Category: Articles
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Super Caravan Seating
TL:DR–Skip to the video! Airplanes are a lot like people–individual (sometimes ridiculously so) in their needs and tolerances. For example, you can safely get away with sitting far back in the cabin of the Super Otter, but not so much in the Super Caravan. This is the reason for a recent policy change in how…
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Don’t Be That Guy! (or Girl)
Pop Quiz: Where is an open container not a good thing? a) On Bourbon Street b) At your favorite casino c) At home chilling with a great movie d) When it’s an open parachute container in a jump aircraft Hopefully you correctly picked d) When it’s an open parachute container in a jump aircraft! We…
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Skydive Spaceland Skydiver Training Program: Dive Flow 10 Video
Welcome to Skydive Spaceland’s exclusive, innovative Skydiver Training Program! On your tenth “solo” skydive, wearing your own parachute system, you will float out, docked with your instructor, and work on tracking flatter and farther!!!!! Relax and have fun! Previous Dive: Dive Flow 9 Your freefall objectives for this skydive are: Compressed accordion exit Perpendicular heading…
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Rental Gear Repair/Maintenance Charges
Do you rent gear at Skydive Spaceland? One thing you might not be aware of, especially if you trained here as a student on our gear, is that non-student gear renters are responsible for any maintenance work needed on the gear as a result of your use. What does this mean exactly? Regular wear and…
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Skydive Spaceland Skydiver Training Program: Dive Flow 9 Video
Welcome to Skydive Spaceland’s exclusive, innovative Skydiver Training Program! On your ninth “solo” skydive, wearing your own parachute system, you will dive out docked with your instructor and start working on forward movement and backsliding!!!!! Relax and have fun! Previous Dive: Dive Flow 8 Your freefall objectives for this skydive are: Compressed accordion exit Delta…
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Skydive Spaceland Skydiver Training Program: Dive Flow 8 Video
Welcome to Skydive Spaceland’s exclusive, innovative Skydiver Training Program! On your eighth “solo” skydive, wearing your own parachute system, you will dive out solo and practice front and back flips!!!!! Relax and have fun! Previous Dive: Dive Flow 7 Your freefall objectives for this skydive are: Diving exit Back flips and front flips Pre-deployment scan…
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Skydive Spaceland Skydiver Training Program: Dive Flow 7 Video
Welcome to Skydive Spaceland’s exclusive, innovative Skydiver Training Program! On your seventh “solo” skydive, wearing your own parachute system, you will exit solo and practice barrel rolls. Relax and have fun! Previous Dive: Dive Flow 6 Your freefall objectives for this skydive are: Solo poised exit Barrel rolls Pre-deployment scan Deploy the main parachute at…
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Manifest General Reminders
If you find yourself at the dropzone, you will most likely be spending some time in the manifest office. With the rapid rate of growth that Skydive Spaceland has been experiencing, we want to spread the word on some general reminders and guides for manifesting and sharing the space of the office. Manifest Basics What…
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Skydive Spaceland Skydiver Training Program: Dive Flow 6 Video
Welcome to Skydive Spaceland’s exclusive, innovative Skydiver Training Program! On your sixth “solo” skydive, wearing your own parachute system, you will practice turns, forward movement, and docking on your instructor. It’s getting real now! 🙂 Previous Dive: Dive Flow 5 Your freefall objectives for this skydive are: Team poised exit Maintaining altitude awareness 360° lower-body…
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Skydive Spaceland Skydiver Training Program: Dive Flow 5 Video
Welcome to Skydive Spaceland’s exclusive, innovative Skydiver Training Program! On your fifth “solo” skydive, wearing your own parachute system, you will practice turns, forward movement, and your instructor will dock on you. Previous Dive: Dive Flow 4 Your freefall objectives for this skydive are: Team poised exit Maintaining altitude awareness 360° turns Forward movement to…
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Skydive Spaceland Skydiver Training Program: Dive Flow 4 Video
Welcome to Skydive Spaceland’s exclusive, innovative Skydiver Training Program! On your fourth “solo” skydive, wearing your own parachute system, you will practice turns and forward movement. It’s time to start really flying! Previous Dive: Dive Flow 3 Your freefall objectives for this skydive are: Team poised exit Maintaining altitude awareness Arched body position Two 90° turns Forward movement/heading…
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Skydive Spaceland Skydiver Training Program: Dive Flow 3 Video
Welcome to Skydive Spaceland’s exclusive, innovative Skydiver Training Program! On your third “solo” skydive, wearing your own parachute system, you will practice deploying your parachute, stable freefall, and altitude awareness. Your goal is to fly smoothly and stable so you can earn your release from your instructor, truly skydiving solo for the first time! Previous…
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Skydive Spaceland Skydiver Training Program: Dive Flow 2 Video
Welcome to Skydive Spaceland’s exclusive, innovative Skydiver Training Program! On your second “solo” skydive, wearing your own parachute system, you will practice deploying your parachute, stable freefall, team turns with your instructor, and altitude awareness. Watch the video to see how it’s done! Previous Dive Flows: Dive Flow 1 Your freefall objectives for this skydive…
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Skydive Spaceland Skydiver Training Program: Dive Flow 1 Video
Welcome to Skydive Spaceland’s exclusive, innovative Skydiver Training Program! On your first “solo” skydive, wearing your own parachute system, you will practice deploying your parachute, stable freefall, and altitude awareness. Your freefall objectives for this skydive are: Proper climbout and exit Maintaining altitude awareness Arched body position 2 practice handle throws Identify the dropzone Deploy…
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Turbulence and Skydiving: What You Don’t See Can Kill You
Air turbulence can partially or completely collapse a skydiver’s canopy, causing injury or worse. Avoid it at all costs!
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Skydiving Airmanship Part 1: Knowledge
“Airmanship is the consistent use of good judgment and well-developed skills to accomplish flight objectives. This consistency is founded on a cornerstone of uncompromising flight discipline and is developed through systematic skill acquisition and proficiency. A high state of situational awareness completes the airmanship picture and is obtained through knowledge of one’s self, aircraft, environment,…
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Good Canopies, Bad Decisions
So you are ready to get that shiny new wing, or sell your current canopy. Well caveat emptor[1], good readers. Are you making good decisions about this purchase, or the sale of your “old” wing? We are seeing a disturbing, fatal trend among skydivers worldwide as newer, faster wings come onto the market and older…
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Spaceland Landing Area Policies: A Time and Place for Everything
Updated 2021 We all know that Skydive Spaceland is a world-class dropzone with excellent facilities and aircraft. What you may not know is that when we opened our doors in early 2000, Spaceland was conducting about 5000 skydives per year. Now, 15 years later, our air traffic has increased by about 20 times; we’re up…
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Weekdays Rock for Skydiver Training (STP)!
Weekends are definitely the most popular days for our Skydiver Training Program–of course, because that’s when most people are off work! However, as you might know we are open 7 days a week. If you have any availability to jump on weekdays, you might enjoy weekday skydiving training even more! Why? Overall slower pace of…
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Breakoff Series Part 3: Video Takes the Center, High
It’s a super cool shot to get when you’re flying outside video above a skydiving formation–that shot when the outside camera flyer (who is filming the jump without being a part of the formation) drops into the center as the formation breaks away, probably turning in place to watch everyone track far and fast before deploying.…
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Breakoff Series Part 2: Flat Tracking
Tracking away from other skydivers well is one of the most vital survival skills a skydiver can have. No matter what kind of freefall skydive you do, unless it’s a Mr. Bill or a solo, you will be tracking to achieve horizontal separation from the other people you are skydiving with before deploying your parachute.…
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Breakoff Safety Series
As skydivers who want to skydive again (and again, and again…), we tend to pay attention to the highest risk areas for our skydives to make them as safe as possible. We learn as students how to fly and land our parachutes safely, and we take canopy courses to get even better at it. We…
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Breakoff Series Part 1: Planning Breakoff and Tracking
Revised August 2015 Before you hop in the plane for your next jump, here’s some food for thought on safety: Plan your breakoff and tracking just as carefully as you plan the freefall part of your jump. This part of the jump is often neglected because it comes after “the good stuff,” but it is…
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Red Light, Green Light, No Light?
Quick! What do you do if you are on jump run, the green light has been turned on, and then the green light goes out (either the red light comes back on or the green light simply turns off)? Assume the light is broken and proceed with your climbout and skydive. Flip the spotting switch…
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Skydiver Training Tip: That First Hop and Pop
Is it about time for your first hop and pop (low-altitude emergency exit simulation) in our Skydiver Training Program? If you’re like most skydiving students, chances are you are more nervous about this jump than most of your full-altitude skydives! The lower exit altitude combined with the 5-second maximum deployment time, and possibly your first…
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Skydiver Training Tip: Finding Your Match
When you get ready to skydive for the first time, you put the ultimate trust in your instructor. You trust that person to gear you up, give you the freefalling time of your life, and deliver you softly back to the real world on the ground. The relationship between first-time student and instructor is an…
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Canopy Traffic: Find Your Place in the Sky
Traffic is a bad word, especially for those of us living in the Houston area! And while we think we can get away from it when we’re flying, the reality is that at any dropzone, and particularly at a busy one like Spaceland, the traffic can resemble downtown Houston rush at its worst. The difference…
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Skydiving? Take Your Phone!
These days, most of us are almost never without our mobile phones. Some even seem to have separation anxiety if they misplace their phones for even a few minutes! 🙂 This week’s tip is good news for the phone-bonded among us, because it’s a recommendation to take your phone with you whenever you skydive. Why,…
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Altitude Awareness: Do You Have It?
What’s the first thing your skydiving instructor has you do after you leave the plane? Check your altitude. Before and after maneuvers, check your altitude. If you don’t have altitude awareness, PULL! Awareness of your altitude is of paramount importance to our survival in skydiving, and we all know it. And yet we sometimes forget…
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What’s Your Wind Limit?
Gusty winds are common at Spaceland and many other dropzones. As an experienced jumper, I have thought a lot about what my personal wind limit is–in other words, when I will sit down even though the dropzone is not on a wind hold. Recently, I made the decision not to jump after watching other fun…