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i43 Is Mom’s Favorite

I’m pretty sure it could be yours, too. That is, if your subscription is still current! (For the record, your subscription expiration date is in the email we sent to you, if we have your email address on file.)

If you like what you see and don’t have a subscription, you can subscribe now at blueskiesmag.com/subscribe!

If you are a current subscriber and do not have your magazine by June 1, email Kolla@blueskiesmag.com. She is back from baby leave with the cutest tiny intern ever.

So what does my esteemed copy editor/mother think is so great about this issue? This:

Blue Skies Magazine May/June 2013

Ryan Brownlow bringing it home during the FLCPA Meet #3 at Raeford Parachute Center. Photo by Chad Wilcox. | Blue Skies Magazine May/June 2013

On the cover is Chad Wilcox’s first (BEER!) cover shot, of Team Alter Ego member Ryan Brownlow at the swoop meet in North Carolina.

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Opening Kuwait by Chris “Douggs” McDougall

 

Douggs Opens Kuwait

Douggs Opens Kuwait

Douggs‘ first article of the month, about the first BASE jumps in Kuwait, is the cover story.

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 Where You Need to Be

  • Wingsuit Sequential Competition, Chicagoland Skydiving Center, June 28-30 >>link<<
  • Vector Festival, France, July 9-14 >>link<<
  • Project “Skydive the Freezer,” Alaska, July 12-25 >>link<< Unfortunately the boogie has been canceled this year :(
  • Redemption Boogie, LSPC, July 18-21 >>link<<
  • tit4tat Day at PST, Toronto, July 27 >>link<<
  • Flight-1 Canopy Control Courses >>link<<

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The FlyBy

World CP Rankings, the monthly tit4tat, reader news and views, Cold Steel Award, Double Uniform Porn, 500 Naked Skydives, Lodi Ladies Sequentials

Skydiving Word of the Month: Bridle

Is: bridle
Noun The length of fabric that attaches your pilot chute to your deployment bag.		 Is not: bridal
Adjective Of or concerning a bride or a wedding.

bridle

Bridle: This is part of a rig and helps to save your life.

bridal

Bridal: This cannot fit in a rig and will not save your life.

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Death in the Sport of Life by Douggs

Douggs has stories to tell about all these people.

Douggs has stories to tell about all these people.

Douggs’ second contribution this month. Read it in full here and in the Australian Skydiver Magazine.

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Not the Usual Suspects by Dean “Princess” Ricci

Roberta over Skydive Dubai | Photo by Noah Bahnson

Roberta over Skydive Dubai | Photo by Noah Bahnson

Fun facts about skydiving’s favorite supermodel: she was a kickboxer, worked in a pizzeria to pay her way through AFF, and is Italian.

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Photo Essay: Riviera Nayarit Beach Boogie by Norman Kent

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Airtight Bodyflight: How to Start Clunking Around in a Clear Tube by Annette O’Neil

Lesson 1: You will not look like this your first time in a tunnel.

Lesson 1: You will not look like this your first time in a tunnel.

Learn a thing or two about this tunnel thing everyone’s talking about.

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Paving the Runway: Crash Test Dummies and Stealth Bombers by Blannie Wagner

Post-op, shmost-op.

Post-op, shmost-op.

The latest installment from the “Hey, let’s open a drop zone!” files.

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Love in the Air by Murv

Still feel like complaining about whatever terrible thing you thought happened in your day?

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BSBD, Kurt Ruppert, Jr. by Betsy Waite

Kurt + Betsy

Kurt + Betsy

You’ve surely heard about the Florida wingsuit jumper lost in the mountains of Washington earlier this year. Now read about the man we lost, from his girlfriend Betsy.

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Turning Points: Outdoor/Indoor Skydiving 2013 by Kurt Gaebel, NSL

Tunnels, yay!

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Tunnel Vision by The Fuckin’ Pilot

Tunnels, boo!

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Gravy by Melanie Curtis, highcomms.com

Ease up and make some gravy.

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Dear SkyGod

Help us all.

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Rats in the Ductwork by Moe Viletto

Another back-in-the-day BASE story from the master storyteller! And, did you catch him on the latest Skydive Radio?

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And that’s what made reader Missy comment, “Wow. Stellar issue this month!! ‘I always try to hug my friends when I see them and hug them again when they leave’ – best advice and fantastic article by Chris “Douggs” McDougall. And Annette O’Neil’s article about the tunnel > THANK YOU. I want to hug the shit out of this woman. Finishing the rest of the mag tonight where I’m sure to bother you again later Really great job this month everybody!!”

What do you think? Email me, lara@blueskiesmag.com, or submit a letter to the editor, or stop by our offices, or write stuff on a piece of paper, address it to Blue Skies Mag, 1665 Lexington Ave. #103, Deland FL 32724, and give it to a mailman.

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If you have news, story ideas, photos, or reader accomplishments for our next issue (#44, July 2013), please get it to me by May 31 at lara@blueskiesmag.com.

Living the Dream on a Budget

Reader Roger Guia sent us a letter asking how in the world skydivers balance family and financial responsibility with the ridiculously expensive sport of skydiving:

So here I am, sitting outside on a beautiful day reading the latest issue of Blue Skies Magazine. Reading about of what it seems to be the life of a lot of wonderful people that has become part of the skydive community around the world. It really inspires me a lot every time I read it. And every time I read a new article there is only one thing that comes to my mind:

How can everybody in this community afford to be a skydiver?  

And I’m not talking about the rich and privilege people that can buy a state-of-the-art rig. I’m talking about regular people like me. With regular jobs and family, (responsibilities).

Coincidentally, Melanie Curtis turned in her column the next month (issue #42) addressing this very question.

If you find yourself in this type of skydiving financial bind, go through the following questions to help clarify your unique situation. With clarity, we can consciously determine what action is best for us each to take, and ultimately feel good in our choice, no matter what it looks like.

  1. How much joy will I get from the jumps I want to pay for?
  2. How much stress will I experience shelling out the cash for those jumps?
  3. Will the joy I get from those jumps be greater than the stress from the financial output?
    • If yes, go for it. Doing what we love brings good juju into our brain, body, and being. Feel the flow, use it to kick a** at work and make the money you need to keep jumping the way you want.
    • If no, consider what possible opportunities you can create to improve your financial standing so you can fit the amount of jumping you really want into your life. Answer the following question and do your own brainstorming:
      • What can you do right now to improve your financial standing so you can do the jumping you want to do? Work more shifts? Pack parachutes one day a weekend? Sell some stuff out of your closet? Work out a deal with the DZ to get discounted jumps in exchange for giving back, organizing, or whatever? Something else?

If you’re not sure what to do, consider this thought: “I am choosing my current financial approach.”

This might sound like BS, but think about it…no matter what is happening, we choose to spend our money the way we spend it based on what’s important to us. Maybe you’re keeping your family fed. Maybe you’re keeping your credit card balance low. Theoretically, we could rack up the charges, buy 20 jumps a weekend without a care in the world, we could file for bankruptcy in a few years, or whatever else…but we’re not doing that.

It’s easy to get caught up feeling stuck in our financial situation, but when we step back and really look at our actions, it’s easy to see that we’re choosing based on our own financial value system. And that’s GREAT. We’re choosing to be in the world with a certain level of financial responsibility, and can always go to sleep at night feeling good about that even if it means we’re not jumping as much as we’d ideally like to be…for now.

So how do you afford skydiving with a family, responsibilities, and all of life’s other demands?

Introducing the Jagerbrothers

Kolla and I got a little bored with our regular events listings in the mag, so we put out a call for the biggest boogie whores we could find to be boogie correspondents. These boys responded.

Girls like them.
They like beer.
Beaches are good too.
Who needs more clothes?
Jager!
Jager in freefall!

Yep, we fell in love with them too.

Jordan and Joel will be traveling the boogie circuit, mostly in the Midwest U.S., as their home base is in Minnesota. They’ll report back on their shenanigans, so watch out for Facebook and website posts from the Jagerbrothers, and of course, a monthly column in the mag. If you want them at your boogie, we hear they are easily bribed with Jager and lift tickets. And other stuff that we probably don’t want to know about.

Welcome to the team, boys! We hope you enjoy the no pay, long hours, mosquitoes, and dirty couches to sleep on. Boogie on!

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