More Polte
These guys have shot to the top of my favorite video-producers list. According to Lauri, “Polte means desire and passion with a little twist of fire.” Love it.
Issue 28 ♥
i28 February!
The February issue of Blue Skies Mag is coming. (That’s what she said.) If you are a subscriber, here is what you’ll find (if you’re not, it’s quick and painless to become one and subscribe today right now here):
- New Canadian rates! More info here.
- Top ten ways to say, “F*ck You, Cupid” on Valentine’s Day
- I Jumped It: The MagBag
- Gear review by Andre Lemaire, of Jerry Baumchen’s magnetic, stowless main d-bag. Videos of the test jumps here.
- Football Widow
- Or, how not to become one. How the Drennan family keeps their love alive while Ian is living the dream as a PD Factory Team member, Annie runs her own business, and Kaiya is a professionally adorable 2 1/2-year-old.
- 100 Jumps for Mike Spann
- John E. Souders, Jr. did 100 jumps to honor Mike Spann, America’s first combat casualty in Afghanistan. Clark Word went along for the ride and tells us about the day.
- -ISM + NCCPA = TLF
- Kim Nocita tells about the great coming-together of NorCal and SoCal swoop leagues to form one that will rule them all.
- Photo Break: Invasion 2012
- Kazu Oyama and Bill Schmitz take some fine photos
- My Freefall Wedding
- Dave Udell was the first (beeeeeeeeeeer!) man to take the plunge out of Mike Mullins’ King Air when he married his adorable girlfriend Kim in 1993
- Aerodynamics for Dummies Part 3: Glide Ratio
- In the final installment, the adorable Julien rounds out his aerodynamics lesson with GR
- Turning Points: With Fresh Air and Rhythm into the Future
- Kurt, of NSL lore, fame, and glory, details why SDC Rhythm XP is the next big thing
- The Beginning of the End of My Flourishing Career: True Love
- Sydney and skydiving, sittin’ in a tree ♫ k-i-s-s-i-n-g ♪ first comes love ♬ then comes marriage ♫ then comes a back brace
- The Fuckin’ Pilot: “Bob, A Smart Man”
- A fictional tale about Bob, a tandem instructor, and the smartest decision he ever made
- Life Coaching: Tape Your Head to Hers
- Melsinore gives tips on how to clean up, amp up, and de-clutter up your non-skydiving life
- SkyGod’s Expo 2012 Calendar
Why the White House Thinks We Need Aviation User Fees
This email just went out to everyone who signed the “Take Aviation User Fees off the table” petition at the White House’s new We the People site:
Why We Need Aviation User Fees
By Dana Hyde, Associate Director for General Government Programs, Office of Management and Budget
Thank you for signing the petition “Take Aviation User Fees Off the Table.” We appreciate your participation in the We the People platform on WhiteHouse.gov and your concerns about user fees in a challenging economy.
In a challenging budget environment, the Obama Administration believes it’s essential that those who benefit from our world-class aviation system help pay for its ongoing operation. And we want to ensure that everyone is paying their fair share. For example, under current law, a large commercial aircraft flying from Los Angeles to San Francisco pays between twenty-one and thirty-three times the fuel taxes paid by a corporate jet flying the same route and using the same FAA air traffic services. This is why the Administration proposed to establish a new surcharge for air traffic services.
The proposed $100 per flight fee would generate an estimated $11 billion over 10 years, reducing the deficit and more equitably sharing the cost of air traffic services across the aviation user community. All piston aircraft, military aircraft, public aircraft, air ambulances, aircraft operating outside of controlled airspace, and Canada-to-Canada flights would be exempted.
We appreciate your petition’s acknowledgment that there needs to be an increased user contribution to aviation system funding in the current fiscal climate, and we recognize that some would prefer to raise the tax rate on aviation fuel. At the same time, we have concluded that a $100 per flight user fee is an equitable way for those who benefit to bear the cost of this essential service.
As we work to get our Nation back on a sustainable fiscal path, the Administration is making tough choices across the Federal budget and asking everyone to do their fair share. We recognize these shared sacrifices are not easy, but together with investments in our economic growth and job creation, they will make us stronger and more competitive for the future. We look forward to working collaboratively with the Congress and the aviation stakeholder community on this issue, and thank you again for your constructive input.
So what do you think? Will we be seeing an extra $100 fee onto every skydiving load? Would that make you switch sports to paragliding, BASE jumping, or ground launching?
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