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Dear Wingsuit Community

Bill Wenger — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:05:19 +0000

We would like to start by thanking you for all of your emails. The one thing that is obvious is the wingsuit community is passionate about their discipline. Based on the current controversy over the grid system that USPA adopted last year to judge wingsuit large formation records and the additional different suggestions and input that USPA has received the US will NOT recommend the grid system to the IPC this week. The US must have a wingsuit large formation record judging system that is tested and proven that it is accepted by the majority of the wingsuit community prior to proposing it to the international community at the IPC meeting. Based on the current situation the following is the course of action that the US will take at the upcoming IPC meeting.

The US and the Netherlands will have a meeting, prior to the start of the IPC Meetings, to discuss and share all ideas for judging wingsuit large formation records including modifications to the grid system. The US will carry all of the suggestions that have been received in the emails from the wingsuit community to the meeting. The knowledge gathered at the joint US and Netherlands meeting will be documented and reported to the IPC. Any presentation made to the IPC, if it is decided to still make one, will be strictly informational as to USPA’s experience with its current system making it clear that the system is still controversial within the wingsuit community.

The results from the IPC meeting will also be reported back to the wingsuit community and used as a starting point on determining how USPA will proceed both nationally and internationally making sure we have adequate input from all sectors of the wingsuit community.

Please understand the only changes being discussed are how best to move forward from where we are now. The current record that was set last Fall in Lake Elsinore was built according to the current USPA rules and stands as the US National Record. This was an impressive formation and there are no plans now, or has there been any discussion or consideration to changing the existing record.

In the dozens of passionate emails that have been received in the last week there is one point everyone seems to agree on, that changes need to be made. Whether these are changes to the existing system or starting over from scratch is something that will be determined over the next months or maybe even years with input from all sectors of the wingsuit community.

The USPA BOD will be meeting in Phoenix AZ on February 19-21 and wingsuit judging is an item on the Competition Committee. We have already received several ideas for improvement of the current system and suggestions for a new one. If you have ideas please send them to us and we will consider them.

We hope this alleviates the concern that community has regarding all the current judging system proposals. We ask the entire wingsuit community to please join together to develop a “united” wingsuit judging system. You are the experts and we need your help. Thank you again for your input. And thank you in advance for your help.

Best Regards,

Marylou Laughlin, US Delegate to the IPC and Bill Wenger, Chair of the Competition Committee

Skydiving Fatality Stats for 2009 at 40-Year Low

Jim Crouch — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 22:08:03 +0000

Following a November 11 fatality, we held our breath for the final six weeks of 2009; and on January 1, we could finally breathe a sigh of relief that there were no additional fatalities for the year. We ended 2009 with 16 total civilian fatalities, the fewest in more than four decades. In fact, you have to go back to 1961 to find a lower annual total. To put this in perspective, 1961 ended with 14 fatalities and just 3,353 members. The following year ended with 19 fatalities, and membership had nearly doubled in 1962 to 6,658 members. Fast forward to 2009, and membership is now at 32,177, and it is safe to say that the nearly 3 million jumps made in 2009 far surpassed the number of jumps made by 6,658 members in 1962. A 2009 membership total of nearly five times the membership in 1962, yet there were three fewer fatalities in 2009!

The reduction in fatalities can be attributed to lots of reasons, including safer equipment and better training. But, it is also a tribute to every skydiver, instructor, rigger, S&TA and drop zone manager who all worked to keep skydiving as safe as possible. Keep it up, and let’s make 2010 even safer for everyone, from the thousands of first-jump students, to those who are making thousands of jumps each year.

USPA Mailings and Member Privacy

Ed Scott — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:46:22 +0000

Like most associations, USPA looks for programs that can benefit certain members while also bringing additional revenue to the association. These “non-dues revenue programs,” in association-speak, help keep members’ dues down by creating other sources of income for the association. And if USPA can harness the buying power of 32,000 members to create savings for members, then so much the better. Recently, USPA introduced a members-only auto and home insurance program through Unitrin, and a members-only affinity credit card program. Naturally, we mailed the news out to our members. Also naturally, we received some complaints about junk mail, which presents me with an opportunity to discuss how USPA ensures your privacy.

First of all, USPA does not, and will not, disclose, sell, rent or give your e-mail address to another organization for their use. Period. We value that communication method with you and won’t jeopardize it by letting anyone else access it. On the other hand, we’re now sending a monthly e-newsletter entitled the “USPA Update” to every member who has provided us with an e-mail address. If you’re not receiving the “Update,” but want to, you can go here and give us your current e-mail address. (And if you don’t want to receive the “Update,” you can opt out anytime using a link at the bottom of each issue.)

Any telephone numbers you provide us are also treated the same way—never given out beyond staff and board needs. You should never receive a telemarketing call generated from USPA.

USPA does sell members’ postal addresses to outside parties (yet another source of non-dues revenue) who have an interest in making their product or service known to skydivers. Generally this includes DZs, boogies, gear manufacturers, gear retailers, etc., but it also occasionally includes non-skydiving product and service providers. USPA reviews the proposed mailing material and reserves the right of refusal for anything we deem offensive or even tasteless. A member has the right to opt out of this mailing list by simply checking the box on his member application or renewal form where it says, “Check here if you do not want your name to appear on a mailing list occasionally sold by USPA.”

Finally, USPA also generates its own mailings from our membership list, usually member renewal notices, but also occasional special mailings such as member surveys, regulatory alerts and notices about new programs that we think many members will want to know about (like the Unitrin insurance). Currently our database doesn’t provide an opt-out feature for this type of mailing that would not also eliminate the mailing of membership renewal notices. However, we are researching that feature and if we’re able to provide it in the future, we’ll let you know.

Blue Skies, Patrick Swayze

Ed Scott — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:52:44 +0000

To the general public, Patrick Swayze—who died at age 57 this week—will best be remembered for the films Dirty Dancing and Ghost. To skydivers of the day he’ll be remembered for Point Break. And for two reasons. First, Swayze took up skydiving at Perris Valley so that he could film many of the skydiving scenes himself. According to co-star Keanu Reeves, the production company issued Swayze a cease-and-desist order to stop skydiving; he kept jumping anyway. Along the way he joined USPA and earned his A license. Second, the movie’s release in 1991 brought a flood of first-jump customers out to DZs nationwide. Those customers didn’t find skydivers bantering in five-minute freefalls, but many did find a sport of their own as shown by USPA’s membership totals. Membership rose from 20,000 at the end of 1990 to 26,150 in 1992, and steady increases in subsequent years. Thanks, Patrick, for boosting our sport. Blue Skies.

Skydiving Music Video Challenge

Guilherme Cunha — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:41:15 +0000

Most of you have seen the ad for the Skydiving Music Challenge in Parachutist. It’s a simple challenge where you create a skydiving video using the song we give you. We choose the top-5 and let the voters decide who wins. Some might have already started on their own videos, while others might have dismissed the challenge for whatever reasons. A few are probably beating themselves up because they don’t fly camera yet, and therefore won’t have any aerial footage to work with.

The challenge came about in an effort for us to get more involved with our members. Once we heard about Jonay’s interpretation of our sport, we listened to the music and, gambling with the fact that music doesn’t please everyone, we decided the beat was good enough to do something with it. Contacting Jonay and getting his permission for the challenge was easy. Finding a sponsor to donate a prize wasn’t. It took some calls, e-mails, and research on gear manufacturers. In the end, Tonfly was kind enough to give us a hand and furnish us with a fully accessorized camera helmet for the first place winner.

The challenge itself brings no revenue to USPA. It was done entirely with the intent for our members to have some fun. Therefore, we are not looking for instructional videos or tandem promotional videos, but for the videographers to enjoy flying and editing, for some sick videos to come out of this and for someone to go home happy with a free new helmet. Show us what you got!

More information on the challenge – rules, entry form, deadlines and any other instructions – here

Sponsors: Tonfly and Jonay

Blue Skies!

Let’s Do a Dive for Shifty—and his Brothers

Ed Scott — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:58:57 +0000

You may have recently seen a sentimental email about the June 17 passing of Darrell “Shifty” Powers at age 86. If not, read about it here on Snopes:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/shiftypowers.asp

While Snopes can’t verify the source of the reported encounter, “Shifty,” as he was known, was real, and so was his bravery as he served with Easy Company of the 101^st Airborne in the dangerous days and months following his drop on D-Day.

It turns out that skydivers have a perfect opportunity to honor Shifty and his band of brothers. Sunday, August 16, is National Airborne Day, a day annually commemorated by Congress to remember and honor those servicemen who volunteered to earn their jump wings and serve our country as an airborne soldier. (Read my blog about last year’s National Airborne Day here: http://skydiveuspa.wordpress.com/2008/08/13/national-airborne-day/)

So here’s the thought: Let’s honor Shifty—and his band of brothers—with a memorial skydive. Actually with lots of memorial skydives. Why not organize a memorial dive at your DZ that day? You could form an “A” for Airborne, an “E” for Easy Company, or a “101” for the 101^st. Or form a star (if large enough, let a veteran fly in the center), and facing each other with joined grips, give thanks to Shifty and all those who set aside their lives, answered their country’s call, and literally saved the world.

So do a dive for Shifty and his band of brothers and let us know how it went. Send your description of the jump and any photos or links to videos to communications@uspa.org. You don’t have to stop there. Nearly every assisted living facility has WW II veterans who would thoroughly enjoy a visit by a bunch of skydivers expressing appreciation for their service. After all, we not only owe them for their service; we also owe them for sowing the seeds for our sport. It was post-war veterans that wanted to continue jumping out of airplanes who began what became the sport of skydiving.

Parachutist’s 600th

Guilherme Cunha — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:01:57 +0000

As you may have read in July’s Five-Minute Call, in October, Parachutist will print its 600^th issue. We are working on a pictorial and looking for crazy, skydiving-related things involving the number 600. Send us a picture with the most amusing ideas you can come up with to communications@uspa.org or Submit a Photo.

Best picture wins a cookie! – Well, no, not really, but you do get compensation for print use.

Oh, yeah! Remember! High-res pictures only.

Rising Through the Recession

Ed Scott — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:11:10 +0000

32,003. That’s the current level of USPA membership at the end of June. What’s the significance? Well, in addition to the fact that membership continues to grow, it’s the first time since May 2005 that we’ve exceeded 32,000. Here’s the full story: USPA membership reached its all-time zenith of 34,583 in August 2001. Then the following month came the attacks of 9/11. Like all of aviation, skydiving suffered for months from a public apprehension and mistrust of all flying. A stalling economy didn’t help either. Membership began a slow but steady decline, going below 32,000 in June 2005 and finally bottoming out in October 2006 at 30,488. Then began a slow but steady climb, and finally back over 32,000 last month. 32,003 is just a number, after all. But it signifies skydiving is holding its own through this recession. And that’s good news for all of us.

Slack USPA bloggers?

Lara Kjeldsen — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:59:45 +0000

Loyal USPA blog readers may have noticed the lack of recent posts lately. We’re not abandoning the blog, and we certainly have no lack of news! We have recently spread our online wings to include Twitter and Facebook, and are still on MySpace and LinkedIn. Those sites, especially Twitter and Facebook, have been more conducive to the kinds of news we’ve had lately – short, quick updates not really worthy of too many words–140 or less, in fact (that’s the maximum number of characters a Twitter update, or “tweet” can be).

It has been great for things like letting people know the SIM pdf is now updated with bookmarks (www.uspa.org/Portals/0/Downloads/Man_SIM_2009-2010.pdf), that there is a new job opening at USPA (www.uspa.org/aboutuspa/employment.aspx) or that Safety Day reports are online (www.uspa.org/USPAMembers/Safety/SafetyDay/2009Reports.aspx).

Those sites also get more activity and response than the blog has, so we’ll spend a little more time there. We will still be blogging when there is a major story that requires a little more behind-the-scenes, personal explanation, or if inspiration strikes! Let us know if you want to read about anything in particular, too – either comment here, or use the “Why” post (skydiveuspa.wordpress.com/2008/09/04/why/) as a forum to ask your questions about why USPA does some of the things it does.

Here are all the places you can now find USPA online:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/skydiveUSPA
Facebook: http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/US-Parachute-Association/55722708148
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/_USPA
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=41846
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/SkydiveUSPA

Oops!

Ed Scott — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 21:27:15 +0000

In my previous Dues & Fees Increase post, I listed the one-year renewal for PRO ratings to be $15 and two-year as $35. It was a misprint and should have read that it’s $15 for a renewal without a card or $35 for a renewal with a card. We also posted a full list of prices (including rates for our members living overseas) on the USPA news page.

England Rides to Victory in the 2009 Westchester Cup

christinerosephotography — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 20:14:26 +0000

England’s team dashed hopes for an American victory in the 2009 Westchester cup on Sunday February 21 at International Polo Club Palm Beach. The match was won in overtime with a final score of 10-9.

Although the US team was riddled by injuries, the match was well-played and hard-won. Eight-goaler Julio Arrellano

broke his hand in practice, knocking him out of the line-up. Two days before the Westchester match Mike Azzaro was thrown from his horse during the semi-finals of the Iglehart Cup and broke his collarbone and bruised his ribs rendering him unable to play.

Eight-goaler, Jeff Hall was tapped to take the place of Azzaro. The rest of the team was comprised of Wellington’s Nick Roldan, eight goals, Adam Snow also eight goals and six-goaler, Jeff Blake.

The English team’s line-up consisted of seven-goaler James Beim, Mark Tomlinson, six goals, Eduardo Astrada, nine goals and Luke Tomlinson, seven goals.

Team England was equipped with mounts generously provided by such patrons as Marc and Melissa Ganzi, polo players Pelon Escapite, Memo Gracida the Astradas and others.

Palm Beach Pipes and Drums were decked out in full-kilted regalia. The musical troupe filled the air at half-time with a rousing chorus of bag-pipes and drums. A hat contest held at the half lent a fun and festive air to the occasion – with ladies wearing fabulous and elegant hats — even some of the dogs sported chapeaus.

The winners of the hat contest won copies of the official Westchester Cup commemorative poster designed by Wellington artist Rolin McGrail.

The Americans faltered a bit in the first half but seemed to hit their stride after a change in playing positions. The second half of the match was action-packed and quick-paced with both teams playing admirably. When the horn sounded to mark the end of the sixth chukker, the score was tied up, 9 -9.The match went into sudden death over-time. Although the American team made a valiant effort to score England was not to be denied their victory. At the end of the day England won the right to take the coveted Westchester cup home with them.

Nick Roldan’s mount, Beijing, was awarded best playing pony and England’s Luke Tomlinson was declared the most valuable Player.

The National Polo Museum and Hall of Fame was responsible for organizing the 2009 Westchester Cup. Many thanks to the museum, Palm Beach International Polo Club and all those who helped make the 2009 Westchester cup a reality.

Polo season continues at International Polo Club Palm Beach with the USPA Piaget Gold Cup and the US Open Polo Championship. Schedule and ticket information can be obtained by calling (5610 204-5687 or by going to http://www.internationalpoloclub.com. If you haven’t had a chance to experience the excitement of high-goal polo up close and personal – what are you waiting for? Hightail it over to International Polo and see what the fuss is all about.

If you’d like to learn a little bit about the history of polo and the ins-and-outs of the game plan a visit to the National Polo Museum and Hall of Fame located at 9011 Lake Worth Road. For information call (561) 969 3210 or check out their web site http://www.polomuseum.com

To view additional photos from this event see http://christinerose.smugmug.com/gallery/7420071_LRLmG#478186982_9Ac

To view her main site go to http://www.lilangelphotos.com

Dues & Fees Increase

Ed Scott — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:26:05 +0000

By now you may have heard (or read our February 8th news post) what will be extensively reported in the April issue of Parachutist—USPA has raised dues as well as license and ratings fees, effective April 1st. I can guess your initial reaction; no one likes to pay more for anything. And you can bet that the issue was extensively debated at the February board meeting. But the board was faced with the reality that dues and fee increases had to happen. Here’s why. USPA ended 2008 spending just over $500,000 more than it took in. Part of the reason was the stock market. USPA has a rainy day fund of over $1.5 million invested, and most years we’re able to count as revenue the interest earned as well as the increased value of the stocks. But not last year. Add to that the rise in cost of providing basic services. Importantly, 2008 was the fourth year in a row of red ink, so the decision was made to come up with a balanced 2009 budget that doesn’t depend on investments.

But USPA wouldn’t ask you to pay more before we cut expenses first, which we started doing mid-2008. Largely through attrition we’ve reduced staff to 14 full-timers, down from the high of 24 in 1999. We’ve also trimmed other areas so that proposed expenses for 2009 are $161,000 less than what was budgeted in 2008. Not only that, 2009’s proposed expenses are also less than what we spent in 2007 and 2006. Still, we needed to find new sources of revenue in order to come up with a balanced budget for 2009. So, individual member renewal dues were raised by six dollars to $55. First-year member dues were increased by $14 to $65, largely to help recover the cost of PR efforts to attain new skydivers. License fees were increased by $10 and ratings fees and the rating renewal fee were also raised by $10. Group Member dues paid by DZs were increased by 25%. Here are the new rates:

New membership–$65 (paid only one time, ever)
Renewing membership–$55
License fee–$30
New coach rating–$35
New instructor rating–$50
Rating renewal–$30 (for one or multiple ratings)
New PRO rating–$65
PRO rating renewal–$15/35 (no card/new or replacement card*)

New Group Member Dues
Category 1–$250
Category 2–$375
Category 3–$750

Renewal Group Member Dues
Category 1–$125
Category 2–$250
Category 3–$500

* edited 3/31 to change “PRO rating renewal–$15/35 (one-year/two-year)” to “PRO rating renewal–$15/35 (no card/new or replacement card*)”

Jacques-André Istel Presented with the USPA Lifetime Achievement Award

Ed Scott — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 20:24:50 +0000

One of the pleasures of my job is to meet and talk with some of our sport’s luminaries and pioneers. I enjoy history, and I particularly enjoy the history of our sport. So maybe you can imagine how privileged I felt last week when I presented USPA’s Lifetime Achievement Award to Jacques-André Istel, the father of modern skydiving in the U.S. See, Jacques, who had immigrated here from France as a boy and had begun parachuting here in 1950, saw on a visit to France in 1955 that French skydivers had learned techniques of controlled freefall. Until he learned and brought those techniques back to the U.S., parachuting in this country was simply flailing between exit and deployment—no arch, no control, no turns, and no stable deployments. There was no skydiving here until Jacques advanced it. He also coined the term, by the way. But he didn’t stop there. Jacques became a vocal advocate for public acceptance of skydiving as a sport, not a daredevil activity. Here’s an excerpt from an August 1957 issue of Time magazine:

” ‘You just let go of the plane and suddenly you’ve changed elements. You start to drop but you don’t feel anything—only a marvelous sense of control. It’s like being immersed in light water. Then you bring your right arm up and you make a turn, just as simple as that. It’s an incredible sensation.’

Thus runs the evangelical message of Jacques-André Istel, 28, a black-browed ex-Wall Streeter and dedicated prophet of parachuting in the U.S. His gospel: jumping….out of an airplane can be a safe, exhilarating sport, not a devil-daring performance…”

That’s not all he did either. Jacques advanced parachute competition, too, by forming the first U.S. team to compete at the 3rd World Meet in Moscow. With that, parachuting and then skydiving competition began to flourish here as well, with Jacques introducing our collegiate competition as well.

For these reasons, and many more, I was humbled yet proud to be joined last week in Felicity, California, (where Jacques is not only the founder, but the mayor) by board members Larry Hill and Scott Smith, previous Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Pat Morehead, previous USPA Gold Medal of Meritorious Service recipient Ted Strong, and many, many skydiving friends, in presenting Jacques-Andre Istel with his own engraved and mounted silver bowl. Like a true Frenchman and skydiver, Jacques used the bowl to toast his admirers…

Jacques-André Istel holds the USPA Lifetime Achievement Award surrounded by (from left) Pat Morehead, Larry Hill, Ed Scott, and Scott Smith.

BOD Meetings Wrapping Up

Lara Kjeldsen — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:59:33 +0000

The board is finishing up meetings now. Some highlights include the election of new officers (your new pres is Jay Stokes), elimination of skysurfing from nationals, discussion of electronic voting for the next board meeting, and more that is a little difficult to type on an iPhone.

Keep an eye on the USPA website for the full, official minutes, and Parachutist for the article.

Next up is the DZO Conference which gets started this evening with registration and formal events tomorrow. We also start setting up our symposium booth tomorrow for exhibits tomorrow night. There is still a lot left, so if you can get to Reno, it would be well worth your time.

Exciting Meetings

Lara Kjeldsen — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 23:41:23 +0000

That might sound like an oxymoron, but the new USPA Board of Directors is doing some great work here in Reno. There is fun and mayhem going on outside the board rooms (some sort of Chinese dragon/drumming team sounds like they are really living it up) but the board and some dedicated interested people are inside talking about things like election processes, how to best deal with disciplinary actions and other tough issues.

The Regional Directors are meeting now – these people are your first contact into USPA. Get to know them if you don’t already. They all list contact information on the USPA website, and some have separate forums, mailing lists or websites of their own for their regions. When they get home, ask them what happened at the BOD meetings, or try shooting them an e-mail or phone call now if you see something on the agendas that you want to know about. (They are quite busy this weekend though, so no guarantees on how quickly they’ll get back to you within the next 48 hours).

All Quiet on the Western Front

Lara Kjeldsen — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 15:19:35 +0000

But not for long…we’re getting ready, along with a horde of skydiving manufacturers, USPA board members, riggers and more, to bring the controlled chaos to Reno.

First, there’s the USPA Board of Directors’ meetings. You only have a few days to read over the agendas and let your regional and/or national directors know what you think and how you want them to act before they start deliberating, casting votes and generally kicking it into high gear.

Next comes the USPA DZO Conference. This is for drop zone owners and operators to get together and learn just about everything related to providing jumpers with fun, safe and quality places to jump. Even if your home DZO isn’t attending, they’ll be able to get the recap and more information after the event. Tell them to watch their e-mail for the e-newsletter DZO Streamline with all the details.

Finally, PIA seminars and symposium. We’ll have a game for show attendees to play, but even if you can’t make it to the show, you can play along at home. Starting Monday, Feb. 9 – the first day of Symposium – we’ll have different quizzes every day on the USPA Pursuit page.

If you will be in Reno, please stop by! We’re in booths 106/108, in the first aisle (subject to change, check PIA’s website for the latest info):

2009 PIA Symposium booth layout (click to enlarge)

Ready for Reno

Lara Kjeldsen — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 18:48:47 +0000

No, we’re not going gambling, or to shoot anyone like Johnny Cash sang about. Coming up very soon is a lot of activity in Reno, though – USPA’s Board of Directors’ meeting*, Parachute Industry Association Board meetings, PIA Symposium and Seminars, and, being skydivers, some cold refreshments after all those. Needless to say, if you’re anywhere near the area, you should come check it out.

Here’s the official schedule:
Feb. 5-8: PIA meetings
Feb. 6-8: USPA Board of Directors’ meetings
Feb. 8: National Skydiving Museum meeting
Feb. 9: USPA DZO Conference
Feb. 8: Symposium Pre-Registration open – afternoon
Feb. 9: Exhibit Hall open – evening
Feb. 10-12: Registration – all day, Seminars – all day, Exhibition Hall – evening
Feb. 13: Seminars – all day, Banquet and awards – evening

USPA BOD meetings are open to all USPA members in good standing. Please go and participate. It might seem intimidating, with a bunch of people you don’t know using terms you’ve never heard in a formal setting that seems oddly un-skydiver-like. In reality, those skygods you’ve heard and read about are just jumpers like you, only they’ve stepped up to take a tough role in leading our sport. Those funny words and procedures are all part of Robert’s Rules of Order, a way to have a controlled meeting in which everyone is allowed to participate equally.

Getting Board meeting materials ready for the trip to Reno

Meeting agendas are published on the USPA website, so read over them. If you have questions or opinions regarding anything on the agenda, contact your Regional Director or a National Director. If you think something should be on an agenda that is not, bring that up as well. Your Directors are there to represent you, but you have to let them know what you think.

Board of Directors’ Meeting Resources:
All meeting agendas and meeting information
BOD contact information
Robert’s Rules of Order

When the meeting’s over, official minutes will be published on the USPA website as well, both under the USPA Members > Downloads and About USPA > Board of Directors sections. You can come back regularly to check, or subscribe to the RSS feed and be notified when new minutes are posted.

Lastly, there’s the Symposium, which is basically a skydiving trade show. This is fun, and not to be missed if you have a chance. Skydiving companies all have booths with different themes, and their sole purpose is to meet the people who buy their products. (Psst, that’s you!) If you’ve ever wondered just how Bill Booth thought of the SkyHook, ask him.

USPA will have a booth, so stop by to chat with us, ask questions or just meet us. We’ll try to post a schedule of who will be in the booth at what times. Let us know if there’s anything you want us to bring or have prepared for you. It shouldn’t be hard to find us – just follow your nose (trust me, it’ll make sense when you’re there)

PIA also sponsors seminars on topics ranging from “Military Javelin & Operational Reserve Packing Demo” to “Dual Canopy & Entanglement Emergency Procedures” and “Wingsuits on the DZ – What You Need to Know”. USPA’s Jim Crouch will present “2007 – 2008 Fatality Report” on Wednesday at 11am, then again Thursday at 4pm. Visit the PIA website for more information on PIA meetings, seminars and symposium, and see you in Reno!

*edit to add: The next General Membership Meeting will be held in conjunction with the USPA summer board meeting in Dallas, July 10-12. The board meeting will be at the Crowne Plaza Dallas in Addison, Texas.

2009-2010 BOD Elections

Ed Scott — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 21:41:11 +0000

Another board election is complete and the members of the 2009-2010 board have been announced. Congratulations to the 18 returning board members and the four new ones. With 3,503 ballots received, this most recent election garnered almost 1,000 more ballots than the 2006 election. (Of the total, just over 200 ballots were invalidated for the usual reasons—lack of signature, expired membership, or electronic receipt. We’ll assess how to make the instructions clearer on future ballots.)

A bit about our process: each ballot is date stamped upon receipt, validated, batched in an envelope of 50 and locked away. Beginning December 20, each ballot and each batch are separately counted by two different people. The two batch tallies must match; if not, the entire batch is counted again and the discrepancy is found. Then the batch tallies are combined on a summary page where the final count comes together. The final report includes counts for all candidates that were listed on the ballot. Viable write-in candidacies are also tallied and reported, except the few votes for George Bush, Mickey Mouse, Yo Mama, and the several voters who wrote in their own names. Altogether, the process consumes 125 hours of staff time, or a full week for three people.

Even more impressive than the increased voter participation was the increased candidate participation. This election’s 38 candidates set a modern day record going all the way back to 1990. (It may actually be the record; I got tired of researching it.) One year there were just 24 candidates for the 22 slots, two years there were 26 candidates, and the average number of candidates over the previous nine elections was only 30.6. We need to acknowledge all of this election’s candidates for caring about skydiving and USPA enough to step up and offer their time and their talent. Thank you for your effort. Your sport and your USPA are better for it.

USPA Offices Holiday Schedule

Lara Kjeldsen — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 15:30:47 +0000

Wednesday, December 24: 9am – 3pm
Thursday, December 25: closed
Friday, December 26: closed
Wednesday, January 31: 9am – 3pm
Thursday, January 1: closed
(all Eastern Standard Time, EST)

We’re open normal business hours, 9am-5pm EST, the rest of the holiday season.

If you’re heading to a holiday boogie (hopefully somewhere warm) and need your USPA membership to be valid, please keep these dates in mind and make sure you’re current before you go.

Happy holidays, everyone – stay safe and blue skies!

180-Day Repack Answers

Randy Ottinger — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 19:49:20 +0000

The new FAA rule implementing 180-day main and reserve repack intervals takes effect December 19, 2008. In consultation with the FAA and the Parachute Industry Association, USPA has developed answers to some obvious questions.

Q: Is there any change prior to December 19, 2008?
A: No, up until that date, the reserve and main must have been packed within the previous 120 days.

Q: What happens on December 19, 2008?
A: Beginning on that date, you can jump a rig in which the reserve and main have been packed within the previous 180 days.

Q: Even if my reserve pack job had previously expired?
A: Only to a point. Beginning December 19, count back 180 days—if the reserve was packed within those 180 days, it is legal to jump.

Q: What about my AAD?
A: Good question. FARs 105.43 and 105.45 hold the “person” (the skydiver and the tandem instructor) responsible for ensuring that an AAD, if installed, has been “maintained in accordance with manufacturer instructions.” You can only comply with that regulation if you know the maintenance schedule and service requirements of that AAD. Do you know when the battery must be replaced? Do you know when the AAD must be removed for factory service? Do you know when the service life ends? If you don’t, prudence requires you to ask your rigger or the manufacturer before you jump a rig beyond its originally intended 120 days.

Q: What if my AAD requires servicing before the end of the 180 days?
A: Our interpretation of the FARs is that when a manufacturer-recommended AAD maintenance/service interval comes due, even if before its 180 days expires, the rig should not be jumped until that maintenance/service is performed. That’s why it is imperative that future AAD service dates are recorded by the rigger, preferably on the packing data card, and known by the skydiver/rig owner.

Rig owners with specific questions about their rigs should consult with their riggers and/or the manufacturer of a specific component. Technical or rigger-related questions posed here will be forwarded to PIA or the component manufacturer, if USPA is not able to answer with certainty. PIA has also posted answers to FAQ on their website: http://www.pia.com/piapubs/PIA-180FAQ.pdf.

NTSB Update

Randy Ottinger — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 14:48:41 +0000

As USPA has reported, jump plane maintenance and operations were the subject of a National Transportation Safety Board Special Investigation Report on the Safety of Parachute Jump Operations, and not in a good way. Knowing the FAA has a decision to make about how to respond to the NTSB, USPA met with the FAA and proposed a self-regulatory approach, believing that substantive improvements in jump aircraft maintenance and pilot training can be gained without the need for additional federal regulation. But first, USPA and FAA had to agree that all parachute operations that offer services to the general public and/or to experienced civilian skydivers for compensation are “commercial operators” as defined by the general definitions section of Title 14: Aeronautic and Space, Code of Federal Regulations.

14 CFR 1.1 Commercial Operator means a person who, for compensation or hire, engages in the carriage by aircraft in air commerce of persons or property, other than as an air carrier or foreign air carrier or under the authority of Part 375 of this title. Where it is doubtful that an operation is for “compensation or hire”, the test applied is whether the carriage by air is merely incidental to the person’s other business or is, in itself, a major enterprise for profit.

With that established, current regulatory requirements for aircraft maintenance will be reviewed with drop zone operators and a verifiable program developed by USPA. The program will then be implemented through our Group Member drop zones. Guidance for jump pilot initial training, recurrent training, and regular competency checks will follow similar development and implementation. Information on these programs will be distributed in Parachutist, the USPA website, and by direct e-mail communication with our Group Member drop zones.

The people behind the 180-day repack change

Ed Scott — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:04:45 +0000

On November 19th, the day the new 180-day repack rule was published in the Federal Register, (making it OFFICIAL!), USPA met with two FAA officials who made it happen. Joining me and Randy Ottinger, USPA’s Director of Government Relations, was Cliff Schmucker, President of the Parachute Industry Association.

PIA President Cliff Schmucker (left) and USPA Executive Director Ed Scott flank FAA Acting Administrator Bobby Sturgell while discussing the new 180-day repack rule. Photo by Randy Ottinger.

First we met with and thanked Kim Barnette, the FAA man who shepherded the regulation. (His work is not yet done; he’s already working on answering the resulting questions.) Then we met with FAA Acting Administrator Bobby Sturgell, and thanked him for signing off on the new rule. (Never receiving confirmation, Sturgell is preparing to exit and make room for an Obama appointee.)

Sturgell took great delight in figuring out that, together, his three guests had logged over 7,600 jumps. We might even be able to get him out to a DZ, once he has more time. Altogether, it was a good day spent at the FAA.

The Group Membership Meeting

diablopilot — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:24:09 +0000

An e-mail from a USPA member:

“Mr. Furnari:

Here is a little fuel for your blog: There has not been a quorum at a General Membership meeting in the last six years. Thus, there has been NO general membership business conducted in that period.

Do you think that this is a problem? If so, how do you think that it should be addressed?

Blue Skies!

Jim McGraw B-30893″
And my reply:

I do think it is a problem, but I’m not quite sure how to handle it.

There has not been a been a quorum because 10% of the membership has not shown up. That 10% totals somewhere around 3100 people. I think I could count 35 to 45 at the last GMM. Its a shame.

So how does this get fixed? There has been talk about attendance by proxy, however last time that was tried, it became a political squabble, and overall participation was appathetic. Reducing the number for quorum might work, but that entails changing a constitutional bylaw of the organization and we’ve got to have a quorum (10%) through attendance or proxy to change the bylaws.

I don’t know if we’ll ever reach quorum again, I would not mind trying the quorum by proxy again, but there is a lot of resistance to that on the current BOD. I would suggest that if the operations of the USPA were more accessible to more of it’s members, then the interest to do something about the GMM might develop. I am in favor of having Board Meetings at places/times much more convenient to member attendance.

Perhaps it’s time to break the GMM out and hold it durring a major skydiving event? Or look at the possibility of online attendance?