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Skydivers in the market place for gear sometimes fail to consider the age or condition of gear and instead put all their faith in a brand name. Top-of-the-line gear manufacturers tout how freefly friendly their gear is today and some jumpers mistakenly believe that gear made by these manufacturers 5 or 10 years ago is just as safe for freeflying. There is no doubt that some of today’s better freefly friendly manufacturers of rigs include Mirage, Sun Path, Relative Workshop, Rigging Innovations and Velocity Sports Equipment. Still, rigs made by these same manufacturers 5 years ago do not have the same level of pin, bridle, handle, riser or pilot chute protection. Just because it has the same name, does not mean it is the same product. I hear some comments on how Altico, which manufactures the Dolphin, is no where near as freefly friendly as these other manufacturers. Students looking for an inexpensive rig are usually led in the wrong direction as jumpmasters, fellow skydivers and the like recommend their worn-out used gear instead of buying an inexpensive new rig such as the Dolphin. Without a doubt, a new Dolphin is a much better deal and has much better bridle, pin and pilot chute protection than nearly all rigs built 5 years ago. On top of all that, I observe many new and experienced jumpers who have spent $2,000 on a brand new freefly friendly container and they find numerous ways to make it dangerous in freefall. It doesn’t matter how great the bridle, pin and pilot chute protection is on a new rig if skydivers fail to use the protective flaps correctly or fail to follow the manufacturer instructions. I routinely observe closing loops that are too long, parachutes too big or small for containers, bridle not under protective flaps or secured with Velcro, riser flaps not completely secured and much more. Regardless of which rig you choose, make sure you know how the rig works, the condition of the gear and the required maintenance.

Skyventure, the Florida wind tunnel that has been a boon to skydivers (especially students and 4-way teams) has announced plans for several more tunnels across the country. In a press release dated May 4, 2002, Skyventure announced plans for a second wind tunnel in Florida along with new wind tunnels in Southern California, New Jersey, Chicago and Texas. For civilians, the Skyventure tunnel built in Orlando in 1997 by inventor Bill Kitchen was the first wind tunnel to come close to real freefall training. For 4-way teams it has become a necessary part of yearly training and many drop zones and teams have run freefall skills camps at the tunnel. As a 4-way competitor, my team uses the tunnel several times every year. The company further announced that Alan Metni, a former member of Arizona Airspeed, has joined Skyventure as CEO and has brought TunnelCamp.com underneath Skyventure. Already under construction is Skyventure Arizona, which will be located 45 minutes from Skydive Arizona in Eloy. The company reported this new wind tunnel will produce 45 percent more power than the Orlando tunnel and be faster, smoother and quieter. Upgrades to the Orlando tunnel are also in the works, the company said. And for the cold weather climates, Skyventure announced it has plans for recirculating the air. Skyventure has also begun franchise operations in Malaysia and is building a tunnel in the UK for the military. What this means for skydivers worldwide is more skydiving, better skills and more formation skydiving teams. The one “good” tunnel in the U.S. made it difficult for most of the skydiving public to make the trip on a regular basis. But with tunnels going up scattered across the country, many more skydivers will make trips to the tunnel a regular occurrence. For the full text of the press release and other recent news items from Skyventure, check out their web site at this link.