We just found out about Kickstarter, a funding site for artists, do-gooders, filmmakers, musicians, writers—anyone who creates stuff that generally requires money. Thinking about a higher-level, long-format skydiving video? Are you a photographer who wants to start exhibiting your aerial shots? A group from the DZ planning to go volunteer in Haiti but need cash to buy supplies? Got a story to write about BASE jumping? Or, do you want to do something completely unrelated to aerial sports? We guess that’s allowed, too.

If you have a project you’ve been itching to make, give it a shot and let us know! We think skydiving, BASE jumping, paragliding, speed riding and anything else that happens in the sky is just ripe for an artistic takeover of the world.

PS – The January/February issue of Blue Skies Mag has a kickass article on making the greatest skydiving video in the history of the universe, by the one and only Melsinore. Combine that with Kickstarter and you could be the next James Cameron.

PPS – Our N3A contest deadline has been extended to February 15 by popular demand, so get going on those pull alarms!

The band Nada Surf had a video contest: create a video to their new song “Weightless” and winner gets $3,000! Well, here, let the dude tell you himself:

Skydive New England’s Sean Rogan (featured in the November issue of Blue Skies Mag!) won second place for this video that we think you’ll like:

Crap, who is going to run this town tonight?

It’s a very odd thing to work in the skydiving industry. On one hand, you are a professional who goes to work every day and produces something people purchase with the fruits of their own labor. On the other hand—it’s skydiving, for f’s sake! We’re supposed to be ridiculously irresponsible and leave all our cares and worries to the DZO. Someone else runs this town, not us.

But, here we are, about to professionally communicate with our customers our plan for 2010, issue a Publication Schedule and just generally attempt to run a professional, responsible small business. Basically—we’re going to run this town tonight.

Anyway, enough with my hip hop-fueled analogies, and on to the business at hand. Please hold off on booby-trapping your mailbox because it’s apparent that your mailman has stolen your January issue of Blue Skies Mag. The postal service has nothing to do with the fact that your mailbox is silently crying out to be filled with our assemblage of paper and ink; instead, we planned to do a January/February combined issue that will come out mid-February.

This issue won’t be bigger than any other, but it will have a cool little surprise that we hope you’ll like. We decided to do a combined issue for a few reasons. First, skydiving activity (and, subsequently, advertising) typically is at its lowest in January. There just isn’t a whole lot going on—besides drama, which we’ll have plenty of in the March issue. Second, we are a small business and have been going at it pretty much non-stop since May; we built in a holiday break so we could show our relatives that we do, in fact, still exist.

The next order of business is our print schedule. Some bright mind suggested that your mailboxes would be happier if we spread the joy of skydiving publications throughout the month. Parachutist and other mags come out around the first, so we’ll let you enjoy that, and get our issue to you mid-month.

So, to recap: Jan/Feb issue mid-February, March issue mid-March, and on and on and on. With boobs* and beer, naturally.

*PS—We can’t print pictures you want to see if you don’t send us pictures of things you want to look at! Send them to pierre@blueskiesmag.com.

PPS—Kolla wanted me to say that we also want pictures of hot, shirtless men. We don’t discriminate when it comes to boobs. She has an excellent point. Here is an example of what we would like:

And that’s how we run our town.

Felix Baumgartner and Colonel Joseph Kittinger unveiled the Red Bull Stratos project today.

Red Bull Stratos, a mission to the edge of space, seeks to surpass limits that have existed for 50 years. Felix Baumgartner will undertake a stratospheric balloon flight to 120,000 feet and attempt a record-breaking freefall jump that is expected to reach – for the first time in history – supersonic speeds.

Velocity Sports Equipment, maker of the Infinity rig, created the rig and drogue. VSE owner Kelly Farrington says there are some pretty cool features of this rig. Hopefully we’ll get a bit more out of him, and some pictures, for you soon!

Ted Mayfield just can’t stay out of the sky. The guy some people claim is your hero and mine, DB Cooper, and the former owner of Pacific Parachute Center, flies without a license.

A 74-year-old Sheridan man with a decades-long history of defying federal aviation rules just can’t seem to stay out of the cockpit.

Teddy Ernest Mayfield was sentenced Tuesday for flying a single-engine plane from Eugene Airport to the Independence airport in June 2008 — 26 years after the Federal Aviation Administration last revoked his pilot’s license.

The Register Guard (Eugene, Oregon)

The Jump for the Cause 181-way women’s world record has been ratified by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale! Record

Congratulations, Ziara ABUD (Brazil), Leigh AINSWORTH (New Zealand), Jean AITKEN (Canada), Anastasia AKIMOVA (Russia), Rosa ALVA (USA), Nicole ANGELIDES (USA), Rebecca AUSTIN (UK), Mary BAUER (USA), Marina BERETTA (FAI), Kari BERG (Norway), Tone BERGAN (Norway), Cherie BERKE (USA), Hannah BETTS (UK), Viki BINGHAM (UK), Fiona BIRNIE (UK), Amelia BOBOWSKA (Poland), Jeanine BONVIN (USA), Ulrike BORNGRÄBER (Germany), Martina BRANT (Ireland), Sally BURGESS (USA), Clare BUTCHER (UK), Sarah CANNON (UK), Diane CHAMBERLAIN (USA), Nesta CHAPMAN (Canada), Yong CHISHOLM (Korea), Sarah CHURCHILL (UK), Carolyn CLAY (USA), Barbara CLEINO (USA), Ellen COENRA (Australia), Catherine COON (USA), Kate COOPER-JENSEN (Denmark), Shirley COWCHER (Australia), Leanne CRITCHLEY (Australia), Elizabeth DANBY (UK), Carrie DOLL (USA), Jennifer DOMENICO (USA), Isabelle DREYSSE (France), Ekaterina DUBROVINA (Russia), Susan DUKE (USA), Erika EIDER (Germany), Lara EISENBERG (USA), Veronika EMER (Germany), Helle ERIKSEN (Denmark), Valerie ESTABROOK (USA), Mariya EVTEEVA (Russia), Sharron FIELDING (USA), Deanna FRANK (USA), Debbie FRANZESE (USA), Christine FRIKKEN (USA), Lesley GALE (UK), Nathalie GAUDREAULT (Canada), Gulcin GILBERT (USA), Mariana GOMEZ-NUNEZ (Paraguay), Louise GOWER (UK), Larenda GRAHAM (Canada), Debbie GRANNUM (USA), Ruth GREEN (UK), Andrea GREENING (Canada), Zivile GUDAITYTE (Lithuania), Carla GUEDES SALGADO (Brazil), Thi Bich Van HA (France), Amy HAASS (USA), Nicole HANNAN (Australia), Yukari HASHIMOTO (Japan), Joanne HAWLEY (UK), Claudia HEINEMANN (Germany), Celeste HILL (UK), Christiane HOFFMAN (Germany), Caroline HUGHES (UK), Nataliya ILYUKHINA (Russia), Cornelia IOTTI (Switzerland), Carmen IRENE (USA), Cynthia JARDINE (Canada), Debbie JASEK PARISI (USA), Carolyn JOHNSON (USA), Samantha JOSEPH (USA), Rhonda JOYCE (Canada), Anna KALININA (Russia), Anastasiya KAMBALOVA (Russia), Amanda KARLSSON (UK), Meng-Hua KATS (Chinese Taipei), Angela KATSOULIS (USA), Jaclyn KAYLOR (USA), Ekaterina KHARITONOVA (Russia), Anne KNABE (Switzerland), Bambi KNIGHT (USA), Olga KOSHKINA (Russia), Michelle KOSMER (Australia), Loraine KRAEMER CLARK (USA), Brenda KRAMAR (USA), Virginia KUHLMANN (USA), Liudmyla LAKOVLIEVA (Ukraine), Joanne LAMMENS (Portugal), Nancy LA RIVIERE (USA), Lisa LARKIN (USA), Verena LAUER (Germany), Heather LITTLE (Australia), Kateryna LOGGINOVA (Ukraine), Nadja LONNROTH (Finland), Debbie LOVEGROVE (Canada), Janet LUNDQUIST (USA), Cheryl MARKS (UK), Anne MAXWELL (USA), Elena MAZAEVA (Russia), Cheryl MCCLURE (USA), Andrea MCNEW (USA), Michelle MEAKINS (UK), Patricia MENKE (USA), Susan MESEBERG (USA), Lidiya MISHCHENKO (Russia), Ellen MONSEES (USA), Lise NANSEN (Norway), Julie NICHOL (Australia), Laurel NICHOLS (USA), Vaike OIGLANE (Finland), Molly OSBORNE (USA), Anna PANASSIUK (Russia), Katherine PELLAND (USA), Melanie PESCHIO (USA), Jennifer PIERCE (USA), Zinaida PIROGOVA (Russia), Tatiana POLIANSKAYA (Russia), Tatiana PONKRATIEVA (Russia), Joanna PRICE (UK), Rosalind PULHAM (UK), Laura RAMPINI (Italy), S Hollister RENO (USA), Pamela RIGGS (USA), Cheryl ROBERTSON (Australia), Lynda ROBINSON (USA), Eliana RODRIGUEZ (USA), Gudrun ROKNE (Norway), Audrey ROWE (UK), Helaine RUMANER (USA), Maria RUSSELL (UK), Varvara SADOVNIKOVA (Russia), Erika SAMPAIO (Brazil), Helen SAMUELSSON (Sweden), Mary SANTANGELO (USA), Robin SAUNDERS (Canada), Victoria SCARGILL (UK), Claire SCOTT (UK), Lea Fabiana SERFATY (Venezuela), Mary SERGOTT LEE (USA), Mariya SEROVA (Russia), Eiko SHIMURA (Japan), Irina SINITSINA (Russia), Monica SMINES (Norway), Wendy SMITH (New Zealand), Kristin SOSSO (USA), Kate STEPHENS (UK), Marloes SWARTHOFF (Netherlands), Sue SWEETMAN (USA), Maxine TATE (USA), Valerie THAL-SLOCUM (USA), Sandra THIEDE (USA), Audrey THIES (USA), Lori THOMAS (USA), Jennifer THOMLISON (USA), Paula THUES (USA), Mary TORTOMASI (USA), Rossella TURA (Italy), Ilse UNGEHEUER (Germany), Conny VAN SETTEN (Netherlands), Corrie VEENSTRA (USA), Elena VERTIPRAKHOVA (Russia), Alfia VESELOVA (Russia), Amy VON NOVAK (USA), Elizabeth WAGNER-GANTZER (Germany), Lisa WALKER (USA), Susan WALSH (Ireland), Susan WASSERMANN (USA), Debra WEST (USA), Marie WINTHER (USA), Karen WOOD (USA), Julie WOODROW (UK), Mary WRIGHT (Canada), Jennifer WRYNN (USA), Janna WYNNE (USA), Kristina YOUNG (UK), Elena ZAKHAROVA (Russia)!

From the Dubai Parachuting Championships and Gulf Cup 2010, we got word that Jonathan Tagle has inched ahead of Marat Leiras to claim first place, with Jay Moledzki in third in canopy piloting!

In the 4-way competition, USA’s Arizona Airspeed beat out Belgium and France; the women’s results are France, Germany, Spain. And, in accuracy, it’s Christian Auswoeger, Quargaf El Hassane and Al–Suwaidi Matar.

Congrats to everyone! Full scores here.