Dear World Team Skydivers:  The news you've been waiting for . . . the World Team '06 helmets are in Thailand!  They have been received at the airport, and the Royal Thai Air Force is currently clearing them through Customs.  We've been told they should arrive at the Windsor Suites Hotel tomorrow, 24 January.

A very big THANK YOU! to the Sky Systems crew for their long days and longer nights, to Rusty Vest, to Performance Designs for helping to ship the helmets to California, to Novo Express for speeding them on their way to Bangkok, to Transpo International for quickly completing the necessary paperwork, and to the Royal Thai Air Force for their extraordinary efforts on our behalf.  And thanks to you for your patience and confidence in Sky Systems and World Team.

FAI Sporting Licenses

This is one of the most important hoops all world record skydivers must jump through. For a world record to be certified by the FAI, all skydivers must have a current and valid FAI Sporting License, which includes an FAI logo insignia (stamp or printed), and a Certificate of Proficiency, such as a C- or D- License number.  For World Team '06- Royal Sky Celebration, both must be valid through 12 February 2006.  Please obtain these documents, and bring them to Thailand, where they will be checked for validity by Chief Judge Sherry Schrimsher.  Anyone without a valid FAI Sporting License will not jump on any record dives.

Please check your documents now.

In many countries, the FAI Sporting License and the Certificate of Proficiency are a single document; in others, they are not.   Please check with your Team Captain and/or your National Air Sports Control (Aero Club) to be sure your license(s) meets these requirements.

Equipment

Altimeters  All members of World Team who will be skydiving are required to use audible or visual altimeters.  This for general safety purposes, as well as for practical purposes related to World Team jumps in Thailand. On the big way jumps, each skydiver will be required to break-off at a specific altitude and open at a specific altitude. The LZ being used by World Team will not be familiar to any participants, so it will also be helpful to know altitudes while flying under canopy.

Alti-2 Inc., who is providing “The Official Instruments of World Team ’06” has generously offered World Team members the opportunity to purchase a custom Neptune visual / audible altimeter in World Team colors for the discounted price of US$ 190, plus S&H.   Please check-out Alti-2’s Neptune website. Orders received before 1 January 2006, will be delivered in time for World Team ’06. Orders received after 1 January may be delivered in time on site, if possible.  World Team Neptunes may be ordered in Thailand for later delivery, but the deadline for this offer is 12 February 2006 – the last day of the Royal Sky Celebration 2006.  Limit 2 Neptunes per World Team member. To order a World Team Neptune, please contact Kathy Allen.

Full Face Hard Helmets are required for all skydivers on all World Team ’06 jumps. This requirement is being implemented for two vital safety considerations.   First, the exit can be violent at 130-140 knots. In 2004, World Team sidelined seven skydivers to dislocated shoulders, and one to a broken leg. In addition, several face shields were kicked out and destroyed.  All of these incidents occurred on exit when someone hitting the slip stream went unstable and collided with a teammate.

The second reason is to provide the safest and most efficient oxygen delivery system possible for each member of World Team. When human beings are in an environment 24,000 feet above sea level, it is critical that they use a very effective life support system.  When skydivers are jumping from this altitude, it is doubly important that they are fully oxygenated prior to exit and, when possible, have access to oxygen-enriched air to breathe during the first 30 seconds in freefall while they are falling toward air with adequate concentrations of oxygen.

Sky Systems and the World Team Organizing Committee are providing custom Oxygn helmets to each World Team skydiver.   These helmets, in conjunction with Dr. Ben Massey’s oxygen delivery system, will safely fulfill this requirement better than any previous high-altitude skydiving event. Sky Systems’ representatives will be on-site in Udon to help fit helmets, and to help replace face-shields if necessary.  Parachute Systems is providing helmet bags for each member of World Team.

Automatic Activation Devices are required for all skydiving members of World Team ’06. This requirement is based on many years of extremely successful and safe use of modern Automatic Activation Devices.  On large freefall formation jumps using C-130s flying at 130-140 knots, at 24,000 feet above sea level, there are ample possibilities that could render a skydiver unconscious in freefall.  World Team ’06 is taking every precaution to prevent a serious accident from happening if this situation does occur during its jumps in Thailand.

Jumpsuits   Now that all World Team ’06 Sectors are filled and skydivers have been assigned to specific slots, many participants will need to acquire a new jumpsuit for Thailand. As with all World Team jumpsuits to date, the colors are either Ferrari red, snow white, or royal blue. Participants who have extra jumpsuits in any of these solid colors are encouraged to bring them to Thailand.

World Team skydivers, please check with your Sector Captain before ordering a jumpsuit.  Arm and leg grippers are required on all jumpsuits. The fast fall rate of the Base 70-way should also be considered when ordering jumpsuits.  Ideally, all jumpsuits in the front 70 should be slick fast-fall suits, with no booties and no swoop cords, to allow for a fast fall rate. If you are in the front 70 and wear a jumpsuit with booties, please bring tape or some other means to secure the flapping material when the booties are removed, to maintain the required fall rate.

Sector Captains may choose to have jumpsuit manufacturers design a custom front quarter panel (i.e., upper left chest area), to build team spirit and camaraderie. The rest of the jumpsuit, however, should be a solid color. Jumpsuit manufacturers who are familiar with World Team jumpsuit color and design requirements, and who are offering discounts on World Team jumpsuits can be found on the Sponsors page of this web-site.

Low-Tech Equipment  Other skydiving accessories should include the necessary equipment for participants to expand their range of fall rate, including ample weights to fall faster, and a light sweatshirt or long-sleeved T-shirt (same color as the jumpsuit) to fall slower.  AeroDesigns, World Team’s Official apparel supplier, is offering very cool long sleeve T-shirts and light sweatshirts with an embroidered 400-way design. The Royal Thai Air Force parachute riggers will be selling lead shot on-site in Udon for a very low price, and will recycle it if you don’t want to take it home.

Oxygen

The oxygen delivery system will be built, installed, and maintained by World Team veteran Dr. Ben Massey, who has prepared oxygen systems for many previous world record attempts (all all of World Teams').  Each skydiver will have a personal oxygen tube connected by a pressure-control valve to the main oxygen line.  This oxygen delivery system is designed to work with Sky Systems' Oxygn helmets, which are fitted with quick-release oxygen connections.

Safety

The most important element of each World Team event is safety!  Hurtling through the sky with 400 of our closest friends should give us cause for serious contemplation. No world record is worth an accident.  If we all focus on safety as our #1 priority, World Team '06 will be a safe and exhilarating experience.  Bratislava, Anapa, Ubon, and Korat/Takhli were models for safe mega-way skydiving, because virtually everyone exercised maximum common sense.   Rusty Vest is again developing a comprehensive break-off plan, which will be strictly implemented during break-off and canopy openings.

Landing Zone and Team Area

The World Team's base of operations will be a refurbished airfield control tower adjacent to the ramp on the RTAF air base in Udon Thani.  In addition to World Team’s skydivers, RTAF officers, camera flyers, and World Team staff will stage out of these offices.   Adjacent to these buildings is the Team Area, dirt dive area, aircraft loading area, packing area, and a secure storage facility.  Tents in the Team Area will be set up in a world meet atmosphere to accommodate all Sector teams.  RTAF parachute riggers will be available at the Team Area for all World Team members who requested packers.