Historic

The year 1969 was a happy time to be skydiving. Relative work (now called formation skydiving) was uniting the men and women of the sport as they had never united before. Jumpers were frolicking in the sky, at times laughing out loud in freefall from the ultimate joy of flying free—together! Everything was new. more »

Tales from Skydiving in the '60s: Part II

Gear, attitudes and disciplines have evolved over the years. “We are experiencing an entirely different skydiving mentality today than was present during the last part of the 20th century,” says USPA lifetime member Charles Baldauf, D-3307. more »

Tales from Skydiving in the '60s: Part I

Do you think you have it bad, having to constantly reassure coworkers who know you’re a skydiver? Or answering the same questions over and over again to friends and family who don’t really understand what skydivers actually do? Imagine what it was like in the 1960s, when skydiving was a new sport. Today, almost every other stranger we run into has made at least one jump or knows someone who has. Parachutists back then—there were only about 4,000 to 8,000 in the entire country—really had some explaining to do. more »

"It is only by strenuous and hazardous preparation that the aviator can fit himself to his vocation," an early aviation journalist observed. "He needs an extraordinary combination of active energy, courage, decision of purpose, a quick eye, clearness of judgment, the utmost presence of mind and great physical dexterity." more »

In 1946, the United Nations hosted its first meeting. President Truman created the CIA. The bikini bathing suit debuted, the microwave oven was invented, and B.B. King began his musical career. In aviation, the first rocket attained 100 miles in altitude; the Civil Aeronautics Administration certified the Bell 47, the first commercial helicopter; and a Lockheed Constellation made the first non-stop transcontinental commercial flight. And in July of that year, the National Parachute Jumpers-Riggers Inc. filed articles of incorporation in the State of New York. Its board of directors numbered nine. Dues were $5. Part of the organization’s stated purpose was to “provide for the mutual assistance, enjoyment, entertainment and improvement of the members socially and physically,” and it also focused on safety, training, education and competition. more »

Due to popularity, we decided to publish this older article online as well. Originally printed in June 2011.

Letters to the Editor about the article are published in the comments. Scroll all the way down to read them.

Skydiver Michael Kearns says, “I think it’s time.” Fourteen years after one of the worst mass-fatality accidents in skydiving history, Kearns and fellow jumper Trond Jacobsen have decided to disclose personal conversations and information about the incident to fellow skydivers. Many news reports at the time were incomplete or incorrect, stating the usual “their parachutes failed to open” explanation.

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In the first of this two-part series (Parachutist, March), skyjacker Richard McCoy Jr. had just extorted $500,000 and leapt from a commercial airliner in flight...

The sensation was nothing like the three night jumps McCoy had made in the past; he felt as if he were falling from a tall building. Then the blast of freezing air hit. McCoy later said that it practically tore his head off. more »

Skydivers have a special ability the general public just doesn’t have. Unfortunately, that special ability can be used in devious ways...

He planned a skydive that he thought was brilliant—every aspect of the jump was meticulously orchestrated. But it was a skydive so dangerously ill-conceived that it changed his world forever and left him running for his life. more »

High original genius is always ridiculed on its first appearance, most of all by those who have won themselves the highest reputation in working on the established lines. Genius only commands recognition when it has created the taste which is to appreciate it.

—James Anthony Froude more »