Canopy landings and malfunctioning main parachutes were the two most common causes of the 19 skydiving deaths in the United States in 2012. However, there are lessons to be learned from every skydiving mishap. Sharing the circumstances in which these tragedies occurred helps the rest of us avoid these situations. This article will take a look at the year as a whole and try to identify the mistakes that skydivers in the U.S. made that resulted in death. more »

So, you love skydiving and spend most of your spare time at your home drop zone. Perhaps you even make decent money working at the DZ, and life is good. Or you have an uninspiring job that pays the bills but keeps you away from your favorite pastime. For one reason or another, it may occur to you: Why not leverage all the knowledge, experience and connections and turn them into a cool lifestyle others only dream about? Of course, opening a DZ is not simple, but with the right attitude, perseverance and a little help, it can be a rewarding experience. more »

There are legions of retired and semi-retired skydivers who haven’t been upstairs in weeks, months or even years but suddenly get the urge to strap on their gear and head out to the DZ. Sometimes the returnees are students or novices who simply ran out of money during their initial training, but increasingly frequently they're licensed skydivers with considerable experience who were sidetracked for years by a demanding job or too many kids’ soccer games. For them, it may take only a whiff of jet A on a sunny summer day to get their skydiving juices flowing again. more »

FELIX BAUMGARTNER SETS WORLD RECORDS WITH HIGH-ALTITUDE LEAP

In a sport defined by superlatives and firsts, it is rare that a jump deserves the title “historic.” In fact, there may be only a few that deserve the distinction. One such jump is certainly the long, lonely leap Air Force Captain Joseph Kittinger made on August 16, 1960, from an open gondola suspended under a helium balloon 102,800 feet above sea level. Another—the spectacularly public Red Bull Stratos jump that Austrian Felix Baumgartner made from 128,100 feet above sea level near Roswell, New Mexico, on October 14—occurred 52 years later. more »