The Latest News at Skydive Delmarva

Great Turn Out for Safety Day 2007

3.10.07, 68 skydivers came to Safety Day 2007 at Skydive Delmarva. Safety and Training Advisor Mike Davidson, Instructor Damon Steele, and Pilot Keith May gave informative presentations. The focus on this year's safety day was canopy control, especially traffic in the landing pattern. After the presentations everyone got to practice their emergency procedures in the leaning harnesses. Safety day participants got a free t-shirt and a free jump ticket.

Safety Day Group Shot. Photo by Scott Regina

Practicing Emergency Procedures. Photo by Bobby Gill

Although it was too windy to jump after the seminars on Saturday, many skydivers stuck around for the season's first bonfire and jumped on Sunday.

Click here to see the rest of the pictures from Safety Day weekend.

Keith May Receives Skydive Delmarva's 2007 Chesley H. Judy Safety Award

3.10.07, Congratulations to pilot Keith May who is Skydive Delmarva's recipient of the third annual Chesley H. Judy Safety Award presented to the individual who, through example, deed, training, or innovation, had promoted safe skydiving in a substantive way. Keith has over 10,000 flying hours including over 5,000 hours taking jumpers to altitude. He has been around the sport of skydiving for over 30 years, has made over 2,000 jumps himself, and has been a static line jumpmaster and a tandem instructor. Over his career he has let jumpers out of eight different kinds of aircraft. The Skydive Delmarva community considers itself fortunate to have such an experienced and safety conscious pilot behind the controls. USPA Executive Director Chris Needles presented the award.

Keith May Receives Chelsey H. Judy Award from Chris Needles. Photo by Bobby Gill

Collin Parker and Dana Smith Make Milestone Jumps, Chris Branch Earns A License

4.22.07, Skydive Delmarva jumpers have been waiting for a weekend of good jumping weather and it finally came. With warm temparatures and a slight breeze, the entire weekend was perfect for jumping. On Saturday Chris Branch earned his A license after a check out dive with Coach TJ. Saturday night was Asian cuisine night highlighted by General Tsod's Chicken, Dana's Dumplings, Kathy's Crab Ragoons, and Tammy's lettuce wraps among other great dishes. After dinner it was off to the bonfire.

On Sunday Collin Parker made his 600th skydive leading a 6-way tracking dive. Then Dana Smith made her 400th jump on a 10-way.

Collin Parker's 600th Jump. Photo by Gregor Weeks

Dana Smith's 400th Jump. Photo by Gregor Weeks

Ken Wilhide Earns A License

6.17.07, Congratulations to Ken Wilhide for earning his A license. Ken earned his license on a series of 3 dives with Grant Spurrell including his check-out dive. According to Grant, he performed fantastically and is about as 'heads-up' of a new jumper as he's jumped with in a long time.

Four Jumpers Graduate AFF

6.24.07, Congratulations to Haven Baer, Ben Fox, Daniela Smith, and Adam Black who all graduated the AFF program this weekend.

Haven Baer and Joe Manlove. Photo by Gregor Weeks

Ben Fox and John Dodson. Photo by Gregor Weeks

Mike Davidson and Daniela Smith. Photo by Bobby Gill

Adam Black and Kathy Kunkowki. Photo by Bobby Gill

Brendan Johnson Graduates AFF

7.08.07, Congratulations to Brendan Johnson who graduated the AFF program this weekend after a successful level 7 jump with Instructor Joe Manlove. Way to go Brendan!

Brendan Johnson and Joe Manlove. Photo by Dave Matchett

Ben Fox Earns A License

7.15.07, Congratulations to Ben Fox for earning his A license and doing so only 2 weeks after graduating AFF. Way to go Ben!

Thalia May Makes 400th Jump

7.15.07, Congratulations to Thalia May who made her 400th jump this weekend! Thalia made a seven way jump with her friends to celebrate the milestone.

Thalia's 400th Jump. Photo by Lisa Eckman

Thalia's 400th Jump. Photo by Lisa Eckman

Jim Burns Makes 100th Jump

7.21.07, Congratulations to Jim Burns who made his 100th jump on Saturday. Jim made a 9 way jump with Dave Bradford, Chris Osborne, Bruce Roberts, Thalia May, JoAnn Dzenis, Mike Davidson, Bill Morrisey, and Mike Smith. Way to go Jim!

Jim Burns' 100th Jump. Photo by Grant Spurrell

DJ Sides Graduates AFF

7.22.07, Congratulations to DJ Sides who graduated the AFF program this weekend after a successful level 7 jump with Instructor Mike Davidson. Way to go DJ!

Mike Davidson and DJ Sides. Photo by Gregor Weeks

JoAnn Dzenis Makes 200th Jump

7.27.07, Congratulations to JoAnn Dzenis who made her 200th jump on Friday. JoAnn made a 4 way jump with Gregor Weeks, Thalia May, and Tom Timmons. Way to go JoAnn!

JoAnn Dzenis' 200th Jump. Photo by Dave Matchett

Michael Yashura Graduates AFF

7.27.07, Congratulations to Michael Yashura who graduated the AFF program on Friday after a successful level 7 jump with Instructor Kathy Kunkowski. Way to go Michael!

Kathy Kunkowski and Michael Yashura. Photo by Glen Dalgliesh

Mika Couch Makes 500th Jump

8.10.07, Congratulations to Mikah Couch who made his 500th jump on Friday. Way to go Mika!

Team Slots and Tabs Repeats as Champions of the Mike Schultz Skydiving Skills Meet

8.18.07, Congratulations to JoAnn, Grant, Bruce and Thalia who had the best combined score to win the Mike Schultz Skydiving Skills Meet!

Team Slots and Tabs. Photo by Mike Davidson	Team TMF. Photo by Mike Davidson
Team 403. Photo by Mike Davidson	Team 404. Photo by Mike Davidson
Team Tweener. Photo by Mike Davidson

David Bradford Makes 600th Jump

8.25.07, Congratulations to David Bradford who made his 600th jump on Saturday. David celebrated by making a seven-way jump with Dana, Bruce, Grant, Todd, Jim Burns, and Mike Davidson. Way to go David!

Daniela Smith Earns A License

8.26.07, Congratulations to Daniela Smith for earning her A license after six jumps this weekend including a successful check out dive with Instructor Bobby Gill. Way to go Daniela!

Daniela Smith and Bobby Gill. Photo by Suzanne Harrington

Anthony Cannamely & Justin Yourtee Graduate AFF

8.26.07, Congratulations to Anthony Cannamley and Justin Yourtree who graduated the AFF program on Saturday. Both graduated after successful level 7 jumps with Instructor Kathy Kunkowski. Way to go guys!

Kathy Kunkowski and Anthony Cannamely.

Justin Yourtree and Kathy Kunkowski.

Grant Spurrell and Bobby Gill Make Milestone Jumps

9.2.07, Congratulations to Grant Spurrell who made his 1600th jump on Saturday. Grant celebrated by doing a 7 way jump with Bruce Roberts, Kathy Kunkowski, Mike Schultz, Mike Davidson, Thalia May, and David Bradford. Congratulations also to Bobby Gill who made his 600th jump on Sunday. To mark the occasion, Bobby joined in on one of TJ's 40 for 40 jumps, and rode the wing strut for a go around. Way to go guys!

Grant Spurrell After His 1600th Jump. Photo by Gregor Weeks	Grant Spurrell After His 1600th Jump. Photo by Gregor Weeks
Bobby Gill After His 600th Jump. Photo by Daniela Smith

Josh Riley Graduates AFF

8.26.07, Congratulations to Josh Riley who graduated the AFF program on Saturday. Josh graduated after a successful level 7 jump with Instructor Kathy Kunkowski. Way to go Josh!

Josh Riley and Kathy Kunkowski. Photo pending

TJ Reynolds Makes 40 Jumps in 1 Day to Celebrate His 40th Birthday

9.2.07, TJ Reynolds celebrated his 40th birthday by making 40 jumps in 1 day. TJ completed the 40 jumps in about 7 hours, making most jumps from 2000 to 2500 feet. Congratulations TJ!

TJ's Friends Packed 1/2 Pound of Flour into His Canopy and Tied Toilet Paper to His Lines. Photo by Gregor Weeks

TJ and All His Volunteers. Photo by Gregor Weeks

David Satterfield & Philip Keller Graduate AFF

9.8.07, Congratulations to David Satterfield and Philip Keller who graduated the AFF program on Saturday. Philip graduated after a successful level 7 jump with Instructor Caleb Boczon, and David graduated after a successful level 7 jump with Instructor Kathy Kunkowski. Way to go guys!

Phillip Keller and Caleb Boczon

David Satterfield and Kathy Kunkowski

Javier Hernandez and Chris Osborne Make Milestone Jumps

9.16.07, Congratulations to Javier Hernandez who made his 100th jump and Chris Osborne who made his 700th jump on Sunday. They marked the occasion with a five way jump with Bruce Roberts, David Bradford, and Larry Robinson. Later on Javier got pied with a delicious blueberry pie!

Bonnie & Jeremi Arroyo Graduate AFF

9.30.07, Congratulations to the husband and wife team Bonnie & Jeremi Arroyo who graduated the AFF program on Sunday. Bonnie graduated after a successful level 7 jump with Instructor Mike Davidson, and Jeremi graduated after a successful level 7 jump with Instructor Caleb Boczon. Way to go!

Mike Davidson, Bonnie & Jeremi Arroyo, and Caleb Boczon

Butch Chelton Earns Star Crest Soloist Award

10.7.07, Congratulations to Butch Chelton who earned his Star Crest Soloist Award this weekend. The Star Crest Soloist must freefly the exit (no grips) and must participate in a freefall formation involving eight (8) or more skydivers. The SCS candidate must dock eighth (8th) or later. After docking, the formation must be held together for a minimum of 5 seconds. Butch earned his award on a jump with Mike and Dana Smith, Bruce Roberts, Chris Osborne, Grant Spurrell, David Bradford, and Christine Weeks. Way to go Butch!!!

Joey North Graduates AFF

10.8.07, Congratulations to Joey North who graduated the AFF program on Monday. Joey graduated after successful level 6 and 7 jumps with Instructor Kathy Kunkowski then went on to make his first two solo jumps all in one day. Not only that, but he has been continually landing on target. Way to go Joey!

Joey North and Kathy Kunkowski

Chrissy Eckert, Alexis Kajencki, and Brendan Johnson Earn A Licenses

10.14.07, Congratulations to Chrissy Eckert, Alexis Kajencki, and Brendan Johnson for earning their A licenses. Chrissy did her checkout dive with Instructor Dave Matchett two weeks ago and passed her test on October 13th. Alexis earned her lisence on the 14th after a successful check out dive with Coach Grant Spurrell. Way to go everyone!

Ahmed Kurtom Makes 400th Jump

10.20.07, Congratulations to Ahmed Kurtom who made his 400th jump on Sunday! To celebrate the occasion Ahmed made a 10 way jump with Dana, Grant, Larry, Bruce, David Bradford, Javier, Todd, Ed, Mike Smith ("Birdman"). According to Ahmed, "it was one of the best experiences I've had in that sky." Way to go Ahmed!

Elizabeth Storke Earns A License

10.14.07, Congratulations to Elizabeth Storke for earning her A license. Elizabeth earned her lisence on Sunday after a successful check out dive with Coach Grant Spurrell. Way to go!

Javier, Elizabeth and Lisa perform a Hybrid

Dave Warch, Danny Holston, Mike Head, and Packer Ben Harris Graduate AFF

10.20.07, Congratulations to Dave Warch, Danny Holston, Mike Head, and Packer Ben Harris who graduated the AFF program on Sunday. Dave did his level 7 jump with Tom Timmons. Danny did his with Caleb Boczon. Ben went with Dave Matchett, and Mike went with Mike Schultz. Way to go guys!

Martin Rodriquez Graduates AFF

11.11.07, Congratulations to Martin Rodriquez who graduated the AFF program on Sunday. Martin graduated after a successful level 7 jump with Instructor Caleb Boczon. Way to go Martin!

Martin Rodriquez and Caleb Boczon

Jay Phillips and Rick Clemens Graduate AFF

11.17.07, Congratulations to Jay Phillips and Rick Clemens who graduated the AFF program on Saturday. Jay graduated after a successful level 7 jump with Instructor Joe Manlove, and Rick graduated after a successful level 7 jump with Instructor Mike Schultz. Way to go guys!

John Timmons and Chad Lockard Graduate AFF

11.17.07, Congratulations to John Timmons and Chad Lockard who graduated the AFF program on Saturday. Both jumpers graduated after successful level 7 jumps with Instructor Tom Timmons. Way to go guys!

John Timmons and Tom Timmons

Chad Lockard and Tom Timmons (picture pending)