Skydiving and parachute jumping in Houston, Texas
Recently, one of our licensed jumpers took it upon himself to remind us all about keeping our rigs away from the edges of the aircraft door when rotating out to a floater exit. It’s a great reminder for all of us, because it’s far too easy to get too comfortable and complacent about safety aspects …
(Rosharon, Texas, Jan. 6, 2014)–Not every business does team-building activities, and those that do don’t often plan something as intense as skydiving. You certainly wouldn’t expect it out of a government office, but Houston Mayor Annise Parker brought no fewer than 20 employees, City Council aides, and others to skydive and bond at Skydive Spaceland …
Continue reading “Extreme Team Building: Skydiving with Houston Mayor Annise Parker and Friends”
Let’s face it: Skydiving isn’t easy, especially when you’re just starting the sport. You may be a natural at freefall, but struggle with canopy patterns or landing, or vice versa. Or you may be nervous enough to have trouble getting out of the plane at all. The important thing to remember here is that many …
Continue reading “Skydiver Training Tip: What If You Have to Repeat a Dive?”
Are you one of those people who knocks standardized tests out of the park without half trying, or do you tend to need some quality study time to ace them? Regardless of your test performance proclivities, keep one thing in mind regarding your skydiving training tests: These are definitely tests you don’t want to fail, …
Do you ever wonder what our pretty King Air with the in-flight door is up to? Spaceland’s owner Steve Boyd, Sr., has teamed with the Veterans Airlift Command (VAC) to provide free transportation in his King Air to our wounded veterans. So far, he has completed four missions including trips to North Carolina, Florida, and two …
Continue reading “Skydive Spaceland Owner Gives Back to our Military By Flying Wounded Veterans”
Rosharon, Texas (Nov. 4, 2014)—On the weekend of Oct. 25-26, 2014, skydivers set not one or two, but three challenging world skydiving records (and several Texas state/national records) at Skydive Spaceland in Rosharon, Texas, just south of Houston. “These records were all new (no previous records had been set in this category), making these skydivers …
Continue reading “Skydivers Set Three World Records Over Skydive Spaceland”
Oh no! You want to jump this weekend, but your reserve is out of date! Can this tragedy be averted so you can get some quality sky time? The answer is: Maybe! Our full-time rigging loft may very well be able to accommodate your right-now repack request, depending on their current workload. If you need …
Low/High Pulls High openings and low passes must take into account the number of airplanes flying, other skydiving activities, and canopy descent rate. We cannot always accommodate low passes or high openings. We cannot guarantee that low-pass jumpers will land alone unless only one plane is flying. Ensure that the aircraft is configured for your …
Continue reading “Special Dives: Low/High Pulls, Toy Dives, Pond Swooping”
Canopy Safety Wind indicators: Landing direction arrow, flags, wind sock. The landing direction arrow is an air-traffic control device that sets the landing direction on the north side of the runway. Know the landing direction before takeoff, and check the landing direction indicator (LDI) north of the runway after you open and check canopy in case …
Winds Aloft This information is posted daily on the board near the aircraft mockups. Also check out our weather page… Loading Area We use loading area 1 (north of the hangar) on cold starts/after fueling, and loading area 2 (northwest corner of hangar) on hot turns. Please be in the loading area on the 5-minute …
Continue reading “Aircraft/Loading Area Safety and Policies”
Wingsuit jumps carry many of the same risks as tracking/angle flying because of the horizontal movement component. They can also pose a risk to later-dropping aircraft because of the extremely slow fall rate. They can pose challenges when dealing with malfunctions as well, because of the limited mobility many suits allow the jumper before wings …
Are you a new skydiver with a shiny new A license? Or maybe you’re a skydiving student already thinking about the fun things you’ll do after you graduate? Congratulations on becoming a part of the global skydiving community! We’re glad you’re here. 🙂 Now let’s talk a little about the skydives you’ll do once you …
Houston Man among the Skydivers Who Honored Young Daughter’s Memory Rosharon, TX – October 2, 2014 – It was the thrill of a lifetime in more ways than one, as 286 skydivers took to the skies and made a jump that was both exhilarating and meaningful to so many. Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation (CCRF), a 501(c) (3) charitable …
Forrest Gump might have said that skydiving and cameras go together like peas and carrots. It’s an awesome thing to capture what’s arguably the world’s most fun aerial activity with a nice tiny, high-quality camera such as a GoPro. It won’t get in the way, right? You won’t even know it’s there! To go back …
It is bumpy up there! Turbulence is the Rodney Dangerfield of skydiving…. It doesn’t get respect. Turbulence is a challenge for jumpers for at least two reasons: It is invisible and unpredictable. Because turbulence is invisible, we must actively anticipate where it may be. Most new jumpers (and a lot of more experienced ones) vastly underestimate …
Are you ready to help us help kids with cancer? On Sept. 27, 2014, Skydive Spaceland-Houston and Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation (CCRF) are attempting to break the current Guinness World Record of 251 tandem skydives completed in a single location in one day by doing 400 or more! The proceeds from this event benefit CCRF, which supports children under …
Continue reading “Jump! Shout! World Record Event Business Contributors”
Are you ready to help us help kids with cancer? On Sept. 27, 2014, Skydive Spaceland-Houston and Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation (CCRF) are attempting to break the current Guinness World Record of 251 tandem skydives completed in a single location in one day by doing 400 or more! The proceeds from this event benefit CCRF, which supports children under …
Continue reading “Jump! Shout! World Record Promotion Information”
Are you ready to help us help kids with cancer? On Sept. 27, 2014, Skydive Spaceland-Houston and Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation (CCRF) are attempting to break the current Guinness World Record of 251 tandem skydives completed in a single location in one day by doing 400 or more! The proceeds from this event benefit CCRF, which supports children under …
Continue reading “Jump! Shout! World Record Event Fundraising Information”
Ready for the thrill of a lifetime with the added thrill of helping a seriously good cause? On Sept. 27, 2014, Skydive Spaceland-Houston and Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation (CCRF) are attempting to break the current Guinness World Record of 251 tandem skydives completed in a single location in one day by doing 400 or more! The proceeds from this …
Continue reading “Jump! Shout! World Record Tandem Skydiver Information”
Want to get in the Guinness World Record Book while helping out a great cause and having the time of your life for free?! It’s a trifecta of awesomeness! On Sept. 27, 2014, Skydive Spaceland-Houston and Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation (CCRF) are attempting to break the current record of 251 tandem skydives completed in a …
Continue reading “Jump! Shout! World Record Tandem Skydive for Kids With Cancer”
If you’re a people watcher, observing skydivers preparing for hop and pop skydives (low-altitude exits) is a lot of fun. You see everything from cool-cat, ho-hum, highly experienced swoopers practicing their craft to jumpy first-timers doing their first exits below full altitude, hoping with all their hearts to be stable enough to deploy within the …
Contact (Skydive Spaceland): Christy West, Marketing Director 281-369-3337; Christy@SkydiveSpaceland.com Contact (Jump for the Rose): Marian Sparks, 713-816-0185, marian@jumpfortherose.org Rosharon, Texas (Aug. 11)—On Aug. 10, 2014, four female skydivers set a new world record for largest vertical skydiving formation performed in a head-up orientation (also known as sit-flying or feet-first flying) at Skydive Spaceland-Houston in Rosharon, …
On August 3, 2014, Skydive Spaceland added friendly competition to its Transitions program for recent graduates of any skydiving program. Skydivers with A licenses up to around 100 jumps enjoy free coaching from two available USPA Coaches/experienced jumpers every weekend. Also, during the first weekend of every month there is an event with additional mentors …
Continue reading “Skydive Spaceland Hosts First Transitions 3-Way Speed Star Competition”
THE WOODLANDS, TX — July 7, 2014 — Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation (CCRF) is hosting an adventure fundraiser that gives individuals the opportunity to raise funds for a good cause while taking an unforgettable life-changing plunge from a perfectly good airplane at Skydive Spaceland. This hair-raising experience comes at no cost to those participants, who raise between $300 and …
Ah, the feel of freefall on your face, your hair whipping in the wind… wait a minute! If you have long hair (past your shoulders), hair whipping around in freefall is actually a bad thing. Aside from the Gordian knot that often results from 120mph of wind whipping your hair around, hair that is very …
Continue reading “Long Hair? Avoid This Skydiving Malfunction”
When I was still in school, I was a serious last-minute crammer before tests. Study ahead of time? Not my strong suit. So there I would be at 1 a.m. before a big exam, studying my tail off. 5 minutes before the test, still reviewing. At least I studied, right?! When you are learning to …
Continue reading “Skydiver Training Tip: Practice Before You Leave”
Horizontal movement dives are fun… free flowing… and inherently potentially much riskier than dives that fall straight down. Any dive in which jumpers plan horizontal movement other than tracking for separation after breakoff requires good planning and execution to minimize the additional risks to everyone on the load. Above photo by Daniel Angulo! That responsibility …
Rosharon, Texas (June 16, 2014)—On August 23, 2010, Chad and Melissa Barrett had to hear some of the worst news a parent can ever hear—that his 8-year-old daughter Kristina had cancer. And not just any cancer, but a rare, painful form called clear cell sarcoma that had already spread to her lungs. Despite a poor …
Continue reading “Skydive Spaceland to Host Jumps for Kristina Fundraiser in July”
Contact: Chris Lee, Houston Fire Department 832-405-3769; chrislee5479@gmail.com Rosharon, Texas (June 12, 2014)— On July 5, skydivers/Houston firefighters Chris Lee (HazMat/22-D shift) and Clint Meade (firefighter/paramedic in training) will organize a memorial skydiving event at Skydive Spaceland for the Houston firefighters who were killed or injured battling the deadly hotel fire in Houston on May 31, …
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For recent skydiving graduates, there is often a no-man’s-land between the A license and getting on good dives. Skydive Spaceland-Houston has been turning that no-man’s land into free coaching central with its monthly Transitions events. On or near the first weekend of each month, organizers and coaches collaborate to provide free small-group coaching tailored to …
Continue reading “Skydive Spaceland Transitions Events for Recent Grads”