month's cover was shot by Dave "Bluebaker" Hancock, 32, a five-year member of the Australian 8-way team with more than 3,500 jumps.  It shows the American CRW sequential team practicing over the lighthouse at Byron Bay, which, as the most easterly point in Australia, is roughly equivalent to America's Cape Hatteras.  A complete report on the World CRW Championships in Australia begins on page 16.

Frequent PARACHUTIST contributor Tom Sanders snapped this shot of the beach in Mazatlan, Mexico, where a group of Perris Valley skydivers vacationed last year, combining jumps over the ocean with sunshine and resort hotel living.

This month's PARACHUTIST cover is a composite of a photograph taken by Robyn Allen and the official logo for this year's National Skydiving Championships designed by Gary Cobb.