Skysurfer News Aggregator

UPT: Closed For Holiday

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 15:44:14 +0000

UPT will be closed for the Holiday on Monday the 20th, returning to work on Tuesday the 21st.

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Blue Skies Mag: Red Bull Stratos Back On Target

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:27:30 +0000

You’ve probably heard that Felix Baumgartner and the Red Bull Stratos team are back at their goal of breaking records with his planned 120,000′ skydive. You probably also know that the project was halted because of a lawsuit.

You may not know that the project almost stopped even before the lawsuit—because of Felix himself.

[indent]“I couldn’t do it. my head was letting me down.”

Before ascending into the stratosphere and free falling back to Earth in spectacular, record-breaking fashion, the Austrian BASE-jumper, 42, had to face his demons. At the high point of his life thus far, he hit an all-time low.

The Red Bulletin: All went quiet on Red Bull Stratos for nine months. What was going on behind the scenes?
Felix Baumgartner: Let’s go back to the time before the project was stopped because of a lawsuit. In December 2010, we carried out the last major tests with the space suit and it was clear to me that I had a problem – one I never thought I’d have – with my psyche. I had trouble putting on the space suit and it got worse and worse. I could barely stand a couple of minutes in it.

Could you describe the symptoms?
The idea was that the suit should feel like a second skin, but it’ll never be like that. Your movements and your perceptions are restricted. As soon as the visor closes there’s this nightmarish silence and loneliness – the suit signifies imprisonment. We hadn’t originally conceived of a test that confined me in the suit for five hours – that’s how long the entire mission should take – with the visor closed. After all my past exploits, all the extreme things I’ve done in my career, no one would have ever guessed that simply wearing a space suit would threaten the mission, me included. In the end, the symptoms developed into panic attacks.

You’re exaggerating …
Not at all. When it came to the crucial pressure test at -60°C, under real conditions with pressure and altitude simulated, and surrounded by cameras, air force personnel and scientists, I realised I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t see a way around this problem. I’d easily mastered what seemed to be huge obstacles, like free fall in a pressure suit, but now my own head was letting me down. Instead of driving to Brooks [The Brooks Academy of Science and Engineering in San Antonio, Texas] to go testing, I drove to the airport and hightailed it out of America. I wept on the phone. It was the worst moment of my life. To that point I’d always known how to solve all my own problems. This time, in front of everyone, I’d found my limit.

Clearly, you’ve since pushed it higher.
We tried several things in training because from a medical standpoint a high basic fitness would also improve my stress resistance. But really, I mean… for 20 years I’ve done the most extreme BASE jumps, I’ve flown over the English Channel [in a wing suit], I’ve shown my stress resistance without hours of exercise bike sessions. The problem had to be solved another way.

[/indent]Full interview online at Red Bulletin or in pdf format: Red Bull Stratos Feature

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Blue Skies Mag: More Polte

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:02:06 +0000

These guys have shot to the top of my favorite video-producers list. According to Lauri, “Polte means desire and passion with a little twist of fire.” Love it.

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Blue Skies Mag: Trunk’s Silly 2011

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:02:42 +0000

[url="http%3A%2F%2Fblueskiesmag.com%2F2012%2F02%2F10%2Ftrunks-silly-2011%2F"][/url]Trunk, of Hypoxic fame…well, there’s actually nothing I can say about this video besides penises and teeth.

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cool page with videos and photos

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:15:02 +0000

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Extreme-Air-Sports/244676568885419

its got some awesome stuff

EXTREME AIR SPORTS

Blue Skies Mag: Issue 28 ♥

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:59:44 +0000

i28 February!

The February issue of Blue Skies Mag is coming. (That’s what she said.) If you are a subscriber, here is what you’ll find (if you’re not, it’s quick and painless to become one and subscribe today right now here):

New Canadian rates! More info here.
Top ten ways to say, “F*ck You, Cupid” on Valentine’s Day
I Jumped It: The MagBag
- Gear review by Andre Lemaire, of Jerry Baumchen’s magnetic, stowless main d-bag. Videos of the test jumps here.
Football Widow
- Or, how not to become one. How the Drennan family keeps their love alive while Ian is living the dream as a PD Factory Team member, Annie runs her own business, and Kaiya is a professionally adorable 2 1/2-year-old.
100 Jumps for Mike Spann
- John E. Souders, Jr. did 100 jumps to honor Mike Spann, America’s first combat casualty in Afghanistan. Clark Word went along for the ride and tells us about the day.
-ISM + NCCPA = TLF
- Kim Nocita tells about the great coming-together of NorCal and SoCal swoop leagues to form one that will rule them all.
Photo Break: Invasion 2012
- Kazu Oyama and Bill Schmitz take some fine photos
My Freefall Wedding
- Dave Udell was the first (beeeeeeeeeeer!) man to take the plunge out of Mike Mullins’ King Air when he married his adorable girlfriend Kim in 1993
Aerodynamics for Dummies Part 3: Glide Ratio
- In the final installment, the adorable Julien rounds out his aerodynamics lesson with GR
Turning Points: With Fresh Air and Rhythm into the Future
- Kurt, of NSL lore, fame, and glory, details why SDC Rhythm XP is the next big thing
The Beginning of the End of My Flourishing Career: True Love
- Sydney and skydiving, sittin’ in a tree ♫ k-i-s-s-i-n-g ♪ first comes love ♬ then comes marriage ♫ then comes a back brace
The Fuckin’ Pilot: “Bob, A Smart Man”
- A fictional tale about Bob, a tandem instructor, and the smartest decision he ever made
Life Coaching: Tape Your Head to Hers
- Melsinore gives tips on how to clean up, amp up, and de-clutter up your non-skydiving life
SkyGod’s Expo 2012 Calendar

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USPA: Delayed Renewal Notices Hitting Mailboxes

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:34:44 +0000

If the amount of phone calls we’ve received over the past week is any indication, many of you are upset that you have received a membership renewal notice after you have already renewed. Even after some of you have received your membership cards, the notice comes in the mail days or weeks later. However, we believe we have found the problem: the U.S.P.S, or more accurately, one if its distribution centers.

This has been an on ongoing problem but over the last few months it has escalated to new levels. Three months before your expiration, USPA mails the first renewal notice, followed two months later by a second mailed notice. We also try to process as many applications as possible before the renewals are printed to minimize the possibility of submitting a notice after you have renewed. Incredibly, we’re hearing of six-week delays in delivery of U.S. mail that goes through our local distribution center.

When we first learned of the postal delay, we altered our schedule of generating these notices and coordinated with our third-party mailer to get them to our members in a timely fashion, yet the complaints continued to increase.

What we discovered comes from an audit report dated September 13, 2011 from the Office of Inspector General United States Postal Service showing that our regional distribution office ranked first in delayed mail. Over the last two years, the average distribution center decreased delays by nearly 2% while our regional center’s delayed mail trend increased by 139% – the worst in the country.

The delays are unfortunate, but for now, rest assured that we have heard each of your suggestions and are proactively working to resolve this issue anyway we can.

You can view the Inspector’s report here.

Clint Vincent
Director of Membership Services

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Blue Skies Mag: I Jumped It: The MagBag

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:02:03 +0000

Andre Lemaire wrote up his testing of the MagBag, a prototype main d-bag created by Jerry Baumchen. Here, in all their raw glory, are the test jump videos.

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Blue Skies Mag: Skydivers Jump into Leap Year!

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:17:50 +0000

[url="http%3A%2F%2Fblueskiesmag.com%2F2012%2F02%2F01%2Fskydivers-jump-into-leap-year%2F"][/url]USPA, through their PR company JWalcher Communications, sent out this press release. Some interesting numbers among the cheeserific puns and giddy glossiness.

[indent]Contact:
Nancy Koreen, 540-604-9742, nkoreen@uspa.org

Skydivers Jump into Leap Year! — U.S. Parachute Association Reports Strong and Safe 2011!

January 31, 2012 – The U.S. Parachute Association reports that the breathtaking sport of skydiving continued to grow in 2011 and is poised to thrill even more jumpers throughout Leap Year 2012.

Last year, more than a half million people took the leap for the first time at some 200 USPA-affiliated skydiving centers across the country. Whether to cross an item off their bucket lists or discover a new hobby and passion, first-timers took the life-changing leap and experienced the thrill of a lifetime.

In addition to first-jumpers, USPA also reports an upsurge in experienced skydivers of all ages. First-timers and licensed skydivers together made more than 3.1 million jumps in 2011. At year’s end, USPA boasted membership of 33,515 – its highest since January 2002, shortly after the 9-11 attacks wreaked havoc on the aviation industry.

Even with skydiving clearly on the rise, accident numbers continue to remain low. In 2011, 25 people died skydiving in the U.S. – one out of every 125,000 jumps. Additionally, the five-year average of skydiving fatalities shows a steady decline, with an average of 22 per year over the last five years compared to 25 per year from 2002 to 2006 and 35 per year from 1997 to 2001.

Skydiving continues to improve its safety record due largely to safer equipment and better training. Student accidents are a small percentage of the total; most injuries and fatalities involve experienced skydivers attempting advanced maneuvers. USPA continues to make the sport safer by developing additional training programs and conducting its annual Safety Day – scheduled for March 10 this year – where drop zones across the country hold safety seminars and refresher training.

“We’re constantly striving to reduce the risk and increase the level of safety, especially for students,” said USPA Executive Director Ed Scott. “The sport’s continued growth attests to this improved safety and the indescribable life-altering experience of jumping out of a plane. With Leap Year upon us, what better time to take that leap?”

Image by Lambert: http://www.ereleases.com/pic/USPA-skydiving.jpg
Image by Bill Schmitz: http://www.ereleases.com/pic/Dysfunction.jpg

About Skydiving and USPA

For sheer excitement and high-speed fun, no sport comes close to skydiving. But it’s not as extreme or intimidating as it may seem. Almost anyone 18 or older can take the leap after some comprehensive safety instruction. It takes just a half hour of ground school for a tandem jump, the easiest and most popular way to skydive for the first time. Tandem jumping allows students to experience the thrill of freefall while securely harnessed to a licensed instructor.

Founded in 1946, the U.S. Parachute Association is a nonprofit association dedicated to the promotion of safe skydiving nationwide, establishing strict safety standards, training policies and programs at more than 200 USPA-affiliated skydiving centers throughout the country. USPA represents skydivers before all levels of government, the public and the aviation industry and sanctions national skydiving competitions and records.

For more information on making a first jump or to find a skydiving center near you, visit http://www.uspa.org.

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[/indent]

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Blue Skies Mag: Happy Birthday, Melanie!

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:20:50 +0000

Happy birthday Melanie!

Miss Melanie, of course, is one of Blue Skies Mag’s amazing contributors, and has been with us from the start. Inspirational, courageous, giving, loving, hilarious, and awesome, Melanie has helped our little magazine in more ways than we can count. We’ve heard from so many of you that her words impact your lives, too. So, join us in wishing this beautiful woman a great birthday and another fantastic year!

PS – Maybe a good birthday gift would be to like her Highcomms.com Facebook page

PPS – We have a $5 reward for any information on how in hell #6 got so lucky.

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