ChutingStar Skydive News

Spend less time shopping and more time skydiving by using the ChutingStar Skydiving Gear Quick Links Catalog! We know that the extensive ChutingStar.com web site can sometimes create a sensory overload, so we've created a one-page quick links catalog to get you to the most sought-after skydiving gear quickly! Continue reading →

ChutingStar has long carried and used the white Sport Smoke Skydiver Smoke Grenade, which is a big part of demonstration jumps. Skydivers use one of our smoke mounts to attach the smoke to their shoe or ankle, and the smoke gives a definite "wow factor" for people on the ground whether it's used in freefall or under canopy. For several years, we've had requests for colored smoke but we could only find specialized manufacturers with complicated ignition systems and/or the smoke canisters needed larger brackets. But we were recently turned on to a UK smoke grenade company, Enola Gaye, that now distributes in the United States. Skydivers, drop zones and demo teams had started trying two different "wire pull" smoke grenades from the company with great success. The EG18 and EG18X smoke grenades not only come in several colors, but have a lower price than the Sport Smoke and can be used with all of our existing skydiver smoke grenade brackets. And then this year they added two larger "pro" smoke options in the CM75 The Cloud Maker and the SD75 The Fastest Cloud Maker giving skydivers the most options for smoke grenades every! Here's a comparison of the 5 different smoke grenades (4 in multiple colors) we carry for skydiving: Continue reading →

It's time to boogie, boogie, boogie, boogie, boogie! And the ChutingStar Crew will be out there with you at drop zones all over the US, providing all the support and goods you could ask for. The one and only Laura Bales is packing up the van with demos from Larsen & Brusgaard (altimeters), Cookie (G4 helmets), Alti-2 (altimeter mounts), Square1 (KISS helmets), and many more. Laura is available for container, canopy and jumpsuit orders as she'll be able to measure you up and walk you through the ordering process for any of your custom gear needs, including the helmet sizing kit for the Tonfly TFX Full Face Helmet. Continue reading →

Like most everyone else during this pandemic, ChutingStar and our crew members have been negatively affected during this COVID-19 pandemic. This worldwide shutdown will indeed change the world forever, and has resulted in the loss of loved ones. At the same time, we're encouraged by the love and strength of the human resolve to not only survive, but make the best of the situation. Stories of families becoming closer, communities supporting each other and businesses switching gears to keep staff employed show us hope for tomorrow. In our April Survey on Audibles, we put in one question at the end asking "Good, Bad or Indifferent, how has the Coronavirus and worldwide shutdown affected you?" These are the raw responses below. I think the biggest takeaway I get out of these is that we're not alone in our struggles and fear. Empathize with your fellow human during this time. They may put on an "everything's fine" front, but deep down we all have many of the same issues during this time. Encourage, support and help others as you're able. Continue reading →

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 →

Cookie Helmets created quite the buzz in the skydiving world when they unveiled the G4 Full Face Skydiving Helmet on Feb. 4 at the 2019 Parachute Industry Association Symposium. The G4 is the next step up in the full face helmet progression that started with the GAS back in 2007 as a solid, easy-to-use carbon fiber full face helmet with a visor that didn't flip-up. That soon progressed to Cookie's first flip-up visor full face helmet with the G2 in 2009, also made of carbon fiber. But it really was the G3 in 2011 that radically changed the skydiving helmet scene as Cookie was able to produce the helmet on a larger scale, in more colors and with a consistent production standard due to a switch to the ABS material shell. The G3 has become the worldwide standard for not only experienced skydivers, but also new skydivers and wind tunnel flyers due the reliability of the opening mechanism, the quality of the construction and the availability of the helmets and parts all over the skydiving world. Cookie hasn't rested on that success, and instead continued testing and developing new ideas for the next full face helmet, which has now been showcased with the G4. Continue reading →

It was just more than 20 years ago that ChutingStar came into existence, originally as just a skydiving rigger inspecting, assembling, repairing and packing reserve parachutes on nights, weekends and in-between my "real job" of the time of being a newspaper reporter and editor. My first year rigging grew quickly as I became the main rigger on the drop zone, and was a skydive instructor as well as a rigger, fun jumper, swooper and 4-way competitor. My wife Stephanie pushed me over the edge into giving ChutingStar my full-time attention as I was running out of time to get everything done each day between my newspaper job, skydiving/rigging and still trying to play drums in local bands. I had to choose between one of those three to fully pursue...and ChutingStar it was. Continue reading →

Advanced Aerospace Designs released a new service bulletin on April 19, 2018, for all sport versions of the Vigil II and 2+ with firmware versions 05.05, 05.05, 06.01 and 06.02. This does not affect any of the current model Vigil Cuatro or Military Vigil units. According to the bulletin, the affected units will enter a CTRL-ERR mode if the air pressure is less than 300 hPa, which is at approximately 30,000 feet. Continue reading →

ChutingStar's Crew would love to attend every event and boogie each year!

Unfortunately we can't physically be at every boogie, but we can help you and your skydivers in other ways. Read about the three different options below, and contact the ChutingStar Crew about attending or supporting your next boogie! Continue reading →