Skydive Delmarva :: 2010 News Archives

Record Turn Out for Safety Day 2010

By Gregor Weeks

3.27.10, There was still a March chill in the air, but that didn't stop over a hundred people from showing up at Skydive Delmarva's Safety Day.

For the second year in a row Lance Lippencott showed a video highlighting a few potentially unsafe situations that happened at Skydive Delmarva the previous year. The video clips sparked several informative discussions.

Jumpers were then encouraged to participate in several optional activities including emergency procedure practice. After the Safety Day events were over, several loads flew then the season's first bonfire was lit.

Angel, Jim and Mike Practice Their Emergency Procedures. Photo by Gregor Weeks.

Lance Lippencott Shows His Safety Day Video. Photo by Gregor Weeks

Thank you to all the jumpers who came out for Safety Day 2010 and here's to another great season!

Safety Day 2010 Group Shot. Photo by Gregor Weeks.

Grant Spurrell Receives Recognition of 5 Milestones

By Gregor Weeks

3.27.10 Congratulations to Grant Spurrell who received his 1,000- and 2,000-Jump Wings, and his 12-, 24- and 36-Hour Freefall Badges from Dropzone Owner Brian Kunkowski. Grant has been jumping with Skydive Delmarva since it opened its doors in 1997 and since then has made over 1,400 jumps right here and has become an AFF Instructor.

Grant Spurrell (right) Receives his Awards from DZO Brian Kunkowski. Photo by Gregor Weeks.

Pat Filipowski and Nick Shmel Make their 300th Jumps

By Gregor Weeks

4.5.10 Congratulations to Pat Filipowski and Nick Shmel who made their 300th jumps recently. Both Pat and Nick are founding members of the Zoo Crew, a group dedicated to Getin' It both in the sky and around the bonfire. Since graduating AFF together in 2008 Pat and Nick continue to make impressive progress in their free flying ability. However for their milestone jumps they decided to do Big F'n Rounds to include as many of their friends as possible.

Pat Filipowski. Photo by Gregor Weeks.

Nick Shmel. Photo by Gregor Weeks.

Lance Lippencott Receives the Chesley H. Judy Safety Award

By Gregor Weeks

4.12.10 The sixth annual Chesley H. Judy Safety Award was presented to Lance Lippencott. The award is given to the skydiver who, through example, deed, training, or innovation, had promoted safe skydiving in a substantive way. For the past two years Lance has compiled a video for Safety Day highlighting a few potentially unsafe situations that happened the previous year. The video clips sparked several informative discussions and have been a great enhancement to Skydive Delmarva's Safety Day.

Lance Lippencott (left) Receives the Chesley H. Judy Safety Award from DZM Dave Matchett. Photo by Gregor Weeks.

Skydive Delmarva Announces Six EPIC SkillzWork Saturdays Led by Michelle Carlstrom

Time: Skillz starts @ 8:30am! RSVP is preferred. Please send RSVP to Michelle at: base839 -at - yahoo.com

SKILLz?! Developing our flying skills is the key to making epic & safe jumps. It's hard to improve without guidance, so Skillz is a day dedicated to fun & social learning. Skillz is open to A-licensed & above skydivers - everyone & anyone who wants to improve. If you're just off AFF or if you're already good at some skills and want to continue progressing, or just want to help out - by all means, come out!

COST: Skillz is free! All you have to do is commit to 4 jumps for the day & show up with tickets in hand. Reduced cost video slots are available if your group wants proof!

April 17: Skillz 2Way Play Day - Get current with one-on-one instruction! What do you want to work on? 360, Fall Rate, Side Slides? You call it! Make 1 jump or make more!

May 8: SkillzWORK for All Levels - Depending on the skills each person already has, we'll group up accordingly and make skydives geared toward specific learning objectives.

June 12: Skillz Full-on 4Way - Designed for jumpers with RW experience who are looking to learn more technique. All dives will come from the 4-way dive pool.

July 17: SkillzWORK for All Levels - Depending on the skills each person already has, we'll group up accordingly and make skydives geared toward specific learning objectives.

July 31: Skillz Full-on 4Way - Designed for jumpers with RW experience who are looking to learn more technique. All dives will come from the 4-way dive pool.

August 14: Giddy Up SCRAMBLES - Plan Your 4 Way Team Now: you'll need a jumper with less than 100 jumps, with 100-300, 300-500, and 500+! Extra points for the most creative "Western-style" name. Bonus points available throughout the day!! (...hmmm)

Tom Whalen Makes 100th Jump

By Gregor Weeks

5.22.10 Congratulations to Tom Whalen who made his 100th jump this weekend. To celebrate the occasion he made a rodeo jump riding on the back of wingsuit pilot Andreea Olea.

Tom Whalen Gets Pied for His 100th Jump. Photo by Kevin Grishkot.

Brenton Henkins Makes 100th Jump

By Gregor Weeks

7.3.10 Congratulations to Brenton Henkins who made his 100th jump this weekend. To celebrate the occasion he did a free fly jump with Gregor Weeks. Brenton was amply pied for his accomplishment.

Brenton Henkins' 100th Jump. Photo by Gregor Weeks.

Brenton Henkins Gets Pied. Photo by Gregor Weeks.

Three Delmarva Jumpers Reach Milestones

By Gregor Weeks

8.9.10 Congratulations to John Timmons, Jim Wright and Lisa Eckman who recently made milestone jumps. John made his 100th jump doing a nice 5 way including a zipper exit with Michelle, Laura, Jason, and Elizabeth. Jim did his 200th as a night jump. Lisa made a successful 12 way formation with Wayne, Tom, Michelle, Gregor, Christine, Scott, Alexis, Steph, Nick, Todd, and Brenton on her 1078th jump. Lisa was pied a plenty for her accomplishment.

Lisa Eckman Gets Pied. Photo by Dave Matchett.

Lisa Eckman Gets Pied. Photo by Dave Matchett.

Wayne Rose Makes 100th Jump

By Gregor Weeks

8.21.10 Congratulations to Wayne Rose who made his 100th jump this weekend. To celebrate the occasion he made an 8 way jump with Gregor, Alexis, Tom, Steph, Brian, Javier, and Matt. Way to go Wayne!

Wayne Rose's 100th Jump. Photo by Gregor Weeks.

Wayne Rose's 100th Jump. Photo by Gregor Weeks.

American Lung Association Raises over $20,000 with Skydiving Event

By Gregor Weeks

8.22.10 The American Lung Association held its "Fighting for Air At All Extremes" fundraiser at Skydive Delmarva over the weekend. Participants were entertained with a band, a DJ, great food, prizes, and of course, skydives. WDEL's Mellany Armstrong made her first jump with instructor Joe Manlove. Check out the story and video on WDEL's website.

Steve Smith Makes 500th Jump

By Gregor Weeks

8.29.10 Congratulations to Steve Smith who made his 500th jump this weekend. To celebrate the occasion he made a 13 way jump with Al, Tracy, Rob, Steph, Harry, Larry, Alexis, Todd, Chris, Mike, Tom, Brian and Lance on video. Way to go Steve!

Steve Smith's 500th Jump. Photo by Lance Lippencott.

Steve Smith's 500th Jump. Photo by Lance Lippencott.

Mike Lipinski Makes 100th Jump

By Gregor Weeks

9.6.10 Congratulations to Mike Lipinski who made his 100th jump this weekend. To celebrate the occasion he made a 5 way jump with Kevin, Todd, Jim, and Jason. Way to go Mike!

Mike Lipinski's 100th Jump. Photo by Andrew Wilson.

Mike Lipinski's 100th Jump. Photo by Andrew Wilson.

5th Annual Mike Schultz Skydiving Skills Meet Results

Skydive Delmarva hosted the Fifth Annual Mike Schultz Skydiving Skills Meet on the weekend of September 19-20. Three teams of four jumpers with varied experience levels competed in events that encompassed several facets of skydiving. The Meet was named for Mike Schultz who has been a shining example of comradery and good sportsmanship in skydiving for over 40 years.

The first event was Formation Exits. On Day 1 Team Otter Droppings with Gregor Weeks, Braden Hestermann, Andrew Wilson and Javier Hernandez earned 10 points for launching a Meeker. On Day 2 Team TJ3 earned 10 points for launching a Diamond.

The next event combined two skills: Speed Formation and Formation Skydiving. Team Otter Droppings had the best jump on Day 1 posting a score of 13. On Day 2 Team Otter Droppings and Team Skid Row with Mike Davidson, Harry Kerill, Ron Hudson and Steve Smith both socred 5 points on their jumps.

The final event, called "Stack Out," began with teams directing the pilot to a pre-declared spot then exiting individually. The goal then was to fly a disciplined pattern, maintaining the same order from exit to landing, and to land as accurately as possible. On Day 1 Team Otter Droppings had the best jump, earning 19 out of 20 possible points. Team Skid Row had the best score on Day 2 with a perfect 20.

Jumpers were also scored on landing accuracy on every jump. Concentric 10-meter rings were valued at 10 points in the center, with subsequent rings worth 8, 6, 4, and 2. Jumpers were awarded one bonus point for touching down on a 12 inch disc in the center, and two bonus points for a standup landing with both feet on the disc.

Team Otter Droppings won the Overall Team Award. Team Skid Row won the Team Accuracy Award. Gregor Weeks took the gold medal in individual accuracy, barely edging out Mike Davidson by 1 point on the last jump. Jim Shorter took bronze. Meet Director Mike Davidson, Judges Bruce Roberts, Larry Robinson and Thalia May, Manifestors Suzanne Harrington and Carly McQuown, and Pilot Keith May deserve high praise for a fun, well-run event.

Team Skid Row.	Team TJ3.
Team Otter Droppings.	Judges Bruce, Thalia, and Larry

Landing Accuracy Scores

Event Scores

Joe Manlove Makes 7000th Jump

By Gregor Weeks

10.11.10 Congratulations to Joe Manlove who made his 7000th jump this weekend. To celebrate the occasion he made a 16 way jump with Lisa, Laruel, Ian, Michelle, Al, Ron, Harry, Larry, Alexis, Javier, Elizabeth, Glenn, Pat, Ed, Ben, and Lance on video. Way to go Joe!

Joe Manlove's 7000th Jump. Photo by Lance Lippencott.

Joe Manlove's 7000th Jump. Photo by Lance Lippencott.

Larry Robinson Makes His 400th Jump and Jason Krumholz Makes His 200th Jump

By Gregor Weeks

10.10.10 Congratulations to Larry Robinson and Jason Krumholz who made their 400th and 200th jumps respectively on the same jump. To celebrate the occasion they built a successful 8 way formation with Harry, Al, Steve, John Timmons, John Gross, and Jim. John Timmons earned his Star Crest Soloist award for docking eighth or later on an 8 way or larger, and Jim earned his Star Crest Recipient award for participating in an 8 way formation. Way to go Larry, Jason, John and Jim!

Rob Yeadt Makes 200th Jump

By Gregor Weeks

10.11.10 Congratulations to Rob Yeadt who made his 200th jump this weekend. To celebrate the occasion he made a 4 way jump with Harry, Al, and Ron. Way to go Rob!

Skydive Delmarva Jumpers Rock Bridge Day 2010

By Gregor Weeks

10.16.10 Congratulations to all the Skydive Delmarva jumpers who jumped at Bridge Day 2010, especially to Tyler Naiman and Tyler Price who made their first BASE jumps. Both of them leapt from the 876 foot bridge, deployed their canopies at the right moment then expertly navigated the narrow gorge to stand up landings in the small landing area next to the river, a feat that often eludes more experienced jumpers.

Jeremi Arroyo made his first Bridge Day jump. Andrew Wilson and Laurel Callen both did their first gainer exits. David Coco made two nice wingsuit flights. Ian Mitchard pulled off a nice quadruple gainer from the diving board. Scott Regina did his first jump on a round parachute. Elliott Barstow made several nice jumps. Vlad Merker, Jerry Burdsall, Gregor Weeks and Javier Hernandez all made their first BASE jumps since Bridge Day 2009 and did not look rusty at all. Michelle Carlstrom and Laurel Callen made a jump together, both looking good in free fall.

Angel Regina, Saba, Elizabeth Storke, Jeremy Swoyer, Dan McLellan and Bonnie Arroyo were on hand to check out the action.

Gregor Weeks Demonstrating a Pack Job. Photo by Jeremy Swoyer.

Tyler Naiman, Andrew, Vlad, and Tyler Price Ready to Make the Leap. Photo by Jeremy Swoyer.

Michelle and Laurel Get Ready to Jump. Photo by Dan McLellan.

Tyler Naiman and Vlad Check out the 876 Foot Drop. Photo by Jeremy Swoyer.