Profile - Curt Bartholomew | D-29202

Curt Bartholomew is a relatively new jumper who became a force in canopy piloting both nationally and internationally in 2009, his first year of competing. Bartholomew took first overall in 2009’s Canopy Piloting Circuit™ Championships. He also placed sixth overall in the 2009 USPA National Skydiving Championships of Canopy Piloting, securing himself a spot on the 2010 U.S. Team for the World Canopy Piloting Parachuting Championships. His goal is to become a world champion canopy pilot, and based on his recent success, there’s a good chance he will.

Age: 25

Marital Status: In a relationship

Education: Bachelor of Arts in aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Life Philosophy: Enjoy every day and everything that you have, and never ever take anything for granted.

Jump Philosophy: Safety is foremost, especially when it comes to other people jumping with me. But other than that, it’s fly fast, hook it hard and hope you don’t eat it too bad! I’m always pushing myself to go faster and farther and to try new ideas, which leads to the occasional crash.

Team Name: Alter Ego

Sponsors: Alti-2, The Flystyle, Liquid Sky Sports, Sky Systems USA, Skydive DeLand, Skydive Globe

Containers: Sunrise Manufacturing International Wings

Main Canopies: Performance Designs Competition Velocity 79 and 84

Reserve Canopies: Performance Designs PD 106R

AAD: None

Home Drop Zone: Skydive DeLand in Florida

Licenses: A-49400, D-29202

Championships/Medals/Records:
2009: Canopy Piloting Circuit™ Championships—first overall; Florida Canopy Piloting Association—first overall (annual); USPA National Skydiving Championships of Canopy Piloting—sixth overall
2010: World Canopy Piloting Parachuting Championships—fifth overall; Florida Canopy Piloting Association—second overall (annual)

Did you start out as an AFF, static-line or tandem student?
AFF—June 21, 2006

Total Number of Jumps: 3,200-plus
Freefly: 1,600
Camera: 1,200
Hop and Pops: 600
BASE Jumps: 103
Balloon Jumps: two

Total Number of Cutaways: Four

Are you a neat packer or a trash packer?
Depends... What kinda call am I on?

Of all of your skydives, is there one particular jump that stands out most?
Doing my brother’s first tandem video with both my teammates flying with us. It was really cool sharing that experience with him. He was really aware in freefall (even with me and my teammates flying all over the place), and he had a blast.

If you could do a fantasy 2-way with anybody, whom would it be with?
I would do a 2-way with my older brother, Terry. After being on my little brother’s first jump, it would have been really great to have shared that experience with my older brother, who I looked up to our entire childhood, before he died.

What do you like most about the sport?
The fact that you can travel all over the world and do the thing you love the most with friends all over the world who love to skydive too.

What do you like least about the sport?
The fact that you sometimes have to rely on the competency of others to not kill you.

Who have been your skydiving mentors?
Adrian Hart taught me to swoop from day one and kept me alive during my “dangerous” swooping days. Since then, almost all of the PD [Factory] Team and Greg Windmiller have taught me the intricacies of swooping, getting me to my current level of competition.

What safety item do you think is most important or most often neglected?
Landing patterns and canopy separation! It seems like right after AFF, good landing patterns are thrown out the window, and they just become random criss-crossing sashays across the length of the entire landing area, with the entire plane load landing at the exact same time.

What's the most bad-ass thing you can do in the air?
While I’m skimming across the water at upward of 60 or 70 mph, pulling off a Boomerang Switchblade Cowboy Can-Can—a hard carve with both toggles in one hand while dragging my other hand and both feet in the water.

What do you consider your most significant life achievement?
One of my main goals in life was to make it to the canopy piloting world championships. I made the U.S. team in my first year of competing and then placed fifth in the world only using a 270-degree turn. It was an amazing feeling, accomplishing that so early.

While in freefall, what has been your strangest thought?
After being knocked out (with no AAD) and coming-to at 9,000 feet, thinking, “Where am I? Holy s**t … I’m in freefall!”

Do you have any suggestions for USPA?
Swooping is not a crime. I see more and more drop zones going by the no-bigger-than-180-degree-turn rule. That’s not the answer to making canopy traffic safer. It’s hindering an entire discipline that could be the most spectator-friendly. Skydivers just need to be taught more about canopy traffic and separation and awareness.

What has been your best skydiving moment?
Anytime I do a 2-way high pull and scream across the sky with my girlfriend while we are both on sub-80-square-foot cross-braced canopies. Seriously, how many couples share that kind of experience?

Out of all your skydives, is there one you would like to do over again?
There was this one jump, when I almost landed under the manifest table...

What has been your greatest competition moment?
Right before the last round of the world championships, I was in the top 10. I was so nervous that I almost forgot my helmet at the packing tent and had to run back for it. Looking out of the door on the go-around for my group, I calmed myself down by reminding myself that I was on the other side of the planet doing the thing that I loved the most. I had an awesome run with one of the top distances of the round and got myself into the top five.

How did you get to your current level of swooping talent?
A lot of perseverance. I went at it pretty aggressively, and I didn’t let bad swoops, a lot of hard crashes or people telling me I couldn’t or shouldn’t be doing things (to put it very nicely) hold me back. I listened to the people trying to help me and got coaching from the best of the best and ignored all the people throwing out negative comments.

Explain "Curt" in five words or fewer:
Driven, passionate, competitive, dork, humble