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USPA Nationals Underway at Skydive Spaceland
Spaceland Force team members (from left): Thomas Hughes, Shannon Pilcher, Eric Boyd, Gary Beyer and Ian Bobo.
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The 2009 USPA National Skydiving Championships are currently underway at Skydive Spaceland in Rosharon, Texas, with all but the 2-way Canopy Formation, Style & Accuracy, and Canopy Piloting to finish. All were underway when foul weather set in Wednesday. New this year is a website dedicated to the nationals: www.uspanationals.com. It includes detailed coverage of the event, a live video feed, timely results and a colorful blog.
Hats off to Spaceland Force (Gary Beyer, Ian Bobo, Eric Boyd, Thomas Hughes and Shannon Pilcher), for turning 45 points in round six of the 4-way formation skydiving event, claiming a new world record. Two Russian teams owned the joint record of 44 points, which they set in 2006 at the world meet in Russia.
Also in the 4-way formation skydiving event, the only all-female team of Spaceland Blue (Rebecca Brocato, Sally Hathaway, Erin Murphy, Annaliese Peterson and Brianne Thompson) set a new national record with 17 points in the 35-second working time.
Saturday, October 24, is the last day of the nationals with the final awards banquet.
TSA to Revise Security Proposal
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has announced that it will publish a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNPRM) before issuing a final rule on its Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP). The original NPRM faced stiff opposition that drew 7,950 comments from members of the general aviation community, including USPA (comments here), primarily because of the low 12,500-pound weight threshold for inclusion in the security program. The CASA 212, DC-3 and a few other specialty aircraft would have been affected by the proposal, which would have required their operators to follow increased security measures and screen passengers. It is anticipated the SNPRM will increase the threshold weight for aircraft to be included in the security program.
Unitrin Direct Offers Auto and Home Insurance for USPA Members
USPA has partnered with Unitrin Direct, an insurance company that provides group discounts for home and auto insurance. USPA receives $5 per quote plus additional revenue if a member chooses to use Unitrin’s services.
Here are some of the advantages of choosing Unitrin Direct:
- $5 donated to USPA for each quote
- Member-only discount
- Convenient payment options
- Outstanding customer service
- 24/7 claims service
- Skydiving rigs are covered as personal property.
Unitrin Direct preferred insurance company is rated “Excellent” by A.M. Best for financial strength and has been working with groups for more than 35 years. A non-commissioned, licensed counselor will help determine your insurance needs and help you save money. It's fast, free and confidential.
Take a few minutes to discover if this new member benefit can help you reduce your insurance costs. The quote is free and there is no obligation.
- Phone: (800) 637-2782
Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time
- Online: For an immediate quote, click here.
Membership Activity Trends Up
USPA's membership total continues its monthly growth and stood at 32,257 at the end of September, which is 507 members more than September of 2008. We have to go back five years—to August 2004—to find a higher month. New members for the month totaled 584 and is on pace to outdo last year’s five-year high of 5,570 new members. Licenses and ratings for September are up as well with 612 licenses issued in September, compared with 500 in the previous month, and 472 in the same month last year. Each of the rating categories was also up for September, for at total of 156 issuances, helping the year-to-date totals remain well above last year’s numbers. So far, licenses are up more than 300 over 2008 totals for a 10% increase. Ratings are also up approximately 300 over 2008 totals for a 30% increase.
Drop Tests Serve America
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association has launched an educational campaign called General Aviation (GA) Serves America. The purpose is to inform the public about the many beneficial uses of general aviation aircraft. The campaign solicits submissions by those who use GA aircraft in ways that ultimately benefit the public. USPA board member Gary Peek, who works for the Parks College Parachute Research Group which is affiliated with St. Louis University, submitted information about the parachute drop testing he performs at two DZs to gather data that ultimately assists military parachute drops of various types and sizes. Read the write-up and view vide of a test drop here.
World, National and State Records Program
The 108-way head-down record set July 31 at Skydive Chicago has been ratified by the FAI as the new world record. It was an awesome sight to see the perfect pattern made by the world's best head-downers in freefall. The picture ran on the cover of the September issue of Parachutist. And the women's 181-way belly-flying record, set September 26 at Perris Valley Skydiving Center has been filed with the FAI for ratification, expected within the month. Watch for a complete report in the November Parachutist.
When USPA created the state records program a couple of years back, it needed to research the national and world records on file because up until that time, national records were handled by the NAA. Not all record dossiers were available for review. So please assist us in getting the record straight by going to the records page of the USPA website, and let us know if you see a mistake or omission. We appreciate your help. Contact competition@uspa.org with input.
USPA Skydive Calendar Now Available
 Next year is coming up soon, 2010! It’s a whole year of new boogies, new events, new competitions, new tournaments and new day-to-day life within and outside of skydiving. To make your life easier and more organized, USPA has put out the 2010 USPA Skydive Calendar. No matter where you’re going, whatever you have planned looks much better under magnificent skydiving photography. Order your copy and some for your friends here.
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