Skydiver Advice

As we wrapped up our final ChutingStar Parachute Rigging School course for 2019, I ended up placing this group's canopy patch right above our first course patch from 2008. Detailed memories of that first course 11 years ago are starting to fade, but fresh in my mind are all of those riggers and riggers-to-be who birthed what the ChutingStar Rigging Family has become today.

With the help of the late great Hell Yeah Jack Hammer and ultra detail-oriented Ryan Vosser, we kicked off the first-ever ChutingStar Rigging School in 2008 by pouring all of our knowledge, tips and tricks into John Barnes, Warren Cleary and John Dean. Warren, who didn't technically sign-up for the course, was woken up from the bunkhouse that morning and was told he had to take the course. Ha! He would later work for ChutingStar, become the lead instructor for our rigging courses for several years and earn his Master Rigger certificate. Continue reading →

ChutingStar's newsletter will help you stay in the know on the latest skydiving gear with links to new gear, expert advice blog articles and coupon codes for special event sales. Our e-mail information blasts are short and sweet...getting you the info you need to know quickly and allowing you to click over if you need the full scoop. Sign up at this link, or click the image above. You can unsubscribe, or resubscribe, at any time. Continue reading →

ChutingStar's Gear Shop is closed on the weekends so our crew can enjoy their days off jumping, flying in the tunnel or just relaxing with family and friends. But that doesn't mean you can't pickup your gear when we're closed... Besides just having the gear shipped to where you live, or where you're travelling to, we also have a Pickup In Store option at checkout that gives options for pickup at our boogie tour events (when Laura has the boogie van and tent on the road), or at the drop zone our staff jumps at on the weekend, Skydive Monroe.  Continue reading →

We know new skydiving gear is expensive, and that it's very tempting to buy a used rig from someone you don't know on Facebook because the price is so much lower. But before you end up spending money on a rig you'll never be able to jump, make sure you read the August 2018 interview with ChutingStar owner Mike Gruwell in USPA's Parachutist Magazine at this link. A used container can be a great deal, as long as it fits you, is in good condition and will fit the canopies you can currently jump. But it can also be the worst deal ever if you can't jump it or get your money back.  Continue reading →

ChutingStar has been carrying Dan BC's book Above All Else for the past 5 years, and we have sold well over 100 copies, but I had never taken the time to read the book until this past week. WOW...what have I been waiting for? What a story of life...from pursuing your dreams to just trying to survive to a glimpse of the afterlife as well as perseverance, determination and the rewards of never giving up. Above All Else is a page-turner from the first chapter account of his conversation with his teammate James in the afterlife while Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld was in a coma to the step-by-step personal and business guidance at the end for "Playing to Win." Continue reading →

Skydivers LOVE their Cookie G3 helmets as well as their GoPro cameras...but combining those two together has been a bit of a gamble in the past as the full-face helmet didn't have any type of cutaway system. And a cutaway system is important at 2,000 feet when that pilot chute just got snagged on your camera mount at the end of a crazy, funneled skydive with a "save yourself" deployment.

Cookie hasn't yet developed a cutaway system for the helmet, so skydivers have resolved to either take the risk, make their own cutaway system, make a mount that is less likely to get snagged or find a mount that cuts away the camera.

The most unique mount is from Vmag, which allows a quick release via magnets. This unique mount is available as a chin or top mount

Continue reading →

Landing or swooping downwind seems to be a continuing rage at many drop zones. Many of these jumpers are hoping to get a longer surf to finish a great skydive while some are the “high performance canopy pilots” practicing for upcoming competitions. Either way, this is not setting a good example for students or less-experienced jumpers. And even worse, this is leading to some hectic traffic patterns and close collisions during landing. While jumpers are trained to check the windsock or tetrahedron for the landing direction they are also trained to land in the same direction as the skydivers landing before them to prevent conflicting traffic patterns or collisions. Continue reading →

Incident #1: A visiting experienced jumper tells a seemingly content and happy skydiving student how he doesn’t enjoy jumping at the particular DZ they are at because of all the “bad vibes.” This jumper also tells the student to check out other DZs where the “vibes” are better. Incident #2: A regular experienced jumper comes out on the weekend to tell as many jumpers who will listen that another experienced jumper at the DZ has probably stolen several hundred dollars from her. The “accuser” has not personally spoken to the “accused” about the alleged theft but chooses to instead take the accusation public in an attempt to ruin the other jumper’s reputation and gain support for her accusation. Incident #3: An experienced skydiver posting praise for another drop zone's boogie on a skydiving newsgroup finishes off his comments by bashing a close-by DZ that had nothing to do with the boogie. Continue reading →

On a gusty day this past weekend, three jumpers of different skill levels decided they needed to make a skydive even though tandem instructors along with numerous experienced jumpers had made the decision to wait for the winds to calm down. The winds were gusting from 7-25 knots and switching directions 100 degrees. The jumper experience level ranged from about 100 to 2,000 jumps. Amazingly enough, it was actually the most experienced jumper who in the end made the worst decision when coming in for landing. A Cessna 205 took the three jumpers up. The spot, skydives and deployments went pretty much as planned. The two lower-experienced jumpers managed to make a little canopy traffic for themselves on landing. With only three people on the load, canopy traffic should be nil if you pay attention to the other jumpers under canopy. Continue reading →

(Published in Blue Skies Magazine) The range of naked skydiving experience is far and wide. For some, their only skydive ever was naked courtesy of a tandem jump sans clothes, perhaps with Fast Eddie of Huntsville, Ala. Fast Eddie Grantland has taken 111 naked tandem passengers since 1991. Number 111 was two weeks ago. For some, it’s just something to do to change it up a bit. Warren Cleary of Atlanta makes one naked jump a year on his birthday and has done so for the past four years. Says Cleary, “Me and my buddy’s birthday are one day apart and one year we just said, ‘Lets go jump naked.’” He’s been doing it every year ever since. Continue reading →