That Tuesday 10 years ago started memorably as a clear, blue-sky morning. Suddenly, there were news reports of a tragic airplane accident, which soon proved to be no accident at all. Some of the windows of USPA’s offices, then located in Alexandria, Virginia, faced north, and before long, smoke from the Pentagon obscured the sky. Throughout the day, it was hard to sort news from rumor. In nearby D.C., there were wild reports of car bombings, bomb threats, more inbound jets, and before long, the Alexandria streets that led out of the city were jammed. Before the day ended, all civil aviation, including skydiving, was grounded, with no indication of when things would get back to normal. In fact, no one knew what the new normal would be. At home that night, I took my 9-year-old son outside. Our house was near a busy general aviation airport and beneath arrival paths into both Baltimore and Washington commercial airports, and there were always airplanes overhead. Not that night. Only the sounds of the combat air patrol were heard. more »
Ray Cottingham, D-1653, is a legend. During his 51 years in the sky, he’s filmed some of the most important aerial skydiving scenes in the history of the movies. Cottingham’s impressive résumé includes filming scenes for “Terminal Velocity,” “Operation Dumbo Drop” and “Honeymoon in Vegas,” and his work on “Point Break” inspired legions of jumpers to try the sport. In addition, Cottingham is responsible for numerous skydiving scenes on television programs in the 1970s and 1980s, and he’s shot aerial footage for hundreds of commercials. Even if you’re not a jumper, chances are you’ve seen his work.