Blog - Page 3 of 6 - Skydive Spaceland Houston

October 22, 2014October 27, 2017

Wingsuit Dive 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 released.

These dives have a higher chance of landing off the DZ. Also, since you’ll open away from the usual jump run, we may not see you if you land out or have a malfunction. Don’t expect a ride if you land out; we’ll do our best to get you if we see you, but assume you’re on your own. If you have a cutaway, note where you opened so we can help you find your main. Identify an appropriate alternate landing area right after opening and fly conservatively to it, then make the phone calls described below.
Each jumper should carry a mobile phone in a secure pocket, and program the following three numbers into it: Manifest (281-369-3337), ICE or In Case of Emergency number (family/responsible person for us to contact in case you are hurt), and the jump organizer. Call 911 first if you land out and are badly hurt, and call us second. Call us also if you land out but are unhurt to let us know you are OK and if you need a ride. Also call your jump’s organizer with the same information.
We highly recommend AADs for all skydives.

Experience Suggested Requirements

200 jumps within the last year, or 500+ jumps total. If you are not an experienced wingsuit flyer, your first 10 wingsuit jumps here should be under the supervision of a wingsuit instructor.

Wingsuit Dive Policies

Get a briefing from a staff wingsuiter before making a wingsuit jump here. You will then receive a tag for your rig; otherwise, the loader will not allow you to board with a wingsuit.
Always tell manifest if you are making a wingsuit jump so we can notify the loader and pilot. If you don’t declare your intentions with manifest, the increased last-minute load organizing may result in you missing the load.
It is your responsibility to determine if the rest of the load is compatible with your jump. If there are already multiple horizontal skydiving groups planned, you may be assigned to a different load.
Know where wingsuiters are assigned to fly each day you jump a wingsuit and stay in that area to avoid traffic with aircraft and other groups.
It is your responsibility to plan each jump in a way that will keep you away from others and let you land on the drop zone. Check this board and/or weather websites for current wind conditions and use this information to plan where you must open to land on the drop zone, then make a flight plan that will take you to this opening area without crossing the normal jump run or approaching any other high canopies, trackers, etc. Consider that 180° second passes may occur and keep your flight plan clear of this as well.
Do not ask the pilot for a variation from the normal jump run. If you would like a different jump run, ask the drop zone manager and if the new jump run is approved, he’ll communicate with the pilot. You should verify that the pilot is briefed when boarding.
Before exiting, ensure the plane’s wings, nose, and tail are level and the green light is on. Do not exit linked with another jumper.
On exiting the aircraft, keep all wings collapsed for at least three (3) seconds to avoid striking the tail of the aircraft.
DO NOT attempt to chase or fly in formation with the descending aircraft.
Flying past or opening close to tandems or other groups, or crossing back and forth over jump run, will result in immediate and prolonged grounding.

October 8, 2014

New on New

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 graduate. There are so many choices!

One thing we see frequently, perhaps because we are a big dropzone with a lot of students graduating all the time, is new skydivers jumping together. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that! You are cleared to self-supervise your own skydives because you’ve proven that you have the necessary skills to save your own life after throwing yourself out of a perfectly good airplane. However, one skill you may have not yet developed is the ability to assess the inherent risks of different types of skydiving than the small, one-on-one belly jumps you have done until now.

Back to all the choices… there are bigger belly-fly jumps, sit-fly, head-down, hoop dives, raft jumps, tracking dives, angle flying, canopy flocking, canopy relative work, high pulls… it’s a smorgasbord of fun! But all of these dives carry more or different risks than the individual risks you learned about in the Skydiver Training Program. When you do bigger belly jumps, you need more awareness of where everyone is in the sky to stay safe. For sit-fly or head-down, you would need all the control you learned in the program on your belly, but enough skill to exercise that control at freefall speeds almost half again as fast as what you’re used to. For tracking/angle dives, you need all that awareness and skill along with awareness of where your group will travel across the sky and whether it will interfere with other groups on the load.

And no matter what kind of flying you’re doing, you will no longer have an instructor with you whose sole focus is to stay with you and keep you safe. Chances are quite good that you’ll start learning just how good your instructors are when you jump with others… 😉 And when everyone on your group is relatively inexperienced, chances are good that none of you have the experience and awareness to do a lot of the new activities safely and effectively.

None of this is intended to scare you or create reservations about jumping outside of the program. Far from it! Rather, we’d like you to consider that since the freefall world is now open to your interpretation, that you use that freedom wisely and safely. If you’re doing something on your skydive that you didn’t learn in the program (this will be many things), take a few minutes to ask one of our instructors or organizers for tips on doing that activity safely. If they say you need XYZ skills before trying what you want to do, trust that they are not trying to stifle your fun, but that they want to keep you and other skydivers safe. We’ve seen a lot of people make mistakes simply by not knowing what they don’t know, and the good thing about Spaceland is that there are so many people here that I guarantee somebody knows more about what you want to try than you do. Find these people, pick their brains, and keep learning! Keep an open mind and you’ll keep learning as fast as if not faster than you did in the student program.

Another aspect to learning quickly is to take advantage of jumping with people with more experience than you whenever you can. At Spaceland, we have the mentor program whereby jumpers under 100 jumps from any dropzone can get free coaching from a USPA-rated coach or instructor every weekend day in a 3- to 4-way format. Every month, we have a larger event on the first weekend of the month focused on a particular topic, be it dive and dock, turning pieces, accuracy, etc. Keep jumping with people who have lots of experience whenever you can, and get all the tips they can offer. Don’t feel that you should stick to skydives with your fellow graduates to avoid ruining someone’s jump who’s more experienced, because we all grew up in the sport with people taking time to help us out. We’re giving back what was given to us, and we know you may not be perfect. We aren’t either! We just want to skydive, improve, and have fun, knowing that whatever we give you will be paid back when you’re ready to do so.

Blue Skies!

September 30, 2014

We Did It! CCRF Breaks Guinness World Record and Raises $48,255 at Charity Skydive Event to Assist Children Battling Cancer and Their Families

Houston Man among the Skydivers Who Honored Young Daughter’s Memory

Chad Barrett, #2 jumper. See all participant photos and more on Facebook

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 organization, hosted an adventure fundraiser called Jump! Shout! on September 27th financial assistance to children with cancer and their families.

As part of National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, participants raised a collective total of $48,255 for this important cause, and CCRF says it proudly broke the Guinness World Record for most tandem skydive jumps in one location in 24 hours at 286 jumps. CCRF will submit documentation to Guinness World Records for official review and confirmation. The previous record was set at 281 in June 2014 and was organized by Skydive UK Ltd (UK) at Dunkeswell Aerodrome in Devon, UK.

“Observing people from all walks of life, ages 18 to 81, take this extraordinary plunge from 14,000 feet was a sight to behold,” said CCRF Events Manager Holly Price. “This was a world-class event that is truly helping children with cancer. Everyone involved, from jumpers, staff from Skydive Spaceland, sponsors and volunteers all rallied together to crush the current world record. It was an honor to be a part of an extraordinary event. By helping others, it was a positive experience for everyone involved and we are grateful to all who contributed to this worthwhile cause.”

Chad Barrett, a Houston pastor at Kingwood Bible Church, honored his daughter’s memory during the fundraiser by making the daring jump at sunrise. The Barrett family’s eldest daughter, Kristina, was 12 years old when she died earlier this year as a result of a rare form of cancer. Chad said, “To see hundreds of people come out to support this great foundation truly warmed my heart! And, it was an honor to participate knowing that I had a small part in ultimately helping other families who are going through the rough journey we are enduring. My wife, Melissa, and I share the same passion that CCRF has, and it was a real privilege to jump for this cause. Stephen Boyd and his staff at Skydive Spaceland are to be commended on their character and integrity in supporting this event.”

“It was great to be able to introduce so many people to skydiving while flying for this fantastic cause,” said Skydive Spaceland owner and founder Steve Boyd. “We were thrilled to be able to help these children and their families who are going through such a difficult battle for life and health.”

“On behalf of Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation, we are truly grateful for the outpouring of support and generosity demonstrated by the participants of this event,” said CCRF Founder & CEO Greg Anderson. “All of the funds raised at Jump! Shout! will directly support children battling cancer and their families. Many families affected by this illness cannot afford monthly expenses such as electric and heating bills because their money goes towards the treatment of their child. I salute all of the skydivers for helping to make these families’ lives a little more manageable.”

While unable to attend, President George H.W. Bush served as Honorary Chairman of the event.

Donations to Jump! Shout! are still being accepted to assist children with cancer. Please visit childrenscancerrecovery.org/jump-shout/ to contribute or learn more.

About Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation (CCRF)

Headquartered in Harrisburg, PA with a division in The Woodlands, TX, the Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation supports children under 18 and their families facing the hardships of cancer. The foundation performs acts of care and kindness through the following programs: Bear-Able Gifts (largest distributor of gifts to children with cancer in the U.S.); Toxic-Free Kids (educates families on the dangers of environmental toxins); New Era Cancer Research Fund (funds research for less toxic, minimally-invasive pediatric-cancer treatments); International Aid (provides medications and supplies to clinics in developing and impoverished countries); Helping Hands Fund (provides emergency financial assistance to families); and summer camp programs in PA and TX. With a national pediatric-hospital partner network of 215+ locations, the foundation directly helps more than 15,000 children affected by cancer and their families every year. Please visit www.ChildrensCancerRecovery.org.

September 23, 2014

Skydive Spaceland Camera Policy

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 to our peas-and-carrots analogy, it doesn’t quite fit the skydiving scene in the sense that the peas don’t hurt or kill the carrots. But cameras add risk to nearly any activity, even if it’s just a spectator on the ground with a camera. Why? One, cameras apparently have a unique ability to disable basic brain function in humans. Haven’t you noticed how smart humans can become complete idiots when cameras are rolling? It might be a “Hey y’all, watch this!” showoff, being so focused on getting the shot that the camera jumper forgets to deploy his/her parachute on time, or a spectator walking into a dangerous landing or aircraft operations area because they are too busy watching what’s in the viewfinder or on screen to realize they are walking into a trap. All kidding aside, the distraction problem cameras pose is very real.

Two, cameras on skydivers can snag parachute lines and thereby cause or complicate parachute malfunctions.

Jumping with any type of camera, including small-format cameras such as GoPros and Contours, adds significant risk to any skydive. These risks may include the following and other risks:

Cameras falling off of jumpers, creating hazards for people and property on the ground.
Pilot chute bridles, lines, and/or parachutes entangling with the camera.
Distraction from critical safety issues such as proper gear routing, exit lights, and freefall and canopy traffic.

The United States Parachute Association recommends that jumpers have at least 200 jumps and a C license, and instruction in camera flying before using a camera on any skydive. Skydive Spaceland believes in and follows this recommendation. If you are interested in jumping a camera here, get your 200 jumps, familiarize yourself with USPA’s Skydiver Information Manual Section 6-8, and seek advice from one of our many experienced camera flyers.

Avoiding Turbulence

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 the danger zone for mechanical turbulence around obstacles. We can expect turbulence in front of, over, beside, and 10-20 times the height of the obstacle downwind. At Spaceland, turbulence in the primary landing areas most often occurs south of the berm and hangar in a north wind and east/southeast of the hangar in a west wind.

Because turbulence is unpredictable, it is easy to be lulled into an unwarranted sense of safety. If ten jumpers on one load fly through the same cube of potentially turbulent air in a 90-second period, four may experience nothing at all, five may get “bumped around”, and one may have a partial canopy collapse. It is therefore critical that we be wary of areas where turbulence is likely even if turbulence has not yet caused trouble there today.

Many jumpers have experienced turbulence only as “bumpiness” under canopy. That is certainly the most common manifestation of turbulence. However, bumpiness is not the only consequence of flying through turbulence. Turbulence can create unstable landing conditions. These unstable conditions can result in the canopy moving suddenly in unexpected ways or even collapsing very close to the ground. This has injured or killed jumpers. Canopies are fabric wings that are vulnerable to collapse. When turbulence collapses a canopy it typically does so suddenly and close to the ground. Fortunately, most collapses are only partial, and re-inflate promptly. Occasionally, a canopy will not recover in time for a safe landing.

Varying appreciation of the risk of turbulence plays a part in the varying wind speed limits among jumpers. Often because the new jumper has not seen or experienced the dangerous consequences of turbulence, he or she discounts it as just “bumpiness” and not a reason to stay on the ground. This was certainly true for me as a new jumper. I traveled to a temporary drop zone set up for spring break. The appeal of this DZ was the promise of beach landings. Unfortunately, after arrival, we discovered that the DZO had not done the FAA paperwork right, and beach jumps were not allowed. The alternate DZ was near the beach, but it was surrounded by turbulence-generating buildings on three sides. I made three jumps there in turbulence before I decided to come home. A few days later a jumper with more than 10,000 jumps died at that DZ due to a canopy collapse (The fire department recovered his body from the attic of the condo that he landed on). That incident forever changed my personal appreciation of the risks that turbulence poses.

The smartest way to deal with turbulence is to avoid it. Learn to predict turbulence, watch other canopies for evidence of turbulence, and be willing to stay on the ground when conditions are risky for turbulence.

Scroll down for maps of turbulence risk areas at Skydive Spaceland based on different wind directions–but keep in mind that turbulence can also occur in other areas for reasons you might not expect (such as the wake turbulence from a jumper who landed shortly before you).

The linked article is EXCELLENT. I highly encourage all jumpers to read it (or read it AGAIN): http://www.performancedesigns.com/docs/Turbulence-Hazard.pdf

Reprinted with permission from Jim McGraw

Skydive Spaceland-Houston Turbulence Risk Areas

Turbulence risk areas: Winds out of the north — Winds out of the north (click to expand)

Turbulence Risk Areas: Winds out of the south — Winds out of the south (click to expand)

Turbulence Risk Areas: Winds out of the east — Winds out of the east (click to expand)

Turbulence Risk Areas: Winds out of the west — Winds out of the west (click to expand)

August 22, 2014

Jump! Shout! World Record Event Business Contributors

Childrens Cancer Recovery Foundation World Record Jump! Shout! Event

Would your business like to help support this event? There are a lot of ways you can contribute, and thank you for your interest!

Several sponsorship opportunities are still available. Contact Holly Price at CCRF (email or phone 713-389-5544) to learn more!
Financial donations are always welcome, of course! Donate online…
Help us get the word out by posting information in employee break rooms, inserting promotional cards with employee paychecks, etc.
Develop competing fundraising teams within your organization and offer incentives to the winners!

Thank you so much for your help!

Here are more ways you can get involved:

SKYDIVE

Skydive and raise money to help kids with cancer and their families! Almost anyone 18 years of age and up, and up to 280 pounds, can skydive. Raise at least $300 and get a FREE skydive! Here’s how it works…

RAISE MONEY

Financial support is always welcome even if you’d rather not skydive! Your gift will go towards financial aid, gift, research, and/or camp programs for children with cancer and their families. Learn more…

SPREAD THE WORD

If you want to help in addition to or instead of collecting money, help us spread the word about this event! To set a world record and raise as much money as we can, we need all the help we can get! Here’s how you can help promote this event…

August 22, 2014

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 18 and their families facing the hardships of cancer through financial aid, gift, research, and camp programs. If you are fundraising and planning to skydive, please see this page! If you want to help in addition to or instead of collecting money, help us spread the word! To set a world record and raise as much money as we can, we need all the help we can get. The more the merrier! Tell your friends and family, share information via social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, put up posters, put promotional cards in your employees’ paychecks–help us get the word out any way you like!

Useful Links

World Record Jumper Information
Facebook event for the World Record
Pre-Registration Events
- Sept. 20: Kingwood Bible Church
- Sept. 23: Grub Burger Bar (Houston) and Grub Burger Bar (Woodlands)
- Sept. 24: Saint Arnold Brewing Company
- Sept. 26: Skydive Spaceland

Printed Materials

If you’d like to get a batch of promotional cards to hand out, please contact Holly Price at the Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation via email or phone at 713-389-5544. Here are some flyers you can print and distribute as well! Jump! Shout! World Record Poster Jump! Shout! World Record Poster 24×36

Here are more ways you can get involved:

SKYDIVE

RAISE MONEY

GET YOUR BUSINESS INVOLVED

We’d love to have your business’ support for this event! Whether your company would prefer to raise money, build competitive fundraising teams, or sponsor this event for worldwide publicity, there is a way you can help! Learn more…

August 22, 2014

Jump! Shout! World Record Event Fundraising Information

If you are fundraising and planning to skydive, please see this page!

If you want to raise funds but don’t want to skydive, that is perfectly fine! Not everyone wants to jump and we would love to have your support in any way you want to give it. Thank you for your interest in this cause!

You can set up your own fundraising page or donate to someone else who is raising money to skydive over at GroupRev. You can also form fundraising teams for more help!

Donate online now!

Here are more ways you can get involved:

SKYDIVE

SPREAD THE WORD

GET YOUR BUSINESS INVOLVED

August 22, 2014

Jump! Shout! World Record Tandem Skydiver 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 event benefit CCRF, which supports children under 18 and their families facing the hardships of cancer through financial aid, gift, research, and camp programs. Almost anyone 18 years of age and up, and up to 280 pounds, can skydive! Common skydiving questions…

What do I do to participate and skydive?

Licensed skydivers can also help out!

Please note, if you jump solo rather than doing a tandem skydive, your funds will count (THANK YOU!), but your skydives will not count toward the tandem skydiving world record attempt.

Raise $300: Receive $149 credit with Skydive Spaceland-Houston
Raise $500: Receive $265 credit

1) Register online and start raising money for your jump

Raise $300: Get a FREE tandem skydive at Skydive Spaceland-Houston!
Raise $500 or more: Get a FREE tandem skydive and professionally edited, high-definition video and photos of your jump

Anyone raising $500 or more will be entered in a drawing for some great prizes as well! You can raise money out of your own pocket, by getting donations from friends/family/co-workers, selling crafts, throwing down challenges like the current ice bucket craze for ALS… get creative! Register now!

*All fundraising monies need to be collected by September 22, 2014 to ensure your free tandem skydive jump. If you do not raise enough for your jump, you can make up the difference out of your own funds to skydive. Otherwise we will gladly accept your donation to the charity.

Questions? Contact Holly at CCRF (email or call her at 713-389-5544).

2) Attend a pre-registration event (optional but highly recommended)

Plan to attend one of several free pre-registration events being held around the Houston area in the week leading up the the Sept. 27 record attempt to complete paperwork, submit your donations, and do the required ground training for your skydive! It is not absolutely required to attend a pre-registration event, but it will help get everything in order before record day so you can just show up and jump, and we can run the record event efficiently.

This is also a great opportunity to meet some of the Skydive Spaceland instructors and CCRF staff and get answers to any questions you might have.

Pre-Registration Events

Sept. 20	Kingwood Bible Church 3610 W Lake Houston Pkwy, Humble, TX 77339	11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Sept. 23	Grub Burger Bar – Houston 799 Town & Country Blvd, Suite 200, Houston, TX 77024 (Upstairs from Urban Outfitters, next to Ra Sushi)	5:00 – 7:30 pm
Sept. 24	Saint Arnold Brewing Company 2000 Lyons Ave, Houston, TX 77020	11:00 am – 2:00 pm
DATE CHANGE! Now Sept. 24	Grub Burger Bar – The Woodlands 2417 Research Forest Drive, Suite A, The Woodlands, 77381	5:00 – 7:30 pm
Sept. 26	Skydive Spaceland 16111 FM 521, Rosharon, TX 77583	5:00 – 7:00 pm

3) Record Day at Skydive Spaceland! Saturday, Sept. 27, 2014

Arrive at Skydive Spaceland in Rosharon, TX, just south of Houston off Hwy. 288 (get map/directions) by your assigned check-in time. If you have registered but you don’t have a check-in time yet, don’t worry! A member of Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation will be contacting you to select your preferred check-in time. You can check in from 6 am to 5:30 pm for your jump. We’ll sta-rt flying with the sunrise at 7 am and fly until we are done or until 7 pm, whichever comes first!

Have questions on what to wear and what to expect? Of course you do! Check out our common skydiving questions and answers, and see the video below for more about the Skydive Spaceland first-jump experience.

Want to help, but not interested in skydiving? Here are some more ways you can help us help kids with cancer!

RAISE MONEY

SPREAD THE WORD

GET YOUR BUSINESS INVOLVED

August 22, 2014

Jump! Shout! World Record Tandem Skydive for Kids With Cancer

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 single location in one day by doing 400 or more! The proceeds from this event benefit CCRF, which supports children under 18 and their families facing the hardships of cancer through financial aid, gift, research, and camp programs. With a national pediatric-hospital partner network of 215+ locations, the foundation directly helps more than 15,000 children affected by cancer and their families every year.

Help CCRF help more kids by fundraising and enjoying the thrill of a lifetime! Here’s how you can get involved:

	SKYDIVE Skydive and raise money to help kids with cancer and their families! Almost anyone 18 years of age and up, and up to 280 pounds, can skydive. Raise at least $300 and get a FREE skydive! Here’s how it works…
	RAISE MONEY Financial support is always welcome even if you’d rather not skydive! Your gift will go towards financial aid, gift, research, and/or camp programs for children with cancer and their families. Learn more…
	SPREAD THE WORD If you want to help in addition to or instead of collecting money, help us spread the word about this event! To set a world record and raise as much money as we can, we need all the help we can get! Here’s how you can help promote this event…
	GET YOUR BUSINESS INVOLVED We’d love to have your business’ support for this event! Whether your company would prefer to raise money, build competitive fundraising teams, or sponsor this event for worldwide publicity, there is a way you can help! Learn more…

Hope you can join us for this record-breaking event!

August 14, 2014July 20, 2020

Hop and Pop Skydiving Smarts

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 5 seconds required to graduate from student status.

With all that observation, you tend to notice a lot of people doing things right as well as some things that are frequently missed or done incorrectly. So here are eight tips on doing a safer hop and pop:

Plan your exit order with any other hop and poppers before you board the plane. The person with the highest wing loading should exit first, since they will be descending more quickly. Knowing this before boarding lets you load the plane efficiently in the correct order so you don’t end up climbing over or around each other before exit, reducing the chance that you’ll snag pins, flaps, and handles in the plane (bad juju!).
Know what to do at and with the door. It’s hot outside these days, so we’re opening the door at about 1,500 feet so we don’t all get heatstroke. But you shouldn’t just open the door at 1500 feet without doing a couple of things first:
1. Remove your seat belt and ensure those jumpers near the door have their seat belts off as well. If there is an aircraft emergency and the pilot tells us to bail, we all want those jumpers to be able to exit as quickly as possible!
2. Check the jumpers up closer to the pilot to make sure their belts are off too. Usually there will be an instructor or experienced jumper on board who will give you a thumbs up when all is clear.
3. Check your handles and buckles, get a pin check, and secure any loose accessories (gloves, helmets, etc.) before opening the door.If you’re unfamiliar with operating the door of a Twin Otter or Caravan, please check out this video!
Sit safely. Usually as a hop and popper, you’re sitting on the floor near the door and you may be tempted to lean on the wall, bulkhead, or the end of a bench. As with any ride to altitude, you should make sure you are not moving around a lot and especially not scrunching the back of your rig on things as this can pull or bend your pins (neither of which is good!). In particular, some aircraft have rails on the bulkheads that are at a perfect height to mess with your reserve pins if you are not careful, and the ends of benches are a pretty good height for that too. Very experienced jumpers have pushed out their reserve pins on the ends of benches! You can safely lean straight back on things IF you are gentle and don’t move around a lot, but it’s even better to avoid that.
Don’t be this guy…
Check the spot AND check for traffic. When the door (red) light goes on, do any of the above checks remaining and open the door if it isn’t already open, check the spot (can you find and make it back to the DZ from here?), and check for traffic. The last item is one that we often see neglected, but it’s a really important one. Usually the pilot will know about any other aircraft in our airspace and will not turn on the red light if another aircraft is in a hazardous spot. However, other pilots don’t always use their radios when they should and/or don’t always have perfectly working radios. So there is always a chance that another aircraft could be trailing your jump plane where you could hit it if you jumped (resulting in a really bad day for everyone). It’s critical to look for such traffic and ask for a go-around if necessary in order to jump into clear airspace. Look down, all around, and especially aft for other traffic flying in the same direction as you before jumping.Also check for other canopies on days when we’re flying multiple planes; you don’t want to jump right on top of anyone! Our aircraft operations should prevent this, BUT stuff happens–premature deployments, accidental handle grabs on group jumps, etc., that could result in a canopy being open in our airspace higher than planned. If canopies are in the landing pattern, they’re low enough that you’re good, but if you see they’re too high or you’re not sure, ask for a go-around or for an instructor to take a look for you.
Don’t go until the pilot turns on the green light. There’s usually a good reason why the light isn’t on, and often it has to do with traffic. Likewise, if people are exiting (at any altitude) and the green light is turned off, later groups/jumpers should not exit. There’s a good chance that the spot has gotten poor or a traffic issue has just been identified, and this is the pilot’s way of telling you not to exit.
Ensure an appropriate delay when multiple people are doing hop and pops. Just like at full altitude, you need enough separation between jumpers that each one gets to open in his/her own vertical column of air. Leave at least 4 seconds between jumpers if the airspeed is high, and leave more time with lower airspeeds. Learn more about optimal exit separation…
Don’t scrape your rig on the door! Far too often, we see hop and poppers do creative exits out of the plane that put them at high risk of raking their rigs on the edges of the door, and this is dangerous for a variety of reasons. (To be fair, the problem is definitely not confined to hop and poppers!) Opening flaps and pulling pins on the door puts you at risk of deploying pilot chutes and/or canopies over the tail of the aircraft, which puts the jumper, the plane, and everyone in it at risk. It also puts the jumper at high risk for having a horseshoe malfunction, which is no fun at all. Be aware of how far off your back your rig is, and don’t exit in such as fashion that you put your rig close to the edges of the door as you move through it.
Common exits to handle with care:
1. Swinging out from the bar into a back flip: This can scrape off pins on the bottom edge of the door and puts the back of your head at risk of slamming the floor. Safe as long as your rig and head are well clear of the bottom of the door when you pass through it.
2. Hopping out head-down, with your head toward the prop: Safe as long as your rig is well clear of the bottom of the door when you pass through it.
3. Hopping out in an aft-facing sit: Safe as long as your rig is well clear of the front of the door when you pass through it. This is more of a challenge when exiting with another person with grips between you; both of you need to be aware of the door edges and not put your rigs close to them.
4. Diving exit: Safe as long as you don’t scrape your rig along the floater bar/top edge of the door.
5. Floater exit: Safe as long as you keep your rig well clear of the sides of the door when rotating from inside the plane outward to a floating position. If you’re jumping with another person and you’re nearer the front or rear of the door, make sure your rig rotates through the center of the door so it’s as far from the door edges as possible.
Don’t hit the tail! This is tough to do in our Super Otter, but much easier to do in a Super Caravan or any other low-tail aircraft. Before exiting, make sure that the plane is configured for your exit (slowed down and not climbing, or not climbing as steeply in the Otter). The pilot will usually slow down and level off dramatically so it is clear that it’s jump run time. Once it’s time to exit, don’t do a big jump upward off the door and if you’re jumping a wingsuit, keep all wings closed for at least three seconds after exit.

Blue skies and safe hops!

August 11, 2014

Women Set New Skydiving World Record at Skydive Spaceland During Jump for the Rose Breast Cancer Fundraiser

Women's World Record Head-Up Formation 8-10-14 — Charity Kelly, Alexandra Neale, Cara Considine, and Tammie Frank set a world record vertical head-up large-formation record on Aug. 10, 2014.

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, Texas, just south of Houston. The women achieved the record on their eleventh attempt during the annual Jump for the Rose fundraiser, which benefits The Rose, a Houston-area nonprofit breast health organization.

Head-up group skydiving records are relatively new on the world scene, and the Texas girls are the first to claim a world record in this category. This type of skydiving is high-speed and challenging even for very experienced jumpers. The four women who set the record—Cara Considine and Charity Kelly of the Dallas area with Tammie Frank and Alexandra Neale of Houston—were part of a group of 12 women working together to achieve the world record. Brad Perkins flew with the ladies to record the record performance. Three qualified judges have certified the performance, which is awaiting final ratification by the international governing body of aeronautics.

“Not only did I see some of the best all female feet first flying ever, I saw some of the best feet first flying, period,” said Ben Nelson, one of the group’s videographers and mentors.

Tammie Frank, Charity Kelly, Cara Considine, Alexandra Neale

“This is an amazing start to show what female skydivers can achieve,” said Neale. “I can’t wait to see this record broken again and again.”

The Jump for the Rose event was a great success in fundraising as well as record-setting. “We had our best year ever!” said Jump for the Rose founder Marian Sparks. “It was an honor to have some of the most talented lady skydivers attend and get the world record at our event! We raised more money than ever due to the generous support of our friends and sponsors. Donations are still coming in, and we expect to be able to donate more money to The Rose than we gave last year, which was $17,000.

“We are grateful for the awesome weather we had and to Skydive Spaceland for providing such a great facility to hold our event,” she added.

Additional photos of early attempts by Ben Nelson
Additional video of an earlier attempt by Ben Nelson (with a really amazing rainbow)

NOTE: Several earlier attempts resulted in formations the same size as the claimed record, but as the girls declared a larger formation attempt on those jumps and were unsuccessful at that, those attempts were not certifiable as records. This is to clarify why the “additional” photos/video linked above show formations as big as that in the record photo linked first, but are not considered records.

About Jump for the Rose

Jump for the Rose (JFTR) is a grassroots 501(c)3 corporation. As a men’s and women’s skydiving organization, JFTR is dedicated to raising funds for The Rose, a Houston-area breast cancer clinic. The clinic’s mission is to reduce deaths from breast cancer by providing screening, diagnostics and access to treatment for all women regardless of their ability to pay. Their services covered screening and successful breast cancer treatments for Jump for the Rose’s founder, Marian Sparks.

In 2010, Jump for the Rose began hosting state record events for the largest women’s skydiving formations completed in Texas. In its brief history, the group has hosted this Head-Up World Record, three successful Women’s Texas State Records and a National Women’s Sequential Skydiving record. Their slogan: “Skydive—Have Fun—Give Back!”

About Skydive Spaceland

Skydive Spaceland is a three-generation family-owned and -operated skydiving business located in Rosharon, Texas, just south of Houston, Texas. First opened for business in February 2000 by Steve Boyd, Sr., Skydive Spaceland has grown into a truly world-class skydiving facility open 7 days a week and capable of handling hundreds of skydivers jumping daily. More than 100,000 skydiving students have been instructed at Spaceland and the center facilitates about 70,000 skydives per year.

Skydive Spaceland has also played host to the world’s largest skydiving competition, the United Parachuting Association National Skydiving Championships (2009) , as well as several other large competitions including the U.S. National Collegiate Parachuting Championships and multiple U.S. National Canopy Piloting Championships. Several state, national, and world records have also been set at Spaceland including the Texas State Record 150-person skydive in 2007, 168-person skydive in 2011, and multiple Women’s Texas State Record skydives held jointly as fundraisers for Jump for the Rose.

August 6, 2014

Skydive Spaceland Hosts First Transitions 3-Way Speed Star Competition

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 focused on a particular skill such as dive and dock, turns, and linked exits.

August’s Transitions event was a 3-round, 3-way Speed Star event in which each mentor formed a team with two jumpers who each had under 100 jumps. The event followed a modified version of classic 10-way rules, with all jumpers leaving from behind the so-called “suicide line” from the leading edge of the Otter door to the opposite bulkhead corner. Each mentor provided point-of-view video for judging purposes, which allowed the event to run at no additional cost to the competitors.

Despite significant weather challenges on both weekend days that pushed the Saturday event to Sunday afternoon, five teams persevered and completed all three rounds in short order once jumping recommenced. It was the first skydiving competition for many of the mentors as well as the mentees.

“I learned more in these 3 jumps than in the last 20,” said Cale Curry of third-place team 101 JumpStreet.

First place went to Double Ds, with recent graduates Dave Baxter and Doug Brooks jumping with mentor Steve Thompson. Dave and Doug received first prizes of 20% off a Sun Path Javelin harness and container system from the Skydive Spaceland Pro Shop.

Double Ds scored a fast 14.64-second round 3 to get out of a near-tie with Bald Beaver Lovers; only 0.35 seconds separated the two teams after round 2. Double Ds scored 60.8 seconds across the three rounds, averaging 20.27 seconds per round. Bald Beaver Lovers scored a total of 76.4 seconds, and 101 JumpStreet came out of a tie for last after round 2 to leapfrog into third with round 3, scoring a total of 110.42 seconds.

“I am a much better and safer skydiver today than I could have ever expected to be at this point without this [Transitions] program,” said Dave Baxter of Double Ds. “This program is the reason why I am still skydiving.”

See all team and jump photos

Future 2014 event focuses include:

Flying pieces Sept. 6-7
Sport accuracy coaching/competition with The Ratings Center and Performance Designs demo weekend Oct. 4-5
Turns/translational moves Nov. 1-2
3-way Formation Skydiving Competition Dec. 6-7

July 21, 2014

Free Skydiving Adventure is Only a Fundraiser Away at Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation’s Jump! Shout! Skydiving Event

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 $499. Those who raise more than $500 also jump at no cost, and receive a complimentary video of the jump to share with friends and family. Those who raise less than $300 are responsible to cover the cost of their own jump.

Too nervous to jump? You can still donate to CCRF and help the foundation assist children and their families struggling with cancer.

Looking to break the Guinness Book of World Records for most tandem skydive jumps in one location, CCRF is planning to top the current record of 251 jumps on Saturday, September 27, 2014, beginning at sunrise, at Skydive Spaceland-Houston in Rosharon, Texas. The previous record was set on August 30, 2013 at Varrelbusch Airport in Cloppenburg, Germany. To cross this exhilarating event off your bucket list, register at Skydive.ChildrensCancerRecovery.org where you can create a fundraising page to share with friends and family to reach your donation goal and help kids fighting cancer.

“We are thrilled to be able to provide this exciting theme to fundraise for children with cancer,” said Skydive Spaceland Owner Steve Boyd. “There is no higher calling than helping those in need. We’re hoping to set a really impressive record to raise a lot of money for these kids and we’re already buried in calls from staff wanting to help us make this a reality. Everyone wants to help!”

Licensed skydivers can also raise funds and skydive to aid the Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation! Please note, if you jump solo rather than doing a tandem skydive, your funds will count (THANK YOU!), but your skydives will not count toward the tandem skydiving world record attempt.

Please see the following benefits for licensed jumpers ONLY:

Raise $300: You will receive $149 credit with Skydive Spaceland, Houston
Raise $500: You will receive $265 credit with Skydive Spaceland, Houston

Skydive Spaceland is a 130-acre private airpark in Rosharon, Texas, 25 minutes south of Reliant Stadium in Houston. Skydive Spaceland is considered to be one of the most modern facilities of its kind. It is a family-owned, third generation business that has been training world-class skydivers for more than 14 years, and offers the safest and most efficient way to learn to skydive, developed by the most experienced skydivers in the industry.

CCRF is pleased to announce that MIX 96.5 and iFLY have signed on as the media sponsors for Jump! Shout!. Tune in for ongoing details as we approach this World Record Tandem Skydive attempt. More information about “Jump! Shout!” can be found at Skydive.ChildrensCancerRecovery.org.

About Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation (CCRF)

Headquartered in Harrisburg, PA with a division in The Woodlands, TX, the Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation supports children under 18 and their families facing the hardships of cancer. The foundation performs acts of care and kindness through the following programs: Bear-Able Gifts (largest distributor of gifts to children with cancer in the U.S.); Toxic-Free Kids (educates families on the dangers of environmental toxins); New Era Cancer Research Fund (funds research for less toxic, minimally invasive pediatric-cancer treatments); International Aid (provides medications and supplies to clinics in developing and impoverished countries); Helping Hands Fund (provides emergency financial assistance to families); and summer camp programs in PA and TX. With a national pediatric-hospital partner network of 215+ locations, the foundation directly helps more than 15,000 children affected by cancer and their families every year. Please visit www.ChildrensCancerRecovery.org.

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Contact:

HLD Communications

Don Miller, 516-629-3286 or 516-330-1647, dmiller@hldpr.com
Liz Burke, 516-629-3285 or 917-573-1440, lburke@hldpr.com

July 16, 2014

Does Your Canopy Turn When You Land?

Does your canopy turn when you land? The most common cause of this is when the pilot looks to one side instead of straight ahead, creating a chain effect. We tend to go where we look. As you enter your flare, if you look down and in either direction, your body will want to go that direction. Try standing in front of a mirror and hold your hands at chest level a few inches in front of your body, then look down at your right foot. Look back in the mirror; you will more than likely notice that your right hand is slightly lower than your left hand.

When you do this under canopy, this starts a slight turn to the right. At the same time, you will tend to reach towards the ground with your right leg, unevenly loading the harness and thereby adding to the turn. As the turn progresses, your instinct to reach out to break your fall starts to overpower your training to fly and of course, the further you reach the more aggressive the turn becomes.

How can you fix this? Simply by looking ahead where you want to go. On final, you should be looking ahead of you with your focal center point approximately 45 degrees below the horizon. Once you have entered the flare and begun to swing forward towards the leading edge of your canopy, you should shift your focus directly ahead, a couple hundred feet in front of you. You should be aware of what’s in front of you. This will also help you keep your flare even as you finish. It may help you to lean forward over your hands after you have reached chest level. This will make finishing your flare evenly easier and help keep your focus ahead of you. Remember to look where you want to go.

As always, if you have any questions about canopy flight, ask one of our instructors!

July 16, 2014September 29, 2021

Long Hair? Avoid This Skydiving Malfunction

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 long can actually cause a malfunction when you deploy your parachute. This is highly unusual but it has happened, and to very experienced skydivers; here’s one jumper’s story of a hair-main entanglement that turned into a hair-main-reserve entanglement. Luckily, the jumper was eventually able to clear the mess and land her reserve safely with only some scalp soreness, but it’s an experience no one would want for sure.

There are a couple of ways to capture your tresses safely and comfortably for skydiving. Trust me… tucking a long braid down the back of your jumpsuit is not comfortable under a rig, nor does it always stay in place. And a braid whipping around in freefall can be a significant distraction from that important stuff like checking altitude, deploying, etc. Here are some options; comment if you have any additional ones!

Braid it and pull the braid up straight up over your head under your helmet (you are wearing one, right?). If you have been jumping with your hair out of your helmet and switch to pulling your braid in, you might find that you need a size larger helmet to fit everything securely.
If your hair is super long, you might need to wind the braid(s) around the crown of your head to contain it all.
With short or long braids, consider using a stretchy skullcap (ideal) or bandanna to keep everything neatly contained and your hair out of your eyes. These are also really useful at the wind tunnel, and you can get them at most any sportswear store for $15 or less.
Another option is to wrap your hair into a bun, tie that with an elastic, and tuck the whole thing under your helmet liner.
Buffs/head socks are also quite popular. You can wrap up long hair in this and flip it up over your head and under your helmet.

With your hair taken care of, you can focus on rocking out your skydive instead. 🙂 Blue skies!

June 23, 2014

Skydiver Training Tip: Practice Before You Leave

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 skydive, studying has a huge payoff as well, whether you’re reviewing things at the last minute or (preferably) with more time to truly learn the new skill. When you’re learning something completely new like skydiving, practicing what you can beforehand and visualizing proper performance are key to helping you get it right the first time (or at least with a minimum of effort!). But now we reach the sticky point: What do you study?

Here’s where you can be proactive about your education: Ask your instructor to talk you you about what your next dive flow will include, and how to practice it effectively at home. Keep in mind that if you stop jumping in the middle of a busy day and your instructor starts to jump with someone else, that person will take priority on the instructor’s time. However, if your instructor has even a few minutes to help you out, he/she will be glad to help you prepare for your next dive so you can practice correctly at home. Practicing correctly is essential; the last thing you want to do is drill something incorrect into your head and take that into the sky.

Make sure you have your instructor’s input before practicing at all, and once you know what to do, think about it, practice, and visualize so you rock out your next jump!

June 16, 2014October 22, 2024

Movement Jump Policies

Movement dive over Skydive Spaceland Houston, photo by Daniel Angulo

Horizontal movement jumps are fun… free flowing… and inherently potentially much riskier than jumps that fall straight down. Any jump 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 is 100% the job of the organizer(s) doing movement jumps, and it should not be taken lightly.

Only Spaceland-approved movement leaders may lead movement jumps of any size at Spaceland.

Spaceland has developed several policies for tracking/angle jumps with the blessings of our staff and experienced tracking organizers. Please read all of and follow these guidelines to help keep us all safe.

Movement Jump Safety Basic Guidelines

Design your jumps and select your group with safety in mind. Consider jumper experience, flight path, group size, and winds to develop a plan that will minimize any chances of compromising other groups’ airspace. Then discuss the plan with the rest of your load, adjusting as needed to maximize safety. If you need help, ask a more experienced movement leader and/or consider getting coaching before leading these jumps.
Use the dry erase board in the loading area to draw your flight path for the jump, and make sure all other movement groups on the load do as well, so you can visualize the plans and adjust as needed to divide the airspace safely. Jump run is marked with a black magnetic arrow.
Movement jump planning board (Spaceland Houston) – Click to expand… Can you spot the problem with this flight path? If not, please don’t lead any movement jumps until you can.

Movement Dive planning board location (Spaceland Houston) — Movement jump planning board location (Spaceland Houston) – Click to expand

DO NOT break off towards the line of flight.
No more than 2 movement groups of each discipline per load without expressed approval from an S&TA or movement evaluator.
Always have a straight-down jump as a backup plan in case conditions such as clouds, changed jump run direction, modified exit altitude, etc., will make your primary plan unsafe.
New to these jumps? Jump with an experienced organizer/coach until you fully understand the risks and have sufficient technique and awareness to not increase these risks.
Each jumper should carry a mobile phone in a secure pocket, and program the following three numbers into it: Manifest (281-369-3337), ICE or In Case of Emergency number (family/responsible person for us to contact in case you are hurt), and the jump organizer. Call 911 first if you land out and are badly hurt, and call us second. Call us also if you land out but are unhurt to let us know you are OK and if you need a ride. Also call your jump’s organizer with the same information.
These jumps have a higher chance of landing off the DZ. Also, since you’ll open away from the usual jump run, we may not see you if you land out or have a malfunction. Don’t expect a ride if you land out; we’ll do our best to get you if we see you, but assume you’re on your own. If you have a cutaway, note where you opened so we can help you find your main. Identify an appropriate alternate landing area right after opening and fly conservatively to it, then make the phone calls described below.
Equipment Recommendations: We HIGHLY recommend AADs and audible altimeters for all skydivers (we can’t encourage this enough!). Many organizers will not include jumpers without AADs and audibles in their group, with very good reason!
Make sure to manifest your group as a movement jump. If you don’t declare your intentions with manifest, the increased last-minute load organizing may result in you missing the load.

Suggested Minimum Experience for Movement Jumps

Jump type/role	Minimum experience	Notes
Movement jump with coach	100 jumps	Must jump with an experienced movement coach/organizer.
Solo movement jump	200 jumps	Must be an approved movement leader.
Small group follower (3 jumpers max)	At least 100 jumps	We recommend that your first 10 movement jumps be with an experienced organizer/coach. After at least 100 of these small group jumps, you may be ready for larger groups.
Group movement jumps (4+ people)	At least 200 jumps	We recommend that your first 100 movement jumps be small groups with an experienced organizer/coach before flying with groups of 4 or more jumpers.
Lead movement jumps	At least 750 jumps	Leaders must be approved by Spaceland before leading anything. We recommend that leaders have at least 200 tracking jumps as a follower and take a leading course or attend a leading briefing.

* Individual experience and skill vary widely. You may be more or less skilled at a certain jump number than others, so please consult with our safety officers/instructors/more experienced organizers before trying new types of jumps or if you have any questions at all.

Approved Leader Requirements

You MUST be a Spaceland-approved leader to lead any movement jumps! See above minimums table. Consult a movement evaluator, S&TA, or the drop zone manager for more information on becoming an approved leader.
Leaders must be effective communicators who work well with others. Cooperating with other groups/leaders is a crucial component of creating a safe movement jump culture.
Make a flight plan that ensures you won’t fly into others’ airspace and lets your group land on the DZ. If your jumper(s) land off due to poor planning, you may be barred from organizing these jumps until the problem has been solved.
Screen all jumpers for skill/experience needed for the type/size of the dive. We suggest that you do not allow open participation without regard for each jumper’s skill and experience (no zoo dives).
You are responsible for the safety of yourself, your group, and its plan. Select your skydivers and your plan carefully.
Leading on your back is NOT recommended.
Design your skydive to maximize the safety of all groups on the load.
Design your skydive around the least experienced flyer.

Ensure that everyone on the jump knows:

These jumps have an increased risk of forceful freefall collisions due to combined horizontal/vertical movement, and many people can be in your blind spot. Reduce risks by keeping groups small, especially with less experienced jumpers, and thoroughly briefing good technique and awareness.
Getting clear of the normal jump run is essential.
These jumps require a safety-focused plan. Know your jump’s plan and DO NOT deviate from it unless danger requires it.
Determine where other jumpers/groups are before flying back towards jump run and the landing area under canopy.
Know what to do if a jumper is left behind in freefall.

Exit Order

Leaders should be able to identify a wide variety of exit order considerations including scenarios for large groups, multiple moving groups, high winds, variable jump runs, wind shears, etc.
Leaders should value horizontal separation over vertical separation when considering exit order.

How do I get approved to lead movement jumps?

See minimum requirements above
Talk to the DZ Manager
Complete a written questionnaire
Attend a course or briefing about leading movement jumps
Conduct a supervised skydive with a Movement Jump Evaluator

As with other type of skydives, flyers involved in incidents caused by unsafe planning/execution may be prohibited from jumping until they obtain further training/guidance from organizers/safety officers.

June 16, 2014

Skydive Spaceland to Host Jumps for Kristina Fundraiser in July

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 prognosis, surgery, five rounds of chemotherapy, and multiple clinical trials have given her nearly four additional years of life with her family. Now, however, the cancer has returned and Kristina is in home hospice care with her family.

Through some of the roughest hell a parent can endure, Barrett, Director of the Greater Houston branch of Child Evangelism Fellowship, has managed to maintain a positive outlook of hope for Kristina through his faith in God. One of the ways he supports his faith is by tandem skydiving, drawing parallels between his faith in his skydiving instructor and his God.

“When I skydive, I’m depending on a pro to handle the parachute,” he explains. “Donny has my back when I’m jumping, and Jesus has my back in life.”

Barrett has brought friends and fellow worshipers to skydive at Skydive Spaceland, just south of Houston in Rosharon, in the past. When Spaceland’s owner Steve Boyd found out that Barrett’s next planned group skydive had been postponed due to Kristina’s condition, he found a way for skydivers to pitch in and help Barrett with the expenses of Kristina’s health care.

“We have to help each other in times like this,” Boyd says. “There’s nothing worse than for something like this to happen to your child.”

On July 12, the rescheduled day for Barrett’s group skydive, Skydive Spaceland will donate $50 for each first-time tandem skydiver jumping that day whether they’re part of Barrett’s group or not. With the potential to handle hundreds of first-time jumpers every day, Spaceland is hoping to raise $10,000 or more to support Kristina and her family.

“If you’ve ever wanted to skydive, please come on out on July 12 so you can have fun and support this little girl and her family,” urges Boyd. “You don’t need to do anything special but come out and jump on July 12 and we’ll handle the donation. Spectators are also welcome to come out, watch skydiving, and support the Barrett family.”

Barrett’s family is also accepting donations for Kristina’s expenses at https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/kdw4/kristina-barrett-s-medical-fund.

“We have our moments when we need to run to the bathroom to cry a little in private, but we will be fine,” says Barrett. “Kristina’s favorite phrase is ‘Our God is bigger.’ The grace he gives us helps us carry on. We are not without hope. We know where she will be going and that we’ll be with her again.”

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About Skydive Spaceland

Skydive Spaceland has also played host to the world’s largest skydiving competition, the United Parachuting Association National Skydiving Championships (2009) , as well as several other large competitions including the U.S. National Collegiate Parachuting Championships and multiple U.S. National Canopy Piloting Championships. Several state records have also been set at Spaceland including the Texas State Record 150-person skydive in 2007, 168-person skydive in 2011, and multiple Women’s Texas State Record skydives held jointly as fundraisers for Jump for the Rose, a Houston-area breast cancer clinic.

June 12, 2014

Skydive Spaceland to Host Second Annual Houston Firefighters’ Memorial Event

Chris Lee/Houston Firefighter Memorial Skydive — Chris Lee, Houston Firefighter, does a memorial skydive for fallen firefighters in June 2013.

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, 2013. The fire killed four Houston Fire Department (HFD) firefighters and injured 13 more, making it the deadliest incident in HFD history.

Last year, Lee hosted the first annual event for firefighters, family, and friends to share remembrances of their loved ones. Several of those made their first skydives that day as well with a generous $50 discount for HFD employees. Sabina Bebee, whose son Robert was one of the fallen firefighters and had jumped at Spaceland, was one of them.

“She told me, ‘This is the closest I can get to my son without leaving this earth,’ ” recalled Lee. “It was a real spiritual moment after landing when she had a prayer moment with the family. It made the whole memorial worth it.”

This year, Bebee along with several other friends, family members, and firefighters plan to skydive again or for the first time. Skydive Spaceland is offering a $50 discount off first-time skydives for HFD employees; Lee is rallying the jumpers to arrive by 12 pm to jump together. Clint Meade, a student skydiver and former Marine who recently moved to the area to work with the Houston Fire Department, will jump in his bunker gear around 5 pm as Lee did last year. He’ll jump with several other experienced skydivers in formation to honor the departed/injured firefighters and their families.

“This year is about raising awareness of the shared brotherhood firefighters and skydivers have, watching each others’ backs and keeping each other safe,” said Lee.

Lee and Meade are also planning for skydivers to fly an American flag, graciously donated by Bill and Trey Rousey of Top Brass, for the crowd. In addition, the Garner Foundation will be on hand selling T-shirts and Dynamo-autographed items to fund scholarships for future firefighters attending fire academy.

“I was honored when Chris asked me to take part in this,” added Meade. “This is a great way to remember our lost and honor their families. Seeing two brotherhoods come together to celebrate the lives of the four we lost is the best way I can imagine to honor them.”

Spectators are encouraged to attend, watch a day of skydiving at one of the largest skydiving centers in the world, and support the Houston Fire Department.

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About Skydive Spaceland

Skydive Spaceland has also played host to the world’s largest skydiving competition, the United Parachuting Association National Skydiving Championships (2009) , as well as several other large competitions including the U.S. National Collegiate Parachuting Championships and multiple U.S. National Canopy Piloting Championships. Several state records have also been set at Spaceland including the Texas State Record 150-person skydive in 2007, 168-person skydive in 2011, and multiple Women’s Texas State Record skydives held jointly as fundraisers for Jump for the Rose, a Houston-area breast cancer clinic.

June 11, 2014

Skydive Spaceland Transitions Events for Recent Grads

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 a particular skill, such as dive and dock, linked exits, and tracking. Future events will include competitions as well.

“The goal is to provide new skydivers with a free coaching to improve their skills and safety, the chance to network with the organizers/coaches and other new skydivers, and have an awesome time doing it,” says Spaceland marketing director Christy West.

“This was such a great experience for a new jumper like myself,” says recent graduate Nicole Ortiz. “I learned so much and I look forward to more events like this to help make me a better skydiver.”

“Thank you for taking time out this weekend to help me be a better skydiver! I really appreciate it!” added Clark Shores.

The events are hosted by Skydive Spaceland and organizer Chuck Akers, and assisted by The Ratings Center and many instructors/coaches around the drop zone donating their time. They have become a celebration welcoming newly licensed jumpers into the ranks of the experienced while providing numerous sources of good information to improve skills and safety.

“Great event, Spaceland. We need more DZs to follow suit,” said videographer Rick DeShano.

The Transitions events are open to new jumpers from any drop zone, and they are focused on skydivers with 100 jumps or less. For more information and a schedule, see Skydive Spaceland-Houston on Facebook.

June 11, 2014

Check Off a Bucket-List Item: Be part of a Guinness Book of World Records Tandem Skydive

Guinness World Record Tandem Skydive with Children's Cancer Recovery Foundation

Looking to check off an item on your bucket list? Or, perhaps you’re a thrill-seeker looking for adventure, or you’re an experienced skydiver wanting to jump again.

The Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation’s “Jump! Shout!” skydive event is the place for you! While experiencing a breathtaking jump from 14,000 feet at an astonishing 120 miles per hour, you’ll also be helping CCRF in its mission of delivering simple acts of care and kindness to children and their families facing cancer.

And, while Felix Baumgartner’s 24.2 mile jump from space may hold the record for the highest skydive ever, CCRF is seeking to set the Guinness Book of World Records for the most tandem skydive jumps in 24 hours in one location — and raise funds for a worthy cause, too.

According to Guinness World Records, the most tandem parachute jumps completed in a 24-hour period at a single location is 251. That record was set on August 30, 2013 at Varrelbusch Airport in Cloppenburg, Germany.

CCRF’s “Jump! Shout!” challenge will be held on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2014, beginning at sunrise, at Skydive Spaceland-Houston in Rosharon, Texas. Depending on the amount of money a participant raises, the jump may be free.

For example, an individual who raises between $300 and $499 gets to jump for free. The $500 benchmark provides a jump at no cost and a video of your jump to share with friends and family.

Individuals not raising the minimum funds are responsible to cover the cost of the jump, and, of course, CCRF will gladly accept any donation. Skydivers must be at least 18 years of age and provide valid photo identification.

“Many of the children we assist, bravely face cancer with a can-do attitude, so hopefully their bravery will inspire others to sign up to jump,” Greg Anderson, founder of CCRF. “We’d like not only to set a new record for tandem skydive jumps, but help provide funding so that CCRF can continue to make a meaningful impact on the lives of children and their families bravely battling cancer.”

Registration for this thrilling event is easy. Simply go to Skydive.ChildrensCancerRecovery.org, then set up your fundraising page, establish a goal and tell everyone you know that you are skydiving to help children fighting cancer.

Skydive Spaceland-Houston has the newest, most modern facilities for skydiving on a 130-acre private airpark in Rosharon, Texas, 25 minutes south of Reliant Stadium in Houston. It is a family-owned business that has been training world-class skydivers for more than 14 years, and offers the safest and most efficient way to learn to skydive, developed by the most experienced skydivers in the industry.

CCRF is pleased to announce that The MIX 96.5 has signed on as the media sponsor for Jump! Shout! Tune in for ongoing details as we approach this World Record Tandem Skydive attempt.

More information about “Jump! Shout!” can be found at Skydive.ChildrensCancerRecovery.org.

June 3, 2014

Propeller Safety

There are a lot of things in life we sugarcoat, such as when answering questions like, “How do I look in this dress?” Or “How does this resume sound?” But some things in life just don’t take sugar well–they are what they are. So it is with safety around propellers, be they of the aviation, marine, or any other variety.

We get pretty comfortable moving around airplanes in the skydiving world. We board aircraft while they’re running, climb around outside the door in flight, and jump out of them at altitude. With all this familiarity, repeated several times daily, we can sometimes lose perspective on one plain and simple fact: Spinning propellers maim and kill. And if you make the mistake of getting any part of your body near a spinning propeller, chances are very good that it will be the last mistake you will make.

Fixed-wing aircraft danger zone (generic for single and twin-engine aircraft)

So we’d like to ask for your help in keeping us all safe from spinning propellers, regardless of where you choose to skydive (this isn’t just a Skydive Spaceland risk–it’s a risk at any airport). Here are 12 tips on propeller safety:

Know where the propellers are on any aircraft you are approaching. This may seem elementary, but especially when you are visiting new drop zones with unfamiliar aircraft or new aircraft are visiting your home drop zone, props may be in slightly different places than what you’re used to. They are invisible when spinning, especially in low-light situations like boarding for night jumps.
Never approach or walk through the propeller area on any aircraft, running or not, unless your job requires you to be there.Don’t get in the habit of walking under or next to props on aircraft parked in the hangar, for example. If you always consider the prop area to be a no-walk zone, even after hours with a beer in hand, chances are much lower that you’ll stray into the danger zone during jump operations. Also, prop edges are sharp; even if they’re not moving, they’ll often cut if you bump into them. If you’re not near them, they can’t hurt you.
Stay behind (not in front of or under) the wing when approaching or departing from any fixed-wing aircraft, whether it’s running or not. Props are located on the fronts of wings or the noses of fixed-wing aircraft, so staying out of the area in front of, underneath, and inboard of the wingtips ensures you will not be in the danger zone.
Be vigilant for spectators/observers around aircraft. They will often be caught up in the noise and excitement of aircraft operations and may stray into danger zones despite adequate safety signage. usually leading with a smartphone, camera, or tablet. At Spaceland, there should be no spectators in the waiting/loading areas unless they are escorted by staff (observers, media, etc.). If you see an unescorted spectator in restricted areas (whether planes are operating or not), take the initiative to politely let them know that only skydivers and staff should be in the area, and escort them back to the safe public areas. Showing them where they can safely get a good shot of the airplane loading (preferably behind a visible barrier like a fence) will usually make them quite happy and appreciative.
Be vigilant for fellow skydivers/staff around aircraft propellers. Even experienced skydivers and staff can become too comfortable and/or complacent around running aircraft and walk into the propeller danger zones after a dropped item, in an attempt to talk to the pilot, etc. Be on alert for anyone in propeller danger zones whenever you are approaching an aircraft or waiting to board, and keep an eye on your buddies too.
If you must talk to the pilot, do so from within the cabin or via the loader. Or you can ask manifest to relay a message via the aircraft radio. Do not approach the forward pilot door unless your job requires it.
Follow instructions from the aircraft loader. Never approach the aircraft for loading ahead of the loader.
Helicopter danger zone

When approaching helicopters, stay in front of or even with the boarding door. Approach from the front so the pilot can see you. Never approach from the rear, as the area around the tail rotor is the danger zone. **Note: Some helicopters may have a main rotor that dips down in the front, so directly in front of the helicopter may also be a danger zone. When in doubt, approach a helicopter from the front quarter but not directly in front (and NEVER from the rear).
When approaching helicopters, wear and secure any accessories on your body. If you are carrying anything, keep it below shoulder level.
When exiting helicopters (at altitude or on the ground), do not jump up and do not raise your hands/arms above your head. Hands and arms are OK above your head if you’re hanging off the strut. 🙂
Do not venture into aircraft operating areas at any time unless your job requires it. For example, at Spaceland, the loading area is not a good shortcut between the hangar and the parking lot regardless of whether aircraft are loading at that moment. Spectators and students may see you hop the fence to shortcut to your car and think it’s OK–and it’s not!
Never touch a propeller even when the aircraft is shut down and parked, unless your job requires it. Many incidents have occurred from hand-cranking/moving propellers.

Thank you for helping us all with this!

June 1, 2014June 5, 2024

Whose Airspace Is It, Anyway?

Skydiving often seems like one of the most dynamic, chaotic sports in existence. People are falling from the sky every which way, for cryin’ out loud! 🙂 In reality, the chaos is highly engineered to allow us all to enjoy our dynamic freefallin’ fun while staying safe, and that engineering starts with ensuring that each group on each load has its own airspace column (with the exception of horizontal flying dives; we’ll get to those shortly).

Why is this important? Each group that’s essentially falling straight down (everything but a tracking/tracing/wingsuit dive) needs its own vertical column of air for freefall and deployment, period. If we don’t have that, then we have groups crossing above/below each other in freefall, which carries a significantly increased risk of collisions between groups particularly if they are falling at different speeds (think freeflyers falling much faster than belly flyers). These collisions can be quite serious.

We avoid these collisions by planning each load’s exit order and exit separation timing to create a safe amount of horizontal spacing between groups. With this strategy, each group has its own predictable airspace column and other groups know where those columns are. They then know where to look for the groups that exited before/after them when deploying.

An important point to note with this each-group-has-its-own-airspace-column concept is that it assumes each group is falling mostly straight down, without any significant planned horizontal movement except for breakoff/tracking at the end. One thing we often see with solo skydivers, especially those without very many jumps, is that they can move a lot either forwards or backwards when they don’t have another jumper there as a nearby visual reference. Unintentional sidesliding is usually much less significant. Thus, if you are doing a solo skydive, primarily face 90° to (across or perpendicular to) line of flight (LOF) rather than up or down LOF. This will reduce the chances that you unintentionally backslide or track into another group’s airspace.

Horizontal Flight Dives

Jumpers planning horizontal movement (tracking, tracing, wingsuit) dives need to consult with the day’s conditions/flight plan on the Safety Stand before jumping. Each day, the pilot will post the day’s winds aloft, planned jump run, jump run groundspeed, and which way he/she expects wingsuits and trackers to fly. It’s imperative that horizontal flyers follow this plan so everyone, including pilots, knows where all groups expect to be on deployment. This is especially important for wingsuiters that can cover a couple of miles in freefall; the pilot must know where they plan to be so he/she can avoid descending the aircraft in that space.

Sample Jump Run Visualization

Here’s a sample jump run with exit separation for a hypothetical full load with several widely varying types of skydiving groups. This is one of the more complicated jump runs one would see given the mix of several small groups doing different things. However, it shows how we should exit the aircraft for maximum safety with the various groups, guaranteeing that each group has its own airspace column for freefall, breakoff, and deployment (yellow and red areas on diagram).

Please observe the following:

Horizontal flight groups should exit first (with two groups or less) and last (third/fourth horizontal groups). Wingsuiters exit after all other groups, large to small.
No more than four horizontal flight groups per load.
No delay between climbouts of successive horizontal flight groups, as they’re tracking away from each other to create separation.
Following the first horizontal flight groups, the exit order is as follows (loading order is the reverse):
- Horizontal flight groups (max of 2 groups)
- Belly flyers (large groups to small)
- Freeflyers (large to small groups)
- Skydiver Training Program
- Tandems
- The last horizontal groups if present
- Wingsuiters
Separation between skydiving groups follows the exit separation chart here according to the size of the group.
After deploying, do not fly up or down jump run until you have identified the canopies of the groups exiting before and after you and ensured that there are no traffic issues.
Check your spot before exit, and if your spot is long, open a little higher so you can make it back.
See today’s conditions printout on the Safety Stand for any exceptions to these policies.

Exit Separation Between Skydiving Groups

As skydivers, we tend to like to do things together. We like to skydive with our friends, give each other grief about any minor mistakes during the dive, celebrate our successes, and enjoy brews together after sunset. Some people prefer solo skydives on occasion so they can work on skills or just enjoy the sky without distractions.

However, there are such things as too much and too little togetherness in skydiving. And only a few seconds might separate the two extremes when we are talking about the proper amount of time/space to leave between multiple skydivers and groups exiting the same aircraft on the same jump run. Our goal when selecting the right happy medium number of seconds to leave between groups is to arrive at a delay that does two things:

Provides enough separation between adjacent groups so no groups will fall into the others’ airspace columns and risk collisions, and
Keeps the entire load in an airspace box from which any reasonable skydiver should be able to land on the airport.

The risk of leaving too little time is collisions between groups, whether these are freefall or deployment collisions. But leaving too much time can spread out the jump run so much that the last skydivers out may not be able to make it back to the landing area.

So how do we decide how much time to leave? Luckily, skydivers before us have developed guidelines to tell us how much time is safe between groups based on experience. Keep in mind, however, that two major factors play into the answer.

Group size. The larger the group, the higher they will break off and the more overall horizontal space the group will occupy when breaking off and deploying. Thus, you must leave more time when following out a bigger group compared to following out a solo skydiver.
Ground speed of jump run. The space we want between groups for each group to have a clear column of air in which to deploy their parachutes is horizontal space, not vertical. (Vertical isn’t good enough because what if someone in the lower group has a premature deployment? Or what if someone in the upper group cuts away?) If the plane is flying slower into a headwind, it’s covering less ground per second, so we need to leave more time between groups to get the amount of horizontal distance we want.

Below is a graph showing how much time you should leave between groups of varying sizes. Remember: Exit separation is time between EXITS, not between the previous group’s exit and the start of your climbout. This graph is posted on our Safety Stand in the hangar so you can check it anytime you have a question about how much time to leave between groups.

May 16, 2014

Landing Areas: Divide and Conquer

Please note: This article was updated on October 1, 2015.

You know how the first time you came to a busy drop zone, it seemed like all the parachutes were flying randomly around the sky? But now that we are skydivers and understand flight plans, we see some degree, at least, of order in the chaos. We’d like to further increase the amount of order in our canopy flight traffic by reminding everyone that we have three separate landing areas at Skydive Spaceland: One for jumpers with D license experience to address the tighter area, obstacles, and increased traffic; another for students and slower traffic east of the hangar; and the swoop pond/alternate landing area across the runway.

One of the often-missed aspects of separate landing areas is that they’re not just about where you plant your feet–separate landing areas are designed to manage canopy traffic all the way down. Imagine there’s a 1000-foot tall wall separating each of these landing areas, and whenever possible fly your patterns under 1000 feet so you don’t fly over the landing areas you’re not targeting. This keeps students and lower-performance parachutes flying together, and the same for swoopers, so we don’t have large discrepancies in canopy speed and approach type that can lead to someone getting “run over.”

Also, remember to fly a predictable pattern regardless of where you’re landing, so other skydivers can have a reasonable expectation of where you’re going. It’s fairly common for newer canopy pilots to arrive in the pattern too high and sashay back and forth to kill altitude, but this forces all the skydivers above you to continually adjust because they can’t tell where you’re going. If you find yourself high in the pattern, learn from that for next time, and for now use a deep brake approach or your front risers to lose that extra altitude.

Landing Area Policies

Low man has the right of way in all landing areas. Do not cross the runway under 1,000 feet when aircraft are using it. The runway splits the property, so be aware that airplanes and skydivers share this property and aren’t completely separated. Both parties must consider the others’ needs to use the property safely. If you are unsure if the runway is in use, don’t cross it below 1,000 feet and you may need to land south of the runway.

Please see this article for our current landing areas divisions.

May 9, 2014

Skydivers Over Sixty Texas Record Set at Spaceland—Again

Skydivers Over Sixty 21-person Texas State Record, May 5, 2014

Rosharon, TX–Unsatisfied with the 14-person record they set in December 2013, Skydivers Over Sixty (years of age) returned to Skydive Spaceland in Rosharon, Texas, to set another state large-formation record on May 3. This was the group’s third attempt at building the largest skydiving formation comprised of only skydivers aged 60 and older over Texas; weather kept everyone on the ground at their second attempt in March.

Twenty-one skydivers aged 60-78 years old headed for the sky over Skydive Spaceland in two airplanes flying in tight formation–a Shorts Skyvan and a DeHavilland Super Twin Otter. The event organizer was Rick Poplinger and the jump captain was Henry Butler, who has been involved with several record attempts in other categories as well.

“[Butler] was happy as only two jumpers lost their dentures in freefall!” joked Poplinger.

It took the crew six jumps to set the record. They started with 27 jumpers who had a total of 100,000 jumps and over 1,000 years of parachuting history between them. Once the group was pared down to 21 jumpers, they quickly completed the modified Texas star formation and flew it well, holding onto their friends at 120 mph for nearly 25 seconds.

“It was great to have these guys out here showing they still have what it takes,” said Skydive Spaceland owner/operator Steve Boyd. “We all hope we are still flying that strong when we hit 60-plus!”

By Rick Poplinger and Christy West

Record Participants:

Rick Poplinger
Denis Wolf
Art Barchie
Rich Parrish
Bob Hunter
John Rich
Marshall Madden
Jim Culhane
Joe Taylor
Henry Butler
Weldon Herchek
Dennis Perrota
George Nisson
Bob Stroud
Gary Greer
Larry Portman
Charles Verhalen
Johnny Tubbs
Bill Lee
Steve Van Buren
Dewayne Bruette

Photographers: Mike Conley and Chad Hall

About Skydive Spaceland

Skydive Spaceland is a three-generation family-owned and -operated skydiving business located in Rosharon, Texas, just south of downtown Houston, Texas. First opened for business in February 2000 by Steve Boyd, Sr., Skydive Spaceland has grown into a truly world-class skydiving facility open 7 days a week and capable of handling hundreds of skydivers jumping daily. More than 100,000 skydiving students have been instructed at Spaceland and the center facilitates about 100,000 skydives per year.

Skydive Spaceland has also played host to the world’s largest skydiving competition, the United Parachuting Association National Skydiving Championships (2009), as well as several other large competitions including the U.S. National Collegiate Parachuting Championships and multiple U.S. National Canopy Piloting Championships. Several state, national, and world skydiving records have also been set at Spaceland including the Texas State Record 150-person skydive in 2007, 168-person skydive in 2011, 4-person formation skydiving (longest sequence) in 2009, canopy piloting speed and distance in 2009, and multiple Women’s Texas State Record skydives held jointly as fundraisers for Jump for the Rose, a Houston-area breast cancer clinic.

May 2, 2014

Skydive Spaceland Introduces the Safety Stand

What if every drop zone posted their safety policies and daily notes conveniently in one location in the loading area for all jumpers, old and new, to browse and learn while waiting for aircraft? Check that box for Skydive Spaceland! We’ve just posted our own Safety Stand in the hangar, complete with information on:

Basic safety guidelines
Aircraft safety
Camera jumps
Tracking dives and who should/should not lead them
Wingsuit dives
Today’s conditions
Jump run/exit separation
And more!

You’ll see the stand on your way into the hangar from the parking lot, so come on in, drop your gear, and come back when you have a few minutes to take a look. Get out to the loading area early for your next few jumps to soak in some of this great info, and it’s a good place to hang out on a weather hold as well. Whether you’ve been jumping for 20 days or 20 years, chances are good that you will find something on this stand that you didn’t know. If you’re a new skydiver, you won’t have been in all of the situations where you needed all of this information yet. If you’ve been around awhile, keep in mind that skydiving is evolving very quickly and so must our safety policies (particularly when it comes to dives with a lot of planned horizontal movement, such as tracking, tracing, and wingsuit dives). Even after 17 years of skydiving, I learned a lot while putting this together, so hit the loading area a few minutes early to check it out!

Some of the information on this stand is old, and some is new. Some of it describes policies we’ve been following, but which may not have been spelled out where visiting and newer jumpers could discover them easily, and some policies are new. If you have any questions about why any of these policies are what they are, just ask one of our instructors or manager and we’ll be happy to explain the reasoning.

I think one of the most important statements on this stand is the following, because it applies to every single one of us:

“Before trying ANY new type of skydiving activity such as freeflying, tracking, flying a camera, or flying a new canopy, consult an instructor, coach, or safety officer for tips on learning that activity safely. The biggest problem with new activities is that we don’t know what we don’t know or how we could be endangering ourselves and/or others. But these people do.”

We will also be sharing some of the specifics on this stand in future issues of FlyTips. Thanks to Skydive Arizona for the inspiration!

Stay safe out there–the life you save could be mine! 😀

April 28, 2014

Do it Right: Visualize Your Skydive

If you’ve ever played sports, chances are good that you’ve heard a coach tell you or someone on your team to visualize doing it right when they were struggling with something. Some call this practice mental rehearsal, and it’s a completely valid strategy to increase performance, because you’re training your brain to perform to the standards of that visualization.

Visualization can help you respond more quickly when faced with emergency situations, perform a more stable exit or a better track, land more softly, etc. Skydivers from STP students all the way up to world-class competitive jumpers visualize their jumps beforehand to improve their performance. While you’re learning to skydive, better performance may mean few or no repeated levels and a shorter time to your A license.

So let’s think about what visualizing good performance on a skydive means. First,you have to know what good performance will look like; your instructors will help you figure this out with ground rehearsals, previous videos, etc. When you have some free minutes between rehearsing and jumping (on the ground and/or on the way to altitude), close your eyes and transfer that visualization of your ground practice to the sky environment. Take your time especially when you’re starting out with this practice; don’t rush. Be calm, efficient, and methodical in your visualization, because that’s how you want to fly. Think about all the details that make the picture complete, such as the sound of the wind decreasing as you flare or the smell of jet fuel if you’re visualizing exit technique. All of these details will help reduce surprises and put you in that calm, ready to perform mode.

Now let’s consider what you’ll see as you perform. Let’s say you’re working on a typical exit from inside the plane, facing up line of flight. Visualize the group leaving before you, checking the spot while counting off the specified delay between groups, your instructor’s climbout, then your instructor check-in, count, and solid arched exit while looking up the line of flight and watching the plane fly straight away from you.

Now carry that visualization through your entire dive flow, seeing yourself maintain your chosen heading and performing the body movements and dive flow objectives you have planned. See yourself do all of this right the first time, then visualize your altitude checks, deployment sequence, canopy control check, canopy learning objectives, and a soft landing. You’ll be amazed at how visualizing your performance thoroughly can help you achieve that performance more effectively and possibly in fewer skydives, because you are following a predetermined plan rather than seeing it all new for the first time.

Try this on your next jump and let us know how much it helps!

April 18, 2014

Local Couple Gets Engaged, Celebrates Easter with Skydiving

Rosharon, TX, 4/18/14–“Skydiving! She’ll never suspect that!” So says Houston firefighter Clint Meade of the way he chose to propose marriage to his longtime girlfriend Whitney Greco last weekend at Skydive Spaceland. “I could have asked her at McDonald’s and she’d have said yes, but this was much better,” he said with a grin.

“I was looking for something exciting for us to do together, and we’d already gone tandem skydiving once and loved it,” he explained. “I woke up that day and said I’m going to wear a tux skydiving like James Bond for the proposal.” He hid the tuxedo under a skydiving jumpsuit so Greco wouldn’t suspect what was going on.

What drew the two together? After meeting in a bar, the couple found that they were a perfect match. “I love Clint because he is the most driven and goal-oriented man I’ve ever met,” said Greco. “When he puts his mind to something, it happens.”

“She’s just awesome,” explained Meade. “It sounds dumb when I say it like that, but I’ve never been around someone I could totally be myself with, whether I’m being a jackass like around my friends or being what she needs me to be at other times, and she’s the same person all the time. We’re opposites—she’s artsy and I like manly stuff—but we really like doing things together and it just works.”

Meade planned everything with the Skydive Spaceland staff for the perfect proposal. A “Will you marry me?” sign was laid out in the landing area after the pair took off, and Clint jumped and landed first, stripped off his skydiving jumpsuit to reveal the tuxedo, and got the ring in hand for the proposal before Whitney and her instructor landed.

“It was completely awesome, a double adrenaline rush in one day!” said Greco, who didn’t suspect a thing. “Raul (my instructor) asked if I saw the sign when we were getting ready to land and it took me a second to process it, it was so cute! Then I saw Clint and I could tell he was nervous; his shoulders were shaking like he was getting ready for something. I couldn’t get down to him fast enough; I wanted to get back in freefall to get there faster!”

“I was freaking out,” Meade recalled. “My instructor Jeremy said we were going to jump first and spin the parachute all the way down so we could get down quicker for me to get ready for the proposal. It was so much fun all the way down! But I was so nervous because I thought she was closer than she was behind me, my buddy was helping me get my collar fixed, and I kept thinking, ‘She can’t see me yet, I gotta get it right!’ “

The couple plans to jump again on Easter Sunday. “We’re going to go to church of course, and we figured why not celebrate Jesus and each other by jumping out of a plane again on the same day?” said Meade.

“The second jump was so fabulous; I liked this one more [than the first],” said Greco. “I knew more about what was going on and I was just more aware. The first time, you’re so pumped your brain doesn’t really comprehend it, but this time it seemed like the freefall was longer, and I could see the city of Houston on one side and the ocean so blue on the other. It was so beautiful. I can’t wait for the third jump!”

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Experience Suggested Requirements

Wingsuit Dive Policies

Houston Man among the Skydivers Who Honored Young Daughter’s Memory

About Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation (CCRF)

Further Reading

Skydive Spaceland-Houston Turbulence Risk Areas

Here are more ways you can get involved:

Useful Links

Printed Materials

Here are more ways you can get involved:

Donate online now!

Here are more ways you can get involved:

What do I do to participate and skydive?

Licensed skydivers can also help out!

1) Register online and start raising money for your jump

2) Attend a pre-registration event (optional but highly recommended)

Pre-Registration Events

3) Record Day at Skydive Spaceland! Saturday, Sept. 27, 2014

About Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation (CCRF)

That responsibility is 100% the job of the organizer(s) doing movement jumps, and it should not be taken lightly.

Only Spaceland-approved movement leaders may lead movement jumps of any size at Spaceland.

Ensure that everyone on the jump knows:

Exit Order

Horizontal Flight Dives

Sample Jump Run Visualization

Further Reading

Landing Area Policies