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Skydive Spaceland 2007 News Highlights
- Freefly League Results
- Lew Sanborn Accuracy Meet Report
- Javelins Without RSLs Grounded
- Spaceland Starts a Flight School
- SkyFest was a blast!
- Skydive Spaceland gets the Nationals--times three!
- Texas State Record--Full Report
- Get your free DVD of the Texas State Record!
- Spaceland begins HTML e-newsletter
- Our planes have a new look!
- Spaceland Anomaly Sets WORLD RECORD!
- Congratulations to our Nationals teams!
- Night Jump Report
- Announcing our Newest Student Program: Get Your Skydiving License in a Week! And our first graduates!
- Flight School Open 7 Days/Week, and our First Graduate!
- Congratulations...
- Archived news, events, and photos
Spaceland Bling has completed its third freefly league at Skydive Spaceland in Rosharon, Texas. The league consisted of three meets with one meet a month from March through May 2007. Each meet included three competition jumps:
- Two compulsory jumps with three moves drawn from the predetermined dive pool of six different freefly maneuvers, and
- One artistic round competition jump for teams to express themselves however they like.
Spaceland Bling provided video for the 2-way freefly teams at no cost and gave all teams the same level of video quality. Teams showed all levels of freeflying from beginners to advanced freeflyers. Winners were chosen based on improvement over the three meets, which makes the playing field even for all freefly skill levels. We had good weather and a good turn-out with seven teams competing and qualifying for prizes. First place for most improved went to Team Howdy. Second most improved went to Team Jamaican-me-crazy. Third most improved went to Team Convicts rounding out the top three. All teams showed improvement over the three meets and had a ton of fun.
We would like to thank all the teams for participating and making the league another success.
We would also like to thank all of our sponsors who provided prizes to all seven teams.
- Skydive Spaceland
- Larsen & Brusgaard
- Vigil
- Performance Designs
- Para-Gear
- Go-Wear
- Firefly suits
- Gath Helmets
We look forward to the league next year at Skydive Spaceland!
Final Standings
| Place | Team | Total points improved |
| 1 | Team Howdy | 8.75 |
| 2 | Jamaican-me-crazy | 4.25 |
| 3 | Lane and Justin | 3.5 |
| 4 | Scott and Darla | 3 |
| 5 | Team well-hung | 2.75 |
| 6 | Team FAST | 2 |
| 7 | Brian and Tyler | 1.5 |
Lew Sanborn Classic Accuracy Meet Report (Apr. 13-14)
The first few days of the meet were windy, but with the great food and prizes from sponsors the competitors stayed full and happy. Based on round one, classic accuracy competition looked to be very competitive, where six of the 15 competitors in the open class scored a perfect score of 0.00. The day continued flawlessly, with competitors posting outstanding scores over the six rounds. Six of the 21 competitors in the event scored at least three dead centers, including Estrella, Nichols, Tennyson, Keith Bergeron, Cheryl Stearns and Chase Scully. The sixth round had plenty of excitement, with Nichols and Stearns each scoring a total of 0.01 and Bergeron a 0.00. Lew himself even competed and won the POPs division. Conrad, you did a great job. The details of the event will be in the June issue of Parachutist.
Javelins Without RSLs Grounded
If you have removed the RSL from your Javelin, Sunpath has effectively "grounded your rig." Here's the letter from Sunpath: http://sunpath.com/downloads/bulletins/RSL_MasterV1.2.pdf
Per the above letter, in order to jump any Javelin rig that does not currently have its RSL installed, you must either have your rigger reinstall the RSL, or have a Master rigger inspect the rig and note on your packing data card that the RSL has been removed. Dennis will do this for $10.00.
Spaceland Starts a Flight School
Spaceland has started a FLIGHT SCHOOL. We just bought a Cessna 172 to be used for flight instruction. We already have 3 people in training. If you are interested in learning to fly then contact me and we can get you signed up.
Wow...the fun was at Spaceland this past
weekend! (July 11-16)
SkyFest is about creating a unique opportunity for an
individual (at any skydiving level) to experience a
multitude of skydiving activities in one weekend. This
includes high-altitude jumps, obtaining skydiving
awards, jumping with a coach, and/or jumping on a 20-way
with all females...the list goes on. This is not just a
regular skydiving boogie, SkyFest has something for
everyone! For all this to happen, months of planning are
required and a multitude of experienced skydivers donate
their time and money. In turn, SkyFest collects all
proceeds generated from the boogie and gives it back to
selected drop zones for coaching jumps.
The week prior to Skyfest, we had Texas
floods with 14 inches of rain. This delayed preparations
until the last minute but the staff was on hand ready
for action when the weather cleared up. Wet landing
areas and runways were mowed, tents were put up, and
tables and chairs were set up for manufacturers and
caterers. The Spaceland team really pulled together.
The aircraft began to show up along with the
participants on Wednesday morning. The flight line
consisted of a Skyvan (tailgate aircraft), 2 Super
Otters, a Grand Caravan, Antonov 2 (huge Russian
biplane), 2 powered parachutes and a Champ.
The first few days of the event consisted of organizing
for all jumpers including freeflying and relative work.
There were many SCRs given out (Star Crest Recipient
awards, for a jumper's first 8-way formation) and
several toy dives (rafts and hoops). From high altitude
jumps to freefly jumps and wingsuit flocking jumps to
Women's State Record attempts, there was something for
everyone. We did get the new Texas State Wingsuit
flocking record--a 22-way! Thanks to all the
organizers for providing organizing for all skill levels
and to all the sponsors/volunteers for their support.
From Wednesday through Monday, here are the numbers:
- 207 loads
- 286 registered jumpers
- More than 2,500 SkyFest jumps
- More than 3,600 skydives including tandem/solo school jumps and sponsored team training jumps
- 19 equipment manufacturers showed
off the latest and greatest in skydiving technology,
including:
- Performance Designs had demo canopies of all models and sizes to test jump.
- Container manufactures such as Relative Workshop, Sun Path, Mirage and Wings showed off the latest in comfort and reliability
- Tony Suits and many other gear manufacturers
The activity didn't slow down as the sun set. We had a
huge 30x90 tent set up by the pond with Bob from Chew
Chew BBQ for dinners, and Kirk and Debora Weaver (Gypsy
Moths) kept the night life jammin' with live music,
open mic nights and karaoke. On Friday night, two
popular Houston bands sponsored by D’lesa
(Wild on Wax) rocked out with music, a light show and
partying through the night. Saturday night there was a
live auction for equipment; some of you got some really
nice items pretty cheap!
Spaceland's scholarship winners during Skyfest were Dave
Stevens for freefly and George Dickinson for relative
work. The lucky recipients received $200 each for
experienced coaching in the discipline chosen.
Thanks to everyone who made this event a success! More
information: www.skyfestboogie.com
Skydive Spaceland Gets the Nationals--Times Three!
The only detail in the Skydive Spaceland business plan that had yet to be satisfied is hosting the United States Parachute Association (USPA) Skydiving Nationals. After years of hard work and months of preparation, Spaceland manager Eric Boyd presented an irresistible case for Spaceland to host the Nationals in 2009 last weekend at the USPA Summer Board Meeting (July 13-15), As a result, Skydive Spaceland will host the 2009 USPA Nationals for all events--formation skydiving, 4-way vertical relative work, artistic events, style and accuracy, canopy piloting, and canopy formation. We'll also be hosting the 2008 and 2009 U.S. Collegiate National Skydiving Championships.
This is a huge accomplishment for Texas skydiving; this is the largest event held for skydiving in the United States. Over the next two years, Skydive Spaceland will upgrade our already impressive facility to host the Nationals in style. Stay tuned for schedule and other announcements; we're planning to knock your socks off with our Nationals debut!
Texas State Record: Full Report
In case you hadn't heard, on April 21 we
set a new Texas State Skydiving Record. We flew 7 planes
in formation at 18,000 feet and built a huge 150-way
formation not just once, but twice in one day! This event was covered extensively in the July issue of Parachutist magazine. Following is a short report
of that event (excerpted from the Parachutist article).
"About half of the participants were Texans, but the
others came from other states and from across the world.
It’s a team working together. That’s what skydiving
needs to be, and that’s what the Texas state record is
about." --Larry Henderson, plane captain
As the hosts of the 2007 TSR 150-Way Sequential
Invitational April 19-22, staff members at Skydive
Spaceland in Rosharon were determined to organize one of
the most well-run big-ways possible. They set their
goals on setting a new Texas formation skydiving record
with a 150-way, hoping to achieve a formation skydiving
sequential milestone in the process by turning a second
point.
The group's sights were set high, as the three existing
state largest FS records (200-, 246- and 300-ways set in
South Carolina, Illinois and Arizona, respectively) were
all completed as part of world record attempts. Skydive
Spaceland's crew wasn't looking for a piece of the
global pie; they just wanted to kick things up a few
notches in the state of Texas. But to accomplish this,
they would need an immense amount of planning and
organization.
Prep Work
Spaceland had successfully hosted
large-scale events before, but to take it over the top
for an event of this magnitude, DZO Steve Boyd enlisted
the help of long-time skydiver Tom Jenkins as event
captain. The two, with more than 30 years each in the
sport, have operated skydiving centers, competed at
nationals and broken records all over the world.
More than a year before the event, Boyd and Jenkins
created a planning committee for the attempts,
consisting of themselves and Jim Alkek, Eric Boyd, Scott
Elmer, Kirsten Hardmant and Brett Thomas. Each brought a
vast amount of experience, knowledge and resources to
the table, which would be paramount to running a safe
and successful event.
The committee met twice a month for the entire 16-month
preparation phase, discussing everything from formation
designs, breakoff plans and aircraft types to DZ layout,
volunteer scheduling and porta-potties. They stuffed
goodie bags full of candy, event t-shirts, informational
documents and request forms for free event videos. They
ensured lunches would be available, as well as fruit and
water at debriefing stations. To keep jumpers fresh, the
DZ would provide a prompt pickup service to give a lift
to jumpers designated to land in distant quadrants and
for any who landed off. The organizers also arranged for
an Apache helicopter to be at the drop zone during the
event for skydivers to see.
Since they wanted to deliver more than just a state
record, the committee asked themselves how they would
want to be treated at an event and then planned
accordingly. In their final meetings, they included the
videographers, volunteers, pilots, captains and DZ
staff, which allowed everyone to become familiar with
the plan and to offer any suggestions for safety and
efficiency.
The Talent Pool
Along with planning event details, the
committee had to choose qualified team captains. They
knew that organizing a 150-way—with a goal of completing
two points—would be no trivial matter. Fortunately,
Jenkins had a plan for success: He would give the team
leaders free reign to make suggestions and changes,
saying, "These captains are the best in the business,
and it's a collaborative effort that will make this dive
successful."
Next, the committee went to work finding talented
skydivers capable of achieving their goal. More than 260
skydivers from 41 states and 16 countries submitted
their skydiving resumés to an online database for
consideration. Of the 170-plus jumpers who made the
committee's final cut, 90 jumpers had World Team
experience. (World Team members set the current 400-way
formation skydiving world record in Thailand in 2006.)
During a committee meeting shortly after they had
selected the team members, Jenkins said to Steve Boyd,
"We have the best captains and best skydiving team. Now,
the ball's in your court." Boyd and Spaceland rose to
the challenge, with great facilities and staff,
well-maintained aircraft ready to fly at daybreak and a
landing area covering a staggering 135 acres.
Worth the Effort
Finally, the moment the committee and DZ
staff had been sweating over for nearly a year and a
half was upon them. The event began without a hitch; the
aircraft arrived early, the tents, tables and chairs
were neatly arranged, and the DZ's grounds were
immaculate. After completing registration, participants
met for an introductory briefing, where organizers
introduced team captains and briefed participants on
mandatory safety policies.
Spaceland staff took every conceivable safety measure,
including enforcing stringent landing rules. Landing
areas for each sector were well communicated and
enforced, and organizers prohibited high-performance
landings, S-turns and turns over 90 degrees on final
approach, as well as deep-braked flight in the pattern.
Jumpers would also be required to keep their booties on
under canopy to minimize distractions.
After numerous dirt dives Thursday, it was time to put
the formation in the air. Immediately after the first
jump from 18,000 feet, organizers began
making personnel and exit-order adjustments to smooth
out the group's timing. The strong A-team (jumpers
waiting in the wings to fill in where necessary), led by
captain Scott Latinis, further energized the team, and
the big-way made five attempts that day.
The second day, participants came close when they
completed a 147-way formation during their eighth jump
of the event. The third day, on attempt 11, the group
held a 150-way for 4.5 seconds, setting a new Texas
formation skydiving record. After a judge review and a
brief celebration—and in case anyone doubted they could
repeat the accomplishment—the group went back up and
built the 150-way again two jumps later, stretching
their hold-time to eight seconds. Completing such a
large formation once is pretty amazing, but twice in one
day impressed jumpers and spectators alike.
Why Not Try?
With a new state record under their
belts, participants decided to give a two-point 150-way
a go. But organizing such a large sequential dive proved
a little tricky, as no one had experience transitioning
a formation that size. The group tried the sequence
three times, and although they never completed the
second point, they learned quite a bit about maneuvering
such a large formation from one stage to the next.
Sunday morning, the team was ready to try again, but the
weather put attempts on hold. Jenkins and plane captain
Roger Ponce de Leon determined the clouds wouldn't allow
them to safely put up 150 skydivers, so they released
the participants early for fun jumping.
Though the two-point big-way had remained elusive, the
participants were 100-percent satisfied with their
success, having established a great benchmark in Texas
skydiving history. Participant and USPA Chairman of the
Board B.J. Worth said, "The DZ and all the captains did
a great job! It's been absolutely fabulous." The
organizers expressed their thanks to the many sponsors
of the event and now look forward to one day topping
their latest milestone.
"Skydive Spaceland is an outstanding drop zone to be able to safely and comfortably host an event of this magnitude. The amount of volunteers who were helping—from parking the cars to keeping the facilities clean to keeping fresh water in the coolers—the manifest and pilots … everyone was outstanding, friendly and professional. I'm truly honored to work with a group of captains and participants like this." --Kate Cooper
To view a few TSR record pics go to www.shutterfly.com/pro/ericboyd/skydive/atexasskydiverecord.
Get Your Free DVD of the Texas State Record!
The Texas State Record 150-way DVDs are done! Brett Thomas did a great job producing the video. If you would like a copy, order one in manifest. Or better yet, we have a special for you. If you make more than 5 jumps a day on the weekend, you will receive a FREE video of the record! When you make more than 5 jumps, tell manifest you heard about this offer and receive your free copy of the TSR 150-way record video.
Spaceland Begins HTML Newsletter
On July 19, Skydive Spaceland sent out its first HTML e-newsletter with photos of recent events. Space News will be sent in this format from now on. Check out the first e-newsletter online.
If you haven't visited us in awhile, you might not know the airplane hotness you're missing! Spaceland's Super Otters and Cessna Caravan have received matching new paint jobs in company colors. They're so pretty we're almost scared to jump out of them.
Almost. :-)
Spaceland Anomaly Sets WORLD RECORD!!
Not only did Spaceland Anomaly win the gold in the open freefly class at the recent United States Parachute Association Nationals at Skydive Chicago in Ottawa, Ill., but they also set a world record doing it! Congratulations, guys! Trent Alkek, Steve Boyd, and Jed Lloyd (video) scored a record 17 points in round 5.
In doing so, they broke their own previous world record of 13 points, which was set in 2003 and recorded by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale. Their new record has been submitted to the FAI and should appear here shortly.
Next time you want to train with the best freeflyers in the world, you know who and where they are!
Watch the world record video on YouTube...
More on Nationals follows...
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Congratulations to our Nationals Teams! Once again, Spaceland teams brought home medals from the United States Parachute Association Nationals (held Sept. 7-21 at Skydive Chicago in Ottawa, Ill.) in multiple disciplines--great job, guys! We're so proud of you! You've spent a lot of time, money, and effort getting to where you are, and you're the people who keep helping our sport get better and better. Can we get a THEM! for our teams?! :-)
Team photos and most videos are from Omniskore. Congratulations... for other things
When you accomplish something great, please email me and let me know. We don't want to leave anyone out! eric@skydivespaceland.com |
On Sept. 22 we did night jumps, and it was a BLAST! Hey, how often can you say you've jumped at Spaceland and not sweated (much)? Safety and training advisor Tom Jenkins gave a thorough briefing and a good, safe time was had by all. We did two loads and a lot of people's first night jumps, including Skyview video editor Tyler Smith (landing at left, photo by Eric Boyd).
Two night jumps are required for a USPA D license, so if you want that license and don't yet have your night jumps done, keep your eyes open for our next night jump schedule!
Announcing our Newest Student Program: Get Your Skydiving License in a Week! And our first graduates!!
At Skydive Spaceland, we know that once you decide you want to learn to skydive, it's often full speed ahead! One jump every so often just won't cut it. Also, we've found that student skydivers just do better when they can do all of their training in a short period of time. So now we're offering a new program: Get your skydiving license in a week!
We even have our first graduates of this
program: Mathias Mertsch, Ralf Piatkowski, and
Mathias Fuchs graduated on August 10. Congratulations and welcome to the sky!!
Upon completing this program, you'll have at least 25
skydives under your belt and you will have completed all
requirements to get your United States Parachute
Association "A" license. This license allows you to make
solo skydives at any drop zone without supervision. You
could be skydiving with your friends next weekend! More information, pricing, and schedule...
Flight School Open 7 Days a Week, and our First Graduate!
There's more than one way to fly... how would you like to try flying an airplane? Skydive Spaceland's flight school will be open 7 days a week with a dedicated instructor (Matt Wampler) starting Monday, Aug. 27.
Trent Alkek passed his checkride to receive his Private Pilot Single Engine Land ticket on August 23. He is the first graduate of Skydive Spaceland's flight school! (So we all owe beer!) Congratulations Trent!
Contact manifest at 281/369-3337 or manifest@skydivespaceland.com for more information or to schedule training.
Archived News, Events, and Photos
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Questions or comments? Email eric@skydivespaceland.com.
