New additions to the ASC family
Special congratulations are in order for Anne and Tyler who had their baby boy, Nathaniel Crockett Lawson, on September 20, 2007. By next summer, Tyler will have him trained to pack! Stop by the dropzone to see pictures. Katie and Kenny just found out that they’ll soon be having a baby as well. Let’s hope it’s a girl!
Happy birthday Sandy Harris, Chuck Owen, Lance Frazier, Paul Thorn, and Edvaldo Cruz!
AFF Graduates and other Milestones
Last weekend, Edikas Strubelis made his 100th skydive and was pied later that night during dinner at El Nopal. Nick Hartline and Bogdan Ciobota received their A-licenses and can now jump with other experienced jumpers. Joe Little made his triumphant return to the sky two weeks agocompleting his recurrency jump after taking several month off. Welcome back, Joe!
Fall is the perfect time to learn to skydive. The busiest, hottest days of summer are past and everything around ASC is a little more laid back and relaxed. Several students have taken advantage of this opportunity to finish up their Accelerated Freefall jumps. Andy Hall, our resident Brit, Carolyn Belsky, David Campfield, Randy Vitek, and Chad Penick are just a few of the recent graduates. Congratulations guys and happy jumping!
If you’re interested in getting certified, Accelerated Freefall classes can be scheduled seven days a week. For more information, call 1-800-505-JUMP.
World Record
Junior Ludvik, Kate Hoffstetter, and TJ Landgren recently joined 66 other skydivers in Chicago in a world record jump. The 69 jumpers successfully built and held a head-down skydiving formation for close to twenty seconds. This jump beat the previous record by 16 jumpers. Junior said that the record was all-around one of the most exciting jumps he’s ever been on. “It’s not very often that you can be in the air with that much talent at one time,” he said. The crew is already making plans to go back next summer to (hopefully) top this year’s record.
Night Jumps
After several failed attempts, the weather finally decided to cooperate with jumpers on September 28th. Clear skies and a bright full moon, allowed Atlanta Skydive Center jumpers to brave the dark and jump at night. Twelve jumpers and many observers stuck around after sunset for dinner and the excitement. After an extensive briefing by Ted Ganger and Junior Ludvik, the jumpers geared up, taped on glow sticks and strobe lights, and loaded up the plane. It was by far the quietest the group had ever been on a flight to altitude. Jumping at night gave everybody a new perspective— Katie Fox couldn’t stop talking about how peaceful and beautiful the jump was for the rest of the weekend! For at least nine of the twelve jumpers, this was their first night jump. ASC would just like to give all nine a friendly reminder that they owe BEER!
The Nate Gilbert "Have a Good Jump" Boogie at Atlanta Skydiving Center was a big hit!
Even with less than perfect weather, the Nate Gilbert "Have a Good Jump" Boogie was a huge success! T.J. Landgren spent the weekend organizing awesome jumps for all skill levels, teaching new jumpers tips and ways to improve their skills, and reminding the more experienced jumpers exactly why it is that they love to skydive. Plus, who can say no to $15 lift tickets!
The nights were filled with the usual drop zone fun. Slip-n-slide races, dinner and beer provided by the drop zone, skydiving footage (both old and new), and time spent with close friends provided a nice end to a day at the drop zone!
Water training
If you're a new skydiver or looking to fulfill the requirements to get your B-license, make plans now to come to Atlanta Skydiving Center or water training with "Fast Eddie" Grantland on July 20, 2007. $25.00 covers your training and dinner afterwards. For more information, contact Brooklyn Benjamin at 678-747-1014.
Demo Jumps
Under the leadership of "Fast Eddie" Grantland, Atlanta Skydiving Center jumpers participated in two demo jumps this past week. Demos are a favorite of both jumpers and spectators because it gives everyone a chance to experience the excitement of skydiving and introduces new people to the sport. As the jumpers prepared to land, James Teeple kept everyone on the ground entertained with his commentary, jokes, and information about the sport. After landing, the jumpers spent time answering questions, giving parachute packing demonstrations, and talking to the crowd. Thanks to the jumpers "Fast Eddie," James Teeple, and everyone who came to see the demos!
Milestone Jumps
Last week, several experienced jumpers hit milestones in their skydiving careers. Katie Fox hit her 100th jump doing a big Relative Work formation organized by Doug Lewis. After the sunset load, in typical skydiver fashion, the Atlanta Skydiving Center family pied Katie for hitting a big milestone. Brooklyn Benjamin completed her 200th skydive on the 4th of July and Joe Silvia made his 400th leap from a plane. Watch out for pies!
